On the south side of the town stood the castle of Bre chin, but no vestige of it remains. It was besieged by the English under Edward I.. in 11303, and was gallant ly defended by its governor, Thomas Manic, for twenty days, till he was slain by a stone from an engine, when it instantly surrendered. Near the scite, a castle of a modern construction was built by James Earl of Pan inure in 1711, which commands a delightful view of the river Southesk, and the adjoining country ; the river washing the foot of the rock on which the castle stands.
In the year 1647, the plague raged with great violence in this town, and carried off six hundred of the inhabi tants in the short period of four months ! Their bodies were deposited in the ground adjoining to the church, and a monument was erected with the following inscrip tion, in memory of that awful visitation of heaven.
1647.
Luna, quater crcscens, Sexeentos poste peremptos (Disco mori!) vidit.
Pulvis et umbra sumus.
This town has several well-attended markets, or fairs, particularly Trinity fair, which is held about a mile from the town, and is acknowledged to be the best fair for sheep, cattle, and horses, in the north of Scotland.
The Osnaburgh or brown linen manufacture is here carried on to a considerable extent ; and, of late years, a good deal has been done in the manufacture of sail cloth. There are, in the town, three mills for spinning flax ; the machinery driven by water ; and they give employment to 200 people, of both sexes, and of all ages. Another mill, of the same description, is in the country parish, which employs betwixt 80 and 90. In one of these mills, four looms, for the weaving of linen, have been lately erected, of a new construction, which are driven by water, and have- hitherto fully answered the expectation of the proprietor. The following facts may,
in some measure, ascertain the extent of those manufac tures. The average number of yards of linen stamped in Breehin annually, from November 1800 to November 1810, is 730,000; the average number of yards of sail cloth manufactured annually, from November 1805 to November 1810, is 155,000; besides betwixt 2000 and 3000 yards of canvas.
Several years ago a beer and porter brewery was erected upon a pretty large scale, at which there were brewed last year (1810) between 5000 and 6000 barrels of porter. It gives employment to 20 persons ; but as it is now fitted up for brewing 20,000 barrels annually, more hands will of course be needed for preparing that quantity for the market. The porter is sent to London, and to various parts of Great Britain. In consequence of the war, the proprietors have been prevented from executing their original design of exporting to the con tinent : at present, however, a considerable quantity is exported to the West Indies. This brewery pays be twixt 700/. and 800/. of duty on beer and porter every six weeks, and about 70/. weekly of duty on malt ; so that it yields an annual revenue to government of about 9,700/. It has been remarked, that since its commence ment, the demand for spirits among the lower classes of people has greatly decreased, and their morals, of consequence, have been evidently improved. The po pulation of the town is nearly 5000. N. Lat. 56° 40', E. Long. 2° 18'. See Pennant's Tour through Scotland, vol. ii.; Grose's ..intiquities, vol. ii.; Statist. Hist. vol.
xxi. (A. F.)