Elgin

Elgin, the county town of Elginshire, 5 miles by rail SSW. of its seaport, Lossiemouth, 37 ENE. of Inverness, and 178 N. of Edinburgh. It lies on the Lossie in the 'garden of Scotland;' and while it retains a few quaint old houses, a cross (restored in 1888), and its ruined cathedral, it has brightened up much during the 19th century. The Elgin Institution was erected in 1832 as an almshouse and school, out of £70,000 bequeathed by Andrew Anderson (1746-1822), who from private had risen to be major-general in the service of the East India Company. Other edifices are Gray's Hospital (1819) and the adjoining asylum (1834-65), the county buildings (1866), the court-house (1841), the market buildings (1850), the academy (1800), and the parish church (1828), with a tower 112 feet high. The once glorious Gothic cathedral (1224-1538) was a cruciform structure, 289 feet long by 120 across the transept, with two western towers, and a loftier central spire (198 feet). It was partially burned in 1270, and again in 1390 by the 'Wolf of Badenoch;' was dismantled in 1568; and in 1711 was finally reduced to ruins by the fall of the great tower. The chapter-house, with its 'prentice pillar,' is noteworthy. The town itself has suffered much from fire, its partial destruction in 1452 at the hands of the Earl of Huntly giving rise to the proverb 'Half done, as Elgin was burnt.' Little remains of the royal castle, which in 1296 lodged Edward I. of England; its ruins are surmounted by a monument (1839-55) to the last Duke of Gordon. A royal burgh since the reign of David I. (1124-53), Elgin unites with Banff, Macduff, Peterhead, Inverurie, Cullen, and Kintore to return one member to parliament. Pop. (1831) 4493; (1891) 7894. See Young's Annals of Elgin (1879).