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

EWES.
622
EYEMOUTH.
hamlet which was called Kirk-town of Nether
Ewes. The other church was situated in the
upper part of the vale, at a place now unin-
habited except by a solitary shepherd, and called
Ewes-duris, or the pass of Ewes, where a pass
leads into Teviotdale. Of the two chapels vesti-
ges still exist, respectively at Unthank and at
Mosspaul.
EWES (The), a rivulet of the parishes of Ewes
and Langholm, Dumfries-shire. See Ewes.
EWES (The), one of the head-streams of the
Luggate, and formerly the name of the Luggate it-
self, in the parish of Stow, Edinburghshire.
EWESDALE. See Ewes and Eskdale,
EWIESIDE-HILL. See Cockburnspath.
EYE (Loch), a small lake in the parish of Feam,
in Ross-shire, about 2 miles long, and half-a-mile
broad. From it proceeds the small river Eye,
forming in its course a succession of smaller lakes,
which are much frequented by aquatic fowls. It
falls into the Moray frith, near the fishing-village
of Balintore.
EYE (The), a small river in Berwickshire. It
rises among the Lammermoor hills in the parish of
Cockburnspath, pursues a south-eastward course
over a distance of 11 miles, and then making a sud-
den bend, flows 3J miles north-eastward to the sea
at Eyemouth. Over 2J miles it intersects Cock-
burnspath; over the next mile it divides a detached
portion of Oldhamstocks from Coldingham ; over 6
miles it traverses the latter parish ; over the next
1J mile it divides Coldingham from Ayton ; and it
now receives a small tributary from the west, and
makes its debouch to the north-east. Half-a-mile
from this point, it sweeps past the village of Ayton ;
1£ mile farther on it receives, from the west, the
considerable tribute of Ale water ; and it thence, to
its embouchure, divides Ayton on the east from
Eyemouth on the west. The river abounds in trouts,
of excellent quality, though small in size ; and as to
the appearance of its banks, is, in many parts, pleas-
ing and beautiful.
EYE (The), Ross-shire. See Eye (Loch).
EYEBROCHY, or Ibkis, a small island in the
frith of Forth, belonging to the parish of Dirleton,
Haddingtonshire.
EYEMOUTiI, a small parish, containing a post-
town of the same name, on the coast of Berwick-
shire. It is bounded on the north by the German
ocean ; on the east and south by Ayton; and on the
west by Coldingham. It may, in a general view, be
regarded as a square figure, 1J mile deep ; but it
has a rugged outline on the north and west, and
embosoms in its centre a small detached portion of
Coldingham parish. The boundary line on the south
is the Ale, and on the east is the Eye. Both streams,
while they touch the parish, are picturesque and or-
namental. The tide flows about half-a-mile up the
Eye. The coast rises, along the whole line, in
rocky and precipitous abruptness from the sea, to
89 or 90 feet above its level; and is sliced down at
intervals by deep fissures or gullies, and at one place
perforated by a cavern; but, except at two points
where roads have been scooped down its openings,
and at Eyemouth, where its gigantic breastwork is
interrupted by the Eye, it admits no access to the
beach. So far back as sixty years ago, not a foot
of bad or waste ground was in the parish. The soil,
in general, is excellent, and throws up prime crops
of every sort of grain. The only landowner, except
of some small parts, is Home of Wedderburn. The
yearly value of raw land produce was estimated in
1835 at £6,839. Assessed property in 1843, £2,683
9s. 2d. Upon a bold small promontory called the Fort,
north of the town, are the remains of a regular forti-
fication, erected by the Duke of Somerset in his
invasion of Scotland, while he held the regency of
England under the minority of Edward VI. Though
all the rocks along the coast are of the common hard
whinstone, the promontory of the Fort consists ot
puddingstone remarkably hard, capable of a polish
like marble, and offering strong resistance to the
action of fire. This fortification, soon after its erec-
tion, was, in the reign of Mary, demolished in terms
of a treaty between France and England which
followed the battle of Pinkie. A few years after-
wards it was reconstructed under Regent Moray to
aid a contemplated interference of Scotland in the
war which was going on between France and Eng-
land; but, at the subsequent peace, it was again de-
molished ; and, the crowns becoming united in the
next reign, it was allowed thenceforth to continue
in ruin. Grassy mounds, indicating the lines of
demolished wall, are almost the only traces of its
existence ; but they sufficiently show it to have
been a place of considerable strength and import-
ance. The old manor-house of Linthill, overlooking
the confluence of the Ale and the Eye, is the only
noticeable mansion; and in 1752 was the scene of
the murder of the widow of Patrick Home, its pro-
prietor. The great Duke of Marlborough received
from Eyemouth, though he had no connexion with
it, the title of Baron in the Scottish peerage. The
parish, though not touched by the North British
railway, has short easy access to both the Ayton
and the Burnmouth stations. Population in 1831,
1,181; in 1861, 1,804. Houses, 190.
This parish is in the presbytery of Chirnside, and
synod of Merse and Teviotdale. Patron, the Crown.
Stipend, £130 19s. 6d., exclusive of vicarage teinds
not valued; glebe, £48. Schoolmaster's salary, £72,
with £30 fees. Attached to the parish school is an
endowed female one; and there are two other schools.
The parish church, situated in the town, was built
in 1812, and contains about 550 sittings. There is
a Free church with an attendance of 270; and the
sum raised in connexion with it in 1854 was £308
18s. 7d. There is an United Presbyterian church,
which was built in 1842, and contains 500 sittings.
Eyemouth parish was formerly included in the ter-
ritory of Coldingham priory, and did not assume a
parochial form earlier than the reign of James VI.
A chapel connected with Coldingham, and served
by a nominee of the prior, anciently stood within its
limits.
EYEMOUTH, an ancient sea-port, and a burgh-of-
barony, lies at the mouth of the Eye, in the north-
east angle of Eyemouth parish, 2J miles north-east
of Ayton, 3 south-east of Coldingham, and 8J north-
west by north of Berwick. Its plan is altogether
irregular, and, considering its size, is not a little
intricate. " The whole town," says Chambers, in
his ' Picture of Scotland,' " has a dark, cunning look,
is full of curious alleys, blind and otherwise ; and
there is not a single individual house of any stand-
ing but what seems as if it could unfold its tales of
wonder." But he alludes, in this summary picture,
to the character which it once wore as a nest of
smugglers, and looks upon it through the thick
screen which contraband traders hang around their
scene of action. The town, though not elegant,
contains many good houses, possesses a neat spire
towering up from its church, and is supplied with
water by iron pipes kept in a state of cleanness and
repair. Coal fuel is cheap and plentiful, being easily
procured by land-carriage from Berwick, or sea-
communication from the Forth and the Tyne. A
large building, formerly occupied as a barrack, and
several modern and spacious erections, are used as
granaries, and indicate the existence of important