Allan Water

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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Allan (Gael. ' white river'), a rivulet of Teviothead parish, S Roxburghshire, formed by the confluence of the Skelfhill and Priesthaugh Burns, which rise on Langtae Hill (1786 feet) and Cauldcleuch Head (1996), near the Dumfriesshire border, and take each a northward course of some 3½ miles. The Allan itself runs 5 miles NNW, receiving the Dodburn in its course, and falls into the Teviot, 4½ miles SW of Hawick. Since 1866 it has furnished that town with water, and in Sept. 1880 it was proposed to draw an additional supply from the Dodburn. The Allan contains abundance of small trout. A Border fortalice of considerable strength, called Allanmouth Peel, stood at its mouth: was last occupied by a brother of Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch, the warden of the Scottish Border: and has left some remains.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer

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