and deepening the centre stank; and this operation, which cost about L. 150, was performed in the spring of 1837, and has fully answered its intention, for no water has since lain on that meadow. In consequence of this improvement, the produce of the parish must be greatly increased since the time when the last Account was prepared, and it is expected that a similar improvement will be made in the drains of the eastern meadow, after the leases of the farms there, which are now nearly expired, have been renewed. October 1839. PARISH OF INVERESK. PRESBYTERY OF DALKEITH, SYNOD OF LOTHIAN AND TWEEDDALE. THE REV. LESLIE MOODIE, D. D. MINISTER. * I. TOPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.-THE situation of the church and village of Inveresk, near the confluence of the river Esk with the Frith of Forth, indicates the origin of the name of this parish, ancientlywritten Innerask, Enderask, and Undreske. If we adopt the common acceptation of the Gaelic words Inver and uisge or uisk, the name Inveresk signifies the mouth of the river. The same appellation in a different language seems once to have been affixed to Musselburgh, now the chief town in the parish, which is mentioned in history, as the Eske muthe of the Northumbrian Saxons its modern name it derives from an extensive mussel bank which stretches out into the sea in its immediate vicinity. In ancient charters it is almost uniformly written Muschelburg. Extent and Boundaries.-This parish, lying on the south shore of the Frith of Forth, at the bottom of a considerable bay, is of a semicircular form, about 3 miles in length, and 2 in breadth. It is bounded on the east, by the parishes of Prestonpans and Tranent; on the south, by Cranston and Dalkeith; and on the west, by Newton, Liberton, and Duddingstone. Topographical Appearance.-With the exception of a ridge of The materials for this Account were partly collected by Dr Moodie: The Account is drawn up by the Rev. J. G. Beveridge. inconsiderable elevation (about 540 feet above the level of the sea,) lying along the southern boundary of the parish, the general appearance of the ground is flat, sloping towards the sea, but varied with occasional gentle and irregular undulations. On one of these, lying in the form of a crescent, with the concave side towards the south, and having the river flowing round its western base, stands the village of Inveresk, which, from its fine southern exposure, ornamental woods, elegant villas, and the extensive prospect it commands, has been justly celebrated as one of the most beautiful situations in Scotland.* The soil in the immediate vicinity of the village is chiefly of a light sandy nature, but highly productive. On the higher grounds a rich clay prevails, varied with black loam; and along the sea shore stretch extensive downs, part of which has, of late years, been converted into a race-course. Almost the whole land in the parish is rich and fertile, and in a high state of cultivation, the fields being generally fenced with stone walls or thriving hedges. There is, comparatively, only a small part of it planted, but it is sheltered and adorned on the west by the extensive woods of Buccleuch Park, and those of New Hailes, and on the east by the rising plantations of Drummore. From the high ground to the south, a wide and varied prospect is obtained. Beyond the Frith of Forth are seen the hills of Fife and the Ochils, and on clear days, the distant summit of Benlomond in the Grampian range is visible. Meteorology, &c.-The climate here is mild, the air is dry and salubrious; rather less than the medium quantity of rain falls throughout the year; and, with the exception of cold easterly winds in spring, the temperature is such as well entitles the village to the name anciently bestowed upon it—the Montpelier of Scotland. Snow never lies for any length of time, and frosts are much less intense than at higher elevations in the neighbourhood. A singular instance of the power of attraction is frequently observed in summer. The clouds carried by a west wind along the Pentland hills are seen, on arriving at their eastern extremity, to diverge either to the south, passing along the ridge of Carberry, or to the north, emptying themselves into the waters of the Forth. The prevailing winds are from the south-west, east, and north-east. Easterly winds prevail chiefly in the spring months, and are almost uniformly accompanied with an unusual degree of cold. Maitland, in his History of Edinburgh, calls it "the beautiful village of Inveresk, which from its situation, houses, and salubrity of air, is justly reckoned the finest village, and most healthy place in Scotland."-Fol. 1753, p. 504. The following Meteorological Tables are compiled from a daily register kept at Admiral Sir David Milne's, Inveresk. Lat. 55° 56′ 20′′, Long. 3° 2′ 40′′; level above the sea at highwater-mark 70 feet; distance from sea 1 mile. For 48.645 44.090 2.333 29.481 46.921 44.217 39.448 27.416 153 212 year. (Avg.) (Avg. ) ( Avg.)|(Avg.)'(Sum.) (Sum. )'( Sum.) GENERAL REMARKS. 8 nights. Barometer, at 9 A. M. highest on 1st January, 30.57. Wind, N. W. lowest 2d November, 28.45. Wind, S. W. Thermometer, at 10 A. M. highest 23d June, 68°. lowest 14th March, 35°. Wind, W.S. W. Thermometer, at 8 P. M. highest 23d June, 66°. 11th January, 16°. Wind, S. W. Hottest month was July; coldest, March. At 9 A. M. 1.75 241 19 6th, 18th, 23d. 16 17 5th and 12th. Wind, S. W. At 10 A. M. was Wind, S.W. At 8 P. M. lowest Jan. 29.87 29.967 28.806 25.161 33.677 For 29.684 45.021 42.584 38.045 50.364 24.551 207 Deg. below 265 356 freez. point Deg. above 5082 4293 2756 6745 GENERAL SUMMARY. freez. point Barometer, at 9 a. M. was highest on the 3d Oct. 30.57. Wind, N.E. Was lowest on the 29th Nov. 27.70. Wind, S. Thermometer, at 10 A. M. was highest on the 6th July, 67°. Wind, N. lowest on the 20th January, 12°. Wind S.S. W. Thermometer, at 8 P. M. was highest on the 11th July, 64°. lowest on the 20th January, 9°. Wind, S. S. W. Thermometer, in night, was highest on the 11th July, 59°. 15th February, 5o. Thermometer, in day, was highest on the 8th May, 78°. lowest on the 20th January, 20°. Wind, S. S. W. Was Wind, S.W. Was Was lowest on the Wind, N.W. February was the coldest and dryest month; June the wettest; July the hottest. Wind was betwixt north and west, 101 days; betwixt west and south, 132 days; betwixt south and east, 49 days; betwixt east and north, 83 days. Diseases. It must be confessed, that, although upon the whole the district is healthy, epidemics and contagious diseases occasionally prevail with considerable severity, especially typhus and scarlet fever. We must, however, look for the cause of this not so much in any peculiar insalubrity of climate, as in the crowded, ill ventilated dwellings, and the filthy habits and insufficient diet of a great part of the lower orders. Of late years influenza has occasionally been common. When Asiatic cholera visited this country in 1832, Musselburgh and Fisherrow suffered from that mysterious scourge as severely in proportion to their size as any towns in the kingdom. The greatest number of deaths in one day was 18; and from the 19th January, the date of the first case, to the 19th March, the number of deaths was 282, whilst the average yearly mortality of the whole parish is only 176; so that in that short space the number of deaths exceeded the average annual mortality by 106. * Abundant proof, however, is furnished of the favourable nature of the climate by the fact, that a large proportion of the inhabitants attain to an advanced age. There are not a few who have numbered upwards of fourscore years; and there is one individual still in the enjoyment of comparatively good health, who is in her ninety-eighth year. Pulmonary consumption is uncommonly rare. Hydrography.-Springs of water abound throughout the parish, but none of them are of a medicinal nature. The average depth of wells is 15 feet. The water is abundant, and of excellent quality. The only river is the Esk, containing the united waters of the North and South Esks, the former rising from the Pentland, the latter from the Morfit hills. The two streams meet in Dalkeith Park, near the south-west boundary of this parish, and the river thenceforth flowing in a north-easterly direction, with a beautifully winding course, falls into the sea a short distance below Musselburgh. The quantity of water in this stream has been The total number of deaths in 1832 was 553, pa considerably diminished, in consequence of the erection of a reservoir in the Pentland Hills, for supplying the capital with water. Geology and Mineralogy.-The geological features of this rish present no great variety of character. The rocks belong exclusively to the stratified or sedimentary class, that is to say, they have been all formed at the bottom of a deep ocean, by the deposit of various substances mechanically suspended in the waters. There are in the parish no Plutonian rocks, such as greenstone, basalt, or porphyry. The sedimentary formations in this parish consist exclusively of strata more or less thick, of sand, clay, limestone, and coal. They form part of a large deposit, which extends through the greater part of the Lothians, and which has been termed the great coal basin of the Lothians. It has been ascertained by geologists, that this coal basin must have been deposited at a period in the history of the globe anterior to the deposition of the strata forming the Durham and Newcastle coalfield, inasmuch as the latter are found to lie a long way above the strata in the valley of the Tweed, which can be proved to be contemporaneous with the Lothian deposits. Coal appears to have been worked in this parish at a very early period. There is still extant a tunnel, which runs under Eskgrove House, through which a part of the river Esk had at an ancient period been conducted to drive a wheel at Pinkie, used for draining the coal seams there.* The expense, labour, and difficulty of making the tunnel must have been very great. It was begun in November 1742, and finished in May 1741. The north entrance to it is built up, and may be seen in the plantation within which Eskgrove House stands. The south entrance to it has not been traced. The old sea-cliff which runs along the south shore of the Frith of Forth traverses this parish. The village and church of Inveresk stand on it. The upper level of it is about 80 feet above the sea, the base about 65 feet. The teeth, scales, and bones of large sauroidal fish have been found in the shale and coal seams at This extraordinary aqueduct was constructed by William Adam, architect, of Edinburgh. That gentleman erected a coal work at Pinkie in 1739, out of which he extracted the water by a horse-machine. This was, however, found to be inefficient; and he determined to cut an aqueduct through the hill on which Inveresk stands. Preparatory to this great undertaking, he cut a canal from the Esk to the foot of Inveresk hill, above a mile in length. Coming here on a bed of sand, it became necessary to sink two shafts, one at each extremity of his intended aqueduct, to the depth of 50 feet. He then began his duct through the rock. Between these shafts the aqueduct is nearly 800 feet in length, 4 feet in width, and 6 in height; and about 100 feet below the surface of the hill on which the village is situated. |