31-668: Megget Reservoir is an impounding reservoir in the Megget valley in Ettrick Forest , in the Scottish Borders . The 259 hectares (640 acres) reservoir is held back by the largest earth dam in Scotland. The reservoir collects water from the Tweedsmuir Hills, which is then conveyed 28 miles (45 km) via underground pipelines and tunnels to Edinburgh . The pipelines are routed through
62-538: A church until 1995, when declining attendance forced it to close. It is now a private house. The war memorial of Megget was then moved to its present site at the junction of the main road through Megget with the road alongside St Mary’s Loch. St. Mary%27s Loch St Mary's Loch is the largest natural loch in the Scottish Borders , and is situated on the south side of the A708 road between Selkirk and Moffat , about 72 kilometres (45 mi) south of Edinburgh . It
93-578: A common minister who attended Megget one Sunday in three. None of the parishioners of Meggett attended the church in Lyne. Following a review by a Boundary Commission, the union of the two parishes was dissolved by an Order which came into operation on 15 May 1891. It was ordered that the detached part of the Parish of Lyne and Megget ceased to be part of that Parish and of the County of Peebles; instead it would form part of
124-557: A joint petition from the Proprietor of both parishes, Lord Hay, of Yester, and the inhabitants of Megget to the Lords Commissioners for Plantation of Kirks, desiring that Megget might henceforth be part of Lyne. It is unique that Megget was not united to one of the neighbouring parishes, but instead to a parish which is so distant from it. The smallness of the stipends might have been a reason, also that both parishes belonged wholly to
155-509: A maximum water level of 334 metres (1,096 ft) above Ordnance Datum . The embankment is 56 metres (184 ft) high and its crest is 568 metres (1,864 ft) long. In 1983, Lothian Regional Council commissioned a short film - "A Different Valley" - on the construction of the dam and associated works. A copy of this is held by the National Library of Scotland and can be viewed online. The site of Cramalt or Cramald tower or castle
186-400: A proclamation that no one should shoot deer with handguns or bows. Megget Megget is a former chapelry or parish containing the valley of Megget Water , now forming the westernmost part of the parish of Yarrow , Selkirkshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. The centre of the valley is 19 miles (31 kilometres) west of Selkirk . The district is bordered on the west by
217-737: Is 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) long and 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) wide, and was created by glacial action during the last ice age . The loch is fed by the Megget Water , which flows in from the Megget Reservoir , and is the source of the Yarrow Water , which flows east from the loch to merge with the Ettrick Water above Selkirk. It connects by a short section of river to the Loch of the Lowes, immediately to
248-437: Is mentioned in 1530 and 1555 and its remains were visible until inundation by Megget Reservoir. It has been partially reconstructed just above the shoreline of the reservoir. At Henderland, in the east of the parish, there is a ruin of a church, which is surrounded by a cemetery. Before 1810 there were no other remains of an ecclesiastical edifice and this was assumed to be the ancient church of Megget. The chapel at Henderland
279-557: Is still legible. There are the foundations of a rectangular, single-chambered chapel, measuring 24 ft by 41 ft. These are sited on the summit of Chapel Knowe and are evidently the Kirk of Enderland , which was described in the Records of the Presbytery of Peebles in 1603 as 'altogedder down and equall wt ye erd', i.e. in a ruinous state. Although there was reference to building a church in
310-643: The Manor Valley and the Meldon Hills, to Gladhouse Reservoir and Glencorse Reservoir in the Pentland Hills . These two reservoirs store the water until such times as it is required. Excess water which overflows from the reservoir is returned to the Megget Water , and hence into St. Mary's Loch . The Megget Reservoir Scheme was first seriously considered in 1963. In 1974, the then water authority Lothian Regional Council applied for and received authority from
341-590: The 1950s it was closed and being used as a hay shed. Megget War Memorial was originally erected in or by this chapel, but when the church was drowned under Megget Reservoir, it was moved to the old Cappercleuch Church A church was built in Cappercleuch in 1845, one of the first church buildings of the Free Church of Scotland , which broke away from the Church of Scotland only two years earlier. It continued to be used as
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#1732855225906372-450: The Act of Parliament that united the parish with Lyne, it appears that the minister had to preach in farm houses in the area. Then a chapel was erected around 1804, with an apartment in it designed for a school. It was situated in the centre of the valley, 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 mi (4 km) from the farthest parish boundary, between Cramalt and Craigierig. The site is now submerged under
403-701: The First World War a memorial was erected in Lyne Church for entitled: Parish of Lyne and Megget, European War 1914, Roll Of Honour. Also a war memorial was erected in Megget for that district. After the union of the United Free Church of Scotland and the Church of Scotland in 1929, a number of congregations were merged, with some churches and chapels being closed or sub-ordinated to others. Megget ecclesiastical parish
434-551: The Parish of Yarrow and of the County of Selkirk, while the remainder of Lyne and Megget would be known as the Parish of Lyne. However this change did not at first disturb the ecclesiastical arrangements. The 1901 census reported that ecclesiastically Lyne and Megget continued to exist, with one part in Peeblesshire in the (civil) parish of Lyne, while another part was now in Selkirkshire in the (civil) parish of Yarrow. Then, after
465-575: The Rodono Hotel. It is bounded on the south by Ettrick in Selkirkshire and on the south-west by Moffat in Dumfriesshire . Megget Stone lies on the western parish boundary, with Tweedsmuir. It is about seven miles (eleven kilometres) long north to south and about six miles (ten kilometres) wide with an area of 14,500 acres (5,900 hectares). The population of Megget in 1861 was 53 and in 1901
496-461: The Secretary of State to proceed. Design was carried out by chartered civil engineers Robert H Cuthbertson & Partners on behalf of the water authority, and construction started in 1976. The dam which holds the reservoir is concrete with an asphalt impermeable core. The reservoir was officially opened on 30 September 1983. It has a capacity of 61,400,000 cubic metres (2.17 × 10 cu ft), and
527-403: The burial ground is now visible. The loch is around 27 metres deep at its centre. As the loch is sheltered by steep hills on all sides it is often very still, providing excellent reflections in its waters. The Southern Upland Way and Sir Walter Scott Way long-distance walking routes both pass the shores of the loch. The small settlement of Cappercleuch is located at the north-west corner of
558-490: The loch. St Mary's Loch Sailing Club (StMLSC) is run from premises at the south end of the loch (east of Tibbie Shiels). It is affiliated to the Royal Yachting Association . Brown trout, pike, perch and eels are all found within the loch and its smaller neighbour, Loch of the Lowes. Arctic charr once also populated the loch but exploitation likely led to their disappearance before the mid-18th century. Many of
589-481: The parish of Tweedsmuir , on the north-west by Drumelzier and on the north by Manor (all in Peeblesshire ). On the east side it is joined to the rest of the present parish of Yarrow, but formerly the parish boundary with Yarrow ran southwards from Black Law to Deer Law to Cappercleuch burn thence to St. Mary's Loch and continued down the west shore of the loch for almost one mile (1.5 kilometres) to Mare Cleuch by
620-547: The parish of St Bride of Traquair, to which it would seem the district had previously belonged. In 1614 it was recorded that John Fawsyde was minister of Rodonno, Henderland, or Megget; also that Newlands and Kirkurd were also under his care. By an Act of the Scottish Parliament of 1621, the Parish of Rodonno or Megget was joined to that of Lyne, a parish about 14 mi (23 km) north without any proper connecting road. This union took place in consequence of
651-510: The region he caught the outlaw Johnnie Armstrong . The royal itinerary and the visit to Cramalt was recorded in the king's household book . Mary, Queen of Scots and Lord Darnley stayed for few days in August 1566 while hunting in Meggetland. While Mary was at the castle she wrote invitations to the baptism of Prince James to be held at Stirling Castle . They found little sport, and Mary issued
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#1732855225906682-455: The reservoir. This was built, not at the expense of the heritors of the parish (the usual practice), but with money raised by the parish combined with the aid of the resident farmers, who assisted in collecting materials. It had a slate roof and seats and was maintained by voluntary contribution, although by the 1830s it was in want of repair. It was restored and became known as the "Tin Kirk", but by
713-473: The same proprietor, Lord Hay of Yester, and, it is more than probable, that he had considerable influence in procuring the annexation. For 270 years Lyne and Megget formed a united parish, but because of physical separation, Megget had certain attributes of a parish. Like other parishes it was a Registration District. As reported in 1839, Commissioners found that the church in Lyne and chapel in Megget operated independently with their own arrangements, but with
744-642: The south-east, some five miles [8 km], and ends its course in the bosom of St Mary Loch, and from thence, with Yarrow, watereth the wοόdy banks of the Forrest " (namely Ettrick Forest – the county of Selkirkshire). Megget is almost entirely covered with hills, which extend in two parallel ranges from west to east, having between them a narrow valley, which scarcely in any part exceeds 1 ⁄ 4 mile (400 metres) in breadth. Megget Water, rising at an elevation of 1,500 feet (460 metres), winds seven miles (eleven kilometres) east-northeastward to St Mary's Loch, on
775-458: The south. Between the two, connected by an old arched bridge, is Tibbie Shiel 's Inn, an 18th-century coaching inn , which was frequented by the Border poet James Hogg (1770–1835). The inn is now privately owned. A statue of James Hogg is located opposite the turning to the former inn. The loch takes its name from a church dedicated to St Mary which once stood on its northern shore, although only
806-503: The vale of Megget was known as Rodonna, and formed a favourite hunting-ground of the Scottish sovereigns, until the deer were extirpated or became scarce in the reign of Queen Mary. The ancient barony of Rodonna, comprising the vale of Megget, was granted by Alexander II to Melrose Abbey in 1236. Before the union with England defensive towers were built in Megget, serving as both watch towers and signalling stations. The tower at Cramalt
837-536: The way being joined by Cramalt, Glengaber, and sixteen other burns. Along St Mary's Loch the surface declines to close on 800 ft (240 m) above sealevel. Megget Reservoir was opened in 1983, with a dam just upstream of the confluence of Megget Water and Glengaber Burn, flooding the area below 1,096 ft (334 m) west of the dam. The settlements in Megget, from west to east are: Meggethead, Winterhopeburn, Cramalt (and East Cramalt), Craigierig , Glengaber, Syart, Henderland and Cappercleuch . Anciently,
868-452: Was 73. At the latest census (in 2011) the population of Megget was around 50. The parish of Megget derived its name from the river Megget, which took its name from the whey colour of its waters (Gaelic or old Welsh). Until 1891 it was part of Peeblesshire and thus part of Tweeddale, however " the water of Meggit is the only water in Tweeddale, that pays no tribute to Tweed; but runs from
899-870: Was covered by the water of the reservoir. The excavated foundations have been reconstructed near the shoreline of the reservoir. Cramalt Tower was used by James V when he came to hunt deer in the area in September 1529. His masons worked on the building in 1533. There were two towers. When James V came to hunt in September 1538 his servant John Tennent brought bedding from Linlithgow Palace and Malcolm Gourlay brought tents stored at Holyrood Palace for his company. His men were equipped with staffs and halberds. The castle belonged to Lord Hay of Yester . A later 16th-century chronicle by Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie describes James V hunting at Meggetland in June 1528 (but really July 1530) with 12,000 courtiers and followers. After hunting in
930-473: Was disjoined from Lyne in 1948 and in the same year Megget united with Yarrow and Lyne united with Manor. The chapel in Megget was closed and the Free Church at Cappercleuch became the local place of worship, served by the minister of the parish of Yarrow. At Henderland there are the vestiges of a chapel and burial ground, and a tombstone of Cockburn of Henderland, a noted freebooter, with an inscription which
961-615: Was on the north bank of the Megget, not far from its confluence with the St Mary’s Loch. On a tombstone found in the ruins in the mid 18th century, were sculptured a cross and sword, with the legend ' here lyes perys of Cokburne and his wyfe Marjory.' This district, apparently a chapelry before the Reformation, appears to have been assigned anciently to the parish of Traquair . Even in the mid 17th century there were references to Henderland and other places in Megget being described as in