a similar establishment at Bridgeness for the manufacture of vitriol or sulphuric acid; and another in Grangepans for the manufacture of sal-ammoniac; but all three are now extinet. Navigation. There are no vessels belonging to the parish; but about 300 coasters, from 20 to 100 tons, from different ports in Scotland, and ten foreign vessels, from 50 to 100 tons, ship coals yearly at Bridgeness. In 1834, about 400 tons of Leith manure were imported at Blackness by two neighbouring farmers at 5s. per ton, employing eight vessels at 50 tons each; and twelve vessels from 20 to 60 tons were employed by the proprietor of the brick-work in exporting the produce of his manufacture. There are also occasionally other importations of lime and manure for agricultural purposes. V.-PAROCHIAL ECONOMY. Market-Town, &c. - The nearest market-town is Borrowstounness, which is about one mile and a-half distant from the church; it is also the post-town. Linlithgow lies about three miles distant to the south-west. There are five villages in the parish-Grangepans, Bridgeness, Cuffabouts, (supposed to be a corruption of Causewayfoot, the original name,) Muirhouses, and Blackness, the four last being of very little extent. Roads. The turnpike-road from Linlithgow to South Queensferry passes through the south-eastern section of the parish for nearly a mile and a-half, but no public vehicle travels upon it. Another line of public road is at present in the act of formation from Grangemouth by Borrowstownness, diverging from the coast at the church of Carriden, and designed to meet the road abovementioned at Champany. A railway, about a mile in length, having an inclined plane on which the empty waggons are drawn up by the descent of those that are loaded, was constructed some years ago for the purpose of conveying the coals from the pits to the pier of Bridgeness. The other roads in the parish are sufficiently convenient for the purposes of communication, and, for the most part, kept in a good state of repair. Harbours. The pier of Bridgeness was some years ago extended by the proprietor about fifty yards further into the sea, to secure a greater depth of water for the vessels that repair to it, and affords excellent accommodation for the purposes for which it was erected, the trade to which it is serviceable being the exportation of coals and salt, and the occasional importation of manure and limestone. In former times Blackness was a harbour of considerable importance, being the sea-port of Linlithgow, the county town. Sir Robert Sibbald, in his "History of Linlithgowshire" in 1707, describes it as "a harbour for all sorts of ships, where they have a large custom-house, and warehouses with other accommodations for merchants." "In the range along Bo'ness and the South Ferry they had," as he knew in his time, “some 36 ships belonging to them, though in all that tract south of the Frith there is no part for ships to lie at but Blackness. They traded with Holland, Bremen, Hamburgh, Queensburgh, and Dantzic. Many rich merchants lived there, and the cities of Glasgow, Stirling, and Linlithgow had great trade thence." Now the harbour is in ruins, the custom-house converted into lodgings appropriated chiefly for the use of sea-bathers in summer, and the only merchandize known to the place is the shipment of a few tons of bricks and tiles, and the importation of a few tons of lime and manure. Ecclesiastical State. - The church stands upon the coast, distant about two miles from the eastern and southern, and one mile from the western extremity of the parish; and only one or two families can be said to be at a distance of more than two miles from it. It was built in 1766, the old church having stood about half-a mile distant, in close proximity to the mansion-house of Carriden, where the old church-yard still remains. The church was never properly seated by the heritors, but left to be occupied very much at the pleasure of the parishioners, so that, though fully seated, the workmanship is but indifferent; and the sittings were possessed in a great measure promiscuously, as they had been erected or purchased by the parties till 1826, when a formal division of it was made by the sheriff among the heritors, according to their respective valuations. The pulpit, which was transferred from the old church to the new, and is formed of oak, is said to have been brought from Holland, having inscribed upon it the date 1655. One of the communion cups is dated 1660, the shape being the antique form of an inverted candlestick; the other was procured during the present incumbency. The church, according to its present arrangement, will accommodate 458, but might be seated for 500. There are 28 free sittings allotted to the poor. The manse was built in 1818, and, though of rather small dimensions, is commodious, well-finished, and in good repair. The old manse, now in ruins, is situated a few hundred yards to the east of the present. The glebe is 14.556 imperial acres, having been received in excambion for the old glebe in 1817. The stipend, inclusive of communion elements, is 128 bolls meal, and as many of barley. In 1834, there were 259 families, amounting to 1104 individuals who might be reckoned as attached to the Established Church, 22 families containing 96 individuals belonging to the United Associate Synod; one family and part of another who were Reformed Presbyterians, and there were 5 Episcopalians. The average number of communicants is nearly 200. Religious Society. - A Parochial Bible Association was instituted in 1826, in connection with the West Lothian Bible Society, with a special provision, that the wants of the parish should, in the first instance, be supplied. The rate of contribution was a penny aweek, and in this way, from 1826 to 1833 inclusive, L.51, 17s. 11d. were collected for the purpose of promoting the distribution of the Scriptures. This society has now merged in a general association lately established in support of the schemes of the General Assembly, and for circulating Bibles through the parish. Church Collections. The amount of church collections for religious and charitable purposes for the seven years ending in 1834, averaged L. 38, 4s. 11d. Education.-Besides the parochial school, there are three other schools in the parish, two of them under the patronage and superintendence of the Carriden family, one an infant school, the other for the education of female children, the third dependent upon the personal efforts and success of the teacher. The parochial teacher's salary is the maximum. He possesses the legal accommodations as to school and dwelling-house, and in lieu of a garden, two bolls of oatmeal are allowed him. Library. In 1821, a library was instituted in the parish, to consist of books of a religious and instructive character, and to remain in perpetuity for the use of the inhabitants. A number of donations set it at once on a respectable footing, and the accession of subscribers was at first promising, but latterly they have not been so numerous. Friendly Societies and Savings Banks. Some years ago, a Savings' bank was established, in the hope that it would speedily and largely improve the character and domestic comfort of the labouring classes; but the experiment did not succeed. Few embraced the opportunity of entering deposits, and those few not altogether the class of persons for whose benefit it was designed. Friendly Societies. - There were two Friendly Societies in existence in 1834, and had been for some years before-one for the support of its members when disabled by sickness or infirmity, the other for defraying the funeral expenses incurred at the death of a member, or of a member's wife or child. At present the latter only is in existence. Poor and Parochial Funds. The average number of paupers upon the roll for the seven years ending in 1834, was 301, to each of whom the average sum allotted yearly was L.2, 2s. 6d. Besides those upon the roll, there are others who are allowed occasional relief. The funds for this expenditure proceed partly from the church collections, and the proclamation and mortcloth dues, and partly from an assessment laid on the landlord and tenant, and which, for the seven years above specified, averaged L.36, 6s. 34d. per annum. It is much to be regretted, that the disposition, once so honourable a trait in the Scottish character, to live independently of parochial aid, is greatly on the decline. Ale-houses. Of these there are too many amongst us for the moral well-being of the people. There are six houses in all where spirituous liquors are sold. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. In more remote times, the aspect of the parish must have been considerably different from what it is at present. The surface was formerly much more thickly studded with human habitations and scenes of human industry, grouped together in little patches, than it is now; many of which have disappeared altogether, while of some a few faint vestiges still remain. At one time a considerable establishment of salt-works, now wholly obliterated, existed near where the present church is situated, and was named in the former Statistical Account, " Benhard-pans." Nearly a mile distant from the church to the east, another series of erections of the same kind was stationed, called Carris-pans, probably a corruption of Carriden-pans, of which the only relic to be seen is the stakes, that mark out the boundary of the "bucket pat," that is, the reservoir that held the sea water that was to be subjected to the process of evaporation. Bonhard appears to have been once the seat of a village inhabited by the labourers that were employed at the coal-works formerly in operation there. Little Carriden, situated a short distance eastward from the Muirhouses, but now extinct, was within these twenty years in existence. From time to time, the smaller farm steadings have been gradually disappearing. And the villages that continue to exist discover symptoms of decay rather than of increase and improvement. Blackness, especially, seems to have shrunk greatly from its former importance, as, besides being a respectable sea-port and mart of trade, it was once the centre of a considerable population, having in its neighbourhood mills, fisheries, coal-works, and salt-pans.* Revised April 1843. PARISH OF WHITBURN. PRESBYTERY OF LINLITHGOW, SYNOD OF LOTHIAN & TWEEDDALE. THE REV. GRAHAM MITCHELL, A. M., MINISTER. I.-TOPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name, Extent, &c. - WHITBURN, formerly written Whiteburn, seems to have received its name in contradistinction to Blackburn, which lies to the east of the parish. In extent it is about six miles long, and two and a-half broad. It is bounded on the east, by Livingston; on the west, by Shotts and part of Cambusnethan; on the south, by West Calder; and on the north, by Bathgate and part of Shotts.f The Almond runs through the north of the parish, and the Breich along the south of it. There are several springs, and a good deal of mineral water strongly impregnated with iron. Mineralogy. A most valuable seam of coal has been wrought here for more than a century. A drop falls from the top of * Besides what was formerly stated in the text, the importance of Blackness may be inferred from the following words found in a charter granted in 1642, to Themas Dalzell de Binnes, -" Duobus marinis molendinis granariis lie sea-cornmylnis cum multuris omnium terrarum de Blacknes et Bonytoun, infra dominium de Linlithgow, cum viridario-piscationibus et piscariis lie cruves de Blacknes infra mare, cum carbonibus, et salinæ patellis, de dominio et balliatu prædicto." In another charter to George Earl of Linlithgow in 1690, the tenor is" officio constabulariæ et custodiæ castri de Blackness-terris, et carbonibus et carhonariis dictarum terrarum de Blackness tam infra quam extra fluxum maris;-piscibus, piscariis et lie cruives de Blackness infra mare, &c." † The first branch of the Briech water commences at a place called Darmid Lin, or Moss, on the lands of Climpy, it is sometimes called Darmed Kirk, as sermons were often preached in that retired place in times of persecution. The second branch commences at a place called Linqure, between Knowton and Headless cross Mains, and Causeway hill. The Almond water commences at the foot of the Hirst bill, in the parish of Shotts, and from Blairmackhole moss, about a mile farther north, in the same parish. |