Calder, East, a village and an ancient parish in the W of Edinburghshire. The village stands near the right bank of the Almond, ¾ mile ENE of Midcalder town, and 1½ mile WNW of Midcalder station; consists chiefly of two rows of houses, with gardens behind; and has a U.P. church, originally built in 1776, and a public school. At it was born a minor poet, Alex. Rodger (1784-1846). The ancient burying-ground of the parish, with the ivy-clad ruin of the church, adjoins the village, and an extensive quarry of excellent limestone is a little to the E. The parish was united in 1750 to the parish of Kirknewton. The manor or barony was given by Malcolm IV. to Randulph de Clere, taking from him the name of Calder-Clere, to distinguish it from the adjoining manor of Calder-Comitis, belonging to the Earl of Fife; underwent forfeiture in the wars of the succession; was given in 1306, by Robert Bruce, to James Douglas, the ancestor of the Earls of Morton; and includes a tract called Mortoune, which disputes with Morton parish in Dumfriesshire the claim of having given their peerage title to the Earls of Morton.
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