Elwyndale and its Three Towers. By J. Freer. 201 



The third and last of the a.ncient buildings is Langshaw, and 

 it possesses more of the characteristics of an old Mansion than 

 of a tower. (Plate VIII.) It seems to take its name from a 

 shaw or wood, probably that on Colmsliehill ground, which is 

 believed to be a natural forest, or rather the remains of one. 

 Langshaw does not seem to be mentioned in pre- Reformation 

 times, and would appear from its earliest mention in connection 

 with Woolhousebyres, to have been pastured by the sheep 

 belonging to the Abbey. The Pringles seem to have been the 

 first owners after the rule of the monks came to an end, and 

 they probably built the old house now ruinous. After passing 

 from them, Langshaw repeatedly changed owners, at length 

 coming into the possession of the Baillies of Mellerstain, with 

 which family, now enjoying the Earldom of Haddington, it still 

 remains. The old ruinous building is very picturesque with 

 some fine old trees close at hand, particularly a very ancient 

 guean tree, which is supported by props to keep it erect. This 

 tree figures in the foreground of the accompanying sketch. The 

 old garden of the mansion house is close to the house, and is 

 surrounded by a very old drystone wall of considerable height. 

 Some fine shrubs are found inside, also a nice collection of roses, 

 and the whole now forms the kitchen garden of the gamekeeper. 

 A shooting box of moderate size was erected close to the old tower 

 in 1820, and on a stone on the western front is the inscription — 

 "Utinam banc etiam veris impleam amicis."* Below Lang- 

 shaw and on the E. side of Elwyn is a congeries of stones and 

 rocks bearing the name of the Chatto Crags, and frowning down 

 upon Elwyn. The high ground behind the Crags bears 

 abundant traces of stonewalls and earthen dykes, and might, if 

 examined, furnish interesting traces of antiquity. An enclosure 



* This inscription is generally copied viris instead of veris. The 

 reading viris is that given by Sir Walter Scott in his " Monastery," and 

 doubtless this fact has led copyists astray. As the ideas conveyed by the 

 two words are so unlike — in the one case the builder wishes that he may 

 be able to fill his house with male friends —in the other with true friends, 

 one might be led to imagine that Sir Walter's Latinity was at fault, or if 

 that idea were monstrous and not to be entertained, then to ask did Sir 

 Walter mean that male friends were difficult to find as compared with 

 female ones,or to insinuate that the former were alone worth having ? As 

 the "Monastery" was published before the erection of the Shooting Box, 

 the motto may have been taken from its pages. The motto itself, with 

 the reading veris, belongs to the times of Classic antiquity. 



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