Old Hall of Ecclefechan. 85 



further adds that he has heard his father say that the foresaid 

 lands now belong-ing to His Grace formerly belong-ed to him as 

 heir of Woodhouse." The above notes illustrate the great liold 

 the Irvings held in Annandale in the 16th and 17th centuries, for 

 it may be said briefly that the Irvings of Kirkconnell and Eccle- 

 fechan held the land from the river Sark and the Solway shore to 

 and including Birrenswark Ilill, including part lands in Middlebie 

 and the eastern half of the parish of Ecclefechan extending from 

 the east side of Ecclefechan Burn to the Westgill Burn; whilst the 

 Irvings of Gretna, Cove, Woodhouse, and Bonshaw, and their kins- 

 men held the land from Solway's shore up both sides of the Kirtle 

 to Fennersax, Hoddom, Knockhill, and Ecclefechan ; the whole 

 of the ancient parish of Ecclefechan, the ancient parish of Luce, 

 and part of the ancient parish of Hoddom, where Knockhill and 

 the farms belonging thereto extended. In short, the Irvings of 

 Woodhouse owned the west side of Ecclefechan Burn, and the 

 Irvings of Kirkconnell the east, so far as the ancient parish of 

 Ecclefechan appears to have extended. 



I referred in my first paper to the irregular marriage of 

 George Arnott with Janet Knox in 1754. I have since been 

 favoured by the following- extracts from the minutes of the 

 Kirk-Session of Hoddom dated June 2nd, 1754: "The Session 

 appointed a Committee of yr. number to meet upon Tuesday 

 next in Ecclefechan to call Mr Arnot and Miss Knox before 

 them to own yr. clandestine Marriage, &c. Accordingly upon 

 Tuesday, 4th June, 1754, the Minister and three Elders, viz., 

 William Murray, merchant in Ecclefechan, William Hannah in 

 Cowthat, Andrew Henderson in Mainholm, met in Ecclefechan 

 in said William Murray's House and Rebuked Mr George 

 Arnot and Janet Knox. The Minister took Mr Arnot's Bill 

 for half -a -guinea as a penalty for his irregular Marriage. 

 June 9th, 1754. — The Minister did intimate from the pulpit that 

 Mr Arnot and Janet Knox had been rebuked befoie the Session 

 for yr. Irregular Marriage, and that they had given a Bill for the 

 penalty. Nota. —Andrew Henderson was not appointed to be at 

 the above Committee for he was not in the kirk when it was 

 appointed. Nota 2. — Mr Arnot and Miss Knox in March last 

 were fined by Commissary Goldie in Ecclefechan in 1 00 merks, the 

 Commissary having come out to divide Hoddom Common. 

 Nota j". — This is the first clandestine Marriage that ever I knew 



