Dalkeith
Dalkeith
is situated between the North and South Esk, 74 miles south
east of Edinburgh. The parish church, an old Gothic edifice,
was originally the Castle chapel, and was restored in 1852.
Dalkeith was the birthplace of Professor Peter Guthrie Tait,
the mathematician (1831-1901). Dalkeith Palace, a seat of
the duke of Buccleuch, was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh in
1700 for the widow of the duke of Monmouth, countess of Buccleuch
in her own right. It occupies the site of a castle which belonged
first to the Grahams and afterwards to the Douglases, and
was sold in 1642 by William, seventh or eighth earl of Morton,
to Francis, second earl of Buccleuch, for the purpose of raising
money to assist Charles I. in the Civil War.
The
palace has been the residence of several sovereigns during
their visits to Edinburgh, among them George IV. in 1822,
Queen Victoria in 1842, and Edward VII. in 1903.
About
one mile south is Newbattle Abbey, the seat of the marquess
of Lothian, delightfully situated on the South Esk. It is
built on the site of an abbey founded by David I., the ancient
crypt being incorporated in the mansion. The library contains
many valuable books and illuminated MSS., and excellent pictures
and carvings. In the park are several remarkable trees, among
them one of the largest beeches in the United Kingdom. Two
miles still farther south lies Cockpen, immortalized by the
Baroness Nairne and her humorous song The Laird of Cockpen,
and Dalhousie Castle, partly ancient and partly modern, which
gives a title to the earls of Dalhousie.
About
6 miles south-east of Dalkeith are Borthwick and Crichton
castles, one mile apart, both now in ruins. Queen Mary spent
three weeks in Borthwick Castle, after her marriage with Bothwell,
and fled from it to Dunbar in the guise of a page. The castle,
which is a double tower, was besieged by Cromwell, and the
marks of his cannon-balls are still visible. In the manse
of the parish of Borthwick, William Robertson, the historian,
was born in 1721.
