Imperial gazeteer of Scotland, or, Dictionary of Scottish topography > Volume 1

BELHAVEN.
144
BELLIE.
it, belonged to the monastery of Kilwinning, as
appears from a charter under the great seal, dated
1594.
The Tows of Beith stands on the road from
Paisley to Saltcoats about a mile east of the nearest
point of the Glasgow and Ayr railway, 4 miles west-
north-west of Dunlop, 5 north-east by north of
Dairy, and 11 south-west by south of Paisley. It
stands on an eminence, presents a jaunty appearance
from the railway, and commands an extensive view
of the surrounding country. The parish church is
a handsome building, with a tower. The lower
story of the town-house consists of shops ; hut the
upper story is a large hall, which is used as a public
reading-room, and as the court-room of justice of
peace courts, and sheriff small debt courts. The
town has three inns, — the Saracen's Head, the
Crown, and the Star; and it has branch-offices of
the Commercial Bank, the Union Bank, and the
Clydesdale Bank. It has also a reading-room, a pub-
lic library, and a bowling-green, — the last formed in
1S64. A branch railway from it to the Ci ofthead and
Kilmarnock line was authorized in 1865. Markets
are held on Fridays, and fairs four times a-year.
About the time of the Revolution or a little ear-
lier, Beith is said to have contained only 5 dwelling-
houses and the manse. But in 1759 it had about
700 examinable inhabitants, and in 1788 nearly
1,500. About the time of the union of the two
kingdoms, a trade in linen cloth was introduced
into this place, which became so considerable that
the Beith markets were frequented by merchants
from the neighbouring towns every week. About
the year 1730, the linen business, which had greatly
declined, was succeeded by a considerable trade in
linen-yarn. The Beith merchants purchased the
yarn made in the country around, and sold it to the
Paisley and Glasgow manufacturers. This trade,
when carried to its greatest extent, about the year
1760, is supposed to have amounted to £16,000
sterling yearly: and though it has long been upon
the decline, linen yarn is still a considerable article
of merchandise. From 1777 to 1789, the manufac-
ture of silk gauze was carried on to a great extent.
The present pursuits of manufacture and commerce
are remarkably various, and might almost be said to
comprise more or less of everything Scottish.
Leather-making and the corn-trade are prominent
in the town itself; and thread-making, flax-spinning,
and bleaching are prominent in the neighbouring
villages. Population in 1861, 3,420. Houses, 336.
BELHAVEN, a village in the parish of Dunbar,
Haddingtonshire. It stands about a mile west of
the town of Dunbar, but is included by the
parliamentary boundaries of that burgh. It is
intersected by the great post-road from Edinburgh
to Berwick, and is close upon the sea, at the head
of a small bay which in ancient times formed the
haven of Dunbar. It is the watering-place of
Dunbar; and in its vicinity are a number of
elegant villas. It gives the title of Lord to a
branch of the family of Hamilton. In 1647, Sir
John Hamilton of Broomhill was created Lord Bel-
haven and Stenton. The title is now borne by a
descendant of Hamilton of Wishaw. A strong sul-
?hurous spring was not long ago discovered here,
t contains sulphur and hydrogen gas in considerable
quantity ; the muriates of lime and soda ; and sulphate
and muriate of magnesia both in large quantity.
An attempt was made in 1815 to establish a cotton
factory at Belhaven, but failed. Population in 1861,
405
BELHELVIE, a parish, containing a post-office
station of its own name, on the coast of the Aberdeen
district of Aberdeenshire. It is bounded by the
German ocean, and by the parishes of Foveran,
New Machar, and Old Machar. Its greatest length,
northward, is 6 miles ; and its greatest breadth is 5
miles. The distance of its centre from Aberdeen is
about 7 miles. All the coast is a beach of fine sand,
flanked by bent-clad sand-hills. A narrow belt of
land lies beyond this, with sandy soil and sweet
short grass, kept always in pasture, and so nearly
level that the Government engineers for surveying
Scotland selected it for measuring their base line of
5 miles and 100 feet. The surface farther inland
rises gradually to the west, and is diversified with
small low hills and hilly ridges ; and the western
boundary is a continuous ridge, with summits of
about 800 feet above the level of the sea. A number
of rivulets rise in the interior; and there is an
abundance of springs of excellent water. There is
a great deposit of serpentine, called Portsoy marble
or Verde d'Ecosse, near Milldens. A great part of
this parish formerly belonged to the Earl of Panmure,
on whose forfeiture in 1715 it was purchased by the
York Building company. In 1782 it was again
sold, by order of the court of session, in sixteen dif-
ferent lots, since which partition a rapid improve-
ment has taken place on the district. The road from
Aberdeen to Peterhead and Fraserburgh passes
through the interior. Fairs, chiefly for the sale of
cattle, are held on the last Tuesday of April, old
style, on the day in July before Aikey, and on the
second Tuesday of October, old style. Population
in 1831, 1,621; in 1861, 1,807. Houses, 370. As-
sessed property in 1843, £7,317; in 1860, £9,054.
This parish is in the presbytery and synod of
Aberdeen. Patron, the Crown. Stipend, £179 12s.
10d.; glebe, £10. Schoolmaster's salary is £50,
with £16 10s. fees and house and garden. The
parish church is an old building, and contains 519
sittings. There is a Free church at Belhelvie, and
the yearly sum raised in connexion with it in 1865
was £121 2s. 3d. There is an United Presbyterian
church at Sliiels, built in 1791, and containing 330
sittings. There are three non-parochial schools.
BELLA (The). See Lu&ak (The).
BELLADEOM. See Kjetarlity.
BELL-CRAIG. See Moffat.
BELLEVILLE. See Alvie.
BELLIE, a parish partly in Morayshire and
partly in Banffshire. The Morayshire section con-
tains the town of Fochabers ; and the Banffshire
section contains the villages of Auchinhalrig, Dal-
lachy, Bogmoor, and Tugnet, and apart of the Braes
of Enzie. The parish is bounded on the north by the
Moray frith, on the west by the river Spey, and on
other sides by the parishes of Eathven, Keith, and
Boharm. Its greatest length, northward, is nearly
6 miles; and its greatest breadth is nearly 4. A
considerable portion of the area is contained with-
in the ancient banks of the river Spey, which has
greatly shifted its channels at different periods. At
Gordon castle, which lies between the old and the
new course of the river, these banks are near a mile
distant from each other; but they gradually widen
in their approach to the sea, and where the river
falls into the frith, are nearly 2 miles asunder. This
district suffered severely during the great floods in
1829. Gordon castle, well known to be one of the
noblest palaces in Britain, and which attracts the
notice of all travellers, will be described in a separ-
ate article. About a mile north of Gordon castle,
and 3 south of the frith, on a high bank, is the
churchyard of Bel lie, where stood the parish church
till 1797. A capital salmon-fishery is here upon the
Spey, the yearly value of which, in 1860, was £2,519.
Value of all produce in 1842, £29,108. Assessed
property in 1860, £8,443. Population of the