Cummertrees, a village and a coast parish of Annandale, Dumfriesshire. The village stands, ¾ mile inland, on Pow Water, near Cummertrees station on the Glasgow and South-Western railway, 11¾ miles ESE of Dumfries, and 3½ W of Annan, under which it has a post office. The parish, containing also the village of Powfoot, and comprising, since 1609, the ancient parish or chapelry of Trailtrow, is bounded N by St Mungo and Hoddam, E by Annan, S by the Solway Firth, and W by Ruthwell and Dalton. Its utmost length, from N to S, is 5¼ miles; its breadth, from E to W, varies between 2¼ and 41/8 miles; and its area is 11,747½ acres, of which 2206y are foreshore and 75½ water. The river Annan winds 2½ miles E by S along all the northern boundary; and Pow Water, entering from Ruthwell, flows through the interior south-eastward to the Firth, which here at high water has a breadth of 4 to 6 miles, at low of only 3 to 7 furlongs. At flow of tide, its waste of level sand is swept by the Solway's celebrated 'bore,' which, rushing upwards at the speed of 8 or 10 miles an hour, roars with a tumult heard over all the parish, and sometimes 12 or 15 miles further northward. The seaboard, 37/8 miles long, is low and sandy, in the E alone attaining to 65 feet above sea-level; but, however featureless by nature, it has its interest as one of the scenes in Scott's novel of Redgauntlet. Inland the ground rises slowly northward to 87 feet near Hurkledale, 160 at Muirhouse, 183 at Upper Mains, 242 near Norwood, and 350 on Repentance Hill, from which again it descends rather rapidly to less than 100 feet along the Annan. The rocks are mainly Devonian. Limestone, 30 feet thick and containing 96 per cent. of carbonate of lime, is extensively worked at Kelhead; and sandstone has been got from two quarries. The soil is sandy along the coast; in some of the central parts is a fertile loam incumbent on limestone; and northward is loam incumbent on sandstone, whilst elsewhere it ranges from a thin wet clay incumbent on hard till, and requiring much manure and labour, to reclaimed bog, drained and improved at great expense. About 6200 acres are regularly or occasionally in tillage, and 1300 under wood. In a field called Bruce's Acres, on the farm of Broom, Robert Bruce is said to have sustained a severe repulse from the English. Hoddam Castle and the Tower of Repentance, the chief antiquities, are separately noticed, as also are the mansions of Kinmount and Murraythwaite. The Marquis of Queensberry is much the largest proprietor, 5 holding each an annual value of £500 and upwards, 1 of between £100 and £500, and 2 of from £20 to £50. Giving off a small portion to Bridekirk quoad sacra parish, Cummertrees is in the presbytery of Annan and synod of Dumfries; the living is worth £200. The church, which was founded by Robert Bruce has been repeatedly rebuilt and enlarged, and now contains 450 sittings. Two public schools, Cummertrees and Trailtrow, with respective accommodation for 130 and 44 children, had (1880) an average attendance of 86 and 32, and grants of £69,11s. and £39,10s. Valuation (1882) £9607,13s. 5d. Pop. of civil parish, (1801) 1633, (1831) 1407, (1861) 1232, (1871) 1116, (1881) 1092; of quoad sacra parish (1871) 1072, (1881) 1068.—Ord. Sur., shs. 6,10,1863-64.
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