I. Features Op Early Roads

I. E ROADTH S THAT LE EDINBURGHO DT , ETC.HARRY . B G 1 . YR INGLIS, F.S.A. SCOT. I FEATURE EARLP SO Y ROADS. n endeavourinI ascertaio t g n e earlieswhicth e har t roads leading to Edinburgh, investigation is very much circumscribed by the absence of early road-maps, as the first of any real service were those of Adair, issued as late as 1680. If we go farther back than that, we are only abl o guest e s roughl e coursth y f suco e h roads from travellers' narratives d froan m, early documents, whic littlo d h e more that nle us kno f theiwo r existence, without specifying their position. Even though roads are referred to in early charters in describing the boundaries e terth ,m then employe t carrno y d idee ddi witth a t hi of a modern highway, built, fenced, and ditched, but rather that of a right-of-way, where a beaten track, the marks of a sledge, or of an occasional wheeled waggon, marked out the road on the hillside, or a narrow causewa a pave r o yd ford lef a mort e permanent record across moras r streamo s . Fence r wallo s s see o mhavt e been non- existent t standinbu , g stone d crossean s s marking parish r estato 2 e boundaries were met with frequently in their course. In fact, where a e alsSe 1o "The Road d Bridge e Earlan s th n yi s Histor f Scotland,yo " Proc., vol. xlvii., 1912-13, p. 303. e BuckstaneTh 2 , Comiston Road, Edinburgh, mark parise th s h boundar f Libertoyo d nan Colinton on the Dumfries road. E ROADTH SEDINBURGHO T THA D TLE 9 1 , ETC. parishd ol e roath s useboundary r dwa dfo e antiquitth , f thayo t road stands almost unquestioned. Whether the. side drains, banks, or dykes that are observed along d road ol e par ar f e stheio tsomth f r o e original formatione ar r o , eighteenth-century improvements t a presen s i , a mattet f somo r e uncertainty; but one woiild be inclined to infer that, as there was no national authority constructing roads, and legislation merely pro- vided for upkeep, such -banking as existed would only be of a very insignificant character, little more than would serve to define its limit in cultivated lands. In no other way can we account for the complete obliteratio well-knowe f somno th f eo n ancient road r longsfo stretches of their course. n exampleAa s e roath , d that passese th alon e foof th o gt Pentlands, from Edinburgh through Morningside by Glencorse to Carlops and Dolphinton, betrays, after the Buckstane, little sign of s originait l course until near Nine Mile Burn d evean ,n thers i t i e merel grassya t ynearhillsidei e mars th a s n t ko Lynedal bu ; e (towards West Linton s weli t i l) banke a shor r fo dt distance, onl o becomyt e a grassy track once more on the open moor at the golf course on the south side of the Lyne. On the old Soutra road there appears to have bee bankino n g between Fald Channelkirke an ath n o d an ; old Lasswade road, whil e outline roadwath eth f eo s yweli l marked acros e fieldth s s betwee t Catherine'nS d Gracemountan s s appearit , - ance does not suggest anything more than a hard beaten track across the land. Banking at the side of old roads, one is inclined to think, may have had its origin in the abuse of the road privileges by the cattle drover e eighteentth n i s h century. When cattle e Englistraffith o t c h markets began afte e Unionth r e smalth , l herds passing along caused no inconvenience; but as the trade reached huge dimensions, the great droves goin o Englant g d trampled dow e adjoininth n g fields far beyon limite dth f forbearanceso thin o s d accounan , t quarrels arose between farmers and drovers, frequently leading to blows. For this reason one is inclined to hesitate before pronouncing in favour of an earlier date for such banks, because if they had existed previously there would have been little reason for the quarrels. Where there o cultivationn s wa o necessit,n thers r havinwa efo y e roath g d confined in this way, and this theory seems to fit in with general observation. Th e e hundrelasw makinroadw th fe t ne n i sf do g n i year s ha s many instance o thest routed d ol ele s s being abandoned thao s ,n i t agricultural districts the traces of former roads have frequently dis- 20 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, DECEMBER 13, 1915. appeared ,e moorlandwhilth n i e e slightlth s y beaten pat r packo h - horse track has merged into the surrounding moor and left no trace s existenceoit fe latte th n rI .instance , local knowledg traditiod an e n usually poin course th t e with some formere accuracyth n i ,t locabu ; l knowledge is not always reliable in its estimate of antiquity, as the "old" road may be only the predecessor of the present highway a,nd nomose th t t ancient route. Drove roads e dealhavb o tt e a speciawit n o h l footinge w r fo , have to recollec1 t that, owing to Scotland being the ancient enemy of England, such roads as existed were chiefly used in connection with the local markets, and those used for traffic to England can only have been brought into extensive use after 1603, when the Union of the Crowns opened the markets of England to Scottish traders. The " Thieves'" roads, " Salters'" roads, " Herring " roads, which 8 4 e pointen variouar i t ou d s parts, appea havo t r e bee2 n lines user fo d occasional traffic likelthus d i t an s,i y that they were mere tracks, rather than roads in the modern sense of the Avord, unless these titles are corruptions of other names, the explanation of which would make their origin clearer. Therefore considerinn i , e origiroadse gth th hav e f n o ,w recognis o et e that their existence depends e centreth n f populationo o s thad an ,t their earliest course is marked out by considerations of dryness of surface, rather than by directness of course. The earliest roads were imdoubtedly Ridgeways^—roads following the dry, firm surface of the watershed,— and one has only to study carefully the relation of two parallel roads in this respec finwhict more o t th dou s eh i th o ancientt es i Roman t I . s that we owe the discarding of Ridgeways for constructed roads leading directly fro thimr fo poins s reasoi pointt o i t d n ,an tha studta ancienf yo t geography is necessary.before going into detail in regard to the direction pointe e roadth o th d fwhico st s an h they led. Unfortunatel r knowyou - ledg f earleo y Scotlan t presena s i d t almos a blant n thii k s respect, and even though one may consider the aspects of ancient geography as far as we know it, such a study does no more than show how vagu d inconclusivan e e informationth littls w ei ho e d foundatioan , n we have to build upon. Therefore n approachini , g this subject entirely fro ma geographi c roa LasswaddThe to e through Liberto nonl appearthe y be "drove to s " road spokenof near1 Edinburgh. 4 Near West Linton; between Drumelzie t d MoffatPenmanshiea an rd an ; l (Cockburns- path). There is a Thieves' bridge at Aberdeen, mentioned in 1410. 3 Near Dalkeith nead an ,r Fala therd "Saltersa an ;s ei ' Ford t Melrose"a . 4 Near Dunbar to Lauder.' Using the English name, as there seems to be no equivalent in Scotland. 6 E ROADTH EDINBURGHSO T THA D TLE , ETC. 21 poin f view o tnecessars i t ,i ove o varioue g th ro y t s important mapf o s Scotlan d stud dan e chie yth f point f whico s h each surve s madyha ea feature, distinguishing copies from originals, in order that we may test e valuth f eaceo he purpose th map r fo ,f researcho s . EARLII Y MAPS. o The earliest known map of Britain is the one furnished by Ptolemy's Geography.1 Although it is generally spoken of as a map, it should be more accurately termed a geographical index of the rivers, bays, pro- montories, and towns, with the latitude and longitude of each. To draw the map, it is only necessary to plot down the lines of latitude and longitude thend an , , markin exace gth t positio f eacno h point conneco t , t the consecutive places so as to form a coast-line, the result being an outlin drawp f Britaieo ma thin e ni snTh way (fig. 1) . , while showing England wit ha comparativel y recognisable outline, turns Scotlant a d right angles to it, and makes it lie east and west instead of north and south. Many explanations have been reasoe giveth f f nthio no s curious feature, which canno enteree b t d into t seemi here t bu ,s undoubtedly o havt e been causeefforn a reconcilo y t tb d e conflicting geographical information t leasa d t an mak, t presentableei carefuA .

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