Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/433

Rh SELHAM. 421 SELKIRKSHIRE. hills, so called, derives its name, is a large lake, occasion- ally frozen in the summer. SELHAM, or SULHAM, a par. in the hund. of Easebourne, rape of Chichester, no. Sussex, 3J miles E. of Midhurst, and 3 S.W. of Petworth, its post town. The village, which is of small extent, is situated on the river Rother, or Arundel navigation, and is wholly agricultural. Part of this parish is included within the boundary of the new borough of Midhurst. The living is a rect. in the diec. of Chichester, val. 150, in the patron, of Brasenose College, Oxford. The church, dedi- cated to St. James, has lately undergone extensive alterations. It has several stained windows. The register dates from 1656. 8ELKER, a hmlt. in the par. of Muncaster, co. Cumberland, 5 miles S. of Ravenglass, and 46 S.W. of Carlisle, on the coast of the Irish Sea, near the mouth of the Esk. SELKIRK, a par., market town, royal burgh, and the county town of Selkirkshire, Scotland. The parish, which is 7J miles in extreme length from N.W. to 8.E., and nearly 7 broad, lies chiefly in Selkirkshire, but has two detached portions in the Hawick district of Roxburghshire. It contains the post town of Selkirk, where the Selkirk branch of the North British railway hais its terminus, and part of the village of Yarrowford. The main section is bounded by tho parishes of Ashkirk, Bowden, Galashiels, Lilliesleaf Stow, and Yarrow. The Tweed traverses its northern border, the Yarrow runs on the south-western, and the Ettrick nearly intersects it. The surface has a general elevation of about 520 feet above sea-level, consisting of round-topped hills covered with verdure, except in the mountainous district between thoEttrick and the Tweed, where the Three Brethren cairn and Peatlaw rise respectively 1,978 and 1,964 foot above sea-level, or 1,600 feet above the bed of the Ettrick. A considerable part of the parish is in hilly sheep walks, and about 1,000 acres in wood and plantation, tho re- mainder being in tillage or barren waste covered with heath. The soil is light and dry, upon a substratum of greywacke and clay-slate rock. The principal land- owners are the Duke of Buccleuch, Lord Polwarth, Pringle of Broadmeadows, and Pringle of Whytbank. The town of Selkirk stands on the road from Carlisle to Edinburgh, and on the right bank of the Ettrick, and is said to derive its name from Scheleclcgreck, or Seleehyrche, an ancient kirk or chapel built for the accommodation of the kings of Scotland when hunting in the primeval forest which once covered the greater part of the county. It had also a Tyronensiau monastery, founded in 1173 by David I., which subsequently became a cell to Kelso Abbey. In the middle ages the town was a place of importance, and sent 100 men-at-arms, commanded by Brydone, the town-clerk, to the battle of Flodden, for which service James V. presented it with a new charter and the grant of 1,000 acres of forest. After the defeat of the Scotch army the English pillaged and burnt the town, where is still preserved one of the standards taken at Flodden. During the civil war of Charles I. Montrose made it his headquarters, while the rest of his army encamped at Philiphaugh, about a mile W. of tho town, where it was surprised and routed by the Cove- nanters under David Leslie in 1645. The town has much improved of late years, and has a population of about 3,400. It consists chiefly of a triangular market- place, from which diverge several streets. In the centre of the area is tho old well, embellished with the town arms, and a monument by Ritchie 28 feet high to Sir Walter Scott, in his sheriff's robes, erected by the county in 1839. 'On one side of the market-place stands the townhall, a modern building with a spire 110 feet in height; on another side is the principal inn, with a spacious room for balls and public meetings. The ancient tolbooth and market cross have been taken down. The new prison for the burgh and county stands in one of the now streets leading down to the river Ettrick, here crossed by a bridge. There are also a sav- ings-bank, branch of the British Linen Company's bank, an office of the Union bank, 20 insurance agencies, a paro- chial library, two subscription libraries, besides friendly, temperance, Bible, missionary, and cattle improvement societies. On the banks of the river are woollen tweed mills, extensive flour mills, and a machine factory. The town was formerly famous forits single-soled shoemakers, or " sutors," the name still given to the burgesses, who qualify by licking the birse, or brush of hogs' bristles. The present staple manufacture of Selkirk is woollen cloth, comprising tweeds, tartans, shawls, and other goods of similar character to those of Galashiels. There aro also an ink factory, fulling mill, small lanyard, and some stocking-looms. The town is governed by a provost, four bailies, dean of guild, treasurer, and twelve common councillors. The municipal constituency in 1861 was 89. The corporation revenue in 1860 was 1,363, and the burgh property about 30,000. The annual value of real property in 1861 was 8,324. Tho borough boundaries were unaffected by the Reform Act ; but as regards the elective franchise the town forms part of the county, which returns one member to parliament. Police courts aro held as occasion requires, and sheriff courts on Wednesday and Friday during session. The par. is the seat of a presb. in tho synod of Merse and Teviotdale. The minister's stipend is 301 3s. 6rf., besides glebe worth 20. The parish church, situated in the town, was built in 1749, and repaired in 1829. There are also a Free church, two United Presbyterian, an Evangelical Union, and a Scottish Episcopalian chapel. The principal educational establishments are a parochial school, burgh school, two endowed charity schools, and several private day schools. Selkirk gives title of earl to the Douglases of St. Mary's Isle. The principal seats and ruins will be mentioned under Selkirkshire. Market day is Wednesday. Fairs are held on 6th April, loth July, and 31st October, for hiring servants. SELKIRKSHIRE, a small inland co. in the S. of Scotland, lying between 55 22' and 55 42' N. lat., and 2 47' 4" and 3 18' 46" W. long., exclusive of a small detached part just beyond tho eastern boundary, en- tirely surrounded by Roxburghshire. It is irregular in form, especially on the S.E. and N.W., and is about 128 miles in circuit. Its greatest length from N.E. to S.W., or from the confluence of the Gala and Tweed to Micklewhinfell, overhanging the source of Ettrickwator, is nearly 28 miles, and its greatest breadth at right angles to its length, about 17 miles, but tho average docs not exceed 10 miles. It is bounded on the E. and S.E. by Roxburghshire, on the S. and S.W. by Dumfries, on the W. and N.W. by Peeblesshire, and on the N. by Edinburghshire. It contains an area of 266 square miles, or about 170,313 acres, of which 960 are lake and only about one-tenth arable. In ancient times it was designated the "sheriffdom of Ettrick Forest," from its being watered by that river and its tributary streams, and in many of the royal charters, shortly, "tho Forest," from its being then covered with wood, though at the present time it is bare, there being only 3,418 acres of wood and coppice of all kinds. The ancient history of this county is so intimately associated with that of Roxburghshire as scarcely to require separate notice. In the earliest times of which we have any record it was occupied by the Gadeni, a British tribe, whose territory was conquered by the Romans and in- cluded in their province of Valentin, On the retreat of the Romans it was overrun by the Anglo-Saxons of Northumbria, against whose incursions in the 5th century the Romanized inhabitants constructed that stupendous work called the " Catrail," once a vast fosso, having a rampart on either side, and extending through Roxburghshire. After the cession of the southern part of Scotland by the Anglo-Saxon princes, the Scottish kings had a residence at Selkirk, to which they frequently repaired for the enjoyment of the chase, the woods being then stocked with large herds of deer. Before regular sheriffs were appointed it was placed under the jurisdic- tion of a keeper, who generally held the office of con- stable of the king's castle, but was made shire ground by Alexander III., from which time it has formed an