Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland .. - National Library of Scotland

;PENIELHEU6Hwooded ascents, by swells and eminences on either side,dissevered by ravines, and moulded into many curves ofbeauty. In front of the house is an artificial lake, andwestward is another large piece of water well-stocked withThese ponds are notable as the scene of the boyishfish.boatings which kindled the enthusiasm of John Clerk ofEldin (1736-1812), the brother of Sir James, for nauticalstudies, and remotely led to the production of his Essayon Naval Tactics. The ofBces, 280 feet distant, form alarge square, with a rustic portico and an elegant spireand clock ; and, behind them, serving as a pigeonhouse,is an excellent model of the quondam celebratedRoman Temple on theCarron, called by Buchanan 'TernplumTermini,' but popularly denominated Arthur'sOven. On the opposite side of the river, at the end ofan avenue on the top of the bank, and J mile fromthe house, stands an obelisk, raised by Sir James Clerkto the memory of his own and his father's friend andfrequent visitor, Allan Ramsay (1686-1758). On a conicaleminence directly in front of the house, and 3 furlongsdistant stands the round Flag Tower (1750), whichis seen at a great distance. On another eminence closeon the Esk, and midway between the house and thetown, stands another tower, formerly called Terregles,the original seat of the ancient proprietor of the parish ;and onward from it to the termination of the groundsat the village is a profusion of pleasant and strikingscenes. About a furlong above the garden, on themargin of the Esk, is Hurlycove, a subterranean passage147 feet long, 7 high, and 6 broad, with a dark cell inthe middle in which are seats for 6 or 8 persons, thewhole cut out of the solid rock in 1742. Directlyopposite this is another artificial sheet of water, storedwith perch and trout. John Clerk (1611-74), the sonof a Montrose merchant, having made a fortune inParis, in 1646 purchased the lands and barony of Penicuikfrom Dr Alexander Pennicuik ; and John, his son,was created a baronet in 1679. His sixth descendant.Sir George Douglas Clerk, present and eighth Bart.(b. 1852 ; sue. 1870), holds 13,196 acres in Edinburghand Peebles shires, valued at £11,415 per annum.(See J. Small's Castles and Mansions of the Zothians,Edinb. 1883.) Other mansions, noticed separately,are Newhall and Logan House ; and six lesser proprietorshold each an annual value of £500 andupwards, eleven of between £100 and £500. Penicuikis in the presbytery of Dalkeith and the synodof Lothian and Tweeddale ; the living is worth £200.In 1883 the following were the six schools underthe school-board, with accommodation, average attendance,and grant:—Howgate public (100, 66, £62, 5s.),Kirkhill public (256, 247, £211, 19s. ), Nine Mile Burnpublic (100, 36, £26, lis.), Penicuik public (463, 346,£310, 7s.), Penicuik female (126, 66, £49, 4s.), andValleyfield infant and industrial (192, 156, £118, 14s.).The Wellington Reformatory Farm School (1857), 2mUes from the town, had an average of 109 inmates in1882, when its total receipts were £1889. Valuation(1871) £19,143, Os. 6d., (1884) £27,464, 13s. 5d., ofwhich £2499 was for railways and water-works. Pop.(1801) 1705, (1831) 2255, (1861), 3492, (1871) 3765,(1881) 5309.— Ord. Sur., shs. 32, 24, 1857-64.Penielheugh. See Crailing.Penkill Bum. See Minnigaff.Penkill Castle, a mansion in Dailly parish, Ayrshire,3 miles E by N of Girvan.Penkiln. See Kirkmadrine.Pennan, a fishing village in Aberdour parish, Aberdeenshire,on a small bay adjacent to the boundary withBanffshire, 4 miles ENE of Gardenstown. It nestlessnugly at the foot of steep acclivities flanking the shore,and owns 37 fishing boats. Pennan Head is a slightprojection, 1 mile ENE of the village, and, risingrapidly inland to a height of 562 feet, commands animposing view of the seaboard westward to the Bin ofCullen, and eastward to Kinnairds Head. The fourthand last Lord Eraser, who was hiding after the '15,lost his life through a fall from the cliff here, 12 Oct.1720.— Ore?. Sur., sh. 97, 1876.176PENNINGHAHIEPennick, a small village in Auldearn parish, Nairnshire, 4 miles E by S of Nairn. An old house stoodhere till about 1835, the former residence of the Deansof Moray.Penninghame, a parish of NE Wigtownshire, containingthe post-town and station of Newton-Stewart, 7miles N by W of Wigtown and 49 J W by S of Dumfries.It is bounded N by Colmonell in Ayrshire and Minnigaffin Kirkcudbrightshire, E by Minnigaff and Kirkmabreckin Kirkcudbrightshire, S by Wigtown, and Wby Kirkcowan. Its utmost length, from NW to SE, is14f miles ; its breadth varies between 9 furlongs and5 J mUes ; and its area is 54;^ square miles or 34,762acres, of which 851 are foreshore and 262J water. "The'crystal Cree' winds 18 miles south-south-eastwardalong part of the northern and all the eastern boundaryto the head of Wigtown Bay ; and the Bladenoch,issuing from Loch Maberry (IJ mile x 3 furl. ; 405feet), at the meeting-point with Colmonell and Kirkcowan,winds 17 miles south-south-eastward along allthe western and J mile of the southern boundary till itpasses off into Wigtown parish. Bishop Burn, risingnear Merton Hall, runs 6| miles south-eastward—forthe last 4 along the Wigtown border—to the upper partof Wigtown Baj' ; and seven burns or rills rise in theinterior and run to the Cree, ten to the Bladenoch. Oftwelve other lakes and lakelets the largest are LochDornal (5 X 4| furl. ; 380 feet), on the Ayrshireboundary ; Loch Ochiltree (7 x 4J furl. ; 390 feet), IJmile ESE of Loch Dornal ; and triangular Loch Eldrig(2§ _x 1 furl. ; ISO feet), 3| miles W of Newton-Stewart.Springs of pure water are numerous ; and one is chalybeateand medicinal. Cree JIoss, occupying the SEcorner, along the Cree to Wigtown Bay, is a flat tractof nearly 2000 acres, which seems to have been successivelysubmarine, forest, and moss ; and has, to aconsiderable extent, undergone reclamation into productivecorn land. The rest of the surface, in a generalview, is a long, broken swell, inclining to the rivers,and, from S to N, attaining 401 feet at Barraer Fell,322 at Eldrig Hill, 451 at Glenhapple Fell, 493 at GlassochFell, and 604 at a point | mile E by S of LochOchiltree. It presents, for the most part, a tumulatedmoorish aspect ; and,, though somewhat embellished inportions of the southern district, is everywhere elseprevailingly bleak. Many beautiful and agreeable spotslie among the moorlands, especially along the Creeand much of the moorlands themselves is capable ofreclamation into arable land. Greywacke of severalvarieties is the predominant rock, and in one place hasbeen quarried for building ; whilst granite, aboundingin boulders from a few pounds to many tons in weight,is sometimes mixed with red or green syenite, and ismuch used for both rubble and polished masonry. Thesoil in Cree Moss is a heavy clayey loam ; on the higherarable lands is dry, and suitable for various crops, particularlybarley ; and in the northern district, rangesfrom marsh to a quality similar to that on the higherarable lands. Rather less than one-third of the entirearea is regularly or occasionally in tillage ; some 1450acres are meadow, and 570 under wood ; and the restof the parish is either pastoral or waste. The oldmilitary road ran from Newton-Stewart towards Glenluce; and near Loch Ochiltree are traces of the Deil'sDyke. Other antiquities are Castle-Stewart, 3 milesNNW of Newton-Stewart ; ruins of the old parishchurch at the decayed hamlet of Penninghame, 3 mUesS of Newton-Stewart ; the site of Penninghame Hall, alittle further S ; ruins of St Ninian's chapel (1508), Ijmile N of Castle-Stewart ; and the site of Kery or Keirchapel, of earlier erection, 2J miles further N. Thebishops of Galloway resided at Penninghame Hall ; andthe Rev. Dr William M'Gill (1731-1807), a minister ofAyr, whose Practical Essay on the Death of Jesus Christoccasioned a strong sensation in the latter part of lastcentury, was born at Carsenestock. PenninghameHouse, on the right bank of the Cree, 4 miles NNW ofNewton-Stewart, is a fine building, vfith very beautifulgrounds. Its owner, Edward James Stopford-Blair,