Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland .. - National Library of Scotland

—;ORMISTONpassed to the Lindsays, and from them by marriage(1368) to the Cockburns, two of whom held the office ofLord Justice-Clerk in the 17th century. In 1748 JohnCockburn, mentioned above, was obliged to sell theestate to the Earl of Hopetoun, with whose descendantsit has since remained. Ormiston Hall, 9 furlongs S ofthe village, is a building of 1745, in the tea-canisterstyle of architecture that then prevailed. By 1832three additions had been made to it in a similar style,one canister added alongside of another ; but as it hasno external pretension, it gives no offence, and within isextremely comfortable. The older house, 200 yards tothe W, forms part of a court of offices. Hither on aDecember night of 1545 the Reformer George Wishart' passed upon foot, for it was a vehement frost. Aftersupper he held comfortable purpose of the death of God'schosen children, and merely said, ' ' Methink that Idesire earnestly to sleep," and therewith he said, " Willwe sing a psalm." Which being ended, he passed tochamber, and sooner than his common diet was passedto bed, with these words, "God grant quiet rest."Before midnight the place was beset about that nonecould escape to make advertisement. The Earl Bothwellcame and called for the laird, and declared thepurpose and said that it was but vain to make him tohold his house, for the Governor and the Cardinal withall their power were coming ; but and if he woulddeliver the man to him, he would promise upon hishonour that he should be safe, and that it shoukl passthe power of the Cardinal to do him any harm or scath.. . . As thus promise made in the presence of God,and hands stretched out upon both the parties for observationof the promises, the said Master George wasdelivered to the hands of the said Earl Bothwell, who,immediately departing with him, came to Elphinstone,where the Cardinal was. ' So runs John Knox's narrative; and less than four months after Wishart wasburnt at St Andrews. In the flower garden grows aspreading yew-tree, 18 feet in girth and 38 in height,which seems to have been a tree of mark so long ago as1474, and still is in great vigour. An aisle of theancient church, disused since 1696, still stands near theolder house ;and on Dodridge Law are remains of acircular fort. Natives were Admu-al Sir William Hope-Johnstone, K.C.B. (1798-1878), and the Rev. RobertMoffat, D.D. (1797-1883)_, the African missionary, whoalso has been falsely claimed by Inverkeithing. TheEarl of Hopetoun is chief proprietor, 2 others holdingeach an annual value of £500 and upwards, 2 of from£50 to £500, and 9 of from £20 to £50. Ormiston is inthe presbytery of Dalkeith and the synod of Lothianand Tweeddale ; the living is worth £396. The parishchurch, built in 1856, is a handsome Early Englishedifice, containing 420 sittings. There is also a Freechurch ; and a public school, with accommodation for145 children, had (1883) an average attendance of 94,and a grant of £81, 17s. Valuation (1860) £5907,(1884) £7095, 17s. Pop. (1801) 766, (1831) 838, (1861)915, (1871) 911, (1881) 1026.— Orel. Stir., sh. 33, 1863.See Sir Thomas Dick Lauder's Scottish Hirers (1874),and John Small's Castles and Mansions of the Lothians(Edinb. 1883).Ormiston. See Eckfokd.Ormiston, a mansion in Kieknewton parish, Edinburghshire,5 furlongs WSW of Midcalder Junction.Scottish Baronial in style, it was built in 1851 fromdesigns by the late David Bryce, R.S.A. Its owner,William Wilkie, Esq., Capt. 3d Battalion Royal Scots(b. 1857 ; sue. 1883), holds 2000 acres in Edinburgh andLinlithgow shires, his grandfather having purchased theestate at the beginning of the century. Ord. Sur., sh.32, 1857.Ormsary, a mansion in South Knapdale parish, Argyllshire,near the E shore of Loch Caolisport, 13 milesSSW of Ardrishaig. Its owner, Farquhar Campbell,Esq. of Ormsay and Rum (b. 1859 ; sue. 1878-81), holds57,000 acres in the shire, valued at £5172 per annum.Omsay or Oronsay. See Oeansay and Isle-Oknsay.Orphir {yarpha, ' fibrous peat '), a village and a parish144in the S of Orkney.OERINThe village stands on the southerncoast of Pomona, near the W end of Scapa Flow, 9miles WSW of Kirkwall, under which it has a post office.The parish consists mainly of a section of Pomona,but includes the island of Cava and the skerry calledBarrel of Butter. The Pomona section is bounded Nby Firth and Stenness, NE by Kirkwall, S by ScapaFlow, and SW and W by Hoy Sound. Its utmostlength, from E to W, is 7 miles ; its breadth variesbetween SJ and 3| miles ; and the area of the entireparish is 12,762 acres. Cava island has been separatelynoticed. Barrel of Butter skerry, lying If mUe SSE ofthe nearest point of the mainland, has a curious outline,and is well known to seamen. The bold and rockycoast of the Pomona section, 13J miles in extent, on theS is iiiiely indented by Houton, Myre, Swanbister, andWaulkmill Bays. Inland the surface rises gradually ina series of undulations and hills, with intersecting dales,chief elevations being Houton Head (195 feet), VenessHill (206), and Roo Point (74) along the coast, withGruf Hill (619) and Ward Hill (880) behind—heightsthat command a view of twenty-five islands and twentythreeparishes, or of most of Orkney and much of Caithnessand Sutherland, besides a large expanse of the easternand western oceans. The eastern district abounds inheathy rising ground and peat-mosses, which furnish fuelto both Orphir and Kirkwall ; and everywhere are daleswhich were not brought under tillage tUl 1818 or later,but are now in a state of high cultivation. The Loch ofKirkbister (If x ^ mile ; 49 feet above sea-level) containsplenty of sea and loch trout. Springs of pure water arevery numerous and mostly copious ; a few are chalybeate,and enjoy some local medicinal celebrity. Trap rock,suitable for building, is frequent ; but sandstone ofvarious kinds and quality predominates, and yieldsboth pavement-flag and roofing slate. Fine white andblue clay, used for colouring hearthstones, is at Staugro ;and bog iron ore is comparatively plentiful. The soil ina few places on the seaboard is a rich loam mixed withsmall boulders ; elsewhere is mostly either clay ormoss, separate or in mixture. The principal antiquitiesare three tumuli ; remains at Swanbister of a circulartower, 180 feet in circumference, which was probablythe residence of Sueno Boerstrop, who was killed at thehouse of Jarl Paul towards the close of the 11th century;and ruins or vestiges of several pre-Eeformation chapels.Claistron House, near the W coast, 17 miles W by S ofKirkwall, was the birthplace of Sir William Honyman,Bart., Lord Armadale (1756-1825), a lord of session.Other mansions are Smozrow and Swanbister ; and 6proprietors hold each an annual value of more, 4 ofless, tlian £100, Orphir is in the presbytery of Cairstonand synod of Orkney ; the living is worth £182. Theparish church was built in 1829, and contains 574sittings. There is also a Free church ; and Kirkbisterand Orphir public schools, with respective accommodationfor 60 and 85 children, had (1883) an averageattendance of 40 and 62, and grants of £47, 16s. and£59. Valuation (1860) £1874, (1884) £1834. Pop.(1801) 864, (1831) 996, (1861) 1133, (1871) 1040, (1881)1015, of whom 23 were on Cava.Orr. See Oke.Orrin, a stream of Urray parish, SE Ross-shire, risingat an altitude of 2450 feet above sea-level, and 2J milesN of Loch Monar. Thence it flows 26 miles east-northeastward,till it falls into the Conan opposite BrahanCastle, 4 miles SSW of Dingwall. During the first 3|miles of its course it expands into Loch na Caoidhe(8J X \\ furl. and Am ) Fiar Loch (5 x f furl. ; 998 feet)and lower down it traces for 3J miles the northernboundary of Kilmorack parish, Inverness-shire. Avery fitful stream, subject to violent freshet?, ft chieflytraverses a mountain glen, called after it Glen Orrin,but eventually enters the low flat lands of Strathconan,and here yields very good salmon fishing. A woodenbridge across it, behind Urray Manse, erected at theexpense of Mr M'Kenzie of Seaforth, was swept away bythe flood of 1839, when a stronger bridge was built atthe cost of the county. A fertile tract around the con-