Broughton

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.

This edition is copyright © The Editors of the Gazetteer for Scotland, 2002-2022.

It has taken much time and money to make the six-volumes of Groome's text freely accessible. Please help us continue and develop by making a donation. If only one out of every ten people who view this page gave £5 or $10, the project would be self-sustaining. Sadly less than one in thirty-thousand contribute, so please give what you can.

Use the tabs on the right of this page to see other parts of this entry Arrow

Broughton, Kilbucho, and Glenholm, a Tweeddale parish of W Peeblesshire, formed about 1804 by the union of Broughton parish in the NE, and of the larger parishes of Kilbucho in the SW and Glenholm in the SE. It contains the village of Broughton, a neat modern place, lying on the Edinburgh and Dumfries highroad and the right bank of Broughton Burn; 1½ mile S, the post office, under Biggar, of Rachan Mill; and, between these two, Broughton station on the Caledonian, 11 miles W by S of Peebles, 4¾ E by S of Biggar, and 8 E of Symington Junction.

The united parish is bounded N by Kirkurd, E by Stobo and Drummelzier, SE by Drummelzier, and W by Culter in Lanarkshire and Skirling. From Broughton Heights at the NE corner to Glenwhappen Rig, the southernmost point, it has an extreme length of 10 miles; its breadth from E to W varies from 1¾ mile to 5¼ miles, and thence again to nil; and its area is 18,121½ acres, of which 56¾ are water.* For 4½ miles the upper northward-flowing Tweed roughly traces the eastern border, and, just where it quits it, is joined by Biggar Water, which here has an easterly course of 3¼ miles, dividing Kilbucho and Glenholm from Skirling and Broughton, and itself receiving Kilbucho Burn (4¾ miles long) from the SW, Broughton Burn (4¼ miles) from the N, and Holms Water (7¾ miles) from the SSW,- all of them capital trout-streams. Consisting of ranges of rounded grassy hills, of narrow straths, and of the Biggar's wider and more level vale, the surface at the ` meeting of the waters,' opposite Drummelzier Haugh, has an elevation of barely 600 feet above sea-level, but rises rapidly on either hand. Northward, in Broughton, are Burnetland (908 feet), Cloverhill (1148), pyramidal Landlawhill (1208), Clover Law (1616), and * Broughton Heights (1872), where the asterisk indicates a summit culminating on the boundary. Westward, between the Biggar and Kilbucho Burn, are Goseland Hill (1427), Kilbucho Hill (1307), and * Scawdman's Hill (1880); south-westward, between Kilbucho Burn and Holms Water, Whitslade Hill (1198), Common Law (1544), Carden Hill (2218), Chapelgill (2282), * King Bank Head (2067), * Culter Fell (2454), and * Glenwhappen Rig (2262); south-south-westward, between Holms Water and the Tweed, green insulated Rachan Hill (1041), Wrae Hill (1345), Blackhope Hill (1782), Wormal Hill (1776), Middle Head (1703), and * Glenlood Hill (1836). The rocks belong to the Lower Silurian formation; and limestone and slate have been quarried-the former at Wrae, containing graptolites, trilobites, and shells. Brick-clay is rare, whilst coal has been sought in vain. The arable soils are partly a deep rich alluvium, and partly loam, clay, or reclaimed moss; and 1000 acres might perhaps be added to the 5000 or so already cultivated, besides some 250 under plantations. At Rachan Mill is the great bacon and ham curing establishment of Mr Adam Bryden, dating from 1850, where about 10,000 stone of pork, collected out of 30 parishes, is annually cured, of late years solely for one Carlisle house. Antiquities are 10 prehistoric hill-forts, the chief one that upon Landlawhill; the staircase angle of the keep of Wrae Castle, near the Tweed; and traces of the old churches of Broughton and Kilbucho (Gael. 'cell of Begha,' or St Bees). Among the families connected with this parish were the Dicksons, Flemings, Geddeses, Browns, and Carmichaels; at Broughton House dwelt the ` Apostate ' Murray, secretary to Prince Charles Edward during the '45. The house was burned about 1775, and shortly afterwards the estate was purchased by Robert Macqueen, Lord Braxfield (1722-99), that ` giant of the bench,' whose descendant, A. J. Macqueen of Hardington House, is owner of almost the whole of Broughton. At present the chief mansions are Rachan House (Jas. Tweedie, owner of 11,151 acres in the shire, of £4059 annual value) and Mossfennan (Rev. Wm. Welsh, with 1509 acres of £634 value), both upon the Tweed, with Glencotho (Geo. Hope) upon Holms Water; and the whole parish is divided among 11 proprietors, 6 holding each a yearly value of £500 and upwards, 1 of between £100 and £500,1 of from £50 to £100, and 3 of from £20 to £50. It is in the presbytery of Biggar and synod of Lothian and Tweeddale; the minister's income is £400. The present parish church (1804; 500 sittings) stands near the station; and there is also a Free church. Three public schools-Broughton, Glenholm, and Kilbucho-with respective accommodation for 120, 41, and 44 children, had (1879) an average attendance of 59, 23, and 18, and grants of £49, 9s., £34, 17s. 6d., and £31, 6s. Valuation (1881) £9573, 11s. 6d. Pop. (1801) 627, (1831) 911, (1841) 764, (1851) 881, (1861) 723, (1871) 729, (1881) 667.—Ord. Sur., sh. 24,1864.

* According to Chambers's history of Peeblesshire (1864), p. 440, this parish extends over the western corner of the shire containing the Hartree Hills. which would give it an extreme breadth of 57/8 miles, and an area of 19.834 acres. But as that corner is included m Culter in the Ordnance maps, and annexed to it for census. registration. church, and school purposes, it seems better to treat it as practically part of Culter.

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

If you have found this information useful please consider making
a donation to help maintain and improve this resource. More info...

By using our site you agree to accept cookies, which help us serve you better