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

CALDER.
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CALDER.
to this place when his pursuers approached, the
ladder being removed as soon as lie ascended.
When the search was over, and the inquirers gone,
the ladder was replaced, hy which means he lived
comfortably with the family, and might long have
, remained secure, if he had not quitted the place of
his retreat. A remarkable tradition respecting the
foundation of this castle is worth notice, because
circumstances still remain which plead strongly for
its truth. It is said the original proprietor was
directed by a dream to load an ass with gold, turn
it loose, and, following its footsteps, build a castle
wherever the ass rested. In an age when dreams
were considered as the immediate oracles of heaven,
and their suggestions implicitly attended to, it is
natural to suppose the ass — as tradition relates — re-
ceived its burden and its liberty. After strolling
about from one thistle to another, it arrived at last
beneath the branches of a hawthorn tree, where,
fatigued with the weight upon its back, it knelt
down to rest. The space round the tree was im-
mediately cleared for building, the foundation laid,
and a tower erected: but the tree was preserved,
and remains at this moment a singular memorial of
superstition attended by advantage. The situation
of the castle accidentally proved the most favour-
able that could be chosen; the country round it is
fertile, productive of trees, in a wholesome spot;
and a river, with a clear and rapid current, flows
beneath its walls. The trunk of the tree, with the
knotty protuberances of its branches, is still shown
in a vaulted apartment at the bottom of the princi-
pal tower. Its roots branch out beneath the floor,
and its top penetrates through the vaulted arch of
stone above, in such a manner as to make it appear,
beyond dispute, that the tree stood, as it now does,
before the tower was erected. For ages it has been
a custom for guests in the family to assemble round
it, and drink, ' Success to the hawthorn ; ' that is to
say, in other words, ' Prosperity to the house of
Cawdor ! ' " The chain armour of King Duncan of
Scotland is preserved at Cawdor Castle, and common
tradition asserts that that monarch was murdered
here by Macbeth ; but this tradition is contradicted
by the date of the foundation of the building, — and
also is confronted by the speculations of different
antiquarians who variously assign three other
places as the scene of Duncan's murder, — Inverness
Castle, Glammis Castle, and a hut near Forres.
The village of Calder or Cawdor stands 5£ miles
south-south-west of Nairn. A fair is held here on
the 2d Tuesday of March. Population of the vil-
lage in 1841, 146. There is an extensive distillery
at Brackla. Population of the parish in 1831, 1,184;
in 1861, 1,203 Houses, 250. Assessed property in
1860, £4,086. Population of the Nairnshire section
in 1831, 1,007 ; in 1861, 969. Houses, 203. _
This parish is in the presbytery of Nairn, and
synod of Moray. Patron, Earl Cawdor. Stipend,
£156 0s. 8d. ; glebe, £7. Unappropriated teinds,
£15 5s. 6d. Schoolmaster's salary, £34 4s. 4|d.
The parish church was built in 1619, and repaired
and enlarged in 1830. It is an interesting struc-
ture, with curious entrance-gate and some old in-
scriptions. Sittings, 638. There is a Free church;
attendance, 520 ; yearly sum raised in 1865, £196
15s. lid. There are a Society's school and two other
schools.
CALDER (East), a parish and a village on the
western border of Edinburghshire. The parish was
anciently a rectory, and was imited in 1750 to the
parish of Kikknewton, which see. The church,
which is now a ruin, was dedicated to St. Cuthbert.
The manor of Calder was by Malcolm IV. granted to
Randulph de Clere ; and from him it became known
by the name of Calder-Clere, to distinguish it from
('aider t'omitis, the adjoining manor, the property
of the Earl of Fife. The barony of Cakier-Clere
was forfeited during the succession-war; and was
granted, in 1306, by Kobcrt I. to James Douglas, of
Lothian, the progenitor of the Earls of Morton.
The Earl of Morton takes his title from the lands of
Mortoune in this parish. After the Reformation,
the Earl of Morton — who was now Baron of Calder-
Clere — acquired the advowson of the church, and
with it the right of the monks of Kelso to the tenth
of the multures of the mill of Calder. In 1541, the
barony of Calder-Clere was confirmed by James V.
to James Earl of Morton, without the advowson of
the church. In 1564, James, his successor — the
well-known Morton, who fell under the axe of the
law in 1581 — obtained from the Queen a confirma-
tion of all his lands, with the barony of Calder-
Clere, and the advowson of the churches and
chapels. The village of East Calder stands on the
south road from Edinburgh to Glasgow, about 1
mile east-north-east of Mid-Calder, and about 11
miles west-south-west of Edinburgh. It consists
principally of two rows of houses, extending along
the road, and fitted with gardens behind. Here is
an United Presbyterian church, which was origin-
ally built in 1776. Adjacent to the village is the
ancient burying-ground of the parish, with the ivy-
clad ruin of the ancient church. Eastward of the
village and close to the road is an extensive quarry
of excellent limestone. Popvdation of the village in
1861, 352.
CALDER (Loch). See Caithness.
CALDER (Mid), a parish, containing a post-office
village of its own name, also the village of Bells-
quarry, in the west of Edinburghshire. It is
bounded on the west by West Calder ; on the north
by Linlithgowshire; on the east by East Calder
and Kirknewton ; and on the south by Peebles-shire.
Its length northward is 9 miles; and its .average
breadth is between 2 and 3 miles. Almond Water
goes across the north end; Muirbouseton Water
goes transversely down the northern district ; Lin-
house Water traces most of the northern half of the
eastern boundary; and the headstreams of the Wa-
ter of Leith drain and traverse the southern district.
The area of the parish has been computed at 12,325
imperial acres, and is about one-third arable and
about two-thirds pastoral. The northern district is
generally level, and has for the most part a fertile,
light, dry soil. The southern district is filled with
the heights and vales of the Caim Hills, whose lofti-
est summit has an altitude of about 1,800 feet above
sea-level, and commands an extensive view of the
Lothians and Fifeshire and the Ochils. The real
rental of the parish is about £7,000. The principal
landholder is Lord Torphiehen ; but there are nearly
twenty others. Sandstone, limestone, and whin-
stone, all of excellent quality, are abundant; coal
and rich lead ore have been found; and other use-
fid minerals occur. On the estate of Letham is a
powerful sulphureous spring, similar to that of Har-
rowgate. To the west of the town, on Muirkouse-
ton Water, stands Calder-house, the seat of Lord
Torphiehen. A portrait of John Knox — generally
believed to be genuine — is hung up in the hail or
gallery of this house, where, it is asserted by some,
he dispensed the ordinance of the Lord's supper for
the first time in Scotland after the Reformation. *
* On the back of Lord Torphichen's picture there is written
"Mr. John Knox : The first sacrament of the super given in
Scotland, after the Reformation, was dispensed by him in this
halL" This is not true; for it is proved that the first time the
sacrament of the supper was dispensed in the reformed way In
Scotland, was in the castle of St. Andrews, a. d. 1547, (Ji'Cric