Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 2.djvu/911

Rh MUGGLESWICK. 903 MUIRKIRK. MTTGGLESWICK, a parochial chplry. in the W.'div. of Chester ward, co. Durham, 8 miles N. of Wolsingham, and 9 from Stanhope. Gateshead is its post town. The village, which is inconsiderable, is situated on the river Derwent, near the Stanhope railway, and is whoDy agricultural. The par. comprises the hmlt. of Rowloy and part of Castleside, and at a remote period was granted to the convent of Durham in exchange for Hardwick. The southern portion of the parish abounds in rough hills and moors, above 3,000 acres being moorland and common. The enclosed land is nearly evenly divided between pasture and arable, with 340 acres of woodland. The soil is of various qualities, but in general poor and unreclaimed. Along the bank of the river is a range of hills abounding with very productive lead mines contain- ing some silver. The living is a perpet. cur. hi the dine, of Durham, val. 300, in the patron, of the dean and chapter. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a small stone structure and contains one bell. It was rebuilt on the site of a more ancient one in 1728, and chiefly of the same materials. The register dates from 1730. The Baptists and Wesleyan Methodists have places of worship. There is a parochial school erected in 1852 and supported by voluntary contributions and payments of the children. The Dean and Chapter of Durham are lords of the manor. 1IUGLIN, a rock in Dublin Bay, near Kingstown, co. Dublin, Ireland, a quarter of a mile E. of Dalkey Island, and 8 S.E. of Dublin. It is surrounded by sunken rocks and with the adjoining island of Dalkey was formerly the dominion of the mock king of Dalkey and emperor of the Huglins, who was elected by the citizens of Dublin in June, and the ceremony duly reported in the Dalkey Gazette. MUICK LOCH, a sheet of water near Balmoral formed by the Muick Water, co. Aberdeen, Scotland. It is near 2J miles long and abounds with trout. MUICK WATER, a river in the co. of Aberdeen, Scotland, rises in Dhu Loch, near Lochnagar, and after flowing through Glenmuick, passes over a fall of 40 feet, and joins the Dee at Ballater. MUINTER-HAGAN. See KILCOUKSEY, co. West- meath. MUIR- AVON-SIDE, or MORANSIDE, a par. in the co. of Stirling, Scotland, 3 miles W. of Linlithgow. It was anciently part of the parish of Falkirk, but was formed into a separate parish at the beginning of the 17th century. It lies on the eastern border of the co., and is bounded on the W. and S.W. by the pars, of Pol- iii'. nt and Slamannan, and on all other sides by the co. of Linlithgow, from which it is separated by the windings of the river Avon, hence the derivation of its name. Its length from N.E. to S.W. is 6J miles, and its greatest breadth 85 miles, with an area of 15 square miles. It contains the post-office vil. of Avonbridge. and the vils. of Maddiston and Rumford, with part of the vil. of Linlithgow Bridge. The surface rises regularly in a series of varying ridges from the valley of the Avon, the banks of which are fringed with wood, to the high- lands in the W. which form part of the S. side of the great valley of the Forth and Clyde canal. In ancient times the greater part of the land was waste, being moor and moss, but is now reclaimed and is chiefly arable, except a small portion of moorland in the W. In the valley of the Avon the soil is light and gravelly, but in the uplands chiefly clay with a mixture of moss and muir. From the highest grounds, which have an elevation of about 400 feet above the sea-level, an extensive prospect is commanded of the basin of the Forth, extending from the Lothians to Stirling, and from the carses of Forth to the Ochills. The principal landed proprietor is Forbes of Callandar. The prevailing rocks in the uplands are eruptive, or igneous, but in the valley chiefly of the carboniferous formation. There are quarries of whinstone and sandstone, with a fracture rrsr.'inbling that of marble, also several coal mines, and ironstone in great plenty; these two last are now very ivrly worked. The valley of the Avon is here crossed bv an aqueduct and viaduct, one extremity of which is in Linlithgowshire, and the other in Stirling- shire. The parish is traversed by the Slamannan rail- way, and by tBe Edinburgh and Glasgow railway, which has a station at Linlithgow, about 3 miles E. of the village. It is also crossed by the high road from Edin- burgh to Falkirk, and by the Union canal. This par. is in the presb. of Linlithgow and synod of Lothian and Tweeddale, and in the patron, of the crown. The minister's stipend is 231, with a glebe valued at 10. The parish church was built at the commencement of the present century. There is also an United Presby- terian church at the village of Aronbridge, built in 1803. There are a parochial library and a non-parochial school. The old church, which was a chapel-of-case to Falkirk, stood on the bank of the Avon, about 3 miles to the W. of the present church. Near the church are the remains of an old castle called Almond Castle, formerly a seat of the earls of Callandar ; and on the bank of the Avon, about half a mile above Linlithgow Bridge, are the ruins of an old priory called Emanuel, which was founded in 1156 by Malcolm IV. MUIRDRUM, a vil. in the par. of Panbride, co. Forfar, Scotland, 6 miles S.W. of Arbroath. It is situated near the coast, which is low and rocky. Some of the inhabitants are engaged in the fisheries and some in the neighbouring bleach works. It has a post-office. MUIHFORT, an ancient par. now joined to Temple, co. Edinburgh. MUIRHEAD, a hmlt. in the par. of Kettle, co. Fife, Scotland, 4 miles E. of Falkland. MUIRHEAD, a hmlt. in the pars, of Liff and Inver- gowrie, eo. Forfar, Scotland, 5 miles N.W. of Dundee. It is situated under Balgay Hill and near the river Tay. MUIRHEAD.a vil. in the par. ofCadder, Lower ward, co. Lanark, Scotland, 5 miles N. by E. of Glasgow. It is situated near tle river Kelvin and the great canal. MUIRHOUSE. See MURKOKS, co. Forfar, Scotland. MUIRHOUSES, a vil. in the par. of Carriden, co. Linlithgow, 3 miles N. by E. of Linlithgow. It is situated near Antoninus's Wall on the Frith of Forth. MUIRHOUSETON WATER, a stream of co. Edin- burgh, Scotland. It rises in the moors on the borders of Peeblesshire, and joins the river Almond at Mid- Calder. MUIRKIRK, a par. in the district of Kyle, co. Ayr, Scotland. It comprises the post town of its own name, and the vil. of Glenbuck. It extends 9 miles in length from E. to W., with an extreme breadth of 8 miles, and is bounded on the N. and E. by the co. of Lanark, and on other sides by the pars, of Auchinleck, Sorn, and Galston. The surface is very uneven, consisting chiefly of moorish hills, with an altitude of from 800 to 1,000 feet above the sea-level, the highest point being Cairntable, near the S.E. extremity, which rises 1,650 feet above sea- level. It is a rude and bleak district, the land being but partially reclaimed from its original mossy and moorish character, A considerable portion has recently been drained, and converted into grazing and pasture land, on which the black-faced sheep prosper so much as fre- quently to have obtained the highest prize awarded at the Highland Society's shows. Coal, ironstone, and limestone abound, all of which are worked to a con- siderable extent. The parish is traversed in an easterly direction by the road between Ayr and Edinburgh, and in a southerly by the road between Glasgow and Dumfries, by way of Strathaven. This par. is in the presb. of Ayr, and synod of Glasgow and Ayr. The minister has a stipend of i'157. The parish church was erected in 1813. There are a Free church, a Roman Catholic chapel of recent erection, a Free Church school, also two schools supported by the Muirkirk Iron Company, besides various other schools. The town of Muirkirk is distant about 13 miles 8. of Strathaven, and 61 from Edinburgh. It is a station on the Kilmuruock railway. The town stands at the head of Ayr and Greenoi k waters, and occupies nearly a central position in the parish. The town has rapidly increased in prosperity within this la*t quarter of a century, and may now fairly he raekoned one of the great iron-producing districts of Scotland.