Middlebie, a parish of SE Dumfriesshire, at its southern boundary containing Kirtle-Bridge village, with a station on the Caledonian railway, 5½ miles NNE of Annan, 16¾ NW of Carlisle, and 3¼ ESE of Ecclefechan, under which it has a post and telegraph office. Containing also Eaglesfield and Waterbeck villages, 7 furlongs and 3 miles NNE of Kirtle-Bridge station, and each with a post office under Ecclefechan, it comprises the ancient parishes of Middlebie, Pennersax, and Carruthers, united in 1609; was the seat of a presbytery from a period some time after the Reformation till 1743; and took its name, signifying the 'middle dwelling,' or 'middle station,' from a Roman camp, 5 furlongs SSE of the parish church, and midway between Netherbie in Cumberland and Overbie in Eskdalemuir, each about 10 miles distant. It is bounded NW by Tundergarth, E by Langholm and Canonbie, S by Half-Morton, Kirkpatrick-Fleming, and Annan, and W by Hoddam. Its utmost length, from E to W, is 77/8 miles; its breadth, from N to S, varies between 7 furlongs and 53/8 miles; and its area is 17,592 acres, of which 46¾ are water. Formed by two head-streams at an altitude of 570 feet, Kirtle Water flows 2½ miles southward through the interior, and then winds 5½ miles south-south-westward along the Kirkpatrick-Fleming boundary; whilst Mein Water, rising at an altitude of 780 feet, meanders 7 miles south-south-westward till it passes off into Hoddam on its way to join the Annan. Several burns, also rising on the northern border, run to either Kirtle or Mein Water; and Woodside or All-for-nought Burn, which traces the Half-Morton boundary, is one of the head-streams of the river Sark. Along Mein Water the surface declines to a little below 100, along Kirtle Water to a little below 200, feet above sea-level; and thence it rises, first gently, then more steeply, to 320 feet at the parish church, 809 at Howats Hill, 904 at Risp Hill, 1029 at Muckle Snab, and 1412 at Haggy Hill, whose summit, however, is 300 yards beyond the NE corner of Middlebie. The land thus, along the S and SW, is low and undulating; in the centre has considerable rising-grounds; and along the N and E is wild and hilly, terminating in lofty watersheds with Tundergarth and Langholm, and forming a transition tract between the agricultural valley of Lower Annandale and the pastoral heights of Upper Eskdale. The rocks include sandstone and great abundance of limestone, and were long supposed to include coal. The soil of the lower grounds is mostly clayey, but partly loamy or gravelly, and partly of many kinds in close proximity to one another; that of the higher grounds is chiefly of qualities best adapted for sheep pasture. Less than one-fourth of the entire area is in tillage; about 280 acres are under wood; and the rest of the land is either pastoral or waste. The Roman camp, which has given name to the parish, is at Birrens, 3 miles SE of the famous Roman station on Brunswark Hill; and it has left distinct remains of its fossæ, aggeres, and prætorium. In the Edinburgh Antiquarian Museum are five Roman altars, a sculptured figure of the goddess Brigantia, and three other Roman re, found at Birrens; as well as three circular mediæval silver brooches, discovered in 1849 in the ruins of the old church of Middlebie. Several peel-houses stood within the parish; and one of them, Blacket House, still stands, in a ruinous condition, with the date 1404 and the initials W[illiam] B[ell] above its outer doorway. Families of the name of Bell long predominated in the population of the parish, insomuch that the 'Bells of Middlebie' was a current phrase throughout Dumfriesshire, and one of the Bells of Blacket House figured in the tragical story of 'Fair Helen of Kirkconnel Lee,' noticed in our article on Kirkconnel. Burns's biographer, James Currie, M.D. (1756-1805), of Liverpool, received the rudiments of education at the parish school of Middlebie. Seven proprietors hold each an annual value of £500 and upwards, 13 of between £100 and £500, 4 of from £50 to £100, and 7 of from £20 to £50. Middlebie is in the presbytery of Annan and the synod of Dumfries; the living is worth £283. The parish church, 17/8 mile NNW of Kirtle-Bridge station and 1¾ NE of Ecclefechan, was built in 1821, and contains 700 sittings. At Waterbeck is a U.P. church (1792; 490 sittings); and Hottsbridge public, Middlebie public, Waterbeck female public, and Eaglesfield General Assembly's schools, with respective accommodation for 64, 63, 71, and 155 children, had (1883) an average attendance of 50, 37, 26, and 88, and grants of £47, 18s., £44, 9s., £21, 14s., and £67, 7s. Valuation (1860) £10,047, (1884) £15,258, 19s. 7d. Pop. (1801) 1507, (1841) 2150, (1861) 2004, (1871) 2000, (1881) 1927.—Ord. Sur., sh. 10, 1864.
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different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original
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