^ 
 
 ''' '". ! ' '::. --- 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 ;*,-
 
 c\
 
 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 TOPOGRAPHICAL, ECCLESIASTICAL, AND HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE 
 
 PARISHES IN THE CENTRE OF STRATHMORE ; WITH PARTICULAR 
 
 NOTICES OF THE ABBEY OF CUPAR AND THE PRIORY 
 
 OF ROSTINOTH. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. J. G. MTHERSON, M.A., Ph.D., F.R.S.E., 
 
 MINISTER OF RUTHVEN J GRADUATE WITH FIRST-CLASS MATHEMATICAL HONOURS, AND FOK 
 
 SIX YEARS MATHEMATICAL EXAMINER FOR DEGREES, IN THB UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF ST ANDREWS. 
 
 PERTH: 
 S. COWAN & CO., PRINTERS & PUBLISHERS. 
 
 1885.
 
 S. COWAN AND CO., STRATHMORE PRDJTINO WORKS.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THESE Articles were originally written, at the request of 
 the Proprietor, to appear in the columns of the Perthshire 
 Advertiser. They were meant for the general readers of 
 a newspaper. Accordingly, my object was to make the 
 sketches interesting, in some way, to all : accurate enough 
 for the ecclesiastical and historical student, yet readable 
 and instructive for those who have less liking for anti- 
 quarian lore. 
 
 Some friends, whose opinions have always a consider- 
 able influence with me, have at last persuaded me though 
 after no little reluctance to acknowledge the authorship, 
 and collect them in the more permanent shape in which 
 they now appear. And, though I have carefully revised 
 the Articles, they are reprinted, to a great extent, in the 
 same order, and with the same style and aim, as in their 
 first appearance in the A dvertiser. 
 
 The first Article is the History of the Abbey of Cupar, 
 
 534796 
 
 534*29 
 
 UBRAKT
 
 IV PREFACE. 
 
 and its influence on the religion, education, and agriculture 
 of the district ; then follow sketches of the sixteen 
 parishes in the " Howe of Strathmore ; " and the volume 
 concludes with the History of the Priory of Rostinoth, in 
 Forfar. It Las been impossible to get for the volume a 
 title which would give an exact idea of its object, and the 
 ground gone over. It is more than a series of dry statistical 
 accounts, though each parish has been made a separate 
 study. Special attention has been given to the Ecclesias- 
 tical Antiquities : I have ransacked the Registers of the 
 Abbeys and Priories especially of Cupar, Arbroath, Dun- 
 keld, St. Andrews, and Lindores and have examined for 
 myself the original, contracted, Latin charters, to ensure 
 accuracy. The history of the several Churches has been 
 traced from their foundation, with occasional characteristic 
 extracts from the Parochial records. The Topographical 
 Sketches are from personal observation ; descriptions of 
 the landscape from several points being given. The most 
 interesting fauna and/ora to be found, the characteristic 
 climate, and the physical features of each parish, are 
 specially described. The Secular History deals with facts 
 and carefully-sifted traditions ; the several Castles being 
 the centres of the narratives. The Antiquities of the dis- 
 trict are full of interest, not only to those living in the 
 Strath, but to all Scotland. The development of the 
 manners and customs, the vicissitudes of agriculture and
 
 PREFACE. V 
 
 trade, and the prominent social features, are described and 
 freely commented upon. Illustrious persons born in, or 
 connected with, the district have not been forgotten. 
 Occasional anecdotes and poetic illustrations have been 
 introduced to lighten the reading. 
 
 I have, I think, acknowledged, throughout the work, 
 the valuable authorities to which I am indebted. Besides 
 the Registers already mentioned, I would especially 
 notice Chalmers' Caledonia, Lord Lindsay's Lives of the 
 Lindsays, Jervise's Land of the Lindsays and Memorials 
 of Angus, the two well-known Statistical Accounts of the 
 Parishes, Skene's Celtic Scotland, Wilson's Pre-historic 
 Scotland, the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edin- 
 burgh, Edward's Angus, Ochterlony's Shyre of Forfar, 
 Myln's Bishops of Dunkeld, Robertson's Agriculture, 
 Scott's Fasti, Billing's Ecclesiastical and Baronial Anti- 
 quities, Grose's Antiquities of Scotland, Stewart's Sculp- 
 tured Stones, Browne's History of the Highlands, Cunning- 
 ham's Church History, Allan's Abbots of Cupar, Duncan's 
 Ecclesiastical Law, Forbes' Saints, Keith's Scotch Bishops, 
 Laing's Catalogue of Seals, Hooker's Perthshire Illustrated, 
 Gardiner's Flora of Forfarshire, Douglas' Peerage, and the 
 Spalding and Bannatyne Club Miscellanies. 
 
 A pleasant part now remains. I sincerely thank the 
 ministers and session-clerks who have, with considerable 
 trouble, assisted me. And I specially thank the Rev.
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 George B. Lunan, B.D., Minister of Newtyle, for having 
 carefully revised the proof-sheets, so as to make the 
 volume as accurate as possible. 
 
 To me, this has been a work of special pleasure. The 
 Publishers now offer it at a very reasonable price ; and 
 my object will be consummated if it affords interest, in- 
 struction, and a fresh thirst for research to those who 
 peruse its pages. 
 
 J. G. M'PHERSON. 
 
 RUTHVEN MANSE, March, 1885.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAOE 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAB .... 1 
 
 BLAIRGOWRDB . . . . .47 
 
 RATTRAY ...... 57 
 
 BENDOCHY . . . . . .65 
 
 CUPAR-ANGUS . . . . .77 
 
 LETHENDY AND KINLOCH . . . .87 
 
 MEIGLE ...... 96 
 
 ALYTH ...... 109 
 
 RUTHVEN .... . 124 
 
 NEWTYLE .... . 139 
 
 KETTINS ...... 153 
 
 EASSIE AND NEVAY .... 166 
 
 AIRLIE ...... 181 
 
 GLAMIS ...... 197 
 
 KIRRIEMUIR . . 214 
 
 KINNETTLES ..... 230 
 
 FORFAR AND ROSTINOTH . 240
 
 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 THE ABBEY OP CUPAB. 
 
 IN many rock-systems there are singular formations, 
 called Drusic cavities. One of these stones would not 
 excite the attention of an inexperienced man. He might 
 observe the peculiarly flat rounded form ; but that would 
 be all. To him it would be an ordinary stone, and 
 nothing more. But to a geologist such a stone would be 
 different. When found he would split it up with interest, 
 for he knows from experience that the plain-looking 
 stone is not solid, but hollow. With one stroke of the 
 hammer he can lay open to view a marvellous sight : in- 
 numerable amethyst crystals gloriously shine before his 
 entranced eye a fairy-like transformation has passed 
 over the plain stone. Many familiar things are similar 
 to these Drusic cavities. The ordinary matter-of-fact 
 man sees nothing in them ; his attention is never 
 attracted by them. But when the experienced and in- 
 terested eye observes them, they appear very different 
 indeed. 
 
 Throughout the town of Cupar are here and there to 
 be seen in the walls of houses pieces of carved stones ; at 
 the south-west corner of the churchyard stands an arch- 
 way, partly old, and partly repaired " within the memory 
 of man j " and some old stone coffins and sepulchral 
 
 A
 
 2 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 monuments, some fragments of pillars and ornamental 
 masonry, are within the church or churchyard. The 
 casual visitor sees nothing in these. The ordinary passer- 
 by has no interest in them, though he has been told some- 
 thing about them. But to the antiquarian and historian 
 these tell a different tale. Close inspection reveals to 
 him, in the wall opposite to the church, a stone on which 
 is engraved a shield bearing the royal lion of Scotland. 
 The fragments of mouldings and pillars and archway are 
 evidences of the workmanship of the early English and 
 Decorated styles of architecture, which carry his mind 
 back for centuries to some magnificent edifice of primeval 
 glory, which once stood there. The place to him seems 
 hallowed by accumulated associations. In imagination he 
 rears a building of costly grandeur, and peoples it with 
 living, earnest workers in mediaeval times. The Abbey 
 of Cupar stood there seven centuries ago, and the cul- 
 tured man, familiar with historic lore, carefully informed 
 about the results of antiquarian research, and deeply 
 observant of the style of the ruined Abbeys throughout 
 the length and breadth of Scotland, can, from these frag- 
 ments, create in imagination a stately Abbey, with its 
 cloistered cells, which reveals to his mind the noble words 
 of Milton : 
 
 " But let my due feet never fail 
 To walk the studious cloisters pale, 
 And love the high embowed roof, 
 With antic pillars, massy proof ; 
 And storied windows, richly dight, 
 Casting a dim religious light ; 
 There let the pealing organ blow 
 To the full- voiced choir oelow. 
 In service high and anthems clear, 
 A* may with sweetness, through mine ear, 
 Dissolve me into ocstacics, 
 And bring all heaven before mine eyes." 
 
 Though such relics tell us of the fact, there is no accurate 
 evidence of the size or outward appearance of the Abbey.
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAE. 3 
 
 A century ago a working mason in Cupar made plans of 
 the edifice, including details of its construction. But 
 these were pure creations of fancy ; for, a century before 
 that, Spottiswoode, a trustworthy local writer, states in 
 his miscellanies that the Abbey was " nothing but rub- 
 bish." The sad deficiency of authentic records regarding 
 the Abbey of Cupar also prevents us from giving any- 
 thing like a complete history of a place full of so much 
 associated interest. Yet from the records before us we 
 shall endeavour to give a correct, though necessarily 
 fragmentary, account of the ancient building which once 
 adorned the centre of Strathmore. 
 
 At the beginning of the twelfth century a wave of 
 deep religious revival passed north over Great Britain. 
 The effect of the work of St. Ninian and St. Golumba 
 had died away. Christianity had again mainly yielded 
 to heathenism. The churches ceased to gather within 
 their rude walls the willing worshippers. The lonely 
 life of the anchorite seemed to be the ideal of the 
 religious devotee. The desolate cell of St. Cuthbert on 
 his uninhabited island, or the ocean-lashed cave of St. 
 Regulus, implied a harder and more self-sacrificing life 
 than did the wattled huts, where many assembled for 
 common worship. In contrast with the assembled 
 Christ-worshippers, there arose a body of God- worshippers, 
 who in their solitary devotions considered themselves 
 especially the people of God. But the comfortless caves 
 of the first " God-fearing " anchorites through time grew 
 into comfortable cottages, where (celibacy being unen- 
 forced) each Culdee dwelt separately with his wife and 
 children. The temporalities of the Columban Church had 
 been seized by laymen. Much spiritual error was 
 mingled with the teaching of the times. Though what 
 was outwardly called the Scottish Church had existed for
 
 4 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 two centuries, yet there was a deadness in its work. The 
 clergy were secularised. For that age and that race the 
 system had been in great degree a failure. Everything 
 called for religious reform. And in God's Providence 
 another organisation came. The monastic rule gathered 
 together the dying embers of religious zeal, and succeeded 
 where the secular rule had signally failed. From 
 England the sainted Queen Margaret brought the much 
 required reform. The country was divided into parishes ; 
 Diocesan Episcopacy was established ; and the monastic 
 orders were everywhere introduced. The whole country 
 was aroused by the remarkable religious revival. Those 
 who did not themselves assume the monkish garb eased 
 their consciences by contributing to the endowment of a 
 religious house. Kings as well as nobles gave large 
 grants of money and lands for the building of costly 
 edifices for religious services. The people were stirred 
 by the deep religious feeling. They regarded the monks 
 with veneration and affection, and believed in the literal 
 efficacy of their prayers. Spasmodic piety and timorous 
 superstition combined to influence the donors' minds ; and 
 soon throughout the land above a hundred Abbeys reared 
 their heads in stately munificence. 
 
 Soon after the death of the saintly King David I., 
 who commenced the grand work, the Abbey of Cupar 
 was founded by King Malcolm IV., surnamed the Maiden. 
 In 11G4-, even before the more famous Abbey of Arbroath 
 was founded, did Cupar receive the royal charter for the 
 religious edifice which was to have for centuries such an 
 influence in the centre of Forfarshire. Very strangely, 
 the Reverend Robert Edward in his "County of Angus," 
 written in 1G78, puts down the date erroneously as 11 44-, 
 though ho mentions the Abbey as "dedicated to the 
 blessed Virgin by Malcolm IV., King of Scotland." Three
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAR. 5 
 
 centuries afterwards, Andrew Wyntoun, Superior of the 
 Priory of Lochleven, in his " Orygynale Cronykil of 
 Scotland," thus accurately relates the fact : 
 
 " A thousand a hundyre and sexty yliere 
 And fowre till thai till rekyne clere, 
 Malcolme Kyng of Scotland, 
 And pesybly in it rignand, 
 The elevynd yhere of his Crowne 
 Mad the fundatyowne 
 Of the Abbay of Culpyre in Angws 
 And dowyt it wyth hys almws." 
 
 The origin of the name of Cupar is as uncertain as the 
 correct way of spelling it. Jervise thinks it may be 
 derived from the Gaelic Cul-bhar, " the bank, or end of 
 a height or bank," referring to its situation on the south 
 of the high bank on the left side of the Isla. Mackay 
 remarks that the " name may have come from the Gaelic 
 Cobhair, a sanctuary or place of monkish retirement." 
 Other learned etymologists do not consider the name 
 Celtic. It has been suggested that as David, Malcolm, 
 and William brought to the North traders from England 
 who had originally come from the Continent, the name 
 may be derived from the Flemish coper, meaning one 
 who exchanges or barters articles. And this suggestion 
 derives some support from the more modern forms of 
 spelling the name, Coupar, Cowper, and Couper. From 
 the Archives of Douai, a list has been found of religions 
 houses in Great Britain that in the thirteenth century sent 
 wool to Flanders, one of which is entered " Cupre." Other 
 forms of spelling in old documents are Culpar, Culpyr, 
 Cupar, Kupre, Cuper, Cupir, Cupyr, and Cubre. This last 
 form, according to one antiquarian, suggests a derivation 
 in the Scotch coo-byre, pointing to the rich pasturage and 
 the covf houses studded here and there on it, which is 
 surely very far-fetched. 
 
 It was, we think, in connection with the foundation of
 
 G STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 the Abbey that the name Cupar was given ; it was not 
 known before, at least there is no record of it. Is it not 
 very probable that the name was given in honour of the 
 famous Saint Cuthbert, monk of Melrose ? Though St 
 
 * o 
 
 Cuthbert lived in the seventh century, twenty-three 
 churches were already consecrated to his name. One of 
 his churches in Cornwall was called Cubert, very near 
 the spelling of Cubre, the early form of Cupar. King 
 David had before his death founded Melrose Abbey, and 
 given it to the Cistercian Monks; and Wyntoun tells us 
 that the monks of the Abbey of Cupar were of the same 
 order : 
 
 " All lyk to Cystwys in habyt ; 
 We oys to call thninc Mwukis qwhyt." 
 
 What would be more likely, then, than that Waltheve, 
 Abbot of Melrose, the adviser of the good King Malcolm, 
 should have advocated the erection of a religious edifice 
 in honour of his own patron Saint in such an appropriate 
 situation as the centre of the finest Strath in Scotland ? 
 
 The first charters tell us that the Abbey was dedicated 
 to the Virgin Mary, and according to Wyntoun, the monks 
 who first possessed it were Cistercians. These took a 
 high place among the score of monkish sects, being very 
 moderate in their religious views. The two great Orders 
 were the Augustinians and the Benedictines, the followers 
 of the rule of Saints Augustine and Benedict. The Cister- 
 cians were among the latter. They were all dressed in 
 white, except the cowl and scapular, which were black. 
 They were bound by the three rules of poverty, chastity, 
 and obedience. The Abbot over them was Fulc, whoso 
 name appears shortly after the foundation of the Abbey, 
 as a witness to a charter of William the Lion, of the 
 Church of Forgan, in Fife, to the Priory of St. Andrews. 
 
 Think a moment of tho immense boon this foundation
 
 THE ABBEY" OF CUPAR. 7 
 
 was to the people of Strathmore ! It is only the utmost 
 prejudice, founded on the utmost ignorance, which denies 
 the good work done by these pure, energetic, and self- 
 devoted monks. A strong centre was needed there for 
 the development of Christian truth. "We know that for 
 the success of any mission in a great heathen district, a 
 strong centre, supported by earnest men, is still needed. 
 And there was no place where human nature more urgently 
 demanded the strength and comfort of the companionship 
 of men with the same fixed religious purpose, than in the 
 district to which King Malcolm brought, from a more 
 cultured and sympathetic community, these earnest- 
 hearted Cistercians. In the midst of semi-heathenism a 
 Christian colony was formed. Rude natures softened 
 under the benign influence. Round the precincts of the 
 Abbey a zone of land, broken up from the morass and 
 forest, soon yielded its due increase of golden grain. In 
 the calm eventide, when the long grass waved in the 
 western breeze, how awe-inspiring would the saintly 
 Abbey appear to those conscientious workers, quietly 
 musing on their day's work and their soul's weal ! 
 Tempests may rage beyond, but here was the " city of 
 refuge." Precarious though life was in that half savage 
 age, the dread of turmoil and strife and uncertainty was 
 banished by the sense of holy calm, which dwelt within 
 the Abbey's portals. Ignorant though the people were, 
 even though nobles prided themselves on their ignorance, 
 yet, within the cloisters of the Abbey, education was 
 diligently cultivated : the midnight oil was burned for 
 the acquisition of learning, as well as for the cele- 
 bration of the rites ot religion. It was the only school 
 in Strathmore. Carefully and laboriously the monks 
 wrote out copies of the Holy Scriptures, and but 
 for this noble though arduous work of love and duty,
 
 8 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 the Bible might have been lost in the land. Within 
 the Abbey walls were many devout and earnest hearts, 
 training for future statesmen and judges on the 
 Bench. It was the base of operations for aggressive 
 Christianity. 
 
 As when, in a clear frosty night, we look steadily upon 
 the crescent moon, we see the grey form of the darkened 
 part, but cannot distinctly make out what it is ; while, 
 when carefully examining this unilluminated part with a 
 powerful telescope, we see a few bright points, which 
 show that there are mountain-peaks in the moon's surface 
 so lofty that they catch the sunlight ; so in that early age 
 of darkened Scotland, amid the general gloom of heathen- 
 ism, here and there the Abbeys rose in their majesty to 
 catch heaven's holy light, to manifest the hearty life which 
 still burned within the heart of the land ; the careful eye 
 detects such bright points, that it is able to fill up the 
 picture, and gain a real insight into that period of our 
 country's history. Richly endowed by royal benefactors 
 and wealthy nobles, the Abbey of Cupar was a centre for 
 encouraging the cultivation of the neighbouring farms, 
 which have long held a high place for grain and stock. 
 These monks were the first to grant long leases of their 
 land on easy terms to tenants. They encouraged peace ; 
 they were the friends of the poor and the helpless ; their 
 door was open to the outcast as well as to royalty ; a 
 magnetic solemnity dwelt within the portals. In the 
 wide Strath, from great distances on the Sidlaws or the 
 Northern hills, could be descried the tall pile, whose 
 ancient pillars reared their heads to bear aloft its arched 
 and ponderous roof, by its own weight made steadfast 
 and immovable, looking tranquillity ; and this sight would 
 keep alive the spirit of religion, would make rough, hardy, 
 martial breasts swell with holy joy at the happy prospect
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAR. 9 
 
 of living for ever where war would be no more : truly the 
 Abbey of Cupar was 
 
 " A fit abode, wherein appeared enshrined 
 Their hopes of immortality." 
 
 On a dull spring morning we have often observed a 
 dense rain-cloud obscuring the brightness of the rising 
 sun. We only knew that the sun was there behind the 
 thick vapour-mantle by the faint streams of light that 
 now and again appeared through some thinner, rarer por- 
 tion, which only made the gloom more visible. But soon, 
 we have sometimes noticed, as by some powerful hand, 
 the veil was torn asunder, and the full blaze of the rising 
 sun swept away the clouds, which hung darkening and 
 saddening, to vivify the early blossom, to make all nature 
 smile, and to enlighten and gladden all on which it shone. 
 So before the twelfth century, a dark veil of error and 
 superstition obscured the light of truth from the religious 
 consciousness of the people of Scotland. Now and again 
 had faint gleams of the revelation of Divine truth ap- 
 peared, as .in Saints Columba, and Ninian, and Cuthbert ; 
 but these gleams in darkness, convincing men of the 
 glorious light of truth, which was shining bright and pure 
 behind the veil, only saddened them the more, and made 
 their own superstitions appear the more obscure. But 
 the time came when a strong religious revival began 
 to clear away the mists of heathenism and religious 
 ignorance, and to let the everlasting truth flash 
 upon men's minds, to vivify the seeds of truth which 
 were sown in their consciences at their birth, to 
 make the land embrace with gladness what till then 
 was only an instinctive yearning in occasionally 
 better moods, and to enlighten their darkened souls 
 with the effulgence of the heavenly revelation.
 
 10 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Wordsworth thus expressively indicates the divine 
 mission : 
 
 " In the antique age of bow and spear, 
 
 And feudal rapine clothed with iron mail, 
 Came ministers of peace, intent to rear 
 
 The Mother Church in yon sequestered vale." 
 
 The sudden outburst of religious feeling from kings to 
 peasants soon took practical effect in the building and 
 endowing of an hundred Abbeys and other religious 
 houses throughout the land, one of the earliest being the 
 A 1 bey of Cupar. Well did these Kings David, Malcolm, 
 and William know the boon they were establishing for 
 the Scottish people. No system could have so efficiently 
 met the wants and intelligence of the people. The monks 
 were the only scholars of the land, and in the Abbeys 
 were trained in the useful and mechanical arts those 
 youths who afterwards designed and erected the most 
 gorgeous piles which were an honour to the land. The 
 trafficking interests began to make steady and healthy 
 progress ; roads and bridges the precursors of civilization 
 became common; and at no period of the nation's exist- 
 ence, down to the Union of the Parliaments, was it in a more 
 prosperous condition than it was at the unfortunate death 
 of Alexander III. It is only giving these kings their due 
 and honourable place, to acknowledge frankly how much 
 Scotland is now indebted to them, for their earnest and 
 manly grappling with the intellectual and moral difficulties 
 of their times, and through the mists of ages to recognise 
 their honest endeavours to advance their country's weal, 
 as truly 
 
 "The grcfttof old ! the dead 
 But sceptred sovrnns who still rule 
 Our spirits from their urns." 
 
 Malcolm IV. founded the Abbey of Cupar in the 
 centre of a Roman camp, which had been formed by the 
 army of Agricola in his seventh Expedition. From the
 
 THE ABBEY OF CtTPAR. 11 
 
 vestiges of this camp, still visible, it appears to have been 
 nearly a regular square of twenty-four acres. Here the half 
 of Agricola's forces encamped, while the other remained at 
 Campmuir, two miles south-west. Thus in the place 
 where, eleven centuries before, Roman mythology was 
 establishing itself, Malcolm marked the religious progress 
 of the land by erecting and dedicating to God and Saint 
 Mary a Christian house of prayer, and endowing it by 
 Royal charter. 
 
 It is from the fragment of the abbreviated Register of 
 the Abbey, now in the library of Panmure, that its 
 early history is chiefly derived. In this are named 
 two charters, both dated from Tresquere (Traquair), and 
 witnessed, among others, by the Abbot of Kelso, the 
 Bishop of Glasgow, the Chancellor of Scotland, and the 
 Earl of Angus. By one of these deeds, Malcolm granted 
 to the Abbey all his lands at Cupar (tota terra mea de 
 Cupro) ; and by the other, certain leasements of all his 
 forests in Scotland and fuel for the proper use of the 
 monks. His successor, William the Lion, confirmed these 
 grants by a charter issued at Roxbrughe (Roxburgh) ; 
 and by several charters gave the monks valuable privi- 
 leges. From Cherletone (Charleston) he gave fifty acres 
 for an extended site for the Abbey, as well as the King's 
 chase and all the waste land belonging to it. From Perth 
 he endowed the Abbey with the lands of Aberbothry and 
 Kethet (Keithock), as they were possessed in the time of 
 King David. From Edinburgh he granted the lands of 
 Parthesin (Persie) and Kalathin(Cally)held byMackHolffe 
 except that part on the south side of the water of Ferdil 
 (Ardle) opposite to Clony (Cluny), which was retained 
 for his own use. From Jedworth (Jedburgh) he gave the 
 monks freedom from tollage, passage, markets, and other 
 customs, with power to buy and sell throughout the
 
 12 STIUTHMORE: PAST AtfD PRESENT. 
 
 whole kingdom. In four charters, he liberated the monks 
 from all secular exactions ; gave them power to search for 
 goods stolen from them ; protected them from being dis- 
 trained for debt ; and enforced payment of all debts due 
 to them, on pain of forfeiture. By a charter at Kinross 
 he granted to the Abbey two hundred acres of land in the 
 district of Rettrefe (Rattray) ; and by a charter at Forfar 
 the whole moor of Blair (Blairgowrie.) 
 
 The noble munificence of the King roused up his 
 wealthier subjects to make handsome donations to the 
 Abbey. And this is one of the blessed prerogatives of 
 royalty. Let the sovereign heartily espouse a cause, by 
 heading an appeal in support of it with a handsome sura 
 of money, and the enthusiasm spreads, like h're in wood, 
 kindling as it goes ; soon the wealthy vie with each other 
 in showing their loyalty in furthering the good work. 
 The royal seal seems by a charm to stamp the character 
 of the object, for no one then is heard to say (as is too 
 often the case with contributions for missionary objects 
 now-a-days), when an appeal is made to the wealthy 
 public for pecuniary help to families rendered de- 
 stitute by some sudden calamity, or for a contribu- 
 tion to some noble object, in the sordid spirit of the 
 type of human selfishness, " To what purpose is this 
 waste ? " 
 
 William of Hay, cupbearer to King William the Lion, 
 had signed as a witness to three of the royal charters ; 
 and the royal munificence so influenced him that, after re- 
 ceiving from his sovereign the Manor of Errol, in tho 
 Carse of Gowrie, he granted to the Abbey tho lands of 
 Ederpoles, and got the charter confirmed by the king at 
 Streuelyn (Stirling). It will be afterwards seen that, 
 either for extent or value, the gifts of the Hays of Errol 
 were the greatest that were made to the Abbey by any
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAR. 13 
 
 individual family. David, successor of his father, William 
 of Hay, granted to the Abbey a net's fishing on the river 
 Thay (Tay) between Lorny (Lornie), one and a-half miles 
 west of Errol (now part of Hill Farm), and the Her- 
 mitage, a place occupied by a hermit called Gillemichel, 
 on whose death the monks were to have all his privileges 
 and easements ; and this was confirmed by King William 
 at Kinghorn. The entire lands in the Carse of Gowrie 
 which David gave to his brother William for homage and 
 service, were conferred by William on the Abbey. 
 Richard of Hay granted a toft and acre of land in the 
 town of Inchture ; and Richard de la Battel, a tenant of 
 the Hays, granted the land lying between Ederpoles and 
 Inchmartyn. 
 
 Stephen of Blair gave the lands of Letcassy, and 
 William of Ougelby (Ogilvie) the east half of the land 
 which he held in Dunkeld ; both charters being confirmed 
 by King William. Alan, the second steward of Scotland, 
 gave a toft in Renfrew and the right of a salmon net in 
 the Clyde ; Adam, son of Angus, an acre of land in Bal- 
 gally ; Ranulpf, the king's chaplain, a tenement in the 
 burgh of Forfar; Sir Hugh Abernethy, two acres of arable 
 land in the " undflate " of Lur (Lour) near Forfar ; John 
 Gyffard of Polgaven, a right of way through his lands at 
 Inchture ; John of Gillebar, a stocked toft and bovate of 
 land at Kinnaird; Thomas of Lundin, royal usher, one 
 merk of silver annually from his land of Balelmeryre- 
 math (Balmerino), on condition that his body be buried 
 in a spot chosen by him at the door of the church in the 
 Abbey ; Adam, Abbot of Forfar, his whole possessions, if 
 he died without children (proles) ; Sir William of Mon- 
 tealt, a stone of wax, and four shillings annually out of 
 his manor of Feme in Forfarshire ; and Malcolm, second 
 Earl of Athole, timber for all time for the construction of
 
 14 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 the Abbey, and other easements through the whole woods 
 of Athole. 
 
 Soon after his accession to the throne in 1214, 
 Alexander II. became a generous benefactor of the Abbey, 
 and thereby, like his father, stimulated the nobles to 
 follow his example. At Stirling, he granted a charter 
 conferring on the Abbey the lands of Glenylif (Glenisla), 
 Belactyn, Frehqui (Freuchie), Cragneuithyn, Innercharia- 
 dethi (Inverquharity), Fortuhy, and others, to he held in 
 free forest; at Kinclaven, a charter empowering the 
 monks to recover their fugitive serfs (nativf) at Glenisla ; 
 at Kelchow (Kelso), a charter compelling all, who are 
 justly indebted, to pay the Abbot and Convent without 
 delay ; at Edinburgh, a charter bestowing the Church of 
 Erolyn (Airlie) ; at Forfar, a charter allowing a right-of- 
 way through the royal forest of Alyth to their lands at 
 Glenisla ; at Traquair, a charter giving two hundred and 
 fifty acres of land in the feu of Meikle Blair, in exchange 
 for the common Muir of Blair granted by his predecessor; 
 at Scone, a charter confirming two and a half poles of 
 land in Perth, bought by the monks from William, son 
 of Lean, with other titles of confirmation ; also another 
 at Scone, relieving the monks from a payment (annua 
 waytinga) which they used to make to the royal falconers 
 from the lands of Adbreth ; and at Kinross, a charter be- 
 stowing ten pounds of silver, the rent due to him by the- 
 Abbot for land at Glenisla, of which ten merks yearly 
 were to be given to two monks for celebrating Divine 
 service in the Chapel of the Holy Trinity on the island in 
 Forfar Loch, and the remainder for lights in the Abbey ; 
 also bestowing the common pasturage on the land of 
 Tyrbeg for six cows and a horse. More in all likelihood 
 King Alexander would have done ; but, when yet a 
 young man, ho took suddenly ill on his way to quell a
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAR. 15 
 
 rebellion in the West, and died in the beautiful island of 
 Kerrera, which closes in the fine bay of Oban, the modern 
 Scottish Brighton. 
 
 But what he did stimulated his subjects to follow his 
 good example. Gilbert of Hay, eldest son of David, 
 granted a common road through his estates, and confirmed 
 the pasture and fishings of Ederpoles, with the standing, 
 as well as the running, water of these lands, together with 
 the mill. Nicholas, his son and successor, gave a bovate 
 of land in the Carse of Gowrie. John de Hay of Adnach- 
 tan, granted one yare on the water of Tay and a toft 
 (Galuraw) in the district of Adnachtan. Thomas of Hay 
 granted a net's fishing in the river Tay. Roger, son of 
 Banditus, granted a bovate of land in the Carse on the 
 south side of Grangie (Grange). Philip of Vallognes, 
 Lord of Panmure, granted a house, an acre of land, and a 
 right to fishings in his part of Stinchende (East Haven). 
 Cuming, son of Henry, third Earl of Athole, granted the 
 privilege of his woods at Glenherty and Tolikyne. Sir 
 William Olifard (Oliphant) granted the lands of Imath, 
 which was confirmed by his superior, Thomas, Earl of 
 Athole. At Raith in Athole, Isabella, Dowager Countess 
 of Athole, granted her lands of Mortholow (Murthly), 
 which she had in her free gift as "lawful heir of Athole." 
 Sybald, son of Walter hostiar, of Lundyne, gave half-a- 
 mcrk of silver annually. William of Montefixo (Mushet) 
 granted the common pasture in his town of Kergille 
 (Cargill). Allan, royal hostiar, gave two pieces 
 of land in Lintrathen, viz., Clentolath and Balcasay. 
 Gaufrid gave twenty shillings annually from Glen- 
 dunock. Simon granted the land between Grange of 
 Balbrogie and Migell (Meigle). Henry of Brechin be- 
 stowed the toft of Innerkey, which yielded annually 
 two horse-halters and one girth. Sir Alexander of
 
 16 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Abernethy granted the lands of Kincreich, in the 
 barony of Lour, the mill and pertinents, right to the 
 mill multures, twenty loads of peats to be taken out 
 of the Moss of Baltedy, and the advocation of the Kirk 
 of Meathie Lour. Henry of Neuith gave two merks of 
 silver. 
 
 The young King, Alexander IIL, who was crowned in 
 his eighth year, did not directly endow the Abbey ; but 
 during his reign Michael of Meigle granted the Marsh of 
 Meigle ; Sir Duncan Sybald gave annually one stone of 
 wax and four shillings, for light at the Mass of St. 
 Mary ; and the Countess Fernelith granted the lands of 
 Cupar. 
 
 For several years after the unfortunate death of Alex- 
 ander, the country was kept in a state of dreadful com- 
 motion by the civil broils in connection with the claims 
 for the crown of Scotland, and the aggressive conduct of 
 Edward I. of England ; and when the English Sovereign 
 had made Scotland for a time a province of England, in 
 his universal course of spoliation and destruction, he 
 ordered the furniture and silver of the Abbey of Cupar to 
 be confiscated and sold. But by the glorious victory of 
 Bannockburn in 1314, King Robert the Bruce restored 
 tranquillity and freedom to his sorely harassed country- 
 men. At Arbroath King Robert granted a charter 
 giving, by special favour, the privilege of fishing for and 
 taking salmon, at times prohibited by statute, in the 
 Thay (Tay), Yleife (Isla), Arith, and North Esk. 
 
 During the reign of The Bruce, Sir John of Inchmartyn 
 granted his lands of Murthly in Mar ; Sir David Lindsay 
 of Crawford granted the lands of Little Pert and Blair ; 
 Sir Gilbert Hay gave two acres of land, and the advoca- 
 tion of the church of Fossoway (the last grant of the 
 generous house of Hay) ; Sir Adam of Glenbathlack
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUP-AR. 17 
 
 granted the lands of Duntay and Dry rays ; Marjory, the 
 Dowager Countess of Athole, granted the patronage of 
 the Church and the Church lands of Alveth in Banff- 
 shire ; Sir John of Kinross in different charters granted 
 the lands of Camboro, Dunay, and Elarge in Glenisla, two 
 rnerks of silver annually from the lands of Achinlesk, with 
 the right of way through all his lands; Nessus, the king's 
 physician, granted the land of Dunfolemthim, which had 
 been conferred on him by David, Earl of Athole ; Sir 
 Kobert of Montealt granted one stone of wax and four 
 shillings annually ; and Sir William of Fenton granted 
 the lands of Adory (Auchindore) in the district of Rethy 
 (Reedie) with free passage to the servants of the monks. 
 According to the fragment of the Register of the Abbey, 
 there are no more grants of any consequence ; and after 
 this date no reliable information concerning the grants 
 to the Abbey can be obtained. 
 
 The exact value of the property of the Abbey at that 
 early period cannot be found, but from the " Book of 
 Assumptions," prepared in 1561 by royal order, it is found 
 that then the total rental was in money 1238 ; and in 
 victual, wheat 7 chalders 12 bolls; bear, 75 chalders 10 
 bolls; meal, 73 chalders 4 bolls; oats, 25 chalders 4 bolls; 
 and if the price paid for articles and the wages to 
 labourers be considered, it would be as good as 8000 a 
 year in our day. Besides, before the compiling of the 
 return, Abbot Donald had given away the estates of Bal- 
 gersho, Arthurstone, Keithock, Denhead, and Croonan, to 
 his five sons ; so, had these been included, the income 
 would have been very high indeed. 
 
 Being thus wealthy, the Abbey of Cupar was made 
 the occasional residence of the King and Court; King 
 Alexander II. in 1246 dated a charter from the Abbey, 
 by which he granted a hundred shillings to the Abbey
 
 18 STRATH MORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 of Arbroath. From the Abbey also, in 1317, King 
 Robert the Bruce granted a confirmation-charter to Sir 
 John Grahame of the lands of Eskdale. In 1378 Robert 
 II. made two visits to the Abbey, and enjoyed the hos- 
 pitality of the monks. And in 1562 the unfortunate 
 Mary Queen of Scots visited the Abbey when on her 
 well-known journey to quell the rebellion of the Earl of 
 Huntly. 
 
 Sad is it to think that such a magnificent edifice should 
 have been ruthlessly destroyed! Grieved is the just 
 mind to know that money and lands, thus given so 
 frankly and honestly, should have been inexorably con- 
 fiscated and diverted from their proper and originally in- 
 tended object. The donors left what to us appear senti- 
 mental conditions, that mass be said for the souls of the 
 dead, and that their bodies be reverently buried within 
 the precincts of the sacred place ; but yet, in those days 
 the purpose was devout, and their intentions should have 
 been respected. Such raids upon land.s doted for religious 
 purposes surely cannot be uniformly justified; but, alas, 
 for the grasping nature of the human heart and the jeal- 
 ous character of the human mind, when such opportunities 
 come within their reach ! And when we tread the 
 ground where once that noble Abbey reared its head into 
 the heavens, we will be excused for such reflections we 
 will not be condemned for our reverence for the hallowed 
 associations : 
 
 " We never tread upon them, but we set 
 Our foot upon some rev'rencl history ; 
 And questionless, here in this open court, 
 Which now lies naked to the injuries 
 Of stormy weather, some lie interr'd, 
 Loved the Church so well, and gave so largely to't, 
 
 They thought it should have canopied their bones 
 Till doomsday : but all things have their end ; 
 Abbeys and cities, which have diseases like to men, 
 Must have like death that we have."
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAR. 19 
 
 Some years ago we visited with a friend the ruins of the 
 oldest Scottish Cathedral in the island of lona. And 
 what struck us most was the ill-designed and grotesque 
 figures which were sculptured on the tops of the four 
 massive pillars. One represented an angel weighing the 
 good deeds of a man against the evil ones, while the spirit 
 of evil is pressing down one of the scales with his claw. 
 Another represents the temptation of Adam and Eve ; 
 the apples hanging temptingly from a widespread tree, 
 with the serpent's body coiled round the trunk, and its 
 head facing Eve's in the attitude of tempting her. These 
 two rudely carved designs showed us that even in the 
 earliest Christian times men of religious thought were 
 endeavouring to grapple with the chief difficulties of our 
 faith ; and, when unable to explain them, they simply 
 represented them in symbol, as the Scriptures did in 
 myths and allegory. Even then, those who introduced 
 Christianity into Scotland, rejoiced in the fact that man 
 was not originally depraved, but that righteousness is 
 man's true nature. They made this representation of the 
 Temptation and the Fall and bias to sin, to show that 
 the time was when man had not sinned. And as we 
 studied those rude figures, surrounded by the honoured 
 dust of many Scottish kings and early Christian martyrs, 
 our mind most solemnly realised the great facts of man's 
 responsibility and immortality ; and in some measure 
 were our hearts stirred with the feeling, so memorably 
 recorded by Dr. Johnson on his visit there : " That man 
 is little to be envied whose patriotism would not gain 
 force upon the plains of Marathon, or whose piety would 
 not grow warmer amid the ruins of lona." 
 
 Such a feeling should possess us when we tread in 
 imagination the sacred courts of the Abbey of Cupar in
 
 20 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 its earliest and palmiest days. For then purity, charity, 
 devotion were the paramount traits in the character of the 
 dwellers in the cloisters. Not then had luxury-fed gross- 
 ness debased their minds and tarnished the brightness of 
 their sacred office. Not then had the master passion in 
 their breasts, like Aaron's serpent, swallowed all the rest. 
 And though we must lament the sordid worldliness which 
 occasioned in Scotland, as elsewere in Christendom, the 
 religious revolution of the Reformation, yet we must not 
 blame the early monks. After three centuries of noble 
 so\f-devotion to the good of men, the monks of Cupar 
 fell from the high ideal of moral worth which they 
 had so long rejoiced in ; and when they did evil, they 
 followed the universal law of individuals, communities, and 
 nations ; and went down and were swept away. But 
 never let us forget that the abuse and degradation of a 
 thing, which is in itself good, is not peculiar to any age 
 or system; let us shut our eyes to the wickedness of 
 those who called down John Knox's anathemas upon 
 them; and let us think of the Abbey of Cupar at its best, 
 when it was an undoubted blessing to all around, and 
 when it was laying those foundations of intellectual, 
 moral, and social good which have had their lasting effect 
 upon the inhabitants of Strathmore. 
 
 " From kirk and choir ebbed far away 
 The thought that gathered clay by day ; 
 And round the altars drew 
 A weak, unlettered crew." 
 
 Established by the Royal Charter of Malcolm the 
 Maiden in 11G4, and richly endowed for many generations 
 by kings and nobles, the Cistercian Abbey of Cupar took 
 a high place among the Abbeys of the land. Dressed in 
 white, except the black cowl and scapular, the twenty 
 monks who settled in the North from Mel rose must have 
 had an imposing appearance in the eyes of those who
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAR. 21 
 
 were living the semi-savage life, " like a beast with lower 
 pleasures, like a beast with lower pains." Their poverty, 
 chastity, and obedience must have had a powerful effect. 
 Their time was carefully scheduled out for different duties. 
 Seven times together they worshipped daily in the Abbey 
 Church. Seven times together they daily met in the 
 Chapterhouse for discipline. During their meals strictly 
 regulated, and frugally indulged in one of their number 
 by turns read aloud to the rest the Scriptures or pastoral 
 counsels. The rest of the day was occupied with some 
 useful work, such as copying manuscripts for the good of 
 the people ; illuminating passages of Holy Writ with 
 devotional cheerfulness ; decorating the Monastery and 
 ornamenting the buildings ; practising gardening and en- 
 gaging in agriculture. Under the supervision of the 
 Abbot, the monks divided the labour, taking appointed 
 duties by arrangement carrying on the work with co- 
 operation and hearty mutual effort. 
 
 To a great extent the Corporation was independent of 
 the Bishops, acknowledging by permission of the Pope 
 their subservience to the head of their Order alone the 
 Abbot of Citeaux in France. In social rank, the Abbot 
 was next to the Bishop, and maintained due dignity and 
 state. With two country seats, one at Cupar Grange 
 (two miles north), and the other at Campsie (three miles 
 south-west), he kept up a high position. The latter was 
 the Abbot's principal country seat, the former being 
 generally occupied by the steward, who, managing the 
 affairs of the Monastery, often in troublous times prepared 
 there a retreat for his brethren. 
 
 The domestic affairs of the Abbey were seen to by the 
 cellarer. This functionary originally held high rank, for 
 one of them was raised to the office of Abbot. He gener- 
 ally got the name of " Lord Cellarer." Next to him was
 
 22 STRATEMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 the porter, who lived at the Abbey-gate and was the dis- 
 tributer of alms. The " Cuningar " looked after the 
 game-covers and rabbit-warrens. The forester-general 
 superintended the foresters in protecting the plantations, 
 which were considered useful for providing shelter, bene- 
 ficial for checking malaria, and beautifying for improving 
 the appearance of the country. The superintendent of 
 the fisheries had extensive work in looking after the 
 various net fishings, and getting the salmon kippered. 
 The gardener looked after the orchard, fruit, and vege- 
 table gardens. 
 
 The Abbey workmen bore as family designations the 
 names of their handicrafts, such as Wright, Mason, Slater, 
 Millar, Smith ; and the gatekeeper for many generations 
 had the same name, Porter. For the management of 
 their secular business, a certain number of lay brethren, 
 called converts, were admitted. 
 
 From what we will afterwards show in the details of 
 some of the leases in the Rental Book of the Abbey, pre- 
 served in the General Register House, it will be seen that 
 the monks were very careful and shrewd and far-seeing 
 in their arrangements with their tenants. Their practical 
 godliness " diligence in business and service of God " 
 is thus expressed by Wordsworth : 
 
 " Who, with the ploughshare, clove the barren moors, 
 Anil to green meadows changed the swampy shores? 
 The thoughtful monks, intent their God to please, 
 For Christ's dear sake, by human sympathies. " 
 
 They were the originators of leases, which have 
 made Scotch farming what it is, holding now the 
 highest place in the world, if we consider the 
 generally comparatively poor nature of the soil on 
 which our farmers have to work. These leases were, 
 according to circumstances, generally from seven to 
 nineteen years. Rents were paid in produce, service, and
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAR. 23 
 
 to a small extent in money. Produce consisted of poultry, 
 pigs, calves, lambs, meal, barley, oats, and straw ; and, in 
 some cases, butter. Service was exacted in casting and 
 driving peats, harvesting, making nets and fishing-tackle. 
 There was occasionally a strict clause, that any tenant, 
 believed to be smitten with an infectious disease, had to 
 remove from his farm till he was considered quite better. 
 Interest in looking after the morals of their tenants may 
 be seen in some leases, which require sobriety, temperance, 
 and kindly intercourse with their neighbours. Decency 
 of apparel was exacted from some tenants, the monks 
 condemning "ragyt clathis," and requiring that their 
 tenants " sal be honest in thar cleything." All 
 the tenants had, when called, to defend the Abbey 
 neighbourhood from wolves, robbers, and sturdy 
 vagrants. 
 
 There were two classes of tenants farmers and cottars 
 the former having not less than thirty-three acres of 
 arable land, and the latter from one to twelve acres. 
 The monks, considering wisely that vegetables were 
 essential to keep the blood from becoming too heated by 
 the constant use of oatmeal at all diets, ordered the 
 cottars to have " green kail in their yards ; " and this 
 exemplary precaution is carefully attended to by all the 
 ploughmen and country people still. Not long ago a 
 young medical man, who began practice in a country 
 district, one day, in conversation with the beadle, was 
 remarking that the people were very healthy there. 
 " A} T e," said the beadle, " ye'll find that tae yer 
 cost ere lang ; the yaird's (churchyard) dune very 
 little for 'ears, for a'body, ye see, gangs in for big kail- 
 yards." 
 
 The monks carefully proportioned the number of 
 cottars to each farmer, thereby keeping down pauperism.
 
 24 STRATH MORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Tenants were required to take in a certain part of marsh, 
 proportioned to their holdings. Pasture lands had to be 
 regularly watered from adjoining streams. A system of 
 rotation of crop was rigidly enacted in most cases ; and 
 very strict injunctions under threats of severe penalties 
 were given to keep down the troublesome wild marigold 
 in the fields. Specific regulations were made about the 
 number of pigs to be kept by the tenants, and about their 
 being watched from wandering into the woods and hunt- 
 ing grounds. The farmers were enjoined to plant ash 
 trees, saughs, osiers, hedges, and broom ; as these were 
 admirably adapted for shelter, highly ornamental, and 
 practically beneficial. 
 
 The Abbot instituted three grades of Court for the 
 preservation of order and justice. The inferior was the 
 Court of Burlaw, a self-elected jury of neighbours (like 
 that still to be found in St. Kilda),who met weekly to regu- 
 late ordinary matters. Next above it was the Baron-bailie 
 Court, the official being generally appointed, with certain 
 dues, for a succession of years, by the district Baron. 
 Both of these Courts were subordinate to the Court of 
 Regality, presided over by the Abbot himself, who, 
 however, at times delegated his work to a deputy-bailie. 
 This bailie-depute ultimately became hereditary, the 
 last receiving 800 as compensation for quitting the 
 office. 
 
 For cases of severe or continued illness the Abbey 
 owned an hospital in Dundee, where proper medical 
 treatment could be conveniently obtained. 
 
 The Abbot had the patronage and drew the rents 
 (except a small portion allowed to the half-starved 
 incumbents) of the Church of Alvah in Banfi'shire ; the 
 Churches of Airlie, Glenisla, and Meathie (afterwards 
 united to Inverarity and now suppressed), in Forfarshiro ;
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAR. 25 
 
 and the Churches of Bendochy and Fossoway in Perth- 
 shire. 
 
 It is not in our power to give anything like an accurate 
 account of the successive Abbots of Cupar, owing to the 
 very limited information which we have about them ; nor 
 would any detailed account of many be of any general 
 interest. Major-General Allan has taken a very great 
 deal of trouble to procure sufficient data for weav- 
 ing together a historical account of them. We have 
 read the whole of the notices; but out of the 120 
 pages we will only mention the prominent and useful 
 facts. 
 
 According to a valuable little work, " Chronicon Anglo- 
 Scoticum," the first Abbot was Fulc, who, like several of 
 his successors, was a Cistercian monk of the Abbey of Mel- 
 rose; one of them, William, returning, after two years, 
 to Melrose as its Abbot. William was a particularly 
 pious man ; for at his death he was esteemed worthy of 
 being buried near his sainted predecessor, Waltheof ; and 
 a strange story is told about this burial. While the 
 grave was being made, some of the monks looked 
 in and removed the cover of Waltheof 's tomb ; 
 when, by the lighted taper it being evening 
 they saw the body of the holy man as it lay uncor- 
 rupted, and clothed in garments apparently fresh and 
 beautiful. 
 
 Several Abbots are mentioned as witnesses to royal 
 charters. During Alexander's incumbency, the Convent- 
 ual Church of the Abbey was dedicated to Saint Mary in 
 1233 ; and a very protracted dispute took place between 
 the monks, as Cistercians, and the Papal legate, about 
 their non-adherence to his order, to cease from the cele- 
 bration of Divine service during the existence of the 
 Papal interdict.
 
 26 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Abbot Andrew was at the Convention assembled at 
 Brigham, near Roxburgh, in 1289, which consented to 
 the proposed marriage of their infant Queen Margaret, in 
 her eighth year, with Prince Edward of England. Twice 
 did he pay homage to Edward I. first in the church of 
 the Friars' Preachers at Perth, and next at Berwick-on- 
 Tweed. He built a chapel at the expense of the Abbey, 
 in the island of Karuelay (now Kerrera, near Oban), and 
 engaged three monks to celebrate divine service there in 
 memory of King Alexander, for a certain sum of mono}', 
 which the Abbey had received from the King. The 
 earliest known seal of an Abbot of Cupar is one of the 
 3 r ear 1292, now in the Chapter-House, Westminster ; it is 
 a small counter-seal, with the design of a hand vested 
 issuing from the left side and holding a crozier between 
 two fleurs-de-lis. Andrew appears to have been the only 
 Superior of Cupar Abbey who was raised to the Episco- 
 pate ; for his high character and virtues he was made 
 Bishop of Caithness. King Edward I. of England, in his 
 general spoliation of Scotch Abbeys, in 129G, seized all 
 the jewels and silver-plate of the Abbey of Cupar, to be 
 broken up and made into new vessels for the Lady 
 Elizabeth, his daughter, " against her passage to Holland," 
 details of which are still extant in the Wardrobe Account 
 in the British Museum. Abbot Alan was a member of 
 King Edward's Privy Council in Scotland ; and sat in the 
 Parliament of King Robert the Bruce. Dr. William Blair 
 was an Abbot of learning, ability, and importance ; and 
 was appointed visitor of the Cistercian Order in Scotland. 
 Abbot Thomas of Livingston was nominated Bishop of 
 Dunkeld by the anti-pope Felix V. , but, though conse- 
 crated, ho never obtained possession of the see. By a 
 Papal Bull from Pope Paul, in 14G4, Abbot David Bane 
 had the privilege of using the mitre and pontificals, and
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAR. 27 
 
 the right of consecrating churches and cemeteries. From 
 an agreement signed in 1500, between the Convent and 
 Andrew Liel, about the lands of Redgorton, it is seen 
 that there were in all seventeen members of the Convent 
 Chapter of Cupar, the second member taking the title 
 "superior." Abbot John Schanwell, being appointed 
 by Papal authority the Commissioner from the general 
 Chapter of Citeaux, visited and reformed the Cistercian 
 Monasteries in Scotland ; when, on account of the sad 
 neglect of discipline, he deposed the Abbots of Melrose, 
 Dundrainan, and Sweetheart Abbey. Such a sweeping 
 condemnation showed the terrible signs of decay in the 
 beginning of the sixteenth century. Though during the 
 preceding century three Universities had been founded, 
 and a wonderful revival of learning was seen throughout 
 ths land ; yet the Abbeys, seeing that thereby much of 
 their work was not required, became effeminate by 
 indolent luxury, and their members began to receive the 
 popular names, derived from their over-fed and over- 
 indulged appearances, which too often attach to our 
 modern idea of monk. Living instances were they of the 
 fact, doubted too readily by money-enslaved and luxury- 
 hunting mortals, that a man of the world can be found 
 in the seclusion of monastic life. Man carries in his 
 breast the source of his glory or his misery ; of his rest 
 or his dispeace. And more pointedly do such terrible 
 examples show us the truth of the reflection of the 
 Apostate Angel after he overthrew the harmony of the 
 universe, thus fixed in poetic form by the immortal 
 genius of Milton, who, believing in the freedom of the 
 will, held that man was the creator of his own 
 world : 
 
 " The mind is its own place, and in itself 
 Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."
 
 28 STRATHMOKE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 The last and most noted of the Abbots of Cupar was 
 Donald Campbell (152G-15G2), the fourth son of the Earl 
 of Argyll. He was one of the twenty who composed the 
 secret Council of the Regent Arran, and was for some 
 time Lord Privy Seal to Queen Alary. King James the 
 Fifth nominated him one of the senators of the College of 
 Justice at Edinburgh. Already the reformed doctrines 
 of Luther were finding their way among the Scotch laity, 
 and the Abbot was suspected of leaning to them ; for, 
 when nominated Bishop of Brechin, the Pope would not 
 confirm his appointment, and he never assumed the title. 
 In 15GO he attended the Parliament when the Reforma- 
 tion of religion received the first legal sanction. During 
 his tenure of office three different Abbey seals were used. 
 The principal seal, appended to a tack of the lands of 
 Murthly, is of a rich design ; within a Gothic niche is a 
 figure of the Virgin in a sitting posture, her right hand 
 holding a branch of lilies, her left supporting the infant 
 Jesus, who stands on a seat beside her ; below is an 
 Abbot with a crozier kneeling at prayer, with a shield 
 on either side, the one bearing the arms of Scotland, and 
 the other the arras of the family of Hay, who contributed 
 so much to the endowment of the Abbey. To his five 
 sons he gave the fine estates of Balgcrsho, Arthurstone, 
 Keithock, Denhead, and Croonan, all in the neighbour- 
 hood of Cupar ; for his lineal descendant, the late Lord 
 Chancellor Campbell, asserts that he was married before 
 ho was made Abbot ; to James Ogilvy, heir of James, 
 Lord Ogilvy of Airlio he gave the lands of Glentullacht 
 and Auchindoryc ; and to other relations similar grants 
 from church lands. 
 
 From the Rental Book and Register of Tacks we find 
 that the Abbots were exceedingly careful in their letting
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAB. 29 
 
 of the church lands. The first entry in 1443 is the tack 
 of a croft of two acres and a house for five years, paying 
 yearly three hens and finding two harvest men in autumn 
 with usual service. Five years seems to have been for a 
 long period the general extent of the lease ; yet we have 
 several instances of four years, seven years, and nine 
 years. Some farms were taken by shareholders, in 
 eighths or twelfths ; the tack restricting (under pain of 
 forfeiture), the holder of an eighth to the employment of 
 three cottars, and the holder of a twelfth to two. The 
 agreement contained the conditions that cottars without 
 kailyards were to be at once ejected ; that calves found 
 in the blade-corn after the Feast of the Nativity of St. 
 John the Baptist, and more than one pig found on each 
 twelfth of the farm, were to be forfeited to the monastery ; 
 and that at reaping-time any one, who introduced sheep 
 into the corn before all had made a full leading in, had to 
 pay a fine. 
 
 It was Abbot David who in 1462 introduced the most 
 particular details into the leases. In one tack the tenants 
 shall duly sow all the parks for two years together, ac- 
 cording to ancient customs ; and after sowing they shall re- 
 store and fence the parks, satisfying the keeper of the fields 
 of the monastery ; at their own expense the tenants shall 
 keep in proper order the principal bam' of the grange and 
 seedhouse; those remaining shall recompense those retiring 
 for the houses, according to common law and custom in 
 such matters ; the tenants shall have the manure of the 
 great stable and of the yard of the brew-house ; also the 
 ashes of the bake-house and oven, and of the peats in the 
 kitchen. Particular attention is to be directed to drain- 
 ing and recovering the marshes. In most of the 240 tacks, 
 tenants are required to weed their lands carefully, and 
 especially to destroy the wild marigold, taking a change
 
 30 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 of seed as often as possible. For keeping and governing 
 the whole farm, where there are several tenants, an overs- 
 man chosen by the Abbot shall see that " gud nycht-buryt 
 (neighbourhood or neighbourliness) be kepit." Five land 
 officers, with districts allotted, were empowered to see that 
 the tenants fulfilled the conditions of their leases, to keep 
 an account of the sheep belonging to the monastery fed 
 on different lands, and of the rent in kind paid by the 
 tenantry. He commenced the system of giving life-rents, 
 which was almost universally carried out by Abbot 
 Donald in his time ; and, if the tenant thought that he 
 would be better in another place, he should have the free 
 consent of the Abbot, on condition that he gave in six 
 months' warning before the term of Whitsunday. In 
 some cases a tenant had liberty to sub-let part of his farm. 
 If one of the shareholding tenants left his land unlaboured, 
 the others were to labour it and be paid compensation. 
 The old custom of riding the marches is mentioned ; in 
 one tack, the tenant of Auchindore shall " kep and defend 
 our marches as thai war redyng at the last ridyng and 
 declaracioun." Security had to be found in many cases ; 
 and grassum was exacted in renewing tacks. Fines were 
 levied on those who did not keep their lands clean accord- 
 ing to the lease. 
 
 A curious grant was given by Abbot William in 1508 
 " to Sir Alexander Turnbull, chaplain, of all and whole 
 the chaplainry of the Chapel of the Aisle of St Margaret, 
 Queen of Scots, near Forf'ar, for life, providing that he 
 shall make personal residence in the ministry of the said 
 chapel, and rule in priestly manner accordingly to the rule 
 of the sacred canons ; that he be diligent and earnest in 
 building and repairing the chapel and buildings thereof; 
 and that he do not receive temporal lords or ladies or 
 strangers of whatsoever kind or sex to stay there without
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAR. 31 
 
 leave asked and obtained by the Abbot, and that no women 
 dwell there except those lawfully permitted ; also that 
 the said chaplain plant trees without and within, and 
 construct stone dykes for the defence and preservation of 
 the loch." Contracts were made with the several trades- 
 men. In 1492 a mason was hired by the Abbot in pres- 
 ence of three monks, for five years, at five merks yearly 
 and his dinner daily (half-a-gallon of convent ale, and 
 five wheaten cakes with fish and flesh), with a stone of 
 wool for his bounty ; also free house and toft of 2 J acres, 
 with the Abbot's old albs reaching to the ankles. In the 
 same year a slater was hired for one year on similar terms, 
 but if he should happen to fail at any time, for every day's 
 failure he had to work two days beyond the year. At 
 the same wages two carpenters were hired for one year, 
 taking an oath to be faithful both in skill and work. A 
 smith was hired for a year for the common smithy-work 
 of the Abbey at the same wages, receiving extra his daily 
 quart of better beer. Apprentices were indentured for 
 from six to nine years ; they must not murmur at the 
 common and usual service in victual and other things ; 
 their wages being from one to two merks during service. 
 A contract was made in 1532 with an'Edinburgh plumber, 
 " ane honourable man," for his lifetime, that for 5 6s. Sd. 
 Scots he shall uphold, mend and repair water-tight the 
 Abbey, Kirk, choir, steeple, and all other leaden work 
 within the Abbey, well and sufficiently, as he did at St. 
 Andrews (he and his servants receiving board when 
 engaged in work), and that he must come as often as re- 
 .quired on eight days' warning. 
 
 Above a hundred carefully drawn out leases are signed 
 by Abbot Donald, most of them being for life, and even 
 including the life of the eldest son, or next male heir. 
 Feu-titles were completed by the Bailie-depute attending
 
 32 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 on the land and giving the feuar some earth or thatch to 
 prove possession. The privilege of brewing ale and sell- 
 ing it with bread and wine was granted to a portion of 
 the tenantry. Corn mills driven by water power were 
 in every district ; and " thirlage " to the mill was en- 
 forced, being put in the leases as "doing debt to the 
 mill," which debt was the twenty-first sheaf of corn in 
 the fields. Walk-mills for pressing and fulling cloth 
 were established in several places; but there was no 
 thirlage attached to them. On the death of a tenant of a 
 farm, the best horse or ox was claimed by the Abbot. 
 Muirland tenants had to keep hounds to hunt the fox 
 and wolf, and to be ready to pass to the hunt when the 
 Abbot or his bailies required them. Tenants, whose 
 farms touched the Isla, had to provide a boat and fishing- 
 tackle for the monks. All had to cut, dry and drive a 
 certain quantity of peats to the Abbey ; and all carriages 
 had to be willingly attended to. 
 
 As the buildings were now much in need of repair, the 
 Abbot exacted in life-leases a composition of from one to 
 two hundred pounds Scots in cash, for the fabric of the 
 Abbey. Due provision was very considerately made for 
 aged tenants ; to keep such from being paupers, those 
 succeeding to their leases were bound to provide them in 
 meat and clothes and other necessaries. Orphan children 
 of deceased tenants were assisted by the Abbey funds 
 and had guardians appointed for them. In some leases 
 it was made a condition that cottars were not to be re- 
 moved. The principal tenants were required to provide 
 two armed hoi-semen for the service of the Queen and 
 Abbot in time of war or civil broils. 
 
 Leases after 1544? had a heresy clause inserted, and 
 "give it happinnis, as God forbeit, at the said to hald ony 
 oppinnionis of heresies and byde obstinatlie thairat, it
 
 THE ABEEY OF CUPAJEL S3 
 
 sail be tinsall of the tak but [without] ony forder proces of 
 law." In one tack the exact heresy is mentioned (1550) : 
 "If they shall fall into the Lutheran madness (rabies) and 
 heresy, or if they shall obstinately hold new opinions 
 contrary to the constitutions of the Church the said feu 
 shall revert to the Abbey." 
 
 The records of the Abbey of Cupar contain more de- 
 tails about Scottish husbandry and rural affairs during 
 the fifteenth and first half of the sixteenth centuries than 
 any other to be found. Most chartularies of the Abbeys 
 are chiefly valuable in connection with the history of 
 landed property. But from these we can judge of the 
 shrewd, practical interest which the Abbots of Cupar 
 took in administering their estates and conducting their 
 affairs ; their fairness to their tenants ; their reasonable, 
 sympathetic co-operation with those who were, by 
 manual labour, supporting them ; their care in securing 
 the proper training of workmen in their several pro- 
 fessions ; their consideration for the farmers' dependants ; 
 their sense of responsibility in making the best use of the 
 land for the common good; their encouragement of clean- 
 liness, economy, and the spirit of honour, charity, and 
 brotherly kindness in the household under them; and 
 their honest endeavour to live religion as well as to 
 preach it. 
 
 Whatever may have been the faults of the Abbots ot 
 Cupar, they cannot be considered as fit subjects for the 
 bitter sarcasm which John Skelton, in 1550, expressed 
 against most of the ecclesiastics of his time : 
 
 " The laymen call them barrels 
 Full of gluttony 
 And of hypocrisy, 
 That counterfeits and paints 
 As they were very saints, 
 For they will have no loss 
 Of a penny nor a cross 
 C
 
 34 8TEATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Of their predial lands 
 That cometh to their hands, 
 And as far as they dare set 
 All is fish that cometh to net." 
 
 In 1553 Donald and the fifteen monks signed a solemn 
 bond in which they all resolved, " God being their guide, 
 to lead a regular life, and to order their manners accord- 
 ing to the reformers of the Cistercian Order ; each of 
 them to have sixteen ounces of wheaten bread, and a like 
 quantity of oaten bread, two quarts of beer daily, besides 
 an annual allowance of 13 Cs. 8d. Scots, for flesh, fish, 
 butter, salt, and other spices ; and figs, soap, and candles 
 for the refectory, hall of grace, and infirmary; and an allow- 
 ance of 53s. 4d. annually for clothing ; the cellarer and 
 bursar to give in a statement of accounts twice a-year, 
 and any surplus revenue to be disposed of as they shall 
 then see fit." The monks of Cupar were of a purer and 
 higher character than the average of the age, and came 
 nearer to the training and tone of those thus described by 
 Tennyson in Harold : 
 
 " A life of prayer and fasting well may see 
 Deeper into the mysteries of Heaven." 
 
 Yet to a great extent the simple arrangements of three 
 centuries had over Scotland begun to show unmistakable 
 signs of deep-seated corruption. The grand mediaeval or- 
 ganisation was losing its motive power and was helplessly 
 decaying. True devotion was supplanted by grovelling 
 worldliness. Seven hundred of the working churches 
 were held by the Bishops and Abbots ; the poor working 
 vicars being almost as ignorant as the people to whom 
 they preached. Benefices were sold at the Roman Court. 
 The monks no longer had their hereditary right to elect 
 their Abbots, nor Cathedral Chapters their Bishops. The 
 Sovereigns sold these offices for needy cash to men in 
 most cases unworthy of them and unable to perform
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAE. 35 
 
 their required duties. The spiritual interests of the 
 people were disregarded. Still did the monks of the Ab- 
 bey preach, but all else was spiritually dead. The nobles 
 were hankering after the wealth of the Abbeys. The 
 celibate system which had, when revered, unmistake- 
 able advantages over the semi-starved, family-burdened, 
 care-worn Protestant clergy of our day was being abused, 
 and was producing humiliating and disastrous results. 
 The intolerance of the Roman Catholics to give due res- 
 pect to the reformed doctrines which culminated in 
 Luther, and the bitter obstinacy to reform the Church 
 from within, could not fail to turn the tide against them. 
 Tradition had greater weight than the written Word. 
 Departed saints were honoured as unmistakeable mediators. 
 Penances were enough to make men righteous. 
 
 Doubtless, Abbot Donald and his brethren in Cupar 
 Abbey wept in secret over these abominations, and longed 
 for the dawn of a better day ; for he, though appointed 
 to the See of Brechin, was not inducted on account of the 
 suspicion of his leanings to the reformed faith ; and this 
 in the face of the heresy clauses, which, by Papal Author- 
 ity, he had to put into the leases of the Abbey tenants. 
 But for his association (as Lord Privy Seal) with the 
 Roman Catholic Queen Mary, whose fascinating powers 
 made almost all ecclesiastics, who came into her pre- 
 sence, yield their better judgment rather than be on 
 unfriendly terms with her, Abbot Donald of Cupar 
 might have been one of the staunchest reformers. He 
 tried in his own limited way to do what would have sayed 
 the Church, had it been universally adopted over Europe, 
 to reform it from within. And it is to some extent a pity 
 that so many noble minds abandoned the old Church, and 
 did not persevere in their eiforts for its revival. For 
 with all the glorious results of Protestantism to the indi-
 
 36 STRA.THMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 vidual, it has not been a success in the world. The unity 
 of the Church was sacrificed. Freedom of thought is a 
 blessing which is dear to man, yet it was dearly bought ; 
 for it is no doubt the root principle of all the sects and 
 schisms which must split up and weaken the Protestant 
 Church. Intolerance is not confined to the Church before 
 the Reformation. Heresy-hunting and hair-splitting of 
 religious tenets have not yet died out in our enlightened 
 age. And there is often felt the want of that authority, 
 which at times would be very desirable, from the consen- 
 sus of religious thought. Abbot Donald saw that, and 
 regretted the want of energy and life in the Church 
 around. Those who burned the martyrs had no sympa- 
 thy from him. And among the members present at the 
 Convention of Estates in Scotland, held in Edinburgh in 
 August, 1560, assenting to the ratification of the new 
 " Confession of Faith " as the standard of religion in Scot- 
 land, and the annulling of all authority and jurisdiction 
 within the realm of the " bischope of Rome callit the 
 Paip," and prohibition of saying or hearing " the messe," 
 under pain of death for the third infringement, was " Do- 
 nald Abbot of Coupar." 
 
 Some two thousand years ago there was in Athens a 
 wonderful collection of broken fragments of most ex- 
 quisitely-formed human statues, brought from all parts of 
 the known world. One day a stranger entered the hall, 
 where the artists were wrangling about which of the 
 fragments bore the evidence of being a part of the ideal 
 statue of man. He looked at them as no other man 
 looked ; and they were awed by his presence. And he 
 said, " Sirs, why strive so among yourselves ? Put these 
 bita together, and you will find that they fit into each
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAR. 37 
 
 other." They did so, and all the parts fitted in exactly ; 
 but the head was awanting. They were sorely saddened 
 at this crowning loss. But the stranger, without a word, 
 drew from beneath his cloak the head which had been so 
 long lost, and crowned the statue. The perfect thing was 
 now before them. The pure ideal was now before the 
 Grecian artists' eyes. In a similar way, men had been 
 puzzled with the fragments of religion which they col- 
 lected from the different nations of the world. From the 
 fragments they wove several religions ; they wrote and 
 argued about them ; but where was the man who could 
 unite them all into one ideal of religion, yet living and 
 practical in its bearings ? All could be influenced by the 
 great " Light of the world," yet who could show men the 
 embodiment of the ideal religion ? At the Reformation, 
 Luther, Calvin, Latimer, and Knox thought that they had 
 realised it; and that thought carried them and their 
 followers through much difficulty and danger. Yet the 
 hold it took on them drove them to the same intolerance 
 which they condemned in their adversaries. The demoli- 
 tion of all the finest ecclesiastical edifices in the kingdom 
 cannot now be defended. In fanatical zeal they thought 
 of extinguishing the Catholics by tearing down their 
 " nests ; " and not long were they in accomplishing the 
 destruction. This is one of the unfortunate blots in the 
 life of him whom Froude has pronounced to be the 
 "grandest figure in the entire history of the British 
 Reformation." 
 
 The reformers then obtained the mastery of Scotland. 
 The poor clay, which, a generation earlier, the ha.ughty 
 barons would have trodden into the. gutter, had been 
 heated in the red-hot furnace of the new faith ; but their 
 convictions were fixed by a very fierce intolerance. Yet 
 they had to live. How were they to be provided with
 
 38 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 money ? Knox soon saw that something had to be done 
 to keep the Protestant preachers from positive starvation. 
 The nobles had seized upon many of the rich benefices of 
 the Church. According!}', the Privy Council allowed the 
 Catholics to retain two-thirds of their benefices during 
 their life-time, and appropriated the remaining third for 
 the Reformed Church and the Crown. All the beneficed 
 clergy and the Abbeys had to produce their rent-rolls to 
 ascertain the true value of the livings. This seemed 
 honourable by the Protestant nobles to the vanquished 
 Catholic ecclesiastics. But the generosity was only skin 
 deep. They had planned to take to themselves and the 
 Crown the largest slice as the pensioned Catholics died. 
 Knox saw through it and denounced it ; but to no effect. 
 And of the thirds of the benefices which were to be 
 divided between the Reformed Establishment and the 
 Crown, the Church received only about one third, i.e., one 
 tenth of the endowments given absolutely over by the 
 old Catholic nobles for the special purpose of religion. 
 Queen Mary, accustomed with the extravagance of joyous 
 France, acquired in this way a good deal of ready money 
 to keep up her pageantry. 
 
 Leonard Lesley was appointed Coramendator of Cupar 
 in 15G2, to report upon the revenues of the Abbey, already 
 mulcted to some extent by the " unjust steward " Abbot 
 Donald. Lesley, becoming Protestant, was free to marry ; 
 so the Abbot-Commendator for the first time had a wife 
 and four children occupying the once hallowed dwellings 
 of the celibate monks. What a contrast was this new 
 home-life to the recreations of the celibate monks of 
 old, thus described by Dr. Walter C. Smith in his 
 "Raban:"- 
 
 " And some would pore over vellum books, 
 And some would feather the sharp fish-hooks, 
 
 And some would see to the sheep and kine ;
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAR. 39 
 
 Some went hunting the red-deer stag, 
 Some would travel with beggar's bag, 
 
 And some sat long by the old red wine." 
 
 Lesley sat in Parliament in 1574; and in 1585 was a 
 Commissioner for the settlement of the stipends of the 
 Parish Kirks. It is interesting to notice that, in the 
 Chamberlain's Account, John Knox received part of his 
 stipend as minister of Edinburgh from the " thirds " of 
 the Abbey of Cupar, to the amount of 66 14s. 4d. At 
 this time, the Chamberlain says that the Abbey buildings 
 were very much out -of repair. Once it was a command- 
 ing edifice, partly built in the early English or first- 
 pointed style of architecture, characterised by the pointed 
 arch, long, narrow, lancet - headed windows, clustered 
 pillars and projecting buttresses ; and afterwards com- 
 pleted in the second pointed or decorated style, which 
 gave full scope for the ornamental genius of the Cister- 
 cians, with its mullioned windows, flowing tracery 
 enriched doorways, and elaborate mouldings. But in 
 15C3 the chapel was so completely wrecked that, with a 
 view to preserve the timber, its two doors and the under- 
 most door of the steeple were built up ; the roof slates 
 were thrown together in the cloister ; iron framework 
 was put into the shattered windows; and the stables, 
 granaries, and storehouse, which the year before, under 
 the name of the " quenes stables," accommodated the 
 royal stud, had now to be thoroughly put to rights. 
 
 This dilapidation is supposed to have been the result 
 of the general demolition of the rabidly excited reformers 
 throughout the country. When Queen Mary, on her 
 journey North, to quell in person the rebellion of the 
 Earl of Huntly, rested for several days at the Abbey, she 
 despatched from it a letter to the Town Council of 
 Edinburgh (contained in their Burgh Records), directing 
 them to re-elect Archibald Douglas of Kilspindie, Provost
 
 40 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 of the city, " for oure will and mynde is that the same be 
 done." 
 
 But what a sight for Mary ! The once noble building 
 tottering, and allowed to totter a ruin, spreading wide, 
 and no check put on the progress of the ruin ! To the 
 young, deep-feeling and full-trusting Catholic, who made 
 even the iron Knox quiver as an aspen by the spell of 
 her unrivalled beauty, such a desolation must have been 
 all-depressing ! What ? Can the benign Being, who 
 gave to His children the revelation of His will in the 
 sacred volume, be heartless enough to desert the Church 
 of His well -beloved Son, by Himself inspired, because 
 some have, Judas-like, betrayed the noble trust confided 
 in them? Communism, rampant in its hideous, dragon- 
 like visage, seems to threaten her throne when she 
 beholds " the cross she loved so well " thus desecrated ; 
 and her beauteous countenance blanches with a holy 
 dread. She enters, however, the time-honoured and 
 faith-consecrated yet dilapidated building ; and with the 
 devout interpretation of her life-training, the accumulated 
 associations of the sacred worship, so purely offered for 
 centuries there, raise her spirit from earth and its cares 
 to the peace of heaven ; transform her from the " uneasy 
 head wearing the crown" to the simple child of God; 
 and warm consolation beyond the world's ken beams 
 into her sore- wrung soul, when on her with realistic sooth- 
 ing power, reminding her of her beloved France 
 
 " O'er the high altar a meek face shone, 
 A virgin-mother and baby-son, 
 
 Fashioned by art beyond the sea." 
 
 In 1583 there was a decree before the Lords of Session, 
 at the instance of Andrew Leslie, student Cone of 
 Leonard's sons), " against the Commendator and the other 
 feuars, for payment of anc pension of 50 out of the 
 rents of the Abbacy of Cupar." Another son, Alexander,
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAR. 41 
 
 by a Privy-Seal grant, received from the Abbey's 
 revenues " the monks' portion of the deceast John Fago." 
 
 In 1593, Leonard, having failed to pay to John Aber- 
 cromby, Edinburgh, " certaine monkis portionis," was de- 
 nounced a rebel for having remained under " proces of 
 home attor the space of yeir and day," and was deprived 
 of his commendatorship, to which George Kallyburton 
 was appointed, who held it till 1603, when Andrew Lamb, 
 royal chaplain, succeeded. But Lamb was appointed 
 Bishop of Brechin four years afterwards, and an Act of 
 Parliament was passed dissolving the Abbacy and erect- 
 ing it into a temporal lordship in favour of James 
 Elphinstone, son of the secretary, Lord Balmerino, with 
 the title of Lord Coupar. In this Act of Parliament, 
 dated December 20th, 1607, King James VI., anxious to 
 " suppress and extinguish the memories of the Abbacie," 
 gave a charter of all the lands to Baron Coupar, a weak 
 man of a mean capacity, who went by the epigrammatic 
 cognomen of " that howlit Cowper." 
 
 In 1618, the spirituality of the benefice was under the 
 Great Seal transferred to the Protestant minister, and a 
 new kirk was erected, the patron being Lord Coupar. In 
 the same charter the remaining Abbey -lands were erected 
 into "ane haill and free lordship and barony called 
 the lordship and barony of Coupar, and the Abbey 
 Place of Coupar to be the principal messuage ; 
 to be holden of the Crown in fee and heritage, free lord- 
 ship and barony, and free burgh of barony, forever." 
 Cupar gave for this the service of a baron in Parliament 
 with 300 merks ; and paid yearly to the minister 500 
 merks Scots, and to the ministers of the Churches of 
 Airlie, Mathie, Glenisla, and Fossoquhy the yearly rents 
 and Communion-elements' allowance. Lord Coupar took 
 the part of the Covenanters, and thereby excited the wrath
 
 42 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 of the Marquis of Montrose, who, in 1645, gave orders to 
 200 Irish soldiers to wreck and plunder the Abbey. In 
 the assault, during Lord Coupar's absence, the parish 
 minister took the leadership of the defence, which he con- 
 ducted very bravely, falling mortally wounded in his en- 
 deavour to repel the invaders. In 1654 Lord Coupar was 
 fined by Cromwell 3000 (afterwards reduced to 750) ; 
 and in 1660 he was again fined 4800 for not conforming to 
 Episcopacy. He died, without leaving children, in 1669 ; 
 and, in terms of the entail, the title and estates devolved 
 on his nephew, the third Lord Balmerino. The sixth 
 Lord Balmerino took part in the rebellion of 1745, and 
 was beheaded ; and, along with the rest of his property, 
 the Abbey lands were confiscated. These were held by 
 the Barons of Exchequer for ten years, when they were 
 sold to the seventh Earl of Moray, and nephew of the last 
 Lord Balmerino. In course of time the Hon. Archibald 
 Stuart, brother of the Ninth Earl of Moray, succeeded to 
 them, and held them till 1832, when his eldest son, Francis 
 Archibald Stuart, became possessor. This gentleman 
 died in 1875, and the constabulary of the Abbey, extend- 
 ing to 145 acres, devolved by succession on his nephew, 
 Edmund Archibald Stuart Gray, now the heir presump- 
 tive to the Earldom of Moray. 
 
 But, although the Lordship of Cupar Abbey has de- 
 scended in this line, the office of Hereditary Bailie of the 
 Regality of the Abbey had been previously vested in the 
 Ogilvies of Airlie (as formerly mentioned), James, Lord 
 Ogilvy, having been appointed in 1540. When, however, 
 the hereditary jurisdictions were abolished in 174-7, the 
 Earl of Airlie received 800 in compensation for the loss 
 of that office. The Ogilvies also became Hereditary 
 Porters of the Abbey, by charters still preserved in 
 Cortachy Castle. Abbot John, about 1500, gave .John
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAR. 43 
 
 Porter the office, with the use of a chamber near the gate, 
 a monk's portion from the cellar, a dwelling-house at 
 Batechel, then inhabited by him, six acres of land free 
 from all " garbal teinds," grass for seven cows and two 
 horses. This hereditary office was partly commuted in 
 1563, when the Monastery was secularised. In 1589 a 
 contract was entered into between William Ogilvy of 
 Easter Keilour and John Faryar, " principal porter of the 
 utir yet of the Abbey of Cupar in Angus," disposing of all 
 his rights and allowances for the sum of 400 Scots. In 
 1G09 Archibald Ogilvy sold these to James, Lord Ogilvy ; 
 the instrument of sasine mentioning that the privileges 
 of the hereditary office included " a small cell or chamber 
 within the outer gate of the Abbey, and monk's portion 
 of food, now paid in the form of an annual pension of 
 fifty-five merks ; and of a mansion, with garden, in the 
 town of Kethik, and six acres of land in the burgh of 
 barony thereof." 
 
 Gradually has the fine Abbey of Cupar been allowed to 
 fall into ruins. For three centuries it stood in all its glory 
 and dignity ; then the original structure began to decay. 
 The ruthless hands of the reformers terribly disfigured it, 
 and demolished its finest parts. At the establishment of 
 the temporal lordship all except the residence was left un- 
 cared for ; even that was rudely destroyed by the anti- 
 covenanting Irish soldiers ; till, in 1682, it is described as 
 " nothing but rubbish." Thus two centuries ago we can 
 imagine the informer, Ochterlony of Guynde, in looking 
 on the ruins of the once majestic Abbey, saying, in the 
 words elsewhere written about Netley Abbey : 
 
 ' ' I saw tbee, Cupar, as the sun 
 Across the w< stern wave 
 
 Was sinking slow, 
 
 And a golden glow 
 To thy roofless towers he gave ; 
 
 And the ivy sheen,
 
 44 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 With ita mantle of green 
 That wrapt thy walla around, 
 
 Shone lovely bright, 
 
 In that glorious Tight, 
 And I felt 'twas holy ground. 
 Then I thought of the ancient time, 
 
 The days of the monks of old, 
 When to matin and vesper and compline chime, 
 
 The loud Hosanna roll'd, 
 And thy courts, and ' long-drawn aisles ' amon?, 
 
 Swell'd the full tide of sacred song." 
 
 Now, alas ! little remains to toll the once revered tale. 
 Many years ago the ruins were made a quarry, out of 
 which several houses and garden-walls were built. The 
 Parish Church and Churchyard now occupy part of its 
 site. Still hallowed, therefore, are the associations of the 
 worshippers there ; and through the twilight of the 
 autumnal years of the religious history of that spot, how 
 sweet can yet be made to us the back-look on the youth- 
 world of the Christian faith ! A few remains are still to 
 be seen preserved in the church. These are three sar- 
 cophagi hewn out of single stones, found near the high 
 altar. A large red sandstone tablet, bearing the rudely- 
 incised effigy of a priest, tells of the death of a monk of 
 Cupar in 1450. Another tablet, bearing a plain Calvary 
 Cross, raised on steps, with the cup and wafer at the 
 base, is the tombstone of Archibald Macvicar, who died 
 in 1548. In the vestibule of the church is the mutilated 
 stone figure of a warrior, represented in mail armour, 
 corresponding in style to that of the effigies of the 
 fifteenth century. There are also preserved two tablets 
 or stone panels, resembling chimney-pieces, each repre- 
 senting three erect male figures cut in bold relief, 
 presenting very curious features, both in costume and 
 attitude. Among the Errol Papers is included the 
 " Copy of the Tabill quhilk ves at Cowper of al the Erics 
 of Errol, quhilk vcs buryd in the Abbey Kirk thair," from 
 134G downwards.
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAE. 45 
 
 Such then is as accurate an account, as can be well given 
 in short notices, of the Abbey of Cupar. We have had to 
 wade through a mass of matter to pick out what was 
 authentic and interesting. But it is hoped that these 
 notices have been instructive and entertaining to our 
 readers, giving a present historical reality to the religious 
 development of the dwellers in Strathmore, showing that 
 " through the ages one increasing purpose " is running, 
 beauty growing out of decay, and the thoughts of men widen- 
 ing with the process of the suns. Gone are these old monks 
 who trod the sacred courts of the Abbey in the dark ages, 
 gleams of light in the darkness all around ; but not gone 
 is their work ! To-day men are benefitting by their 
 ]abours. The farms for miles around it show the char- 
 acter of the early tillage, and the care in producing from 
 the soil only what common sense and the spirit of a 
 commonwealth require the greatest good to the greatest 
 number of men. Even a hundred years ago, we read in 
 the Satistical Account of Scotland of the high character of 
 the people of the district, from their hereditary training. 
 " They were sober, frugal, and industrious ; hospitable and 
 obliging to strangers, and charitable to the poor ; in their 
 dealings, open, unsuspecting, and sincere." It was not 
 from their high wages, but from strict economy and 
 religious integrity, that this character could be sustained ; 
 for we find that a ploughman's wages were then 9 a year, 
 a female servant's 2 10s., a mason's wages Is. 2d. a 
 day, a tailor's 8d., a man's hire for the harvest 22s., a 
 woman's 15s. May that character for integrity and 
 economy and charity long continue to prevail among the 
 working-classes of our country ! Long may they be in idly 
 and meanly succumbing, after a mis-spent life, to the " In- 
 surance Society" of Scotland's weakest act of Parliament 
 the Poor Law's pittance 1 The monks of old taught sti let
 
 46 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 economy, dignified honest labour, and carried their religion 
 into all their life's duties. In the advance of thought and 
 experience, we ought not to judge of them with too high 
 airs of superiority, for they did their duty ; and we now 
 reap the fruit of their work. Every system has its day 
 national life has changing phases like individuals. Yet 
 such a work as these monks inaugurated established a 
 national personality which has still a commanding influ- 
 ence. May that influence be never weakened by our 
 work ! May we be grateful to the sovereigns and nobles 
 who, in a semi-heathen age, saw before their times, and 
 endowed the training places for future good to the nation, 
 and to those early religious educators who unselfishly aiid 
 judiciously moulded the nation's mind ! 
 
 Politically, morally, mentally, even spiritually at times 
 there can be no rest for man. " Onwards " is the watch- 
 word, " Excelsior " is the motto. The whole worJd has 
 been moving, and continues to move, to that far-off 
 Divine event, about which the Abbots of Cupar tried hard 
 to teach those around them : " the Parliament of Man, the 
 Federation of the World." And woe betide those who 
 btaud in the way of the march of true progress ! 
 
 " For we are a stage too not the end ; 
 Others will come yet our work to mend, 
 
 And they too will wonder at our poor ways. 
 I'.nt 'tis God who guides tho world's atfairs, 
 And ever it rises by winding stairs, 
 
 Screwing its way to the better days."
 
 BLAIBGOWBIB. 
 
 NATURE has been particularly favourable to the inhabi- 
 tants of East Perthshire for they live in the most 
 magnificent valley that Great Britain contains. Strath- 
 more (or the Great Valley) is an almost uninterrupted 
 plain of from one to sixteen miles in breadth, stretching 
 for eighty miles from Aberfoyle to Stonehaven. But the 
 Strath proper, from Methven to Brechin, can be easily 
 taken in by the eye on a clear day from any of the lesser 
 heights on the northern slope ; whereas the " Howe of 
 Strathmore," to which we are to confine ourselves in 
 these articles, may be considered generally as extending 
 from Kettins, Cupar-Angus, Bendochy and Kinloch on 
 the west to Kirriemuir and Forfar on the east ; the 
 lower Grampians bounding it on the north and the Sidlaws 
 on the south ; altogether, according to Edward in 1678, 
 " the most plain pleasant and fruitful part of the whole 
 of Strathmore." 
 
 What an enchanting panorama is before one, when he 
 looks at Strathmore from Barry Hill in Alyth Parish ! 
 How beautifully variegated with wood and pasture-land 
 among the highly cultured fields in front the wooded 
 Sidlaws ; behind the heaven-kissing Grampians ! With 
 all his passion for Nature, Christopher North could not 
 have exaggerated the varied beauty and fertility before 
 him. Studded with small towns, its teeming population 
 with all the wild dance of insect life in late spring 
 lends enchantment to Nature's beauty. Elegant man- 
 sions, embedded in warm, wooded spots, give evidence of 
 the numerous proprietors who love to dwell in this
 
 43 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 picturesque plain. Well could Nature's poet, Thomson, 
 have written of Strathmore : 
 
 " Enchanting vale ! Beyond whate'cr the Miuc 
 Has of Achaia or Hesperia sung ! 
 O vale of bliss ! O softly swelling hills, 
 On which the power of cultivation lies, 
 And joys to see the wonders of its toil ! " 
 
 And beautifully conspicuous in this earthly Paradise lies 
 the lovely town of Blairgowrie. Approaching it from 
 the east on a clear June evening, we know no more en- 
 chanting scene. Virgil has some descriptions of natural 
 scenery which, in his matchless harmony of song, seem 
 aptly fitted for this rural scene. The harsh grandeur of 
 the Northern and Western Highlands is here supplanted 
 by a cheerful mildness and a sylvan joy. The giants of 
 Highland story give place here to the elves and fairies 
 who ever trip about from dewy morn to heaven-flushed 
 eve. Rich pasture-lands with lowing kine ; lusty swains 
 and laughing maidens in mutual labour at the hearty 
 haymaking ; knots of wood with their unscorched green 
 foliage ; extensive fields of freshly -shot corn and darker- 
 hued potato, surround the happy town, basking in the 
 golden light, which the western hills have mellowed and 
 cheered and freshened by the constant flow of Erich t's 
 rapid stream. 
 
 The name of Blairgowrie is by some derived from the 
 Gaelic blar ghobkar " the plain of the wild goats ; " but 
 we think more simply and more reasonably by others 
 from blar, a place where moor and moss abound, and 
 gowrie, the ancient name of the district possessed by 
 that unfortunate family. The contour of the parish 
 (quoad civilia) is very irregular, being frequently inter- 
 sected by the parishas of Kinloch, Bendochy , and Rattray ; 
 and its area is about HU square miles. Since the High- 
 land portion of Persie and the south-western portion of
 
 BLAIRGOWRIE. 49 
 
 St. Mary's have been removed as new quoad sacra 
 parishes, the original parish has become more regular 
 and manageable. In the original parish the upper 
 division extends for several miles along the west side of 
 Glen Ericht, a marvellously romantic glen, through which, 
 in the stormy wars between the Highlands and Low- 
 lands, many a chivalrous band passed. The Marquis of 
 Montrose went through this in his hostile descents from 
 the Highlands. The Ericht, called " Ireful " on account 
 of its rapidity, flows through the glen, in a very rocky 
 channel. About two miles north of the town the rocks 
 rise perpendicularly to the great height of 300 feet, and 
 stand like hewn walls of 700 feet in extent. The place 
 where this phenomenon is presented is called Craiglioch, or 
 " The Eagle's Crag." At the base of this rock is a cave 
 which seems to have been cut out by the violent removal 
 of masses of rock. Here the scenery is awe-inspiring, 
 one of the most grandly romantic in North Britain. 
 Suddenly at this precipitous point the scene changes 
 with kaleidoscopic variety. Strangely savage does 
 Nature now appear. The rocks, commanding and irreg- 
 ular, overhang a deep and sombre chasm, at the bottom 
 of which the Ericht forms a sullen and inky pool of great 
 depth. No wonder that, in the strongly imaginative 
 mind of the Highlander, these weird associations created 
 a mysterious legend to charm the romantic scene. On 
 the very edge of the precipice, and on the angle of the 
 rock, the remains of a circular tower are still discernible ; 
 ruins which show that the building must have been of 
 great strength and height. It went by the name of Lady 
 Lindsay's Castle. According to the legend, some cen- 
 turies ago a daughter of the valiant house of Crawford 
 had committed some deep and deadly sin. Nothing but 
 the expiation of His Holiness at Rome could restore her 
 
 D 
 
 I
 
 50 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 peace and the honour of her house. And this par- 
 don was granted only on condition of a life-time's 
 penance. The lady submitted, and was confined 
 within that gloomy tower for the remainder of her 
 life. On the other side of the river is the mansion- 
 house of Craighall, to be described in the article on 
 Rattray. 
 
 Close to the town, the Ericht has a considerable descent 
 to the valley of Strathmore, and forms a natural cascade, 
 considerably improved by art, called the " Keith." This 
 is peculiarly adapted for obstructing the salmon in their 
 ascent for spawning. The river then flows on, bounding 
 the parish, till it joins the Isla on its course to the Tay. 
 The Hill of Blair is the first of a series of elevations which 
 rise steeply from the plain. On its summit is finely 
 situated the Parish Church, which commands a grand 
 view. Close behind is a deep ravine, finely wooded, 
 descending precipitately to the bed of the river. Again 
 there rises higher another ridge, called Knock-ma-har, 
 partly cultivated and partly planted with Scotch fir, 
 sloping abruptly to the Lornty burn. Beyond this is a 
 still higher and more extensive ridge, called the Maws, on 
 which are well-cultivated and good grain-producing farms. 
 West of this lies the ancient lairdship of Drumlochy, the 
 ruins of whose fortress are still seen in the enormous 
 thickness of the loopholed walls. Above this again is the 
 great peat moss of Cochridge, which, in the " dry year " 
 1826, was accidentally set on fire, and continued to 
 smoulder underneath the surface till extinguished by 
 the following snows. The northern extremity of the 
 parish is called Kingseat, on the west side of the 
 Hill of Colliemore, 1000 feet above the level of the 
 sea. The lower division of the parish stretches 
 south of the town to the middle of the Strath, where
 
 BLAIRGOWRIE. 51 
 
 there is an extensive tract of flat moor, called the 
 "Muir o' Blair," partly wooded, and partly laid out 
 with fields of strawberries, for the Dundee and Glasgow 
 markets. 
 
 There is a chalybeate spring in the Cloves (cliffs) of 
 Maws called the " heugh well," the water of which has 
 been found very beneficial for skin diseases and derange- 
 ment of the stomach. Six lochs adorn the parish, especi- 
 ally Stormont Loch, which in winter is the scene of many 
 a tussle at the "roaring game." On an island in the 
 middle of it are the remains of an old building, in which 
 tradition says treasures were concealed in perilous times, 
 thus acquiring its name. Some antiquarians are of opinion 
 that the battle between the Romans under Agricola, and 
 the Caledonians under Galgacus, was fought in the Stor- 
 mont in A.D. 84. Skene, in his " Celtic Scotland," con- 
 siders the Mons Grampius of the Roman historian to be 
 the Hill of Blair, 690 feet high. There are many places 
 called " Cairn," as Balcairn, Cairn Butts, &c. ; and as it 
 was a custom with the ancient Britons to raise these 
 cairns or heaps of stones as monuments for their fallen 
 chiefs, it is not improbable that these antiquarians are 
 correct. Moreover, early in the last century, there was 
 dug up, out of a moss bog in the neighbourhood, the body 
 of a Roman soldier in full armour and in an upright posi- 
 tion. There is no doubt, at anyrate, that many of the 
 Highlanders, when forced to yield to superior weapons 
 and discipline, were killed in their flight through the 
 parish. 
 
 On a wooded knoll, about a mile west of the 
 town, near Ardblair, are the remains of a building 
 which has some tradition connected with it. Newton 
 Castle is a good specimen of the seventeenth century 
 mansion-house, with a fine prospect, occupying an ele-
 
 52 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 vated site, and visible for a great distance. It was rebuilt 
 on the foundation of the old house, said to have been 
 burnt down by Oliver Cromwell. Many gentlemen were 
 miraculously saved in a vault of the old house while it 
 was being burnt down. Superstition makes a ghost 
 haunt the apartments of the Castle. It is in the shape 
 of a lady dressed in green silk, who, as " the green lady," 
 has scared many more than children from the ancient 
 building. 
 
 " For still, at the darksome hour past e'en, 
 
 When lurid phantoms fly, 
 A hapless lady clothed in green 
 Illumes the earth and sky." 
 
 Close beside the Manse there is a circular mound, where, 
 according to tradition, the Earls of Gowrie and their pre- 
 decessors held their regality courts. A quarter of a mile 
 to the west was the necessary concomitant, the " gallows 
 bank," where the condemned criminals were immediately 
 executed. From remains of charred wood and ashes 
 and unctuous-looking mould, found at the circular 
 mound, it is supposed that witches were formerly burned 
 there. About 1832, a coin of the Roman Emperor 
 Hadrian (in the beginning of the second century) was 
 found in the garden of the parish schoolmaster, which 
 is situated near one of the large cairns before men- 
 tioned. 
 
 Historically there is little to say about Blairgowrie. 
 In 1G34 it was made a burgh of barony by Charles I, in 
 favour of the proprietor of the estate of Blairgowrio. In 
 1809, by a charter from its feudal superior, it was made a 
 free burgli of barony, with power to elect a Bailie and 
 four Councillors. At the time that the Militia Act first 
 came into operation, the lower ranks there, in common 
 with others, were so greatly discontented with the ballot- 
 ing of the Justices (Macpherson of Blair and Kamsay oi
 
 BLAIRGOWKIE. 53 
 
 Bamff), that they confined these dignitaries in the 
 inn, till a bond was signed to exclude the men of 
 Blair from being pressed into the army. On their 
 release, however, the Justices got the military to seize 
 the ringleaders, regardless of the quasi-bond. George 
 Drummond, who was born in Newton Castle, was the 
 Provost of Edinburgh when the North Bridge, the 
 Royal Infirmary, and the Royal Exchange were pro- 
 jected. 
 
 Ecclesiastically we are not in possession of many 
 important notices. In 1170 William the Lion granted 
 the Marsh of Blair to the Abbey of Cupar. In 1201, at 
 the Synod of Perth, an agreement was entered into be- 
 tween the churches of Blair and Cupar. King Alexander 
 II. in 1235 exchanged for the Marsh of Blair two and a 
 half ploughgates of land in Meikle Blair. In the 
 Taxatio of 1250 the church of Blair gave 24 merks 
 to the Priory of St. Andrews. King Robert the Bruce 
 in 1309 confirmed to the Abbey of Cupar a charter 
 by Sir David Lindsay, bestowing upon it the lands 
 of Blair, Under Cupar there was a chapel of St. Mary 
 at Caille (Cally). In 1473 the tacksman of Cally church- 
 lands had to be forester of all the woods of Strathardle. 
 In 1474 the Abbot of Cupar had a mansion at 
 Carnpsie (in Cargill) ; and in 1479 the tenants of 
 the church -lands there had to "cultivate the land of 
 Blar and of the Forest within the walls as much as 
 they can, sowing annually sixty bolls of corn." In 
 1508 " the hale Blair abone the wod of Campsy is set," 
 and in 1517 "the quarter of Blare is set." Before 
 the Reformation, Blairgowrie is said to have belonged to 
 the Abbey of Scone. In 1605 John Ross was minister, 
 who, going to the meeting of Assembly in Aberdeen, ar- 
 rived after they had met and risen ; " yet he approved of
 
 54 STRATH MORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 their proceedings." He was afterwords summoned before 
 the Privy Council and confined in the Castle of Stirling, 
 but was soon liberated. Many good stories are told of 
 him. He was a very athletic man, using force to compel 
 his people to go to church. Failing in this, he adopted 
 the strange method of establishing a market at the Kirk- 
 
 * o 
 
 gate every Sunday afternoon after divine service, when 
 household necessaries were sold. This plan proved more 
 successful. However, young men were in the practice of 
 playing at shinty on Sunday between sermons; and often 
 he warned them of their bad conduct, but to no effect. 
 One Sunday, however, he appeared, and taking off his 
 coat and placing it on his staff, which he had stuck into 
 the ground, he solemnly exclaimed : 
 
 " Stand ye there, 
 
 As minister o'Blair, 
 While I, John ROM, 
 Get a game at the ba'." 
 
 Keenly then did he enter into the contest, but, instead of 
 striking the ball, he, under pretence of being exceedingly 
 blind in his aim, struck the skins of the youths, till he 
 sent them all limping home. There was no more dese- 
 cration of the Sabbath with this game. In 1G89 Gilbert 
 Blair was deprived of his office by the Privy Council, for 
 not reading the Proclamation of the Estates. 
 
 There are some curious entries in the old Session Re- 
 cords, illustrative of the strict discipline of those days. 
 These go back to 1647, but from 1658 to 1702 there is a 
 blank. In a very late harvest in 1648 three men were 
 summoned before the Session for shearing corn on the 
 Sabbath, though after sunset ; and were made to do pen- 
 ance for such an awful (?) sin. The elders were good 
 financiers, for, in order to raise funds, they proclaimed in 
 the same year that " every taverne keeper, or seller of 
 aile, quho runs aile in tymc of sermon, or ye whole day
 
 BLAIRGOWRIE. 55 
 
 in ane excessive manner to any, sail pay hereafter as 
 much as ye drinkers, toties quoties, it sail be found they 
 are guiltie therein." One seller of "aile," being dealt 
 with for his absence from church, naively gave the excuse 
 that " he had but ane playd betwixt his wife and him, and 
 that she had the use thereof that day ; " but it was of no 
 avail, he was reproved and " ordained to keep the kirk in 
 tyme cumand, under ye paine of censure." On August 
 16th, 1649, the records bear that "we are to mourne for 
 the continuance and increase of sinne and provanitie, 
 especallie of the abominable sinne of witchcraft." On the 
 10th of October, 1652, intimation is given of a collection 
 " for the sadd condition of the toun of Glasgow, being 
 half-brunt." Under the date of 12th December, 1653, 
 "There was na Sessione, in respect the elders were 
 withdrawin in attending some of Glencairne's souldiers, 
 who were ranging throu the paroch." On the 12th 
 August, 1649, in the case of an unfortunate, who had ap- 
 peared twenty-four times before the Session in public 
 penance for adultery, the minister " aggravat his sinne 
 and exhorted him to sorrow and griefe of heart for the 
 same, and continued him to give farther evidence of ye 
 truth of his repentance." A remarkable case of charity 
 is here recorded, " Feb. 17, 1650 Given this day, to Sir 
 Robert Mubray, sometyme laird of Barnbougall, now be- 
 come, through indigence, ane poor supplicant, twentie- 
 foure shillings." The Sabbath following has this entry : 
 " The Presbyterie Act anent brydalls, ordaining thair 
 sould not be above eight persons in ye syde, that thair 
 sould be no debaucht pipars nor fiddlars, nor promiscuous 
 dancing, nor excessive drunkennesse, was lykeways inti- 
 mate out of ye pulpit." And on the 19th July, 1650, it 
 being reported to the Session that a certain person had 
 " most despytefullie and devilishlie railed against ye Ses-
 
 56 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 sione, cursing minister and elders," the common practice 
 of " nailing be ye lug " was changed for the more hon- 
 oured (?) " put into ye jouggs," till the culprit obeyed and 
 repented. 
 
 A very great change has within the last fifty years 
 come upon Blairgowrie. An insignificant village of mean 
 thatched houses has become a town with good streets, 
 good houses, and the stirring business of ten mills em- 
 ploying two thousand hands. Half the land is now under 
 cultivation. A railway is up to its door. Three first- 
 class hotels invite visitors. A weekly newspaper, printed 
 in it, gives it some social importance. Eight or nine 
 churches show some strong religious energy. Auction 
 markets draw excellent specimens of cattle. Banks are 
 thriving. The old complaint of ague, occasioned by the 
 bad drainage, is now little known ; though the rheuma- 
 tism, in the low rimy parts at times shows itself. Rents 
 have very much increased ; the valued rental being now 
 26,378. The population has in little more than a cen- 
 tury increased from 1596 to 5000. Now it is a grand 
 start-point for the Royal drive to Braemar ; and an ex- 
 cellent and healthy resort for summer visitors from the 
 sea coast. It is to be feared that, as with all other 
 country parishes, the morals of the people have not im- 
 proved with corresponding social and economic improve- 
 ments ; but wo must wait patiently till the waves of 
 heathenism and pessimism, now sweeping over our 
 whole land, have departed and given place to better 
 times.
 
 RATTRAY. 
 
 RATTRAY is a small parish wedged in between Blairgowrie 
 and Bendochy, with the exception of a small portion 
 (Easter Bleaton), which is now included in the quoad 
 sacra parish of Persie. In the old charters it is 
 also spelled Ratre, Retra, Retrey, Retre, Retref, 
 Retrife, Retriffe, Rettra, Rettray, Rettref, Rettrefe, and 
 Rethrife. The name has belonged to the parish and the 
 principal proprietor for a very considerable period, as 
 there are records which bear it as far back as the days of 
 William the Conqueror. The river Ericht flows along its 
 west and south side, separating it from Blairgowrie ; and 
 the general slope of the long narrow strip of the parish 
 is from north to south. Thus facing the sun, and under 
 the shelter of the several ranges of the Grampians, it is 
 very mild in climate. The soil, too, is dry and light, 
 over a gravelly subsoil, which renders the parish very 
 healthy. 
 
 The Ericht (i. e., the rough or rapid stream) is formed 
 by many small rills that precipitate themselves from the 
 mountain sides ; but it receives its most powerful ally 
 from Glenardle, the Ardle joining it at the Strone of 
 Cally. Often in heavy rains, or after the thaw of severe 
 snow-storms, these streams get suddenly swollen ; and by 
 the time the Ericht reaches the low land in the south of 
 the parish, it is in flood, which in autumn is often very 
 destructive, sweeping away entire fields of cut grain. In 
 1847, when in full flood, the Ericht destroyed two arches 
 of the Rattray Bridge. It is one of the most picturesque 
 and romantic streams in Scotland; and its associations
 
 58 STRATHMORE: PAST ASD PRESENT. 
 
 have made the district specially noted. It is the one 
 matter worthy of note in the whole parish, but it is 
 enough to let the parish never be forgotten ; as the poet 
 says of the songsters of the grove, that, though the sub- 
 ject and prime mover of all their song is " only love/' yet 
 " that only love is theme enough for praise." Three 
 miles north of the village of New Rattray the course of 
 the river lies for nearly two miles through a deep 
 ravine, the sides of which are often like parallel 
 perpendicular walls of hewn stone, at other times steep 
 banks clothed with copse and hazel, here and there re- 
 lieved by tall and graceful trees. One of the most re- 
 markable of these precipitous conglomerate crags is on the 
 Blairgowrie side, called Craigliach or "The Eagle's Crag," 
 and is a huge rock with a vast grey front, so unbroken on 
 its surface as to resemble the hewn walls of some gigantic 
 fortress ; relieved, however, of the awful barrenness of the 
 southern Skye-rocks by the fringe of forest trees upon 
 its summit No description can tell the effect of this 
 scene; for it is grand and savage beyond the power of 
 words. The rocks above, lofty and threatening; the 
 chasm below, deep and gloomy ; the river at the bottom, 
 gliding into a deep and sullen pool, black as midnight, 
 and sombre in the deepest degree ; all entrances the 
 spectator. Vivid is the poetic description of W. L. 
 Bowles : 
 
 " ' Frown ever opposite,' the angel cried, 
 Who with an earthquake's mi -lit and giant hand 
 Scver'd these riven rocks, and bade them stand 
 Sever'd for ever." 
 
 Occupying a commanding position on the summit of a 
 precipitous cliff on the Rattray-side of the Ericht, 
 stands the mansion-house of Craighall. Sir W. Hooker 
 describes it as " clinging like a swallow's nest to the 
 craggiest summit of the eastern bank, and harmonizing
 
 RATTEAY. 59 
 
 perfectly with the adjacent rocks ;" and Pennant, in his 
 tour through Scotland, thus particularises the magnificent 
 position of Craighall "The situation of it is romantic 
 beyond description ; it is placed in the midst of a deep 
 glen, surrounded on all sides with wide extended dreary 
 heaths, where are still to be seen the rude monuments of 
 thousands of our ancestors who fought and fell." The 
 whole of this scenery has been moreover, invested with a 
 new and powerful interest since Mr. Lockhart published 
 to the world in the life of his father-in-law, Sir Walter 
 Scott, that Craighall was the prototype of the Tully- 
 Veolan of Waverley. Sir Walter having visited this part 
 of the country in the course of a highland excursion, 
 Mr. Lockhart thus mentions it: " Another resting-place 
 was Craighall, in Perthshire, the seat of the Rattrays, a 
 family related to Mr. Clerk, who accompanied him. From 
 the position of this striking place, as Mr. Clerk at once 
 perceived, and as the author afterwards confessed to him, 
 that of Tully-Veolan was very faithfully copied, though, 
 in the description of the house itself and its gardens, 
 many features were adopted from Bruntsfield and Ravel- 
 stone." Thus looking down we have a rare combination 
 of 
 
 " The gleam, 
 The shadow, and the peace supreme." 
 
 The Rattrays of Craighall are the lineal descendants of 
 the ancient Rattrays, the ruins of whose fortified man- 
 sion may still be traced on the summit of a rising ground, 
 which is south-east of the village of Rattray. This 
 mound still goes by the name of the Castle-hill. It is 
 oblong, something resembling the shape of an inverted 
 ship ; but the eastern corner of it is circular, as if sucked 
 up by the action of a whirlpool when the waters were re- 
 tiring from the earth. The family must have removed
 
 GO STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 from this hill to Craighall during some of the perilous 
 times, when they considered it safer to have some better 
 natural protection from the sudden incursions of their 
 enemies. Standing upon a precipitous rock of 214 feet 
 in height, it could not be attacked on the west side ; 
 and ditches were on the north and east It is only ac- 
 cessible in front, which is from the south ; and on each 
 side of the entrance, a little in advance of the house, are 
 two round buildings, evidently intended for protection, 
 with some openings for the archers. Here young 
 Waverley in 1745 heard the half-crazed simpleton, David 
 Gellatly, sing to his dogs this song, with its local 
 allusions : 
 
 " Hie away, hie away, 
 Over bank and over brae, 
 Where the copsewood is the greenest, 
 Where the fountains glisten sheeiiest, 
 Where the lady-fern grows strongest, 
 Where the morning dew lies longest, 
 Where the black-cock sweetest sips it, 
 Where the fairy latest trips it ; 
 Hie to haunts right seldom seen, 
 Lovely, lonesome, cool and green, 
 Over bank and over brae, 
 Hie away, hie away." 
 
 Above the river, south east of the village, in a beautiful 
 situation, are the remains of a Druidical temple. The 
 principal stones have been carried off; but a few still ap- 
 pear in the field of a farm, which goes by the name of the 
 " Standing-Stanes Farm." 
 
 A very large earthwork (already referred to as the 
 Castle-hill, but also called the 'Hill of Rattray *), consist- 
 ing^of a mound of earth and resembling a ship with its 
 keel uppermost, occupies several acres of ground. It is 
 similar to the one in the parish of Dunning called Terr- 
 navie, i.e., terrae navis, or earth-ship, on account of its 
 form. Superstition has conferred a sacredness on it, by 
 the association of legends of a primitive character. It is
 
 RATTRAY. 61 
 
 said that a profane clown, when cutting turf on the side 
 of it, was suddenly appalled by the vision of an old man^ 
 who appeared m the opening he had made ; and, after 
 demanding with an angry countenance and voice, why he 
 was tirring his house over his head, as suddenly van- 
 ished. 
 
 After passing between New Rattray and Blairgowrie 
 the " Ireful " Ericht impetuously rushes down and forms 
 a cascade of water 10 feet high, called the Keith, which 
 was heightened by artificial means in order to secure the 
 salmon on their progress up the river from the sea in the 
 spawning season. Of course the salmon netting on the 
 Tay has now entirely deprived the proprietors up the 
 water of the chance of getting salmon at the Keith cas- 
 cade ; but a hundred years ago the fishing at "Rattray 
 was very keen, as we may conclude from the description 
 given in the first Statistical Account of the parish last 
 century : " The mode of fishing is curious. They make 
 what they call a drimuck, resembling thin wrought mor- 
 tar, which they throw into the pool to disturb the 
 clearness of the waters. The fishers stand on the point 
 of the rock with long poles, and nets upon the ends of 
 them, with which they rake the pool, and take up the 
 fish." 
 
 In the civil history of the parish Donald Cargill de- 
 serves the first place according to authentic records. 
 Born in 1610, on the estate of Hatton, in Rattray, he was 
 educated at St. Andrews for the ministry, and became 
 minister of the Barony in Glasgow. This situation gave 
 him an opportunity for carrying out his innate religious 
 enthusiasm, and, joining the Covenanters, he got involved 
 in their troubles. Apprehended for his fanatical zeal in 
 1680, he was tried at Edinburgh, and sentenced to be 
 hanged ; but such was his confidence, that when about to
 
 G2 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 mount the ladder to the scaffold, he nobly said, "The 
 Lord knows that I go on this ladder with less fear and 
 perturbation of mind than ever I entered the pulpit to 
 preach ! " Tradition says that a little above the village, 
 at a narrow part of the Ericht, bounded on each side by 
 huge overhanging rocks was the scene of " Cargill's loup." 
 This he leaped, when, as a Covenanter, he was flying for 
 his life from a troop of dragoons. Long after the event, 
 some one is said to have remarked to Cargill : " That 
 was a guid loup ye took, when ye loupet the Linn 
 o'Ericht." "Ay," was the hero's reply, "but I took a 
 lang race till't, for I ran a' the way frae Perth ! " Tradi- 
 tion also says that the Earl of Argyle halted his men in 
 July 1G40 for the night in the haughs at the village of 
 Rattray when on his way to demolish "the bonnie house 
 o'Airlie." 
 
 In its ecclesiastical history, the references are very few 
 indeed. We observe (in the lives of the Bishops of Dun- 
 keld), that Bishop Gregory of Dunkeld (1127-11GO) gave 
 the church of Rattray (which was in his diocese), to a 
 certain Succentor, called Quasdub. In 1170, King William 
 the Lion, by a charter signed at Kinross, granted two 
 ploughgates of land in the district of Rethrife to the 
 Abbey "of Cupar, and that shortly after Eustace of Rattray 
 granted Di immie. William Lacock, chaplain of St. Peter 
 and vicar of Rattray was an exemplary man, "sweating 
 intensely at the repairs of the chapel and its pertinences, 
 which otherwise would have been reduced to ruins." 
 
 The temperature of the atmosphere during winter is 
 rather higher than in the districts north or south of it ; 
 but it is subject to frequent and sudden variations. It 
 may interest our readers, who were lately startled with 
 the accounts of the sudden earthquake in Sussex in 
 England, to know that in Rattray and neighbourhood, a
 
 RATTRAY. 63 
 
 violent shaking of the earth took place on October 23rd, 
 1839. According to one who experienced the shock (Mr. 
 Souter of Blairgo wrie), " it was accompanied by a noise 
 resembling distant thunder, or the rapid passage of a 
 heavy loaded vehicle over a newly mettled road. In some 
 houses the shock was so severe as to excite very great 
 alarm in the inmates ; in one case the motion forced open 
 the doors. Several people who were asleep were wakened 
 by the shaking of their beds ; and one thought the bed 
 had been heaved up, and pushed first to one side and 
 then to the other, and afterwards shaken violently, ac- 
 companied with a loud noise. The river Ericht fell 
 several inches below the level it had attained during the 
 day, although the rain had, in the interval, continued 
 with unabated violence." 
 
 The Parochial registers have been kept with commend- 
 able care since 1660, and contain several interesting com- 
 ments on the moral and spiritual history of the parish, 
 similar to those of Blairgowrie. In connection with the 
 Glebe-feuing Act (1866), in the case of Rattray (1868), 
 where two offers from conterminous proprietors (within 
 the statutory time of the process) were made for the same 
 portion of the glebe, the Court of Teinds preferred the 
 the second offerer in point of time, he being the higher 
 in point of value. 
 
 The population has increased from 500 in the begin- 
 ning of the century to 3000 now. During that period an 
 entire village New Rattray has been built. The in- 
 crease is owing to the mills which have been set to work 
 in the parish and neighbourhood. There are three 
 churches in the parish, which, strangely, is in the Pres- 
 bytery of Dunkeld, whereas it should naturally fit into 
 the Presbytery of Meigle. The famous artist Robert 
 Herdman, R.S.A. was born in the Manse ; his father and
 
 64- STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 two brothers being successively the Parish ministers. 
 Many tourists pass through Rattray on their way to 
 Braemar, by the royal route made under the direction of 
 Prince Albert; for there are few healthier and more pleasant 
 drives than this thirty-six miles' drive past Craighall, 
 Strone of Cally, Persie, the Spittal to Braemar, the highest 
 situated village in Great Britain, and within a few miles 
 of the mountain home of our beloved Queen.
 
 BBNDOCHY. 
 
 MANY have puzzled their brains trying to find out the 
 correct name, and the accurate meaning of the name, of 
 this quiet semi-highland pai-ish. The two most cele- 
 brated ministers of the parish differ widely in their 
 views. Mr. Playfair in 1797 and Dr. Barty in 1843, in 
 the two valuable Statistical Accounts, have their own 
 theories, which we cannot pretend to comment upon. 
 The former adheres to the name Bendothy, as the Com- 
 munion cups were thus inscribed in 1786. The latter 
 styles this spelling as clearly unwarrantable and without 
 authority. In 1760, it took the name which it still re- 
 tains, and which we cannot trace exactly beyond 1595, 
 when the teinds were granted to Leonard Leslie, the 
 Commendator of Cupar Abbey. Although the popular pro- 
 nunciation has always been Bennethy, probably its 
 derivation is from ben, " a hill," do., a verbal particle 
 prefixed to the future in Gaelic, and chi, the future of 
 the verb to see, thus meaning, " the hill with the good 
 view." This is borne out by the situation ; for the ris- 
 ing ground, on the southern base of which the church 
 and manse stand, is midway between the Grampians on 
 the north, and the Sidlaws on the south, of the great 
 valley of Strathmore ; and here the view is extensive, 
 varied and beautiful. 
 
 This parish lies near the eastern boundary of Perth- 
 shire, the Church being two miles from Cupar-Angus, 
 fifteen from Perth, and seventeen from Dundee. 
 Originally it consisted of a Highland and a Lowland 
 Dortion. The former is now, along with parts of the
 
 GG STRATIIMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 neighbouring parishes, within the quoad sacra parish of 
 Persie ; the latter is divided into two nearly equal parts by 
 the Ericht ; the part which lies west of the river, and in 
 which the Church, Manse, and Schoolhouse are situated, 
 beingseparated from the parish of Cupar- Angus on the south 
 by the river Isla, and bounded on the west and north by 
 Blairgowrie ; the other stretching north between Rattray 
 and Alyth across the main road which joins Dunkeld and 
 Kirriemuir. The Ericht has, before joining the Isla, lost 
 its rapid flow ; and silently the Isla glides on, unless 
 swollen by heavy rains or melting snows. The Isla is 
 here about 225 feet in breadth and 10 feet in depth ; but 
 in high floods it has reached half-a-mile in width and 24 
 feet in depth. In 1774, the river rose within six inches 
 of the top of the lowest arches of the Bridge of Coutty ; 
 and it took nine years to let the land recover its soil and 
 vegetable powers. Some farmers used to drag their corn 
 in harvest-time to higher grounds ; others trusted to the 
 season. Two neighbours had adopted these respective 
 methods ; one jeered the other for want of faith in Provi- 
 dence ; but in a few days the " rain descended and the 
 floods came," and the provident fanner retorted, " Whaur 
 is your faith now, neighbour? It's doun the water wi' 
 your corn." This reminds us of an occasion when the 
 late Drs. Norman Macleod and Archibald Watson (the 
 two extremes of physique), were boating in a western 
 loch. The wind rose suddenly and fiercely. A nervous 
 old maid in the boat asked the clergymen to beseech the 
 protection of Providence. But the shrewd old boatman 
 retorted, "The little anc can pray if he likes, but the big 
 ane rnun tak' an oar." Generally, however, the Isla 
 meanders gently at its own sweet will, 
 
 " In many n winding bout 
 Of linked sweetness long drawn ont.
 
 BENDOCHT. 67 
 
 The low haughs on its banks are composed of tran- 
 sported soil, being the alluvial deposit of many cen- 
 turies. When the Isla overflows, a fine sediment of the 
 nature of virgin earth is deposited, forming with the 
 natural clay a soil of great fertility, and adding annually 
 to the staple of the soil. The principal property in this 
 locality is Cupar-Grange, which at one time was one of 
 the country seats of the Abbot of Cupar. According 
 to the Rev. Dr. Robertson in his " Agriculture of Perth- 
 shire," published in 1799, "there was discovered at Coupar- 
 Grange some years ago a Druidical temple of a construc- 
 tion similar to the greatest one in the County of Kirk- 
 michael, and nearly of the same dimensions. The 
 diameter of the inner circle was sixty feet, the wall 
 itself was five feet high. At the distance of nine feet, an 
 outer wall of the same height was carried round. The 
 space between these concentric circular walls was filled 
 with ashes of wood and bones of different animals, par- 
 ticularly sheep and oxen. A paved way led across the 
 area, from west to east, to a large free stone, standing 
 erect between the circles and rising 4j feet above the 
 pavement. This stone, which seemed to have been the 
 altar, was flat at the top and two feet square." At Cupar- 
 Grange the Abbot's steward resided, who, managing the 
 affairs of the Monastery, often in troublous times pre- 
 pared there a retreat for his brethren. A century ago it 
 was celebrated for a particular quality of seed-oats, which 
 for a long time went by the name of the Cupar-Grange 
 oats; and which rose cleaner, whiter, and more substantial 
 from kindly soil, sometimes three feet in depth. The 
 principal property in the other portion of the parish, east 
 of the Ericht, is the Grange of Aberbothry. It is all 
 level, manageable ground, with a gentle ascent north-east- 
 ward. Most of the lands are of clay of a whitish nature
 
 68 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 in the bottom, but enriched with dark vegetable deposit, 
 excellent for producing oats. Here and there through the 
 parish aresingular ridgesof natural formation,calleddrums, 
 from dorsum (Latin), the back ; all having a parallelism 
 to one another, and declining eastward. Whatever cause 
 may have produced the mountains and the strath, these 
 drums appear to have been produced by the tides of the 
 ocean, of which Strathmore was then a channel, and to 
 have been formed (like banks in channels of the sea), by 
 the tide of the flood. They are in length nearly perpen- 
 dicular to the line of ascent of the Grampian ridge, and 
 are most prevalent in that part of the ascent which is 
 flattest. Several subterraneous buildings, supposed to 
 be of Pictish origin, were about a hundred years ago dis- 
 covered in the grounds of Mudhall. When cleared of the 
 ashes and earth with which they were filled, these were 
 found to be about six feet wide within walls, five feet 
 deep, and upwards of forty feet long ; built in the sides 
 and paved in the bottom with unhewn whin-stones. 
 They answer to the description which the Roman his- 
 torian, Tacitus, gave of some buildings of the Germans : 
 " They dig in caves in the earth, where they lay up their 
 grain and live in winter. Into these they also retire from 
 their enemies, who plunder the open country, but cannot 
 discover these subterranean recesses." Mr. Playfair, in 
 referring to this, quaintly remarked, "If people were 
 obliged again to creep into a hole, they would know the 
 value of good government by the want of it." 
 
 Ecclesiastically, Bendochy has all along, up to the 
 Reformation, had very intimate connection with the 
 Abbey of Cupar, and it was the Parish Church of Cupar 
 before the Reformation. In 11G5, Persic (under the name 
 Parthesin) and Aberbothry were granted by William the 
 Lion to the Abbey. We add a few notes from the Cupar
 
 BENDOCHY. 69 
 
 Registers which will show the connection and give the 
 varied forms of spelling the name. In 1443, the revenue 
 of the church of Benachty, along with the small teinds of 
 Keithock, were let for 20 Scots yearly, and the tenants 
 of Aberbothry were restricted by the Abbot to two hogs 
 each, on account of the recurrence of some pestilential dis- 
 ease. In 1462, Abbot David Bane let the church of Ben- 
 achty to David Blair for 20 Scots annually. Aberbothry 
 was let eleven years after this for 42 merks, 2 dozen 
 capons and 2 hens. In 1477, a commission was granted 
 by the Abbot of Dunfermline to David Rush to grant a 
 piece of land belonging to the Monastery, and contiguous 
 to the south part of the cemetery of the Parish Church 
 of Bennachty for the enlargement of the said cemetery. 
 Two years afterwards, John Coul, clerk of the office and 
 church of Bendachy, resigned said office. In 1508, Abbot 
 William of Cupar petitioned the Bishop of Dunkeld to con- 
 firm the presentation of Sir Paul Brown, chaplain to the 
 vicarage of Bendachi. In 1542, 25 were given for the 
 rent of the vicarage of Benethy. Seven years afterwards 
 the tenants of Aberbothrie were bound to do " their dewi- 
 tiea ielelie and trewlie, but [without] fraud or gyle to the 
 lady-priest and paroche clerk of BennothjV The years 
 following, similar injunctions were given, when the name 
 is spelled Bendocthie, Bendochty, Bennethe, Benathe, and 
 Benathy. In 1558, the tenants were to do " their det to 
 cure miln of the Blacklaw, boitman of Hay, lady-priest 
 and paroche clerk of Bennathy ; " but immediately after- 
 wards the last part is altered to " the dominical chaplain 
 and the chaplain of the blessed Mary and the parish 
 clergyman." The teinds of Bennethie were valued in 1561 
 at 68 chalders (two-thirds meal and one-third bailey), and 
 the vicarage 6 13s. 4d. Scots. In 1569, this parish and 
 Kettins were conjoined with a stipend of 22 4s 5d.
 
 70 STBATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Collace was afterwards added James Anderson being 
 the minister of the three charges. In 1GG3, Henry 
 Malcolm, minister of Bendochy, was clerk of Synod. In 
 1G92, David Rankin, author of several works, was 
 minister. In 1740, James Ramsay dissented from the 
 resolution of the General Assembly to depose the eight 
 seceding brethren, 
 
 A century ago, the seats of Keithock in Cupar parish 
 stood in the Church of Bendochy. The walls of the 
 Church are understood to be very old. The pulpit is in 
 the style of John Knox's, to be seen in the Museum of 
 St. Andrews University. In the back wall of the church 
 is a stone erected, in 1587, to the memory of Nicol 
 Campbell, proprietor of Keithock, son of Donald, Abbot 
 of Cupar, and grandson of the Earl of Argyle. Another, 
 in the west passage, was erected, in 1584, to the memory 
 of his brother David, proprietor of Denhead, in Cupar 
 parish. There is also a stone to Leonard Leslie, Commen- 
 dator of Cupar Abbey, who died in 1G05, aged 81. And 
 there is a figure in the wall, of date 160G, representing 
 John Cummin, proprietor of Couttie, in Bendochy parish, 
 dressed in a coat of mail, and standing on a dog. On 
 account of the inconvenience of crossing the Erich t, 
 especially when in flood, there was in the good old times 
 a chapel at St. Fink, under the name St. Findoce, for the 
 people on the east side. The houses near it are called 
 the Chapelton ; and the ruins of the foundations still 
 remain. Around the chapel there had been a burying- 
 ground ; for on several occasions skulls without a body^ 
 each enclosed between four square stones fitted to hold 
 the head, were dug up, evidently of soldiers who had 
 been slain at a distance. Below a cairn of stones, among 
 the loose earth, which was black with burnt ashes, were 
 found human bones half burned ; and further down two
 
 BENDOCHY. 71 
 
 inverted urns, adorned with rude sculpture and containing 
 human bones, both in perfect preservation. This chapel and 
 another at Gallic gave evidence that, so far at least as provid- 
 ing religious accommodation for the people was concerned, 
 the Abbots of Cupar had done their duty. For the last few 
 years the minister of the parish the Rev. George Brown 
 has been doing something to meet the wants of the old and 
 the convenience of all, by having a place fitted up for occa- 
 sional services on Sunday evenings. This laudable move- 
 ment deserves all encouragement, and the great numbers, 
 who avail themselves of this opportunity of attending 
 Divine service, satisfactorily prove that there are chapels 
 planted and supported in less necessitous places by our 
 Home Mission Committee. To show the attachment that 
 the people of Bendochy parish had to the work done by 
 the Catholics and Episcopalians, they retained the Epis- 
 copal minister twelve years after the Revolution, and 
 adhered to him even after the settlement of his Presby- 
 terian successor. It was in Bendochy Church that the 
 deputation from the Tron Church of Glasgow heard 
 Thomas Chalmers, then minister of Kilmany, who was 
 awakening from the sense of failure of his work, when 
 conducted with the nicety of mathematical exactness, to 
 the broad evangelical life which so marvellously stirred 
 the souls of a generation, For nearly half-a-century the 
 parishioners had the rare privilege rare in a small 
 country parish without even a village of having as their 
 minister Dr. James Barty, a man of distinguished scholar- 
 ship, legal acumen, and preaching power, who was raised 
 to the Moderator's chair of the General Assembly. With 
 indefatigable energy he set about improving the position 
 and strengthening the work of the preacher at Persic 
 chapel, which had been erected in" 1785, by having a 
 manse built, a glebe allotted, and the parish endowed ;
 
 72 STIUTHMOllE : PAST AND PllESENT. 
 
 and all this he lived to see accomplished according to his 
 best wishes. The old ecclesiastical hauteur, blended with 
 poetic taste, was strongly marked in his countenance and 
 manner, which can be easily inferred from this note in 
 his article in the New Statistical Account of the parish : 
 " The manse is sweetly situated on the banks of the Isla, 
 snugly embosomed in its own little grove of wood, and 
 oh ! ye my successors, lift not up the axe against the 
 trees. Touch not the old ash that has stood for a century 
 the sentinel of the manse, guarding it from the eastern 
 blasts, and protecting from the storm the graceful birches 
 that weep and wave their branches below." The highest 
 prize for entrant students of divinity at the four Univer- 
 sity seats the Barty prize is derived from the interest of 
 money raised after his death, by his well-wishers, as a 
 memorial of his worth. Principal Playfair of St Andrews 
 was a native of the parish of Bendochy ; and for a time 
 the Rev. J. Honey was minister, a man of gigantic 
 stature and remarkable strength (the true type of mus- 
 cular Christianity), who will be long remembered for his 
 daring and heroic feat, when a student at St. Andrews in 
 1800, in rescuing from imminent death five shipwrecked 
 sailors by successively swimming with them one by one 
 through the boiling surf, at the hazard of his own life ; 
 for which he had the honour of the freedom of the City 
 conferred on him. 
 
 The Parochial registers are contained in seven volumes, 
 from 1G42. They give the usual ample proof of rigid 
 discipline and inquisitorial surveillance exercised by the 
 kirk-sessions of those days. One offender " the session 
 thouyat fitt to bring in sackcloth, till he acknowledge 
 his guilt on his knees." Another female delinquent ap- 
 peared for the twentieth time befoie the congregation on 
 the stool of repentance. A young lad having struck a
 
 nF.NDOCHY. 73 
 
 boy on the Sabbath day for throwing a stone among the 
 children, confessed that " he went out, and only shot him 
 over ; the members, after discoursing of it, thought fitt to 
 dismiss him with the session rebook." A laird was re- 
 buked for going out with his gun on the Fast-day " only 
 to fleg the tod from his sheep." The session accepted 
 four pounds nine shillings from a farmer " as satisfaction 
 for his daughter's resiling from purpose of marriage after 
 the publication of banns." The elders used to go 
 through the parish during divine service to pick up any 
 straggler who should have been at church; but with all 
 their supervision, the parish statute-book shows the oc- 
 casional black marks of the secret sin, engendered by 
 the old Adam. 
 
 According to the report by a Committee of the Presby- 
 tery of Meigle in 1808, two acres of ground were being set 
 apart for "minister's grass," when some of the heritors pro- 
 tested, that, as the minister then had been in possession 
 (from time immemorial) of the right of pasturage for his 
 cows and horse over kirk-lands in the parish, belonging 
 to the Hon. Stuart Mackenzie, therefore no recourse 
 should be had against the other heritors for the grass 
 ground so set apart ; and that at one time 20 scots was 
 set apart by decreet of the Presbytery in lieu of grass for 
 the minister. In the Government Return issued on the 
 Gth October, 1884, we observe that the unexhausted 
 teinds belonging to this Parish amount to 22. 
 
 As could be at once inferred from its fore-lying situa- 
 tion, the parish is on the whole healthy and of a fine 
 climate. The lowest reading of the thermometer during 
 last century was 8 degrees Fahr. in December 1794. 
 The hoar-frost on the ice of the river was half-an-inch 
 long (reminding us of the marvellously fairy-like appear- 
 ance of the hoar frost of December 1882) ; but for all the
 
 74 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 frost, there was a pool of still water in the Isla (100 feet 
 above sea level), that did not freeze. According to Dr. Barty, 
 on the loth February .1838, the thermometer read 8 de- 
 grees below zero (or 40 degrees of frost) ; when water spilt 
 in a bedroom, in which there had been constant fire night 
 and day for ten days previously, almost instantly con- 
 gealed. The crop of 1795, which followed the intense 
 cold of the winter before, was so deficient that the price 
 of grain was doubled. In March of that year there was 
 rain with a flood ; on May 9th it was snowing heavily 
 the thermometer never rising above 48 degrees during 
 the whole month, nor above GO degrees during the whole 
 summer ; so that, on account of very broken weather, the 
 ears of the uncut oats sprang, standing upright in the 
 fields, and the harvest was not taken in till the 24th of 
 October, when from Loch Brandy (due north) a reeving 
 wind helped the husbandman's labours. 
 
 The state of agriculture has altered very materially 
 since the accounts of 1750. Then it was conducted in 
 the runrig system, i.e., each field was divided into as many 
 parts or ridges as there were farmers in the village. In 
 Cupar-Grange alone there were fifty families, having its 
 brewer, carrier, miller, and shop. It was a self-protection 
 policy to ward oil the Highland depredators. In these 
 ridges the good and bad land was equally divided among 
 all, but the pasturage was common. They ploughed with 
 eight oxen ; and their corn was very good in quality. 
 They used tumbler sledges for carts. There was no glass 
 in the windows, but only wooden boards ; and the 
 houses were vile with smoke for want of vents. All the 
 time of harvest a piper was kept for playing to the 
 shearers at the usual harvest fee, the slowest shearer 
 having always the drone behind him. The population of 
 the parish was therefore very much higher than now,
 
 BENDOCHY. 75 
 
 when there are no small pendicles, but all is absorbed 
 in large farms. In 1750, the population was 1293; 
 while, in 1811, after the change in the farming- 
 system, the population was 748. Now it is 499, 
 but this excludes the part in Persie. In 16.30, the 
 valuation of the parish was (according to the minutes of 
 the Presbytery), equal to 115 chalders of victual, which 
 then would be worth about 1000 ; now it is 12,075. 
 At the beginning of the present century a ploughman's 
 wages were 10 (though some years before they were 
 only 5), a woman's wages 4, a day labourer's 8d. to lOd. 
 a wright, mason, or smith's 20d. to 22d. per day ; the 
 price of a new cart was 6, and new harrow 7s. ; a fat ox, 
 40 Dutch stone weight, 10, and a good horse 12. 
 
 Things are now vastly changed for farmers, with the 
 lower prices and higher expenses and rents. We agree with 
 Dr. Barty's experienced remark in 1843, equally applicable 
 now "It is in his byre that the farmer looks for his rent," 
 He would need now to do so. For unless grain rises in 
 value, or some latent productive power in the soil be dis- 
 covered, or the farmer's outlay be diminished, it is not 
 easy to see how he can continue long to pay his present 
 rent." The poor are now very indifferent, being more so 
 on account of the working of the mistaken Poor-Law Act; 
 the old spirit of independence is dying out. In the be- 
 ginning of the century the poor even the deserving poor 
 only received from two to five shillings a month ; and, 
 as Mr. Playfair quaintly remarked, " That is only 2d. a 
 day, which cannot detain them long from that country 
 where ' the weary are at rest.' " 
 
 As already remarked, there is no village in the parish. 
 In 1840, Mr. Archer erected a farina- work at Coutty 
 Bridge, which is occasionally a great boon to farmers when 
 potatoes are either diseased or plentiful ; and nothing can
 
 76 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 be finer or more beautiful than the flour there manufac- 
 tured. The Coutty Bridge over the Isla was built by the 
 Government in 1766 ; but it is now inconveniently 
 narrow for the increased traffic. The parish is purely 
 agricultural; but few parishes can equal it in the value of 
 its stock or the weight of its grain. Quietly, in general, 
 do the people live. Daily viewing the Creator in His 
 works, they contemplate the Divine economy in the 
 arrangement of the seasons ; " away from the madding 
 crowd," their natural affections are cherished more purely 
 than in the bustle of town life ; their habits become their 
 principles, and they are ready to risk their lives to main- 
 tain them. Long may this continue, without the con- 
 tamination of the foul disease of Communism which is 
 being generated in the great centres of population ! 
 Virgil's inimitable description of the pleasures of a rural 
 life may aptly suit Bendochy : 
 
 " An easy, quiet, ami a safe retreat, 
 A harmless life devoid of foul chicane, 
 And home-bred plenty the rich owner wait, 
 With rural pleasures sporting in her train. 
 Unvex'd with quarrels, undisturb'd with noise, 
 In peaceful industry time glides away; 
 He, living lakes and flow'ry fields enjoys, 
 Woods, hills and dales, and streams that thro' them pi.iy."
 
 CUPAR-ANGUS. 
 
 IN the very "Howe" of Strathmore lies the parish of 
 Cupar- Angus. The greater part is situated in Perthshire, 
 but the original part is in Forfarshire, hence it is designated 
 " of Angus." The origin of the name of Cupar is as un- 
 certain as is the correct way of spelling it ; but this has 
 been fully discussed in our article on the Abbey (on 
 page 5). More than likely the name was given in 
 honour of the famous Saint Cuthbert, monk of Helrose, 
 who is said to have had twenty-three churches conse- 
 crated to his name. According to Skene, in his " Celtic 
 Scotland," Cubert was one of the four royal manors or 
 thanages of the division of Gouerin (Gowry), which paid 
 " Can " to King Malcolm the Fourth. 
 
 The river Isla separates the parish on the north from 
 Bendochy. From the Taxatio of the Abbey of Arbroath 
 (1275), the river is called UlifFe, which means a flood, or 
 inundation ; and this is characteristically appropriate, for 
 the haugh-land, of considerable extent, was, before em- 
 bankments were erected, very often subject to sudden 
 submersion, which often occasioned very great loss to the 
 crops, especially during harvest-time. These embank- 
 ments average in height above seven feet, and in breadth, 
 thirty-six feet at the base, and three at the top. Rising 
 in Canlochan Glen, the Isla winds its serpentine way for 
 forty miles ; and, fed by the Ericht and Dean, falls into the 
 Tay three miles beyond the western boundary of tbe parish. 
 
 North-east of Cupar lies the parish of Meigle, which 
 now quoad sacra contains Kinloch and Balmyle, formerly 
 in Cupar parish, and still quoad civilia in it. Kettins
 
 78 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 bounds Cnpar on the south-east, and Cargill on the south- 
 west. The whole parish, about five miles long and two 
 miles broad, is divided by a ridge of some height, along 
 which runs the great road from Perth to Aberdeen. 
 The soil in the lowlands is of a clayey or loamy nature, 
 producing excellent crops of grass and grain. In 
 elevated parts the soil is light and gravelly, more suit- 
 able for potatoes, when well manured. There was a 
 common of 250 acres, called the Watton Mire, to whicli 
 in olden times the parishioners used to go for turf and 
 sods to eke out their fuel ; but since the railway has given 
 facilities for the conveyance of coal up to the very door, no 
 advantage is now taken of this. Dr. Robertson in the "Agri- 
 culture of Perthshire," in 1799, mentions that the common 
 then belonging to Cupar consisted of sixty Scotch acres. 
 
 The view from Beach Hill, north of the town, is singu- 
 larly beautiful. On the one side, you see the Isla mean- 
 dering through a fertile plain, " like a wounded snake, 
 dragging its slow length along." On the other side, you 
 are entranced with the grand panorama of the majestic 
 Grampians, towering in their cold beauty into the clouds ; 
 the prominent peaks of Ben More, Schiehallion, and Ben 
 Voirlich being quite distinct on a clear, hard day. Look- 
 ing south,you have the wooded Sidlaws and Dunsinane, on 
 which, in Macbeth, Shakespeare has thrown a tragic charm. 
 
 In quiet nooks and secluded dens some rare plants are 
 to be found, especially the Water Soldier, which throws 
 out from the mud, near stagnant water, rigid prickly 
 leaves, like those of an aloe, and in July a six-inch stalk 
 with delicate white flowers at its summit. It is said that 
 this very rare plant (though common in ditches in the 
 east of England), was planted in Forfar Loch, by the 
 enthusiastic and talented discoverer of Forfarshire flora, 
 George Don ; and found its way by the Dean to the Isla.
 
 CUPAR-ANGUS. 79 
 
 The rare plants, tufted Loosestrife (with its small yellow 
 whorl), Henbane (dangerously narcotic), and the dwarf 
 Elder (with its herbaceous stem), are found in the parish ; 
 but in these days, when any mention made of the favourite 
 haunts of noted ferns causes a " Sennacherib " rush for 
 specimens, which sooner or later extirpates them, we will 
 not name the locus of these plants. 
 
 The remains of a Roman camp are still visible im- 
 mediately to the east of the churchyard. Maitland 
 describes it as nearly a regular square of 1200 feet, 
 fortified with two strong ramparts and large ditches. It 
 is said to have been formed by the army of Agricola in 
 his seventh expedition. Here the half of his army en- 
 camped, while the other half remained at Campmuir, in 
 Lintrose, two miles south-west from this place. These 
 camps commanded the passage of Strathmore, and, ac- 
 cording to Wilson in his " Pre-historic Scotland," guarded 
 the passages leading down Strathardle and Glenshee. 
 Wilson also states that, in 1831, a spear-head was found 
 in the lands of Denhead belonging to the Archaic period, 
 made of bronze, 19 inches long, and extremely brittle. 
 One of the fractures near its point shows that a thin 
 rod of iron has been inserted in the centre of the 
 mould to give additional strength to this unusually 
 large weapon. A Roman urn was found on Beach 
 Hill, where, according to legend, justice was strictly 
 administered in ancient times. We are unable to trace 
 any instances of summary execution on Witch Know, 
 opposite to Cronan. 
 
 But what made Cupar most famous in the middle ages 
 was its Abbey. This was built on the centre of the 
 Roman camp by order of King Malcolm IV., in 1164, 
 for the Cistercian Monks. As a very exhaustive account 
 considering the limited materials in the hands of the
 
 80 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 historian has been already given of the Abbey at the 
 beginning of this volume (pages 1-46), it would be out 
 of place to give again an outline sketch. The parish 
 church and churchyard now occupy part of the fifty acres 
 of its original site. The Abbey was well endowed by 
 kings and nobles, and at the time of the Reformation its 
 income was as good as 8000 a year in our day. In 
 1489, Dempster of Careston, with the two profligate sons 
 of the first Duke of Montrose, earned off " twa monkis " 
 and some horses belonging to the Abbey ; and for this 
 " husting of the privilege and fredome of hali kirk " was 
 ordered to place himself in ward in the Castle of Dum- 
 barton. In 1618, the spirituality of the benefice was 
 transferred to the Protestant minister, and a new church 
 was erected. In 1645, two hundred soldiers attacked the 
 town by order of the Marquis of Montrose ; and Robert 
 Lindsay, the parish minister, took the leadership of the 
 defence, but at the cost of his life. His widow wrote to 
 Parliament about this attack of Alister M'Donald, alias 
 Collkittach, stating that her husband " was murdered by 
 a number of merciless rebels for his zeal and forwardness 
 in the cause of God." In the year following, an Act of 
 Assembly recommended her for charity, which was readily 
 responded to by many congregations in various parts of 
 the Church. Henry Guthrie, Bishop of Dunkeld 
 (1GOO-1676), was a native of Cupar. In 1679, George 
 Haliburton, minister of Cupar, was promoted to the 
 Biuhopric of Brechin. On the 26th of May 1689, " there 
 was no Session, the town being in a confusion with 
 Englishmen" (General M'Kay's dragoons being then 
 quartered in the town). In the same year George Hay 
 was deprived by the Privy Council for contumacy. On 
 the 16th June 1742, James Spankie (who had been or- 
 dained on the 10th of March 1741), was, on the casting
 
 CUPAR-ANGUS. 81 
 
 vote of the Moderator of Presbytery, deposed for his ir- 
 regular marriage and dissimulation ; but this judgment 
 was reversed by the Synod, who ordered him to be 
 solemnly rebuked. He was parish minister for thirty- 
 seven years. There were for many years in early times 
 two other chapels in the parish the chapel of the blessed 
 Mary at Balbrogy, and the chapel of St. Ninian at 
 Keithock. 
 
 Two important decisions were given by the Court of 
 Session in connection with ecclesiastical and parochial 
 matters in Cupar. In re Hill v. Wood (1863), it was 
 decided anent churchyards (1) that long-continued posses- 
 sion of burial ground in the churchyard will be held to 
 presume, and will be practically treated as equivalent to, 
 a formal allocation of it ; (2) that an allottee of ground 
 in a churchyard, whether he be an heritor or merely a 
 parishioner, does not by the allocation acquire a right of 
 absolute property in it, but of use merely, though from 
 the sacred nature of the use (i.e. burial accommodation to 
 successive generations of the parishioners), the allocation 
 confers on the allottee a right to the exclusive possession 
 of the ground so long as it is tenanted by the dead, or 
 while unallocated ground exists in the churchyard 
 which can be assigned as a place of burial ; (3) that 
 the right of sepulture may be acquired by a family or a 
 number of individuals in ground not belonging to them 
 (including the churchyard), in virtue of possession thereof 
 by way of burial therein of their relatives for a period of 
 forty years ; and (4) that the site for the erection of a 
 vestry for a church will not be sanctioned if it involves 
 an encroachment on the existing churchyard. And in re 
 Scot. N.E. Railway v. Gardiner (1864), anent ecclesiastical 
 assessments, it was decided (1) that the term " heritor " 
 applies to a corporate body, such as a railway company ;
 
 82 STBATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 (2) that as to real or valued rent for such assessment the 
 rule of liability is not regulated by the Valuation Act 
 (which is not a taxing statute, but merely one for valuing 
 properties), but by the rales of law in force prior to its date 
 (1854). 
 
 In 1618, the town of Cupar was erected into a 
 " haill and free lordship and barony," being origin- 
 ally, like Arbroath, what was called an abbot's burgh, 
 to distinguish it from a royal burgh, like Forfar, 
 or a bishop's burgh, like Brechin ; for towns and 
 villages gradually acquired their dimensions round the 
 seats of kings, bishops, and abbots. Stuart Gray, 
 Esq., of Gray and Kinfauns, is now the superior of the 
 burgh. 
 
 The date of the oldest of the Parochial registers is 
 1682. These carefully written volumes contain entries of 
 rigorous discipline similar to those of Blairgowrie and 
 Beridochy. We lately examined them in the Register 
 House, Edinburgh, where all parish records, which con- 
 tained notices of births or baptisms in the ordinary 
 minutes (baptisms being then in the church) are now 
 collected; but we found nothing specially calling for 
 notice. 
 
 The parish has always been noted for the longevity of 
 its inhabitants. At the end of last century a well auth- 
 enticated case is given of a woman who died at the age 
 of 116 years ; and the three venerable clergymen, who, 
 for upwards of half a century, walked the streets of 
 Cupar, gave ample evidence of this happy trait in the 
 climate. For sixty years did Dean Tory officiate, with a 
 mind which remained fresh to the end ; for about half 
 a century Dr. Marshall sustained with indomitable vigour 
 the Voluntary principles ; and Dr. Stevenson, for fifty- 
 two years, with the honour and respect of the whole
 
 CUPAR- ANGUS. 83 
 
 community and Presbytery, carried on his unobstrusive 
 but powerfully lasting work, in the development of 
 liberal theological thought. 
 
 As in the neighbouring parishes, vast changes have 
 taken place in Cupar, in agriculture and manufactures and 
 the living of the people. In 1750 the population of the 
 quoad civilia parish was 1491 ; it is now 3000. Then the 
 valued rent was 556 ; now the real rent is 16,297. 
 Then the runrig prevailed, with ploughing by oxen ; now 
 farmers have large farms, with vastly improved imple- 
 ments. Then lint seed formed a considerable part of the 
 produce ; now it is unknown. Then on the principal 
 road any house could sell spirits and ale without a licence ; 
 now it is attempted to have entire prohibition. Then 
 there was but one minister ; now there are half-a-dozen, 
 endeavouring to work out in religious polity Darwin's 
 theory of " the survival of the fittest in the struggle for 
 existence." Then there were ten carriers ; now they have 
 the Caledonian Kailway. Then there were four whisky 
 stills and nine brewers, forty -five public housekeepers and 
 nine butchers to a third part of the present population. 
 Happily what a contrast now ! The teacher's salary was 
 11, as the writer in the "Old Statistical Account" says, 
 " not equal on an average to that of the meanest mechanic 
 or day labourer." The turf and divot and cruisie-lamp 
 now give place to coal and gas. The handloom- weaving 
 is supplanted by machinery. A tannery was built in 
 1781, wherein 2600 hides were dressed annually. Now 
 there are three linen-works, a tannery, a farina work, a 
 brewery, and steam sawmills. To further the linen 
 manufacture, George Young, a Cupar merchant, and a 
 man of uncommon capacity for business, endeavoured, by 
 petitioning the Board of Trustees for the " Forfeited 
 Scottish Estates," to procure a survey for a canal between
 
 84 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PEESENT. 
 
 Perth and Forfar by Cupar ; but the expense was too 
 heavy and the plan was laid aside. 
 
 The steeple, which marks the town at a distance, but 
 is not connected with the church, was built in 17G2 by 
 subscription among the inhabitants. It stands on the 
 spot where the prison of the Court of Kegality stood ; 
 and the lower part of it is still employed as a temporary 
 place of confinement. A few years ago Mr. Lowe, a 
 native of Cupar, after his arrival from Winnipeg in North 
 America, most handsomely repaired the partly dilapidated 
 steeple at his own expense. Justice of Peace Courts and 
 Circuit Small Debt Courts are regularly held here. There 
 are several banks and hotels in the town ; but the weekly 
 farmers' market, on Thursday, is dwindling down. Still, 
 there is a regular auction mart for selling and buying 
 cattle ; and fair attendances are occasionally seen on 
 the third Monday of six of the months of the year. 
 
 The chief improvement in agriculture consists in drain- 
 ing an ingenious plan of the late Lord Hallyburton 
 being thus described by Dr. Stevenson in his " New 
 Statistical Account of the Parish : " " In heavy rains the 
 standing water could not find any vent, the only drain 
 a small stream skirting the land serving to increase the 
 evil. In these circumstances his Lordship planned the 
 following remedy : A level was brought up from a point 
 in the bed of the stream, 1180 feet 8 inches below the 
 farm subject to inundation. In dry weather the stream 
 was confined to one side of its usual channel, and a 
 conduit of 18 inches square, well built, flagged, and 
 puddled on the top, to prevent any water getting in, was 
 constructed below the bed of the burn. Above that, a 
 complete coating of broken metal was laid to render tho 
 conduit more secure, and the burn was then allowed to 
 run in its former course. The rise is one inch in 42 feet
 
 CUPAR- ANGUS. 85 
 
 2 inches. The cost of the whole was 220. It was con- 
 structed in 1831, and has been found, with occasional 
 trifling repairs, completely to answer the purpose for 
 which it was intended." Cupar Parish, like Kettins, has 
 been famed all over the country for its breeding of cattle. 
 Some years ago we saw at the Shorthorn sale at Keithock 
 (Mr. Fisher's) the finest specimens of that breed which 
 Scotland possessed; and the very high prices realised by 
 Mr. Thornton's sand-gla; s from purchasers from all parts 
 of the world testified to the rare qualities of the stock. 
 At Balgersho Farm, Mr. Ferguson the other day realised 
 a very high figure for some of his prime Aberdeen Angus 
 breed. Messrs. Macdonald and Sinclair, authors of the 
 history of that excellent stock, give him a very compli- 
 mentary but well - deserved notice. Having secured 
 several of Mr. Watson of Keillor's best cattle, he blended 
 the valuable blood of " the first great improver " with his 
 own herd, which consists of the descendants of the famous 
 Vines of Mr. M'Combie. 
 
 In 1874 a much-needed water supply was introduced 
 into the town. Her gracious Majesty Queen Victoria has 
 driven three times through Cupar on the llth Septem- 
 ber and 1st October, 1844, and on the 31st August, 1850. 
 
 We cannot close this article without making reference, 
 in a word, to the princely gift by Peter Carmichael, Esq., 
 of Arthurstone, of a very handsome church, with suitable 
 endowment of 200 a year for the minister, in connection 
 with the Church of Scotland, at a cost of 10 ; 000. The 
 parish of Ardlcr quoad sacra is to be taken from 
 the parishes of Cupar, Meigle, and Kettins ; and 
 after the necessary legal process of disjunction 
 by the Court of Teinds it will be added to 
 the Presbytery as a fitting and beautiful memorial 
 of Mr. Carmichael's deceased children. The design
 
 86 8TRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 of the Church, as well as of the Manse, does great 
 credit to the architect, Mr. Johnstone of Greymount. 
 May the people, to whom this convenient and beautiful 
 place of worship has been given, show their life gratitude 
 to the generous donor by regularly availing themselves 
 of the religious services there !
 
 LETHENDT AND KINLOCH. 
 
 QUITE separate parishes until 1806, and topographically 
 distinct, Lethendy and Kinloch now form a united parish. 
 Lethendy is separated from Blairgowrie on the east by 
 the Lunan Burn, is bounded on the south by Caputh, 
 and on the west by Clunie. It is five miles long, and 
 about one and a-half broad. The surface rises gently 
 westward for a mile, then falls suddenly from less pro- 
 ductive soil to a fine black mould. A hundred and 
 twenty years ago the best lands were under sheep pas- 
 ture, but owing to a bad breed and unskilful management 
 the yield was poor, both to the proprietor and tenant. 
 From that time sheep were entirely banished, marl was 
 extensively used, the waste lands were cultivated, and by 
 industry and good management the rents soon trebled, 
 the condition of the tenants improved, and the face of 
 the country entirely changed. And so much has the 
 parish progressed that from the old valued rental of 105, 
 the assessed rental now is about 2352. 
 
 The Tower of Lethendy is a very old building, sup- 
 posed to have been a fortalice in times preceding the in- 
 vention of gunpowder; but, on the whole, it was far from 
 being impregnable, especially from the east and south. 
 About fifty years ago a pot was found, six feet below the 
 surface, in the peat moss at Blackloch, where it is sup- 
 posed a Roman camp was pitched. Ihis Roman camp- 
 pot made of a compound metal, like bell metal stands 
 upon three feet, is 17 inches high, 40 inches in circumfer- 
 ence, and capable of holding six Scotch pints. 
 
 The population of Lethendy in 1750 was 346 which,
 
 88 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 is about the same as at present. The registers commence 
 in 16G8, and incongruously mix up matters of Church 
 discipline, collections and distributions for the poor, 
 marriages and baptisms, &c. Some have been well kept, 
 but others have suffered from the damp. A hundred 
 years ago the people were described as very simple in 
 their manners, frugal, industrious, and contented with 
 their situation. Their religious ideas were narrow and 
 imperfect, but their morals were little short of the dwellers 
 in St. Kilda. The writer of the "Old Statistical 
 Account " would have been a staunch opponent of the 
 last Franchise Bill, for he complimented the parishioners 
 on their being nearly ignorant of political creeds : " The 
 speculations of this nature, which have lately so much 
 engaged the attention of mankind, and which have been 
 discussed by all parties with so great warmth and un- 
 charitableness, are here treated with much indifference. 
 They indeed hear and talk of reforms and revolutions, 
 and plots and conspiracies, and armed associations ; but 
 without being the least alarmed, and without feeling 
 themselves disposed to take an active part in support 
 either of the one or of the other." What a contrast for 
 better or for worse, time will tell when the Franchise 
 Act comes into action ! 
 
 Ecclesiastically the parish of Lcthcndy, before being 
 united to Kinlooh, was remarkable for its being the sub- 
 ject of several lawsuits, one of which is of great import- 
 ance. According to the Act of Parliament of 1G40, it was 
 provided that " where competent manses are not already 
 built, the heritors of the parish, at the sight of three 
 ministers and three ruling elders to be appointed by the 
 Presbytery, build competent manses to their ministers, 
 the cost and expenses thereof not exceeding 1000 Scots 
 (83 6s. 8d. sterling), and not being beneath 500 raerks
 
 LETHENDY AND KINLOCH. 89 
 
 (27 15s. 6d. sterling) ; and where competent manses are 
 already built, the heritors of the parish are hereby or* 
 dained to relieve the present minister of all cost, charges 
 and expenses for building and repairing of the manses." 
 Mr. Williamson, the minister of the parish in 1786, applied 
 to the Presbytery, who ordained the heritors to build a 
 new manse in lieu of the old one, at a cost of 120 ster- 
 ling, because a competent manse could not be built 
 cheaper. Mr. Mercer, the principal heritor, brought this 
 deliverance before the Court of Session, who ultimately 
 increased the allowance to 195 sterling. Against this 
 judgment Mr. Mercer appealed to the House of Lords, 
 who affirmed the decision of the Court below, giving as 
 their reason that " the Court of Session had gone accord- 
 ing to the spirit of the statute." This decision in the 
 Lethendy case has now all the force of a direct Act of 
 Parliament. With the interpretation put on the statute 
 by the house of Lords, " competent " manses are to be 
 provided without any minimum limit to the expense. 
 The statute is to be modified by custom, as has been 
 pointed out in the Aberdour and Elgin cases since ; " for 
 the keeping up of a manse (even to rebuilding) must be 
 considered as repairs, and the expense of such repairs falls 
 under the clause in which there is no limitation." The 
 Court has since allowed upwards of 2000 sterling for 
 the rebuilding of a manse. In 1789 the same heritor, Mr. 
 Mercer, took the minister to the Court of Session for digging 
 peats from the glebe for the use of his family, on the 
 ostensible plea that the operation involved a considerable 
 diminution of the soil ; but the Court decided in favour 
 of the minister. And again, in the same year, Mr. Mercer 
 challenged the right of the minister to have more than 
 the statutory four Scotch acres of a glebe ; but the Court 
 that after the lapse of forty years, the heritors can-
 
 90 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 not challenge the state of possession of the glebe enjoyed 
 during this period, although it is more than the statutory 
 allowance ; because such continued possession was con- 
 clusive evidence of the original extent of the glebe. The 
 church of Lethendy was supplied from 1574 to 1580 by 
 John Mories. In 1677, David Young was translated to 
 Dunkeld. "The Utencih were estimat" at 40. In 1689 
 George Ireland died, aged 30 ; " wared on him for droggs 
 in the time of his sickness 100 merks, and expended on 
 .his funeral 60 Scots." 
 
 Kinloch takes its name from its situation, meaning 
 " the head of the loch," there being three lochs in the 
 parish viz., the Loch of Drumelie, the Rae Loch, and the 
 Fenzies Loch. These abound in pike, perch and eel. In 
 Drumelie and the Lunan Burn, issuing from it, are found 
 excellent trout, which feed on the slick-worm (a species 
 of food greedily taken by them). Though there are 
 many small brooks in the parish, there are only two 
 large ones viz., Lornty Burn and Lunan Burn; tho 
 former cutting the parish right across from west to east ; 
 the latter separating the parish on the south-east from 
 Blairgowrie. Clunie and Caputh bound it on the south and 
 west. The parish is nine miles long and a little over one 
 mile broad; and the Parish Church is about fifteen miles 
 from Perth, nine from Dunkeld, and two from Blairgowrie. 
 
 The lower part of the parish is beautifully situated, with a 
 southern exposure, sheltered from the north winds by the 
 high grounds, and studded with sweet lakes. The Man- 
 sion House of Marlee is situated between two of the 
 lakes, quite embosomed in rich plantation. The first 
 marl-pit opened in this country was in the Moss which is 
 connected with Rae Loch. It was partially drained in 
 1734 ; but afterwards was deepened at great expense. 
 Tho marl is of great depth ; and the sales were for a con-
 
 LETHENDY AND KIN LOCH. 91 
 
 siderable time very extensive. The advantages derived 
 from the use of marl were alike felt by proprietor and 
 tenant. As a manure it operates upon the earth by 
 separating its parts, rendering it more penetrable to the 
 roots of the plants, and thereby facilitating the means of 
 nourishment. The richer it is the less it has of a cohesive 
 quality, being thereby more easily incorporated. With 
 the best marl the greatest benefit to the soil is obtained 
 by laying it on the ground while under a grass crop, and 
 leaving it exposed on the surface, over the winter season. 
 Thus the thickly interwoven roots of the grass will pre- 
 vent most of it from sinking below the surface, till it is 
 washed into the earth by snow and rain. In one of the 
 marl-pits at Marlee, a pair of very large deer's horns were 
 found, of palmed form, and of the elk species, anciently 
 the stately inhabitant of the Caledonian forests. It is 
 worthy of note that deers' horns have been found in an 
 entire state in marl-pits, though never so entire in the 
 moss above, nor the sand below, the marl-beds. Much 
 was done, a hundred years ago, in Kinloch to propagate 
 the potato from the seed, that grows in the apple of the 
 plant. These apples were taken before the shaws were 
 decayed, and preserved carefully from the winter frosts. 
 In April the seeds were picked out of the apples and 
 sown an inch deep in well-prepared soil, half-an-inch of 
 earth covering them. When the seedlings were an 
 inch above the ground, they were transplanted into 
 another piece of ground, at the distance of ten inches 
 between the plants in the row, and at the distance of four- 
 teen inches between the rows. They produced potatoes 
 about the size of a small hen's egg. These were planted 
 in the following year, and an excellent crop generally re- 
 warded the labours ; the seed of three apples producing a 
 ton of potatoes. Some keen cultivators secured a kind of
 
 92 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 potato in this way which, when kept properly, allowed 
 two crops to be taken off the same pieco of ground in one 
 year. Can something of this nature not be seen about 
 now in these unremunerative agricultural times ? 
 
 There is one Druidical temple in the parish, on the 
 road leading from Blairgowrie to Dunkeld. There is an 
 old castle at Glassclune, situated on the projection of the 
 steep bank of the glen of Lornty Burn. The massive 
 ruins show that it must have been a place of considerable 
 strength both natural and artificial. It was possessed of 
 old by a powerful family of the name of Blair. An in- 
 veterate feud subsisted between the Blairs of Glassclune 
 and the Herons of Drumlochy, a castle a gunshot to the 
 east in Blairgowrie parish ; and a constant and harassing 
 system of petty warfare was for long kept up, attended 
 with considerable bloodshed on both sides ; till at length 
 
 * O 
 
 the struggle was ended in the total defeat of the laird of 
 Drumlochy and the complete destruction of his fortress. 
 There are in a moor about 80 tumuli, called the Haer 
 Cavins, 15 feet long and 5 feet high, which some anti- 
 quarians of authority (among them Dr. Skene, the Queen's 
 Historiographer for Scotland), in spite of General Roy's 
 claim for Ardoch, have contended to be vestiges of the far- 
 famed battle of Mons Grampius between the Romans under 
 Agricola and the Caledonians under Galgacus, in 8-1 A.D. 
 The Caledonians occupied the ridge extending from the 
 Ericht to Forneth, about five miles to the westward, pro- 
 tected by the river and a deep ravine. As is well known, 
 the natives made the irretrievable mistake of descending 
 from their vantage ground, and exposing themselves to 
 the impetuous attacks of the disciplined troops in the 
 open plain. The natives were put to flight, after a des- 
 perate hand to hand encounter; and the traces of their 
 flight, are still to be seen in numerous tumuli through
 
 LETHENDY AND KINLOCH. 93 
 
 Maws in Blairgowrie. This gave rise to the provincial 
 expression, that when a troublesome person abstains from 
 fighting, on finding that he has met his superior, the 
 fight was said to be, " let-a-bee for let-a-bee, like the 
 fight of Maws." About the end of last century a 
 tumulus, 81 feet by 4 feet, was opened and found to con- 
 tain human teeth and a great quantity of human bones, 
 much reduced and mixed with charcoal ; very likely the 
 remains of part of the 340 Romans and 10,000 Britons 
 who bravely fell. 
 
 The old valued rental of the parish was 142 ; now the 
 real rental is 2*200. The population has not varied much 
 from what it was in 1750, i.e., 331. The Parochial registers 
 go back to 1697. The eccentric minister of Tannadice, Mr. 
 John Buist, was once proprietor of Nether Balcairn ; and 
 Mr. Farquharson of Invercauld took some of his finest 
 larches to Braemar, from the seedlings which he reared 
 in- his property in Kinloch. The parish was originally 
 called Lundeiff. In 1567, Thomas Cruickshank was mini- 
 ster, with a stipend of 6 13s. 4d. On account of the suffer- 
 ings and loyalty of James Drummond,his children had 50 
 allowed by Parliament out of the Vacant Stipend of 16G1. 
 
 The parishes of Lethendy and Kinloch were united by 
 the Lords Commissioners of Teinds on the 26th Nov. 
 1806. The united parishes acquired notoriety, inferior 
 only to that of Auchterarder and Marnoch, from the work- 
 ing of the General Assembly's Veto Act in 1836. We 
 have only space for a few jottings about it. In 1835, -the 
 aged minister having applied to the Crown (the Patron) 
 to appoint his assistant, Mr. Clark, as his assistant and 
 successor being petitioned by 107 males, heads of families 
 the presentation was made in Mr. Clark's favour byaroyal 
 sign-manual. The Presbytery of Dunkeld, holding for 
 the first time that there was a constructive or qualified
 
 04 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 vacancy, sustained the presentation. But just before 
 this, the General Assembly, thinking that they had the 
 power, passed a Veto Act, by which, after the presentee 
 had officiated before the congregation, a majority, if dis- 
 satisfied, could object to his being inducted to the charge. 
 Accordingly, after Mr. Clark's trials, the parishioners, 
 having changed their minds, set him aside by a bare 
 majority. The Assembly, on appeal, confirmed the veto. 
 Soon after the old minister died, and a second presenta- 
 tion was issued by the Crown in favour of Mr. Kessen. 
 The Presbytery sustained the presentation, and inti- 
 mated his trials. Mr. Clark thereupon obtained an inter- 
 dict from the Court of Session prohibiting the Presbytery 
 from proceeding further. At next General Assembly it 
 was resolved that, as admission to the pastoral charge of 
 a parish was entirely an ecclesiastical act, the Presbytery 
 must proceed to the induction of Mr. Kessen upon the 
 call, and not upon the presentation. The Presbytery 
 were in a dilemma : if they proceeded to the induction 
 they might be imprisoned by the Court of Session for 
 breaking the interdict ; if they delayed, they might be 
 deposed for not obeying their ecclesiastical superiors. 
 To make things easier, however, it was resolved by the 
 Assembly to prepare a libel against Mr. Clark for the 
 violation of his vows to obey the Assembly's orders. As 
 soon as possible afterwards, the Presbytery ordained and 
 inducted Mr. Kessen to the charge, thus bringing the 
 Church and the Civil Court into mortal combat. On 
 this Mr. Clark complained to the Court, who summoned 
 the Presbytery before them as criminals at the bar. 
 There was a long defence ; and, after taking the matter to 
 avizandum for four days, the judges announced that the 
 sentence was for the first offence the solemn censure of the 
 Court. Mr. Clark was libelled by the Presbytery ; but
 
 LETHENDY AND KINLOCH. 95 
 
 he declined its authority on account of the illegal char- 
 acter of its composition, being partly formed of quoad 
 sacra ministers. The Assembly of 1842 dismissed this 
 objection and deprived him of his licence ; Dr. William 
 Cunningham remarking with characteristic audacity, 
 that " the Church discharged its whole duty towards the 
 interdicts of the Court of Session by despising them and 
 trampling them under its feet." The next Assembly de- 
 clared this null and void, having proceeded on incom- 
 petent grounds, and in the excess of its jurisdiction. In 
 1845, he was served with another libel ; and two charges 
 of drunkenness being found proven, he was finally de- 
 prived of licence in 1846. Now things are changed ; the 
 people have received a Veto Act from Parliament which 
 goes far beyond what the Church desired ; for they have 
 the absolute power of presentation, as of rejection, con- 
 ferred upon them. Had the Church's Veto Act been 
 sanctioned by the State, there would have been no Dis- 
 ruption, and fewer squabbles and bitternesses in the 
 election of ministers in both the Established and Free 
 Churches. For, even in proportion to their usual peace- 
 ableness, when people in agricultural districts are roused 
 up by religious differences, the turmoil and bitterness 
 become the keener and more deadly : 
 
 " Arouse thee, youth ! it is no human call, 
 God's Church is leaguered haste to man the wall ; 
 Haste where the red-cross banners wave on high, 
 Signal of honour'd death or victory 1 "
 
 MEIGLE. 
 
 This parish the metropolitan of the Presbytery is 
 situated in the centre of Strath more and the east of 
 Perthshire. It is bounded on the north and north-west 
 by the Dean and Isla ; on the east and south by Eassie 
 and Nevay and Newtyle ; on the west and south-west by 
 Cupar and Kettins. Its length is about five miles, and 
 its breadth two miles. The two Statistical Accounts of 
 the parish were written by shrewd and carefully observ- 
 ing men, viz., Dr. James Playfair and Dr. Mitchell. The 
 latter considers that the name of the parish was derived 
 from its local situation Midgill, or between the " gills " 
 or marshes; the Church and Manse being built on a plain 
 between two marshes. But Jervise supposes that it 
 comes from Migdel, " the plain with the dales." The name 
 has various ways of spelling Miggil, Megill, Migell ; in 
 an old map of 1C40 Migle, with a large shaded part for 
 Migle Moss ; and in the return of Presbyteries to the 
 General Assembly of 1593, Migel. The Dean is a sluggish, 
 deep river, issuing from Forfar Loch, twelve miles distant ; 
 and is particularly noted for its excellent trout, generally 
 very heavy, red-fleshed, and flavoured to meet the taste 
 of the most fastidious gourmand. It flows into the Isla 
 about half a mile from the village of Meigle. This river, 
 in floodtime especially, is far more rapid ; occasionally, 
 after melting snows or a spate, it overflows its banks, and 
 with resistless force sweeps away whole harvests, irre- 
 trievably destroying 
 
 "The well-earned treasures of the labouring year." 
 
 The parish lias very little variation of surface, the soil in
 
 MEIGLE. 97 
 
 some places being sandy, in others clayey, but generally 
 of a rich black loam, and all is well cultivated. 
 
 There are many remains of antiquity, but we are left 
 very much to tradition for any explanation, which is 
 certainly very meagre and unsatisfactory. The tales and 
 stories which have been handed down through successive 
 generations are far too wild and extravagant for this 
 matter-of-fact and utilitarian age. Abandoning, there- 
 fore, the most improbable, we shall examine the more 
 remarkable monuments of antiquity in the parish, taking 
 notice of the most plausible accounts which have come 
 down to us concerning them. A little south of the village 
 is situated Belmont Castle, once the seat of Lord Wharn- 
 cliffe, an elegant modern quadrangular pile, agglomerated 
 .with the old tower of a former mansion. It is situated 
 on the highest eminence in the parish, 204 feet above the 
 level of the sea, and commands an extensive view of the 
 plain. By a most unexpected accident it was, a year 
 ago, almost entirely burned down to the ground, destroy- 
 ing some elegantly built and furnished apartments. 
 Before this unfortunate fire this Castle, with its nice 
 gardens and fine enclosures, beautiful lawn, and very old 
 stately trees, rendered it the most delightful residence in 
 Strathmore. Dr. Robertson of Callendar, in his " Agri- 
 culture of Perthshire " (1799), mentions it as a " magnifi- 
 cent place, and next to Glamis the ornament of Strath- 
 more." The Castle, policy, and two adjoining farms have 
 been recently sold to the Right Hon. H. Campbell- 
 Bannerman, M.P., the Chief Secretary for Ireland, for 
 52,000. In Roman Catholic times it was the residence 
 of the Bishops of Dunkeld, under the name Kirkhill 
 which it retained till about a hundred years ago. To 
 show the connection of the parish with the Abbey of 
 Dunkeld, the greater part of the stipend of Dunkeld is 
 
 G
 
 98 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 still paid out of Meigle ; and to implement the last aug- 
 mentation granted by the Court of Teinds to the minister 
 of Meigle, it was found necessary to take so much off the 
 stipend of the minister of Dunkeld. Some of the most 
 majestic beeches ever we saw are in the policies of 
 Belmont Castle, the solid wood of one being calculated, 
 below the offset of the branches, to measure 276 cubic 
 feet. Taken as a whole, the ornamental timber in the 
 park is unequalled in Scotland for size and beauty. In 
 the enclosures of the castle there is a tumulus called 
 Belliduff, which tradition gives as the spot where, in 
 1056, Macbeth was killed in battle by Macduff. Taking 
 the most reliable facts out of the mass of fiction, we see 
 that Macbeth, after murdering King Duncan, was crowned 
 King ; but this soon roused up the revengeful ire of 
 Malcolm, Duncan's son, who was heartily assisted by the 
 English King, Edward the Confessor. The English forces 
 marched as far north as Dunsinane, one of the Sidlaws, 
 where they had a furious hand-to-hand conflict with 
 Macbeth, who commanded his troops in person. After 
 many displays of courage Macbeth was obliged to retreat; 
 and tradition fixes Belliduff as a likely place where 
 Macduff, Thane of Fife, to gratify personal revenge, slew 
 the King in single combat. "We are glad to see that the 
 learned historian, Burton, has thin assigned Macbeth a 
 higher place than many others give him : " The deeds 
 which raised Macbeth and his wife to power were not in 
 appearance much worse than others of their day, done 
 for similar ends. However, he may have gained his 
 power, he exercised it with good repute, according to the 
 reports nearest to his time." We know that Macbeth is 
 the first king who appears in the ecclesiastical records as 
 a benefactor of the Church ; for, according to the Register 
 of the Priory of St. Andrews, he granted some lands to
 
 M El OLE. 99 
 
 the Monastery of Loch Leven About a mile distant 
 from Belliduff stands, almost erect, a large whin-stone 
 block of twenty tons in weight, to commemorate the 
 death of some military commander, and is called by 
 tradition " Siward's or Macbeth's Stone." 
 
 When the Knight Templars were in pomp (from the 
 foundation of the order of military monks in 1118), they 
 had considerable interest in Meigle, several lands in the 
 parish being still known as the Temple Lands. We pre- 
 fer this derivation to the common one of templum, any 
 religious house. The earliest recorded lords of Meigle 
 belonged to a family who assumed it for their surname. 
 They had their lands from William the Lion ; in his 
 time (1180), Simon de Miggil was Lord of the Manor. 
 The last notice of the surname is that of Rogier de 
 Miggel, who along with the Perthshire barons swore 
 fealty to Edward I. in 1296. The first Earl of Crawford, 
 in founding the choirs of our Lady of Victory and St. 
 George at Dundee (in 1398), gave an annual of 12 merks 
 out of the lands of Balmy le. Meigle was for some time 
 part of the lordship of Crawford, from which the scape- 
 grace, Lord Lindsay, over-ran and up-lifted the rents in 
 the time of his father, the Duke of Montrose, who was com- 
 pelled to crave Parliament, in 14-89, to protect him ; in 
 answer to which the offender was ordained to remedy all 
 the evils which the lands of " Megill and Rothuen " had 
 sustained. 
 
 Drumkilbo, a mile east of the village, is a fine mansion 
 embosomed in wood. Kinloch, the residence of Sir John 
 Kinloch, is pleasantly situated a mile and a half west of 
 the village. When Mr. Murray of Simprim lived at Meigle 
 House, Sir Walter Scott was more than once his guest. 
 And near Simprim, at Cardean, there are still the 
 vestiges of a camp.
 
 100 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 But it is the antique and curious monuments in the 
 churchyard which have most of all attracted the public 
 eye to the parish. The accounts of antiquarians so 
 stirred up the enthusiasm of the community, that a few 
 years ago the late Sir George Kinloch, the Superior of 
 Meigle, thought it advisable to protect them from the 
 ravages of the weather and the hammering tourist. 
 Accordingly, without consulting the Kirk-Session or 
 Presbytery (the custodiers of all pre-reformation remains 
 in the churchyard or church), he, by mistake, removed 
 some to the old school, which at a very high figure he 
 had purchased for the purpose of forming a parish 
 museum. Decided action was taken by the Presbj^tery, 
 and a compromise was at last come to between the two 
 conflicting parties, by which the sculptured stones, that 
 had already been removed, would not be ordered to be 
 returned to the churchyard, as Sir George had agreed to 
 enclose the old school within the churchyard, with free 
 admission to any parishioner. In the churchyard (for 
 the stones in the old school are now also in the church- 
 yard), are the remains of the grand sepulchral monument 
 of Guinevere, the wife of King Arthur, who flourished in 
 the sixth century, but whose history is involved in fable. 
 Before desci ibing the remains in these remarkable stones, 
 we will mention a few points brought out so beautifully 
 by the Poet Laureate, Lord Tennyson, in his " Holy 
 Grail " and " The Idylls of the King." It happened that 
 
 " Leodogran, the King of Camcliard, 
 Had one fair daughter, and none other child ; 
 And she waa fairest of all flesh on earth, 
 Guinevere, and in her his one delight. " 
 
 Till Arthur came near, the country was in a very wild 
 fitnte, where the " beast was ever more and more ; but man 
 was less and less." Passing by the Castle walls, a strange 
 sensation posse.ssed Arthur ; for though he looked down, he
 
 MEIGLE. 101 
 
 " Felt the light of her eyes into his life 
 Smite on the sudden ; " 
 
 and in deep and charmed meditation, he resolved to be 
 " join'd with her, that reigning with one will in every- 
 thing, they might have power to lighten all the land." 
 After some negotiating, Arthur's chief knight, Sir 
 Launcelot, was sent for Guinevere to make her Queen. 
 Happy for a short time only did they live, for strangely 
 had she given Launcelot her love, in spite of the " dear 
 face of the guileless King." Meeting by arrangement to 
 sin and part, " passion pale they greeted ; hands in hands, 
 and eye to eye, they sat stammering and staring low on 
 the border of her couch." It was a madness of farewell, 
 for in guilt she exclaimed "Would God, that thou 
 could'st hide me from myself ! Mine is the shame, for I 
 was wife, and thou unwedded." They parted ; and she 
 went to a nunnery, unknown among them, till one day 
 the cry, " The King ! " startled her, and so great was her 
 misery that 
 
 " There with her milk-white arms and shadowy hair 
 She made her face a darkness from the King." 
 
 Arthur met her, and in pity and broken love addressed 
 her with pathetic appeals to penitence ; he loved her, yet 
 he could not restore her altogether. Bitterly he must 
 say: 
 
 " Thou hast not made my life so sweet to me, 
 That I, the King, should greatly care to live : 
 For thou hast spoilt the purpose of my life. 
 I hold that man the worst of public foes 
 AVho, either for his own or children's sake, 
 To save his blood from scandal, lets the wife 
 Whom he knows false, abide and rule the house." 
 
 According to the tradition, Guinevere was put in captivity 
 on Barryhill, in Alyth, and ultimately torn to pieces by 
 wild beasts ; though Tennyson, throwing back on heathen 
 times the Christian spirit, does not adopt any so cruel 
 denouement for his series of beautiful idyls. One thing is
 
 102 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 pretty certain from all accounts, she was buried at 
 Meigle, and a monument was erected to perpetuate her 
 sin. This memorial originally consisted of many stones 
 artfully joined, and decorated with a variety of sym- 
 bolical characters, strangely monstrous in their nature, 
 and representative of revengeful violence on a woman. 
 " On one stone are three small crosses, with many 
 animals above and below. On another is a cross adorned 
 with various flowers, and the rude representations of 
 fishes, beasts, and men on horseback. On a third is an 
 open chariot drawn by two horses, and some persons in 
 it ; behind is a wild beast devouring a human form lying 
 prostrate on the earth. On a fourth is an animal some- 
 what resembling an elephant. On another, eight feet 
 long; and three feet three inches broad, standing upright 
 in a socket, there is a cross. In the middle are several 
 figures with the bodies of horses, or camels, and the 
 heads of serpents ; on each side of which are wild beasts 
 and reptiles considerably impaired. On the reverse is the 
 figure of a woman, attacked on all sides by dogs and other 
 furious animals. Above are several persons on horseback, 
 with hounds engaged in the chase. Below is a centaur, 
 and a serpent of enormous size fastened on the mouth of 
 a bull." Such is the description given b} 1 Dr. Playfair, 
 minister of the parish in 1790, and afterwards Principal 
 of the University of St. Andrews. Pennant in his " Tour," 
 Jervise in his " Sculptured Stones," but especially Dr. 
 Stewart in his very costly volumes, give accurate draw- 
 ings of these stones. However, there seems no satis- 
 factory accounting for the strange hieroglyphics ; many 
 guesses have been made by antiquarians and historians 
 but there is none sufficiently consistent for insertion here. 
 Superstition went the length of saying, according to the 
 fabulous Boece, that, if a young woman walked over the
 
 MEIGLE. 103 
 
 grave of Guinevere, she would entail on herself perpetual 
 sterility : " All wemen that stampis on this sepulture shall 
 be ay barrant, but ony fruit of their womb sichlike as Gua- 
 nora was." Certainly there is no such superstition now ! A 
 property adjoining Meigle, called Arthurstone, contains 
 some strange monoliths suggestive of the legendary connec- 
 tion of Arthur with the district. It took its name from 
 one enormous block or outlier of sandstone of such dimen- 
 sions that a cottage was built out of it. Dr. Robertson 
 says of this mansion, that "by the time the proprietor has 
 had time to ornament his fields in the same style as in the 
 architecture of his dwelling, it will be esteemed by pos- 
 terity as a specimen of the elegant taste displayed in the 
 end of the eighteenth century." More than half a century 
 ago, when the body of the old church was taken down, a 
 font for holy water, of very hard stone, was dug out of 
 the rubbish. Its form is octagonal, each side bearing 
 some emblem of the crucifixion upon it, as the " mock 
 robe," the " spear and sponge," &c. For some time Dr. 
 Mitchell kept this on a pedestal in the manse garden. 
 But about thirty years ago it was granted for the baptism 
 of one of the Kinloch family, and is now in the Episcopal 
 Chapel at Meigle. 
 
 The church, originally dedicated to St. Peter the Apostle, 
 along with its pertinents, was in 1177 given to the Prior 
 of St. Andrews by Simon of Miggil, lord of the district. 
 From the Register of the Priory of St. Andrews (written 
 in very contracted Latin), we have been able to ascertain 
 that, in 1183, Pope Lucius confirmed this grant of " the 
 church of Miggil with the chapel belonging to it, and the 
 ecclesiastical seat and the returns which Simon, lord of 
 the manor, and his ancestors were annually accustomed to 
 receive." Pope Gregory VIII. in 1187, Clement in the same 
 year, Innocent III. in 120G, Honorius in 1216, and Inno-
 
 104 STUATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 cent IV. in 1246, renewed this confirmation of the grant 
 to the Priory of St. Andrews. The chapel belonging to 
 the church, and dedicated to the blessed Virgin, stood one 
 mile west. About twenty years ago the ruins, ivy-clad, 
 still remained on the ground called Chapelton ; but in its 
 place was then built a handsome Mausoleum for Kin loch 
 of Kinloch. The two the Church of St. Peter and the 
 Chapel of St. Mary were in the Ta.rath of 1275 rated at 
 20 merles. 
 
 In 1238, Galfridus, Bishop of Dunkeld, settled the 
 church lands of Megill, having with Fulco, lord of Megill, 
 made a personal inspection. In 12GO Michael of Migell 
 bestowed the Moss in his property on the Abbey of 
 Cupar. In 1443, the lands of Balmy le, which belonged 
 to the Abbey of Cupar, were leased for thirteen chalders 
 of barley and flour with other due services to the Abbey. 
 In 1495, David, Duke of Montrose, mortified lands for the 
 soul of his benefactor, James III., in the Church of Meiirle. 
 
 * * O 
 
 In 1500, James and Andrew Hering of Clonv held the 
 
 V 
 
 lordship of Megill for five years. According to Alexander 
 Myln, who wrote the lives of the bishops of Dunkeld in 
 1515, John Locock, vicar of Megill, was Prebend of 
 Capeth, in his time, " a most faithful man, who, though he 
 did not abound in many emoluments of the benefices, yet 
 cherished a sufficiently large family of friends ; banqueting 
 at his table with merry countenance; built his manse 
 from the foundation ; increased by twent} r shillings an- 
 nually the endowment of the church of St. Peter, which 
 had been endowed by his paternal uncle Chancellor James 
 Locock." At the Reformation it was styled, " ane of the 
 common kirks of Dunkeld." In 1574, David Ramsay 
 was minister of all the four parishes of Meigle, Ruthven, 
 Alyth and Glcnisla. But in 1585, James Nicolson was 
 minister of Meiglo and had for his stipend the " haill
 
 MEIGLE. 105 
 
 fruits/' paying the minister of Alyth out of it. He was a 
 member of fifteen Assemblies, and was elected Moderator 
 in 1595 and 1606. In 1607, he became Bishop of Dun- 
 keld, purchased for him by the King from the former in- 
 cumbent; but this he did not live to enjoy, as he died in 
 seven months. In 1639, a petition was presented to 
 Parliament, craving to have the parish dissolved from 
 Dunkeld; and this was referred to the Commissioners for the 
 Planting of Kirks. But in 1677, William Lindsay, 
 Bishop of Dunkeld still held Meigle in his charge. His 
 successor, Bishop John Hamilton, possessed the same 
 privilege ; but he, as well as his helper in Meigle, was de- 
 prived by the Privy Council in 1689, for not reading the 
 proclamation of the Estates, and not praying for their 
 majesties in terms thereof, but " praying for King James, 
 and that God would give him the necks of his enemies." 
 In 1800, Dr. Playfair left Meigle to be Principal of the 
 United College, St. Andrews ; and, in 180 9, Daniel Robert- 
 son left to be Professor of Hebrew in the same University. 
 In 1808, a Committee of Presbytery reported that two 
 acres of ground had been set apart for " minister's grass " 
 for two cows and one horse. 
 
 Meigle is now the seat of the Presbytery of the same 
 name. In 1581, the General Assembly proposed to call it 
 the Presbytery of Kethenis, but changed it to Meigle be- 
 fore 1593 ; when it included, besides the present parishes, 
 Kirriemuir, Kinnettles, Cortachy, Rattray, and Glamis. 
 The Presbytery Records begin on the 8th November, 
 1659, and continue till 15th March, 1687; when the 
 Presbytery of Cupar- Angus was erected by the Bishop 
 and Synod of Dunkeld, and continued for two years. But 
 on the change of church government, the old arrange- 
 ment was restored. The Presbytery for a time formed 
 part of Angus and Mearns; but was afterwards joined to
 
 106 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Dundee and Forfar, until 2*st April 1703. The Records 
 of the Presbytery of Meigle as at present constituted, 
 commenced 19th October 1704, and are contained in 
 twelve volumes ; the two volumes up to 1C59 being un- 
 fortunately lost. Dr. Robertson in his " Agriculture of 
 Perthshire," states that the Fiars of the county in 1780, 
 were : Bear first sort, 11s. 6d. per boll, and meal 13s. 4d.; 
 in 1788, 12s. and lls. 6d. respectively ; and in 1795, 22.s. 
 Gd. and 22s. 8d. respectively. The present fluctuation of 
 stipends had therefore a corresponding change at the end 
 of last century. The Clerk of Presbytery (The Rev. Dr. 
 Chree of Lintrathen) has very kindly gone through a 
 considerable part of their Records for important informa- 
 tion ; but he has not found much to reward his labour. 
 
 The estate of Kinloch, though quoad sacra in Meigle, is 
 temporal iter in Cupar- Angus. There is no vestige of a 
 Roman highway in the neighbourhood of Meigle. A very 
 old bridge over the Dean connected Meigle and Airlie ; but 
 a more commodious one has been built in its stead. Un- 
 til about fifty years ago, the Isla had to be crossed, on the 
 road from Dundee to Alyth, by a ferry-boat. Several at- 
 tempts were made to have a bridge built there ; but these 
 were frustrated by the Societies which were peculiarly in- 
 terested in their success. At length, however, the fine 
 bridge of three arches at Crathie was built. Though of 
 high span (apparently need lesslyhigh in ordinary weather), 
 yet by sudden meltings of snow on the hills, or by heavy 
 rains, the Isla has not been able to get sufficient room for 
 its impetuous current, and has burst out upon the road. 
 
 The valued rental of the parish is 350 ; the real 
 rent is now above 8,000. The population a century 
 ago was 1148 ; now it is DOG. The decrease is owing to 
 the enlargement of the farms, the stoppage of hand- 
 loom weaving, and the closing of the work-mill for dyeing
 
 MEIGLE. 107 
 
 and dressing cloths for umbrellas. Before the '45 Re- 
 bellion the state of the country was rude beyond descrip- 
 tion. The bulk of the inhabitants was only semi-civilized. 
 The common people lived in despicable huts with their 
 cattle. The indolence of the farmers was astonishing. 
 When seed time was finished, the plough and harrow 
 were laid aside till the autumn ; digging and carrying peat 
 for winter fuel being the summer's work. The rent of good 
 ground in Meigle, before 1745, was from 8 to 14 shillings 
 per acre; of outlying ground from 2 to 5 shillings. The 
 wages of a male servant were 1 10s. ; of a female 12s. 
 The price of a horse was 4 6s., of an ox 2, of a sheep 
 5s., of a hen 4d., of a dozen of eggs Id. A cart cost 14s., a 
 plough 5s., a harrow 6d. A great effort was made, soon 
 after the rebellion was quieted, to emancipate the in- 
 habitants from the state of barbarism, and to rouse a 
 spirit of industry. Farms were enclosed, sheep were 
 driven away from infield grounds, marl was used from the 
 myres, and in a few years a marked change took place. 
 As Dr. Playfair pointedly puts it : " The tenant, as if 
 awaked out of a profound sleep, looked around, beheld his 
 fields clothed with the richest harvests, his herds fattening 
 in luxurious pastures, his family decked in gay attire, his 
 table loaded with solid fare, and wondered at his former 
 ignorance and stupidity." Dr. Playfair, according to Dr. 
 Robertson, was " no less amiable for his discretion than 
 distinguished by his literary abilities." Among the in- 
 teresting notes which he left, we observe that the average 
 rain per annum for five years amounted to 87 inches ; the 
 mean barometric reading for three years was 29'63 inches 
 (at the height of 203 feet) ; the mean thermometric read- 
 ing for the same time, 42 ; the average number of days 
 per annum (taken for 5 years), when the wind was S.E 
 88, and from the S.W. 137.
 
 108 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 The earliest date of the Parochial Registers is 1727; then 
 the daily Sabbath collection for the poor amounted to less 
 than 2s ; in 1782 the sums received and those distributed 
 in charity began to come more nearly equal. In 1833, when 
 Dr. Mitchell wrote his Account of the parish, there were 
 five inns or taverns ; now there is but one : then the 
 ploughmen had a friendly society which was working 
 well ; we do not hear of it now. The village of Meigle 
 contains 300 inhabitants, and Longlees about 50. There 
 is a railway station at Meigle, which once very incon- 
 veniently went by the name of Fullarton, after the farm 
 through which the line passes. There are two banks, a 
 first-class new school, a handsome new Parish Church, a 
 Free Church, and an Episcopal Chapel. A monthly market 
 is held on the second Wednesday, during six months of 
 the year ; and on the last Wednesday of June and October, 
 half-yearly fairs are held for cattle, horses, and ordin- 
 ary traffic, when a great crowd assembles. A century 
 ago, when there were fewer means of travelling, they 
 had a weekly market on Wednesday. It is thirteen miles 
 from Dundee and five from Cupar-Angus. A considerable 
 quantity of potatoes and grain is taken away by the rail- 
 way a great benefit to many farmers who are struggling 
 hard to keep up the well-earned prestige of Strathmore, 
 against bad times and high rents. The Presbytery still 
 adhere to the time-honoured custom of holding their 
 meetings in the village inn, a circumstance which certainly 
 speaks well for the character of the inn, and the heedless- 
 ness of the ministers to the narrow criticism of would-be- 
 purer men. A dozen years ago, when some of the younger 
 members expressed a strong desire to have the meetings 
 in the Church, after deliberation, as the Records show, "the 
 Presbytery agreed to abide in the inn."
 
 A.LYTH. 
 
 FEW places have such a variety of attraction, combined 
 with peculiar conveniences for business men in large 
 centres of population, who wish to give a few months' 
 summer holiday to themselves and families, without in- 
 terfering with the regular course of their daily avocations, 
 as the unassuming town of Alyth, on the eastern border 
 of Perthshire. For many years tourists have passed 
 through it and visitors have summered in it. Beautifully 
 situated on the northern slope of the great plain of 
 Strathmore, it is protected from the harsh northern 
 winds ; the air is clear and invigorating ; the mists and 
 haars of the lower land and east coast are beyond its 
 reach. We have just been informed by the medical 
 practitioner of the town, Dr. Kidd (a gentleman rarely to 
 be equalled for such an accurate grasp of medical diag- 
 nosis and practical experience in a town of this size), that 
 there is now no epidemic in it, and that on the whole it 
 is one of the healthiest towns in Scotland. The prices in 
 the two hotels are exceptionally moderate, the rents of 
 the excellent villas are by no means exorbitant ; and 
 being within an hour's run by rail from Dundee, many 
 business men, with large families and limited incomes, in 
 these dull times will find it of great advantage to try 
 this place for the summer months. A few minutes' walk 
 in any direction takes the visitor to pleasant country 
 nooks, for walking, fishing, botanising, or breathing 
 highly-ozoned air. Just bordering on the parish, about 
 four miles from the town, is the famous Reekie Linn, one 
 of the most beautiful waterfalls in the whole country,
 
 110 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 especially when the Isla is in flood ; for there is a clear 
 fall (of good breadth) of CO feet, followed immediately by 
 another of 20 feet ; and the constantly rising vapour from 
 the spray makes its presence seen in the mists above for the 
 distance of a mile or two up the Glen. Near also are the Slugs 
 of Auchrannie (where through a chasm of Syards in breadth 
 an average flow of 11,000 cubic feet of water is forced with 
 tremendous power) ; within a few miles too are the Bonnie 
 House o' Airlie, and the Lintrathen Loch. In the exu- 
 berance of rich vegetation, and charm of wood and moun- 
 tain, the town may, without exaggeration, be allowed the 
 epithet which Goldsmith gave to his favourite Auburn 
 
 " Sweet Alyth, loveliest village of thef plain." 
 
 The name of the parish is derived from the Gaelic aileadh, 
 " a slope," being built on a flat near the foot of a hill ; al- 
 though Chalmers, in 1G40, spells it Elicht, in his well- 
 known map of Scotland. It is bounded, quoad civilia, 
 on the north by Glenisla ; on the east by Ruthven and 
 Airlie ; on the south by Meigle ; and on the west by 
 Bendochy, Blairgowrie, Rattray, and Kirkmichael. A 
 small portion at Blacklunans is within the county of 
 Forfar. It is fifteen miles long, and from one to s'x broad. 
 On the east the Isla dashes along impetuously till in the 
 valley it sluggishly meanders ; though, on account of the 
 terrible flooding of the country during harvest time in 
 1789 and successive years, embankments had to be made 
 to lessen the damage occasioned by any sudden spate or 
 snow-melting. The one at Hallyards has an elevation of 45, 
 and a base 12 feet broad and 7 feet in perpendicular height, 
 extending for half a mile ; and cost 300. Along the banks 
 of the Isla, some fine botanical specimens are to be found : 
 the sweet Milk-vetch (with its short, dense, yellow spikes 
 and peculiarly knotted root); the yellow Fig-wort (once 
 thought a specific for scrofula) ; the broad-leaved Rag-
 
 ALYTH. Ill 
 
 wort (though not considered indigenous) ; and the cross- 
 leaved Bed-straw (with its cruciform, smooth and whorled 
 leaves and prickly fruit). A considerable number of 
 salmon ascend for spawning, and in the upper parts trout 
 are in abundance. The same cannot now be said of the 
 Burn of Alyth ; for from the town to its confluence with 
 the Isla, the fish have been poisoned by the bleaching 
 refuse, run in from at least one public work. In fact a 
 very cruel thing was once done by a man in position in 
 the town to one of his newly-arrived clerks, in telling 
 him on his holidays to fish down the Burn. But above 
 the town it is quite different ; trout, though small, are 
 plentiful ; and, last summer, we were informed by a 
 gentleman visitor that he and his son in one day had 
 there caught 25 dozen. A few days ago we heard the 
 number had reached 65 dozen ; but this is the " three 
 black crows " over again. 
 
 The most considerable eminence recognised for a long 
 distance by its commanding isolation is Mount Blair, at 
 the north end of the parish, where the famous Glenisla 
 games are annually held. It is 2260 feet high and five miles 
 round at the base. On the side of the Ericht rises King- 
 seat, 1178 feet high, three miles south of Mount Blair, 
 nearly covered with beautiful natural wood. Here the 
 Green and Small White Habenaria, the Chick weed Winter- 
 green (the only seven-stamened British plant), and the 
 Alpine Lady's Mantle (with its beautiful, lustrous, almost 
 metallic, hue on the under side of its leaves), abound ; 
 whereas down the river side can be found the white 
 Starry Saxifrage and the Yellow Mountain Saxifrage 
 with its scarlet spots ; and all along are the birch, the 
 hazel, and the alder. The other prominent heights are 
 Hill of Bamff, 1221 feet; Craighead, 1083 feet; Hill of 
 the Three Cairns, 1243 feet; Runnaguinan, 1313 feet;
 
 112 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Blackhill, 1454 feet; Knockton, 1C05 feet; and Mealt- 
 Mhor, 1804 feet. 
 
 A little more than a mile east of the town is Barryhill, 
 about CG8 feet in height, in olden times famous as a watch- 
 tower. Barryhill, or Dunbarre', is derived from bar, " the 
 top or end," and ra, " a fort." It has a base of one mile 
 in circumference ; being of oval form and unwooded, it 
 is easily ascended : and the extra labour rewards the ex- 
 cursionist, for from its summit he has an extensive view 
 of the whole of Strathmore, from Methven to Stonehaven, 
 with the Sidlaws (and their old watch-towered points, 
 Dunsinane and Kinpurnie), eight miles Across. History 
 tells us that the Picts kept possession of it from a remote 
 period to the ninth century; and tradition has clothed it 
 with some strange, unfounded fictions about Guinevere, 
 the faithless wife of Prince Arthur, which no one can put 
 into tangible shape. The tradition of the country from 
 the fiction of Boece relates that on this was the prison 
 of Guinevere when carried off by the Picts. On the 
 levelled top, 504 feet in circumference, are the remains of 
 a rampart, built of uncemented muir-stones, on a base of 
 8 feet in height and 12 feet in breadth, occupying a space 
 of 180 feet by 74 feet. On the west and north borders 
 of this levelled part of the summit are seen the marks of 
 something like barracks, built of dry-stone, to protect 
 those inside from the assaults of their foes and the 
 northern inclement blasts. It appears to have been a 
 fortress of impregnable strength. On the south and east, 
 on account of the more gentle decline, there is a broad 
 ditch, 1C feet below the wall and 10 feet broad, over 
 which was raised a narrow bridge (composed of stones 
 laid together quite unpolished but vitrified above, 
 below, and on all sides with gravel which must have been 
 broughtfrom the Lsla); andth is bridge led to a fort of strange
 
 ALYTH. 113 
 
 build, designed as a temporary retreat in time of war, 
 and well adapted for that purpose. About a quarter of a 
 mile eastward there are some remains of another oval 
 fort ; and tradition says there is a subterranean communi- 
 cation between them. 
 
 South of Barryhill are found several rude standing- 
 stones, memorials of some conflict of yore. Tradition 
 refers them to the time of Robert the Bruce, for the name 
 Brucetown is given to the farm near. On the most re- 
 markable there is the mark of a large horse-shoe, rudely 
 cut out, with indistinct traces of other figures. 
 
 A little higher than Barryhill, and west of it beyond a 
 glack or valley, is the beautifully wooded hill of Loyal, 
 whose varied fresh tints in the leafy month of June strik- 
 ingly attract the eye of the worshipper of Nature. On its 
 slope is situated the fine baronial mansion-house of Loyal, 
 much improved by its present occupant, Professor Ramsay 
 of Glasgow. In a ploughed field on the farm of Loyal was 
 found, a century ago, an artificial cavity of considerable 
 size, 6 feet deep and 4 broad, faced upon both sides with 
 stone, and covered with large broad stones on the top, 
 here and there strewed with ashes either from the burnt 
 victims used in the worship of our ancestors, or from the 
 warriors who fell in defence of the neighbouring fortifica- 
 tions. West from Loyal hill is the bare hill of Alyth 
 (966 feet), which gives to the naked eye the extensive view 
 of five counties. This belongs to the feuars of Alyth ; at 
 least they have the right of access, and on it the Volun- 
 teers practise. It is entirely wild and uncultivated, but 
 affords excellent pasturage for sheep. North, beyond the 
 hill of Bamff, is the royal forest of Alyth, an extensive 
 district of heath, consisting of 7500 acres, long valued for 
 the pasturage of Linton sheep. In 1214, Alexander II. gave 
 a right-of-way through the " Forest of Alycht," for the 
 
 11
 
 114 STH.VT11MORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 monks of Cupar Abbey to get to their lands in Glenisla. 
 In 1329, David II. appointed Menzies to be Royal Forester 
 of Alyth ; and in 1390, Robert III. made John de Roos 
 Justiciary of the Forest of Alyth. In 1489, from the rents 
 of the Forest and adjacent lands, the Dowager Countess 
 of Crawford received part of the terce, as verified by a 
 process raised against her own sons. In 1557, the tenants of 
 Wester Drymme had " commonte " in the Forest. After 
 a litigation of 70 years, the Forest was divided between the 
 Lairds of Bamff and Balharry, Mr. Morrison of Naughtou 
 and Mr. Boyle of Tullymurdo. It has a good soil but 
 wants climate. Nort-hwcst of the Forest, at Corb, are the 
 remains of a Castle, probably a hunting seat of the Scottish 
 Kings; but all history and tradition concerning it are lost. 
 In the east of the parish is a beautiful den of the Isla (the 
 southern extremity of the Den of Airlie), which is seen to 
 great ad vantage in June and October from Delavaird Bridge. 
 Further down the Isla, at the confluence of the Alyth 
 Burn, are the ruins of the old Castle of Inverqueich. It 
 stands in a most romantic and picturesque spot, in a rocky 
 delta, quite perpendicular, from 40 to 50 feet high. A 
 portion of the east wall, 30 feet long, oO feet high and 5 
 feet thick, and covered with ivy, remains on the verge of 
 the precipice, the rest of the building having been carried 
 away to build the adjoining farm-house and offices. This 
 was a royal Castle in one of the King's hunting- forests. 
 In 1244, Alexander II. signc % d a charter here of the lands 
 of Banchory-Devenick to the Abbey of Arbroath. On 
 the 3rd July 129G, Edward I. and his suite left this Castle 
 for Forfar ; and the day before, he was in this Castle when 
 the scroll of John Baliol's resignation of the Crown 
 of Scotland was written out in Kincardine Castle. It is 
 known in that King's Itinerary as " Entrckoyt chastel," 
 being then entire ; but it was ruinous when King Robert
 
 ALYTH. 115 
 
 II., in 1394, granted it by charter to his nephew, James de 
 Lindsay, as " the King's Castle of Inu'cuyth." It must 
 have been again repaired ; for in 1489, Alexander, Lord 
 Lindsay, who had lived a wild and ungovernable life, 
 having been committed for a time to the Castle of Black- 
 
 O 
 
 ness for chasing two monks of Cupar, fought a duel with 
 his equally reckless brother, John, near the Castle- walls ; 
 and, from family genealogies, it is seen that his wife had, 
 with a down pillow, smothered him when removed 
 wounded into Inverqueich. Castle. One account says, 
 " He was smorit be his wife ; " and another, " He was 
 smored in his bed at Inverqueich, and, as was thought, 
 not without knowledge of his wife." As Ninian says in 
 Sir Walter Scott's Macduff's Cross : 
 
 ' ' Then have you heard a tale, 
 Which when he tells the peasant shakes his head, 
 And shuns the mouldering aiid deserted walls." 
 
 That is the last we hear of its occupancy ; and tradition 
 tells us that Lady Lindsay was, for this crime, by the 
 special permission of the Pope, committed to what after- 
 wards went by the name of Lady Lindsay's Castle, on a 
 precipitous rock opposite Craighall on the Ericht, con- 
 demned to remain in that gloomy tower, or sit overlook- 
 ing the abyss below, spinning night and day, till the thread 
 should reach the river, or as others say, till the thread 
 was long enough to reach the heavens and form a means 
 of ascent to the higher world. Near the Castle of Inver- 
 queich is the Bridge of Room, which, from its symmetrical 
 construction, is probably of Roman build. 
 
 The lands of Bamff were granted by Alexander II., in 
 1232, to Nessus de Ramsay, the lineal ancestor of the 
 present proprietor, Sir James Ramsay, Bart. Bamft-house 
 stands on a level plateau, environed with hills, two miles 
 north of the town of Alyth. It is commodious, and 
 rather handsome ; its square turrets are surrounded with
 
 116 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 lawn and green parks ; and the trees are of great age. 
 There is a very picturesque walk beside the deep ravine 
 on the road from Bamff to Aly th. Gilbert Ramsay was 
 knighted, in 1035, by Charles I. ; but Charles II., in 
 1G66, gave him a baronetcy for his gallant aasistance in 
 the battle of the Pentlands against the Covenanters, who 
 are commemorated in these lines : 
 
 " Their winding sheet the bloody plaid, 
 Their grave lone Kullion Green. 
 
 In 1790 Sir Gilbert Ramsay fell in a duel with Captain 
 Macrae. Lady Ramsay's footman had used insolent 
 language to the Captain, who cudgelled him tightly ; on 
 which Sir Gilbert challenged the Captain, but not un- 
 deservedly " bit the dust." 
 
 The lands of Balwyndoloch (Ballendoch) were granted 
 by Thomas, Eail of Mar, and confirmed by David II., in 
 1303, to Alexander de Lyndesay ; whose successors 
 under the name of the Earls of Crawford, acquired by 
 royal charter the greater part of the parish ; till, in 1630, 
 owing to straitened circumstances, they disposed of most 
 to the family of Airlie, who are now the principal proprie- 
 tors and superiors of the town. 
 
 The parish had a good share of the turmoil and disturb- 
 ance of Cromwell's Protectorate. On the 22nd July 1640, 
 Montrose and Middle ton met in conference for two hours in 
 a meadow on the Isla near Aly th, " there being none near 
 them but one man for each of them to hold his horse ; " 
 and agreed that, with the exception of Montrose himself, 
 the Earl of Crawford and two others, all who had taken 
 up arms against the Covenanters would be pardoned on 
 making their submission, but that these should be banished 
 before tho last day of August ; which agreement was rati- 
 fied by the Committee of Estates. Accordingly, eight days 
 afterwards, in u plain a little west of Rattray, Montrose,
 
 ALYTH. 117 
 
 in very pathetic terms, disbanded his faithful army and 
 took farewell ; till he should be brought back, four years 
 afterwards, for execution on the scaffold, as a triumph to 
 the Puritanical and forgiving (?) clergy. When Dundee 
 was besieged by General Monk in 1651, the Committees 
 of the Estates and of the Kirk were sitting at Alyth 
 planning measures for helping the Dundonians; but, on 
 hearing this, the General sent a company of horse, who 
 surprised the whole party and took them prisoners, among 
 whom was the parish minister. These facts are referred 
 to in the Kirk-Session records. On several occasions there 
 was no service in the church " because of the common 
 enemy," or " because Montrose was so near us." Accord- 
 ing to one entry " ten shillings were given to Hendrie 
 Cargill for to go to the camp to trie and search some news 
 from the malignants, and that he may be for warnisse of 
 their coming upon us." In August of that year we find 
 this entry: " This day no preaching, because our minister 
 (Mr. John Rattray) was taken on Thursday last by the 
 Englishes." He was, however, restored in June of the 
 following year. Another about the same time runs thus : 
 " My Lord Ogilvy declared his repentance before the 
 congregation, in the habit of sack-cloth, and confessed his 
 sinfull accession to General Middleton's rebellion, to the 
 full satisfaction of the whole congregation." 
 
 Ecclesiastically, the Church of Alyth, with its chapel, 
 was attached before the Reformation to one of the pre- 
 bends in the Cathedral of Dunkeld. The Church was 
 probably dedicated to St. Molouach a disciple of St. 
 Brandon whose feast was held on the 26th of June. 
 A fair of the name " St. Malogue's or Emagola's," still 
 held in Alyth about the date of the feast (old style), 
 is the only souvenir of the Saint in the parish. Among 
 the clergy who swore fealty to Edward I. at Berwick, in
 
 118 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 1290, was "William de Dunde, parson of the Kirk of 
 Alyth." In Robertson's " Index of Missing Charters be- 
 tween 1309 and 1413," we find one by King Robert I, in 
 1309, granting the lands of "Aughinleskis and Aythnaket- 
 liill within the Thanedom of Alith to the Abbacie of 
 Coupar." The chapel was situated within the kirkyard 
 of the parish church and was dedicated to St. Ninian ; 
 being upheld by the lands of Balwhyme. According to 
 Myln's Lives of the Bishops of Dunkeld, written in 1515, 
 we find that, in 1450, Thomas Lawder, Bishop of Dunkeld 
 (once tutor to James II.), erected the vicarage of Alyth 
 into a prebend ; that, in 1483, robbers, dwelling on the 
 Loch of Cluny, regularly seized by force the victual which 
 was being conveyed from the Church of Alyth to Dunkeld ; 
 that Bishop Brown, seeing that the lands of Buchquhane 
 (granted by noble donors in former times for the due 
 celebration of ordinances in the chapel of St. Ninian 
 situated within the cemetery of the parish church of Alith) 
 were being applied to other purposes, ordained, with the 
 consent of the prebendary and chaplain, that the assistant of 
 ihe pensioned vicar should receive the fruits of these lands 
 for said purposes ; that, in 1514, Thomas Grig, prebendary 
 of Alight, CO years of age, was an exceptionally devout and 
 business man, who was trusted by Myln with the MS. 
 Lives (now in the Advocates' Librarj') ; who with other 
 ecclesiastics defended the famous Bishop, Gavin Douglas, 
 when attacked in the Deanery of Dunkeld, and who was 
 one of the auditors of the accounts of the building of the 
 Bridge of Dunkeld; and that, in 1515, the Lords of Council 
 ngreed to give the Governor the fruits of the church of 
 Alicht, reserving to the Bishop certain chalders of victual. 
 Spottiswood mentions that at that time Andrew 
 Stuart, brother of the Earl of Atholc, got the benefice 
 of Alyth. In 1554, Robert Fowler, chaplain of St. Ninian's,
 
 ALYTH. 119 
 
 with the consent of the Dean and Chapter of Dunkeld, 
 conveyed the lands of Balwhyme, with the teinds, to 
 Ogilvy of Clova. In 1583, David Ramsay, minister of 
 Alyth from 1572, was, according to Dr. Scott in his 
 " Fasti," presented by James VI. to Ruthven, where he 
 officiated 19 years. In 1689, John Lowson was deprived 
 by the Privy Council for not reading the Proclamation of 
 Estates. In 1772, John Robertson left some money for the 
 education of boys. The new church was built in 1889, from 
 plans by Mr. Hamilton of Edinburgh, at a cost of 9000. 
 By far the most handsome church in Strathmore, in the 
 Norrnau style of architecture, it is seated for 1290 people ; 
 being built, before there was any idea of the Disruption, 
 to hold the statutory number of two-thirds of the popula- 
 tion of the parish above twelve years of age. Part of the 
 parish was taken off to form the parish of Persie ; and 
 another part, a few years ago, to form the beautifully 
 situated parish of Kilry. 
 
 The Parochial records (in nine volumes) have been care- 
 fully kept, dating back to 1624. There are instances of 
 persons having had to " sit the stool " for even thirty 
 times. Besides the ordinary cases, these records contain 
 cases of "fechting and flytting," slander, witchcraft, and 
 contumacy. In 1650, " the minister did intimate ane 
 ordinance of the Presbytery that in time coming, when 
 people shall bury their dead upon the Lord's Day, they 
 doe it timouslie ; in the winter season before sermon, and 
 in the summer time after the afternoon's service." And, 
 in 1675, tobacco is declared to be as necessary for man as 
 bread : "This day the merchants in Alyth being chairged, 
 were called and compeired and promised not to sell any 
 wares to any person upon the Sabbath, between or after 
 sermons, except it be upon necessitie, and that to any 
 sick person ; nor to sell unnecessarie things, as they did
 
 120 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 formerlie, upon the Sabbath, except neidfull, tobacco or 
 bread." 
 
 The town of Alyth is of considerable antiquity, having 
 been a Burgh of Barony since 1488. The Earl of 
 Airlie, as Earon and Superior, appoints a Bailie for 
 the Baronial Court But, having adopted the Lindsay 
 Act, the town has now, besides, Magistrates and Com- 
 missioners to carry out the work of the Police Commis- 
 sion ; accordingly it is now well lighted and paved, and is 
 in the course of being thoroughly drained. In 1311, King 
 David Bruce prohibited Alyth from interfering with the 
 amenities of Dundee, in the holding of weekly markets. In 
 1514, the minister and people took up arms in the tumul- 
 tuous election of the celebrated poet, Gavin Douglas, to 
 the Bishopric of Dunkeld. A century ago, Mr. Smith of 
 Balharry was considered to be a very noted improver in 
 agriculture. His letter to Dr. Robertson, of Callander, 
 on the cultivation of waste lands was highly esteemed by 
 the Board of Agriculture. As an example, he mentions 
 that the farm of Over-Muirtown, purchased for 520, was 
 farmed at 23 rent by one who became a bankrupt. This 
 farm he then cultivated himself; and in twenty years he 
 got 240 rent, besides kains, carriages, &c., from two very 
 thriving tenants, who were " as punctual payers as any 
 in the kingdom." 
 
 The population of the town a century ago was 10GO ; it 
 is now 2377. Then the population of the whole parish was 
 2723 ; now it is 3372. The valued rent was 686 ; now 
 the assessed rent is 25,062. The Muir of Alyth, of several 
 hundred acres, after repeated failures on account of the 
 death of arbiters, has been at last divided among the 
 proprietors and fcuars; a farm-steading has been erected 
 on one part ; and the Laird of Balharry lias taken in 
 another large portion by the steam plough thus highly
 
 ALYTH. 121 
 
 improving the land, and taking away an eyesore at the en- 
 trance to the town. 
 
 Among the natives of Alyth, who have distinguished 
 themselves, are William Ramsay, author of " Roman Anti- 
 quities " and Professor of Humanity in the University of 
 Glasgow; his nephew and successor in the chair, Dr. 
 George Ramsay ; and Dr. James Robertson, the Professor 
 of Hebrew in the same University. 
 
 Alyth is seventeen miles from Dundee, to which it is 
 connected by railway. Last year a handsome stone 
 bridge was built over the Burn at the Market Square, at a 
 cost of 900 ; which sum was raised by the personal and 
 indefatigable work of Mr. Isaac Peterkin, whom the 
 Scotsman called the " oracle of Liberalism," and who 
 would confer a great boon on the town by publishing his 
 valuable notes on its improvement and history for the last 
 half-century. A railway was once contemplated between 
 Alyth and Braemar ; but, though approved of in high 
 quarters, the difficulties seem to have been insurmount- 
 able for a thorough carrying out of the scheme. In 1776, 
 according to the official stamp Returns, 270,088 yards of 
 brown linen, 11,548 of white linen, and 28,483 of osna- 
 burg of the total value of 9,623, were stamped for sale ; 
 yet that was nothing to what can now be turned out by 
 the three factories, one of which (Chief Magistrate Smith's) 
 employs six or seven hundred hands. There are four 
 places of worship, three excellent public schools, three 
 banks, and a good library of above 3000 volumes left 
 by Captain Ogilvy of Loyal. An enterprising book- 
 seller and printer has recently established a weekly local 
 newspaper, principally as an advertising medium. Hiring 
 is easily procurable ; and two coaches run daily in the 
 summer months to Glenisla and district. A good town- 
 hall is very much required ; but we are glad to know
 
 122 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 that there is a likelihood of this defect being soon 
 remedied. 
 
 Some of the finest Clydesdale horses in the 
 country are bred by Mr. Bruce of Jordanstone, as 
 proved by the Stud-book, the show-yards, and the 
 high prices realised for his stock ; and some of the 
 best fat Angus bullocks are fed at Hallyards for Mr. 
 Howieson of Rannagulzion. There is a monthly corn 
 market, and occasional well-patronised auction sales 
 for cattle and sheep. There are several valuable be- 
 quests for education, now under the consideration of the 
 Endowment Commission. A hundred years ago, the 
 Rev. Mr. Symers, in the Old Statistical Account, gave a 
 praiseworthy account of the inhabitants the more valu- 
 able, for of him it is said that he was a man of sound 
 judgment and a liberal and enlightened mind, dis- 
 tinguished by unassuming worth, integrity, and benevo- 
 lence of character : " They are sober and industrious, and 
 regular attendants upon public worship. The fruits of 
 industry appear in their dress and manner of living. 
 Mean cottages are exchanged for more comfortable habita- 
 tions ; and those who before found it difficult, with all 
 their labour, to procure the necessaries of life, now enjoy 
 many of its comforts and conveniencies. Begging is not 
 allowed in the parish." How different is this from the 
 account of the Rev. William Ramsay, forty years ago : 
 " Pauperism, an evil which grows by what it feeds on, 
 has for many years been advancing rapidly and steadily 
 in this parish. It is an alarming evil, which threatens to 
 become a serious burden upon property, and which has 
 already exercised a debasing influence on the character of 
 the population." And now we seo only too plainly the 
 evil results of the Poor Law Act in rooting out the old 
 spirit of Scottish independence ; in fostering habits of in-
 
 ALYTH. 1 23 
 
 dulgence, want of economy, and carelessness in times of 
 health, youth, and prosperity; in banishing the "stocking- 
 foot, wi' its eydently gaithered posie," and the "nest 
 egg, laid bye for a rainy day." But luxury has been, in 
 the history of individuals, towns, and nations, the sure 
 precursor of indifference, effeminacy, weakness, decay, and 
 death. The cycle is irresistible. Can Alyth be an ex- 
 ception ?
 
 BUTHVEN. 
 
 THERE is now only a small portion of this parish in 
 Perthshire ; but, before the Ordnance Survey changed the 
 boundary, the Manse, Church, and glebe (all north of the 
 Kirkton Burn), were in Perthshire. But since, for levy- 
 ing taxes, the parish, when divided into separate coun- 
 ties, was fixed as in the county where the Parish Church 
 stood, it was anomalous to have the whole of Ruth ven taxed 
 in Perthshire ; accordingly, an alteration was made, and it 
 is now taxed in Forfarshire. By the Roads and Bridges' 
 Act (1878) this law was so altered, that a detached portion 
 of one parish pays road-money and other county rates 
 in the one which surrounds it ; as in the case of Kettins 
 and its detached portion. These anomalies may have 
 countenanced the popular opinion that, because the name 
 is pronounced Riven, and spelled Riven C. in Edward's 
 map and another old map in 1678, this small parish was 
 originally an offshoot from the large parish of Alyth. 
 But if the writers of the Statistical Accounts had taken 
 the trouble to look into the original charters of the 
 parish, they would not have penned such nonsense. 
 Jervise considers that the name is derived from the 
 ratlia or forts on the banks of the Isla ; but, as in the 
 oldest record the name is spelled Rothven, we are more 
 inclined to accept the derivation given us by a good 
 Gaelic scholar the Rev. Neil M'Bride of Glenisla 
 that it is from roth, "a corner," and avon, a "river," 'the 
 corner of the river Isla.' We have, with considerable 
 trouble, deciphered the contracted Latin charters in the 
 Registrum vetus de Aberlrothoc, and have found con-
 
 RtJTHVEN. 125 
 
 clusively that, in 1180, Robert de Londres, the son of 
 King William the Lion, dedicated the Church of 
 Rothven (which was then in an independent parish and 
 had been in existence as a church long before), to the 
 Abbey of Arbroath, " with all the tithes and other aise- 
 ments justly belonging to it." This was confirmed by 
 King William's royal charter signed at Forfar in the 
 same year. What an egregious mistake then, in the 
 Statistical Accounts, to assert that the Church and Parish 
 originated in the fifteenth century, in consequence of the 
 quarrels between the vassals of Inverqueich and Balloch 
 on their way to the Parish Church of Alyth ! In the 
 map of Angus and Mearns, planned by Chalmers the 
 author of " Caledonia," about 1640, the parish is marked 
 Ruffen. Though Jervise incautiously says, "all subse- 
 quent history of the Church is lost," we find that Ruthven 
 was a vicarage in the Diocese of Dunkeld, and its Church 
 was dedicated to Saint Molouach. This Saint was, 
 according to Bishop Forbes in his " Lives of the Saints," a 
 Bishop and Confessor (A.D. 592) who was said to have 
 founded one hundred monasteries. He was brought up 
 by St. Brandon. While his fellow disciples built houses 
 for profane uses, he erected churches and altars. One 
 day, requiring a square iron bell, he asked a neighbouring 
 artificer to make it, who excused himself from want of 
 fuel ; whereupon St. Molouach went out and collected a 
 bundle of rushes which miraculously supplied its place, 
 and the bell thereby fabricated is still held in great 
 honour in the church of Lismore. The accession of 
 Ruthven Church to Arbroath Abbey was confirmed in 
 several charters by Richard, Bishop of Dunkeld, in 1211 ; 
 by John, in 1214 ; by Hugh, in 1229 ; and by the Chapter 
 of Dunkeld, in 1229. In 1219, Pope Honorius gave a 
 charter, in which he declares that, " as the Infallible
 
 126 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Roman Church is wont to cherish her beloved children by 
 her protection from the assaults of wicked men, he takes the 
 Monastery under his protection, and confirms by Apostolic 
 authority, and secures to the Abbot and his Monastery at 
 Arbroath, the Church of Rothuen with all its lands and 
 other belongings ; and that, if any one should presume to in- 
 fringe this in the least, he shall incur the anger of God Al- 
 mighty and the blessed Peter and Paul his Apostles." In 
 1271, Richard, Bishop of Dunkeld, "computed the vicarage 
 and assigned to the vicars the tithes and the land in the 
 farm of Kirkton of Ruthven, lying west of the water of 
 Isla." In 1275, the Church is rated at 16s. 7d. in the Taxatio 
 of Dunkeld. Again, in the Registrum Nigrum of the 
 Abbey of Arbroath, the church-land of Rothwen, "lying 
 on the north side of the Kirktown," was given up to 
 Peter, clerk of Rothwen, by the Abbot Galfridus, for 10 
 years at Cs. 8d. silver annually. In 1365, the Abbot 
 William lefc the " whole church-land, with all the liber- 
 ties, commodities, aisements, customs and belongings," to 
 Thomas Lipard, for 8s. sterling by instalments. In 1453, 
 the Abbot Richard let the tithes and church-lands of 
 Ruwen to Patrick Henry, for 5 years, at 6 Scots 
 annually. In 1485, the tithes and glebe of Ruwen were 
 let for 13 years, at the annual rent of 9 Scots. In 
 1492, the Bishop of Dunkeld gave judgment in favour of 
 the Abbot in a dispute between him and Henry Halis, 
 the vicar of Rothven, about the abuse of the glebe. In 
 1500, the Abbot David presented Henry Scott to the per- 
 petual vicarage of lloven. In 1527, a lease of 19 years, 
 at 10 Scots annually, was given of " the tithes, with 
 glebe, toft, and croft," to John Crychton of Rowthwen. 
 On llth Sep. 1531, the Abbot presented William Petillok 
 to the perpetual vicarage of Rothven, in the Diocese of 
 Duukeld the last Roivan Catholic priest of the parish.
 
 RUTHVEN. 12V 
 
 In 1574, one minister, David Murray, did the work in 
 Ruthven, Meigle, Alyth and Glenisla, for 10 sterling a 
 year ; but he had a reader, Walter Lindsay, at Ruthven. 
 In 1634, the Marquis of Hamilton, proprietor of the 
 Abbey-lands, by gift, made the minister and his successors 
 Titular of the tithes. Mr. Patrick Crichton, brother of 
 the proprietor, was minister from 1644 to 1680. Ochter- 
 lony in his "Account of the Shyre of Forfar " in 1684, thus 
 writes of Ruthvine, mentioning the patron : " A little 
 parish, belonging altogether to a gentleman of the name 
 of Oightoune, ane ancient family, a good house, well- 
 planted, and lyes pleasantly upon the water of Dean (sic) 
 and a pretty oakwood. He hath ane estate equivalent 
 thereto in Nether Glenisla ; it and the former lye in 
 Strathmore. Mr. Fyfe minister. In the Diocese of 
 Dunkeld. The Earl Panmure Patrone." In 1709, two 
 silver Communion cups, still in use, were doted by James 
 Chrichton ; also 500 merks, the interest of which was to 
 be paid to the deserving poor ; but the present incumbent, 
 though tracing it for several years in the Records of the 
 Presbytery, cannot now tell anything about either prin- 
 cipal or interest, owing to the loss of the volume of 
 Session Records before 1823. In 1720, Mr. Pitcairn, the 
 minister of the parish, did not take possession of the 
 manse for 20 years, as he considered it unsuitable. On 
 20th August 1745, William Cruickshank intimated, " that 
 by reason of the present troubles and confusions and divi- 
 sions among the people, he was obliged to defer the cele- 
 bration of the Lord's Supper for six years." In 1807, 
 Patrick Maclaren was clerk both of the Presbytery and the 
 Synod. The present incumbent (the author of this vol- 
 ume) is the twelfth since the Reformation. According to a 
 return sent by the minister to the Government in 1837, 
 he claimed a right to pasture his cattle and dig feal and
 
 128 STRATIIMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 divot on the Muir of Coldham ; but as this right was dis- 
 puted by the Earl ot Airlie, " he was not disposed to 
 litigate the matter with so powerful an opponent." In 
 compensation for emoluments which he may have derived 
 from the market known as Symaloag's Fair (St. Molouach), 
 which was held on the glebe, the inhabitants of Alyth were 
 said to have given some land to be added to the glebe. 
 There is no "grass glebe" in the decreet of locality for this 
 parish ; for fifty years the minister received a fat weddcr 
 at the Communion-time in lieu of it ; but for ten years 
 past this has been discontinued. The old Church was 
 taken down in 1859, and a most beautiful new Church 
 erected ; and a new Manse was built in 1874 ; both of 
 dark red sandstone, found in a quarry near. The situa- 
 tion of these, on a knoll sloping down to the Isla, which 
 there breaks in white over the large stones, when looked 
 at from the main road between Dunkeld and Kirriemuir, 
 is exceptionally beautiful; especially in the month of 
 June, when the oak-copse behind is assuming its rich 
 varied tints and curving warmly into the river. 
 
 The earliest known proprietor of Ruthven was the 
 Earl of Mar. In 1329, he granted the lands to Alexander 
 de Lindsay, which was confirmed by royal charter in 
 1363. King Robert III. granted a charter to the Earl of 
 Crawford, adding Ruthven to the other baronies. David, 
 Earl of Crawford, the last of the Lindsays who was 
 Laird of Ruthven, married a daughter of Cardinal Beaton, 
 in 1546, with princely magnificence and handsome dowry, 
 four months before her father was murdered. But, in 
 1510, Ruthven estate was sold to James Crichton of 
 Cairns. One James Crichton of Ruthven was Lord 
 Provost of Edinburgh. Sir James Chrichton of Ruthven 
 was " Master of the Ilorso " to Charles II. ; and when the 
 King jocularly handed him a sum of money (equal to 42
 
 RUTHVEN. 129 
 
 sterling), to " creish his boots," he resigned office in, high 
 dudgeon. But the extravagance of the Court had so mas- 
 tered him, thathesoon dissipated hisfortune,andgavea blow 
 to the family estate which it never recovered. In 1744, the 
 property was bought by Thomas Ogilvy of Coul ; and, in 
 1790, his son James pulled down the ruinous Castle of Ruth- 
 ven and built an excellent mansion near it. According to 
 the Statistical Account of 1842, "the family were equally 
 distinguished for their kindness to the poor and their at- 
 tachment to their tenantry." The late proprietor, Peter 
 Wedderburn Ogilvy, was a shrewd, business man, trained 
 in the merchant service, who for over sixty years acted as 
 his own factor, and thereby knew his tenantry intimately, 
 encouragingor discreetly exposing or assistiug,as the varied 
 circumstances required ; and who died at the honoured age 
 of 93, respected by all who knew him. The present pro- 
 prietor, and sole heritor, is his son, Colonel Thomas Wed- 
 derburn Ogilvy of the Life Guards, who succeeded in 1873. 
 His brothers are Colonel John Wedderburn Ogilvy resid- 
 ing at Bedford, and Colonel James Wedderburn Ogilvy 
 of Runnagulzion who married the only daughter of the 
 late Professor Ramsay of Glasgow. Emeritus-Professor 
 Blackburn of Glasgow, Judge Blackburn of the Court of 
 Appeal, and the late Professor James Clerk Maxwell, are 
 his distinguished cousins. We observe, in Professor Lewis 
 Campbell's Life of Maxwell, that Mrs. Blackburn (the 
 celebrated artist, J. B.), when a child (in 1841), " being 
 desirous of inspecting a water-hen's nest in a deep pond 
 at Ruthven House, where there was no boat, adopted 
 Maxwell's plan of putting a block of wood in the centre 
 of a tub (to keep it from spinning), and sitting on this 
 and tucking her legs on either side ; and was thereby able 
 to paddle about steadily so as to make the voyage both 
 ways alone without the slightest uneasiness." 
 
 I
 
 130 STIIATHMORE : PAST AND PRKSENT. 
 
 The parish is pleasantly situated on the north side of 
 Strathmore. It is nearly square, with two miles a-side ; 
 bounded on the west and north by Aly th, and on the east 
 and south by Airlie. The soil is in general of a light 
 hazel mould with a gravelly subsoil, producing excellent 
 grain, which, though abundant in a " dropping year," is 
 very short in a parching summer. The farmers could 
 take a shower ever} 7 day. From the prejudices of educa- 
 tion, the tenants were at one time very reluctant to in- 
 troduce any of the modern improvements in agriculture ; 
 but by the perseverance of the proprietor it was accom- 
 plished, and for the last century they have experienced the 
 great advantages of them. The climate is dry and temper- 
 ate, and the situation healthy. The lowest thermometric 
 reading in the parish was observed in December 1882, at 
 3? below zero at the Manse (when the very ink was 
 freezing), and in Ruthven Gardens at G e below zero Fain-. ; 
 and the lowest barometric reading was in January 1884, 
 at 27.15 inches, on the occasion of the last terrific hurri- 
 cane which swept the land. The river Isla intersects 
 the parish, through a deep ravine with bold banks, 
 covered with natural coppice and plantation, rendering 
 the scenery very beautiful. Over it are two stone 
 bridges, adjoining each other ; the one of two arches, very 
 old and originally without parapets, and a large central 
 pier; the other of one large arch, built in 1855. After 
 passing the bridges, the Isla runs over several ledges of 
 broken rock, and falls over Craigy Linn into a deep pool ; 
 and soon, dividing into two parts, embraces Stanner 
 Island, of about six acres in area. Few trouts are now 
 found in the upper part, where the pollutions from Alyth 
 are brought in by the Alyth Burn and many wonder why 
 this is tolerated ; but below, it is fairly stocked, and many 
 salmon come up in the spawning season to the shallows.
 
 RUTHVEN. 131 
 
 The river is rich in botany ; a dozen kinds of ferns adorn 
 its rocky banks, including the Oak, Wall-rue, Black Spleen- 
 wort, Hart's-tongue, and Maiden-hair ; there are to be 
 found the wild Lily of the Valley (with its pure white, 
 scented flower) ; the Winter-green (with its terminal 
 cluster of drooping flowers) ; the Willow-herb (with its 
 large rose-coloured flowers on the top of a pod-like seed- 
 vessel) ; the Giant Bellflower (with its very large, deep, 
 blue, stalked flowers) ; the Viper's Bugloss (with its 
 curved spikes, changing in the season from bright rose to 
 brilliant blue) ; the Grass of Parnassus (with its solitary 
 cream-coloured flowers) ; the wild Succory (whose large 
 blue flowers first attracted the founder of the Linnsean 
 Society to the study of botany) ; and the purple Cow- 
 wheat (with flowers buried among rose-coloured bracts). 
 Miss Annie Ogilvy of Ruthven House, an enthusiastic and 
 accomplished botanist, found among others the " Smooth 
 Field Pepper wort and Hairy Rock-Cress " in the parish. 
 The finest black (or copper) beech, which we ever saw, is 
 within the manse policy, measuring 8 feet in circumfer- 
 ence before it breaks off into three commanding limbs. 
 
 There are few antiquities in the parish. On the south 
 and west side there is an enclosure, nearly a square in 
 form, and an acre in extent ; but tradition gives no clue 
 to its use. Its walls, which are of earth, must have been 
 originally of considerable height and breadth ; and a deep 
 and wide ditch on the outside, filled with water from a 
 neighbouring morass, is still there. It went by the name 
 of the Castledykes ; and was probably a place of retreat 
 in times of turbulent barbarism. It is now occupied by 
 travelling tinkers. Near the village of Balbirnie is the 
 Gallows-bank, or Candle-hill, where the barons of Ruth- 
 ven made short work of delinquents in the feudal times. 
 The four acres of land adjoining go by the name of the
 
 132 STRATUMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Hangman's Acres. The north part of the parish was the 
 scene of an engagement between Edward I. and Robert 
 Bruce. It is a fact that, on July 2nd 1296, Edward left 
 Inverqueich Castle (adjoining) for Forfar Castle ; and there 
 is ample evidence, from the remains found, that an en- 
 gagement took place, though the record of it, like many 
 others, was destroyed by that tyrannical monarch. 
 Brucetown is situated on the north ; and south, in Eassio 
 parish, there is Ingliston (or English town) : and a conical 
 mound in Ruthven, called Saddle-hillock, had been used 
 by the English to command the ford at Delavaird. This 
 hillock stands upon a veiy level field, and is of consider- 
 able height, with the remains of an earthern fort. It ap- 
 pears that the English were repulsed in their attempt to 
 ford the Isla, and were brought to an engagement on the 
 hillock ; where, under a huge cairn in the moor, their dead 
 were buried. Several relics are being occasionally 
 ploughed up by the farmer of Dry loch ; a fact which 
 strengthens this account. Several stone coffins have been 
 dug up in the parish, containing fragments of human 
 bones, apparently of great size. There was a cairn, known 
 by the name of Crian's Gref, erected over the grave of a 
 noted robber. South of the church a Wcem or Peght's 
 House was discovered some time ago, when the road to the 
 Church was being altered. Itcontainedbitsof cinerary urns, 
 human bones, and a flattened ring. Some of the stones 
 were built into the walls and mullions of windows of the 
 new Church. Similar Weems have been found at the 
 Barns of Airlie, thus described by a rhymster 
 
 " In form like to an nrm they bend, 
 
 Arc rounded slightly towards the end ; 
 'Bout M \ feet high, and near as wide, 
 And with a door a gnat might stride." 
 
 A coffin slab, upon which are incised a cross, a hunting 
 horn, and a sword, is built into the manse offices. In
 
 RUTHVEN. 133 
 
 1850, the parish jougs and branks and an iron crown were 
 found in the press of the Old Kirk. Unfortunately, these 
 branks are not now to be found ; for their loss occasionally 
 gives some an opportunity of using the " unruly member " 
 with more unwise license than would have been permitted 
 with impunity a century ago. In the churchyard are 
 some quaint old stones, on which such expressions as, " My 
 glas is run," or "Hear lys ane honest man," regularly occur. 
 
 A century ago the school was very primitive. 
 Then each scholar in winter brought a peat daily to 
 help to warm it. The fire was placed on a hearth-stone 
 in the middle of the floor ; and when it required reviving, 
 the dominie used his broad blue bonnet as a fan. The 
 desk was made of divot, with a board laid across the top. 
 Behind this was the awful black-hole for delinquents, 
 indicated by the slanting trunk of a tree, against which 
 the dominie leaned to rest himself and take his after- 
 noon's nap. In 1813, Mr. Loban left his training there to 
 be parish schoolmaster in Airlie. He is the oldest teacher 
 living ; and, though long retired, is yet able to dig his 
 garden at Philpie. What a difference now ; what ad- 
 vantages the young have now, with a new school, hand- 
 somely furnished, and every convenience ! 
 
 The Parochial Registers from 1744 to 1818 are in the 
 Register Office, Edinburgh. They have been very ill 
 kept baptisms, accounts, and cases of discipline being 
 all mixed up. The volume from 1818 to 1823 cannot be 
 found by the present incumbent. Very likely the cases 
 of scandal were entered with such uncalled-for minute- 
 ness that some chance had been seized to get them 
 destroyed. No one cares about having the iniquities of 
 his fathers handed down thus literally to future genera- 
 tions ; and it is not for edification to adhere to such 
 strictness. We find that on August 20th, 1745, the
 
 134 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 minister intimated from the pulpit : " That, by reason of 
 the present troubles and confusions, and the distractions 
 and divisions among the people, he was obliged to defer 
 the celebration of the Sacrament of the Supper for this 
 year ; " and again, on the 20th July 1740 : " Thomas 
 Crichton was rebuked before the congregation for his 
 great sin and scandal, as having been engaged in the late 
 wicked and unnatural rebellion." At the same time 
 another keen Jacobite could not be "cried" (proclaimed) 
 ormarried bytheminister, till he andhis intended wife were 
 suitably rebuked in the open church. In an old account 
 of the church collections, we find that, in 1799, " no 
 sermon " is marked 10 times. In 1800, " there remain in 
 the box 19s. sterling of silver and one pound three shil- 
 lings of bad copper ; " and " no sermon " is marked 8 times. 
 Meal was so scarce and dear that the Session bought 
 some in Dundee at 58s. per boll and sold it to parishioners 
 at Is. per peck ; in all spending 49 from the accumulated 
 fund. In 1802, on a Thanksgiving Sabbath, the collection 
 was Is. In 1803, Thomas Whyte, kirk officer, received 
 Gd. for sweeping the church for the year, and 8s. Gd. for 
 his other duties. In 1814, there was no beadle ; and the 
 minister's herd-boy got 4s. Gd. for ringing the bell, which 
 was raised to 5s. during the two succeeding years. The 
 bell must have been rung vigorously and long ; for every 
 short time there is an entry of Is. Gd. for a " bc-11-tow." 
 The church bell is large, and was once in a merchant's 
 vessel ; bearing this inscription : " The Enterprise, W. \V., 
 1735." This was Mr. Wedderburn, the father of the late 
 Peter Wedderburn, Esq., who married Miss Ogilvy and 
 obtained the estate, and son of Sir John Wedderburn of 
 Blackness, Bart, an officer in Lord Ogilvy's regiment at 
 Culloden ; where he was taken prisoner and afterwards 
 executed at Kennington Common in 1746. From
 
 RUTHVEN. 135 
 
 Edward's " County of Angus," we find that the Wedder- 
 burns were of a most distinguished and respectable family. 
 From the very ancient stock of Wedderburns sprung Mr. 
 Alexander Wedderburn, who became so distinguished by 
 his political talents that James VI., of whom he was a 
 great favourite, frequently solicited his advice in matters 
 of the most secret nature and greatest importance, and 
 always dismissed him with signal marks of royal favour. 
 In 1678, his grandson by the eldest son, Alexander of 
 East Powrie, was the chief of the family. Two grandsons 
 by the second son were knights, viz., Sir Alexander 
 Wedderburn of Blackness, and Sir Peter Wedderburn of 
 Gosford, who was an able and worthy judge for many 
 years in the Supreme Court of Scotland. John, third son 
 of the before-mentioned Alexander, was, when a young 
 man, several years Professor in St. Leonard's College, St. 
 Andrews. He afterwards visited foreign nations, particu- 
 larly their seminaries of learning ; and applying himself 
 to the study of physic, he became so eminent that he 
 was made king's physician and knighted. He adorned 
 and augmented the library of St. Andrew's University 
 with many thousands of valuable books. 
 
 In many parts of the parish the scenery is very beauti- 
 ful. It is well watered, as the names JBridgend, Brigton, 
 Craigylinn, Milton, Barberswells, and Fountainblo w show. 
 Excellent springs are found, impregnated with the oxide 
 of iron. It is crossed by the well-kept high-road from 
 Dunkeld to Kirriemuir ; but, in consequence, for half the 
 year it is infested with tramps. 
 
 The soil is of a rich loam, but very thin, over a gravelly 
 subsoil, quite unsuitable for wheat, which is rarely sown. 
 Lately chevalier barley was introduced with marked suc- 
 cess. In these depressed times of agriculture, this parish 
 does not suffer to the same extent as the wheat-producing
 
 136 STRATfTMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 heavy lands. The land, however, is not self-supporting 
 in point of manure ; so that turnips have to be eaten with 
 sheep where guano is used ; or manure must be brought in 
 by rail from Glasgow and Dundee, which materially re- 
 duces the rental. One farm is noted for its rearing of 
 shorthorned cattle and prize poultry ; and another farm 
 has been producing sheep for the fat market at Christmas, 
 which are rarely equalled in the three counties' competition 
 at Dundee. The oak copse is thinned at regular intervals 
 for bark to tanneries, sometimes realising XI 270. 
 
 From an old document we see that in 1742 the wages 
 of. a man-servant were 2 ; of a halilm, lls. Sd. ; of a 
 herd, 5s. ; of a woman-servant, 3 3s. 4d. ; of a day labourer, 
 3d. ; that the price of a horse was 5 ; of a calf, 4s. ; of a 
 sheep, 4s. ; of a cart, 15s. ; of a plough, 2s. Cd. ; of lib. of 
 beef or mutton or pork, Id. ; of a hen, 4d. ; of a dozen of 
 eggs, Id. Happy would some of limited means be to live 
 in such times ! 
 
 The population of the parish, in 1742, was 150 ; and the 
 rental 230. Now the population is 180 ; and the rental 
 2510. In 1851, the population was 503 ; but there were 
 then two mills for thrashing corn, a meal-mill, a flour-mill, 
 a saw-mill, and two spinning-mills, driven by the water 
 power of the Isla ; now there is one meal-mill and one 
 turning-mill. A considerable business is done in the 
 construction of reaping machines and potato diggers by 
 a skilled implement maker, who has received a silver 
 medal, from the Highland Agricultural Society, for some 
 of his mechanical improvements ; and coach-building is 
 executed for a good radius of district round water 
 power from the Isla being used in both establishments. 
 Tho Dundee and Alyth Railway passes through the 
 parish, having a handsome station at Jordanstonc ; 
 though, had it not been for the pressure of blinded
 
 RUTHVEN. 137 
 
 private interests on the part of some proprietors, it 
 would have been far more conveniently situated at the 
 Bridge. 
 
 Rents have very considerably risen in this parish during 
 the last century and a half. In 1746, the whole parish 
 was purchased for little more than two years' present 
 rental. The tenant of Holl informs us that when his 
 father took the farm, in 1804, he paid .150 for 325 im- 
 perial acres (of which 125 were under cultivation) ; that 
 19 years afterwards, when 60 acres of the best arable 
 land were taken off and added to the Home Farm, the 
 rent was 95 ; that having broken up and cultivated all 
 the bog and pasture land during that lease, the rent was 
 raised to 180 in the third nineteen ; and for the last tack 
 of 19 years a rent of 240 was paid for the 265 acres. 
 ' The Rev. Mr. Will, in the " Old Statistical Account," 
 made a very good suggestion : " There would be a 
 capital situation for machinery on the water ridge of the 
 glebe, with an excellent freestone quarry within 200 yards 
 of it. What would be greatly in favour of this situation 
 is, that the low glebe, consisting of about 12 acres of fine 
 soil, lies directly above the water ridge, is very level, and 
 might be watered in every direction for bleaching ground 
 by a small rivulet which never dries up, called the Kirk- 
 ton Burn." We may add that the higher part of the 
 glebe, overlooking the Den of Ruthven, would be very 
 suitable for the erection of country residences for the 
 business men of Dundee. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Barty, in the "New Statistical Account," 
 remarks : " The labouring classes are better fed, better 
 clothed, and have more comfortable houses than their 
 fathers had ; but they are, unfortunately, less provident. 
 They are too apt to live up to their incomes." Now, the 
 wages are even double what they were then ; but the same
 
 138 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 extravagance and want of thrift is too noticeable. There 
 is far more poverty attributable to want of economy than 
 to sickness in the bread-winner, or a large family, or even 
 laziness. " Winies " are too often used, instead of " hale- 
 some parritch, chief of Scotia's food," as the muscle-former 
 of the labouring man. Half-a-dozen vans from towns 
 around bring luxuries to the dooi', and entice the wives 
 to substitute their commodities for the " oat cakes " and 
 " soda scones " of olden times. There is quite a revolu- 
 tion in the manner of living ; but, alas ! it is not for the 
 better, even for themselves. 
 
 There is no public-house in the parish, and no Dissent- 
 ing Church ; the " Laird " showing the laudable example 
 of attending the Parish Church. This accidental connec- 
 tion reminds us of the quaint remark made by the 
 minister of a neighbouring parish, who, when being 
 rather impudently quizzed by a town dignitary 
 both a Free Churchman and a rabid abstainer about 
 public-houses in the Presbytery, answered : " There are 
 six parishes where there's no Free Kirk ; but in the same 
 there's no public-house."
 
 NEWTYLE. 
 
 ON a bright afternoon in the beginning of June we left 
 the railway station of Newtyle to ascend Kinpurnie Hill, 
 and get the much-spoken-of view from the ruins of the 
 Observatory on its summit. Walking nearly a mile east, we 
 turned south at Denend Farm, and sauntered up the 
 Den, where the "burnie wimpl't" over round washed 
 stones, through fern posies, shaded by spreading bushes 
 and bright flowers blushing unseen, which, for shadowing 
 trees, never saw the sun. Again, suddenly we came out 
 into the blaze of sunlight, and commenced a half-an-hour's 
 hard climb. But just when we were reaching the summit, 
 the sky suddenly lowered, a boding silence reigned ; then 
 came a dull sound over the muttering earth, shaking the 
 gnarled and stunted firs around the ruined walls. The 
 dark veils of gauzy texture gradually descended from the 
 troubled clouds, and the grey, trailing shower o'ertook us. 
 For half-an-hour we sheltered in the ruins, the blackness 
 of the storm raising melancholy notes in our disappointed 
 breast. Was it to be labour in vain ? The wild winds 
 and lashing rain smote the mountain's forehead with the 
 violence due to increasing height, " the common fate of 
 all that's high and great." Yet, suddenly, the sun, as with 
 a giant hand, thrust back the dark, encircling canopy, and 
 gladness possessed earth and soul : 
 
 " See, the sun gleams ; the living pastures rise, 
 After the nurture of the fallen shower." 
 
 As quickly as the change from tears to laughter on an 
 urchin's face was this change in Nature from rain to sun- 
 shine. Soon the clouds rose ; and below, the valley lay
 
 140 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 asleep in sunshine, westward fading into the dim horizon. 
 We watched the lights and shadows on the landscape's 
 face ; and, high though we were, we heard the welcome 
 song of the lark relieving the shrill notes of the curlew, 
 and the " certain voice " of the cuckoo dispelling the com- 
 plaining croak of the many- wintered crow, whose sanc- 
 tum we had so ignominiously surprised. There below we 
 now saw Newtyle, lying snugly at the base of Hatton 
 Hill, its handsome church-tower catching the sunlight ; 
 Ardler village, with its fine new church ; Cupar- Angus, 
 compact-set in trees, joined to Blairgowrie on the northern 
 slope by the Coutty Bridge, which stood distinctly marked 
 against the sheen of the Isla. Alyth, Kirriemuir, Forfar 
 were all distinctly seen. Beyond, range above range, and 
 peak above peak, the Grampians displayed a commanding 
 panorama, inviting us, with immortal arm, to cross and 
 see the chasms full of glistening cloud and undulating 
 mist. In the grey horizon the beautiful cone of Schie- 
 hallion (3540 feet), massive Ben Lawers (3984 feet), com- 
 manding Ben More (3843 feet), attractive Ben Voirlich 
 (3092 feet), and Ben-y-Gloe (372-4 feet), reared their 
 massive heads ; and nearer Glas Meal (3000 feet), Mount 
 Blair (2260 feet), the wooded Knock of Formal (1500 
 feet), and the conspicuous Catlaw (22G4 feet) in their more 
 purple garb. Through the valley the Isla, like a stream 
 of haze, shone in the sunlight, drawing along its slow 
 length until it lost itself in the woods beyond. Num- 
 berless mansions of the great, ornamented with fine woods 
 and gardens, caught the eye. Westward we saw Lundie 
 Loch, o'erlooked by the distant hills ; south we saw the 
 happy hamlets, drowned in apple blossom, encircling 
 the Church of Auchterhouse ; the high stalk of Locheo 
 Works, the Law of Dundee, the broad estuary of the 
 Tay, the Fife coast and hills, the square tower of St.
 
 tfEWTYLE. 141 
 
 Andrew's, and the Lomonds, sharply drawn against the 
 hills beyond. With rapture we swept for a time the 
 boundless landscape, with an almost eagle's eye descrying 
 the marks of twelve counties ; till a faint sense of the 
 vastness of immensity possessed us, and our higher nature 
 expanded beyond its " cribbed, cabined, and confined " 
 mould, to realise the half-divinity of our being. The 
 joyful smile of Nature after her tears may have added a 
 charm ; yet we consider that there are few places of such 
 easy access which will better reward the tourist, who has 
 a soul enamoured of the grandeur of Nature, and capable 
 of greeting radiant Summer in all her opening pride. 
 
 The parish of Newtyle is in Forfarshire, and 
 lies in the very centre of Strathmore. We can get 
 no reliable derivation of the name, for philologically 
 it has no more connection with New slates than with Old 
 hats \ The name is variously spelled, as will be seen in 
 the several charters and histories. It is bounded on the 
 north by Meigle, on the west by Kettins, on the south by 
 Lundie and Auchterhouse, and on the east by Eassie. 
 It is about two miles in length, and the same in breadth. 
 The hills bounding it on the south side are part of the 
 Sidlaw range (marked in a map of 1640, Sidlo) Kin- 
 purnie, Hatton, Newtyle, and Keillor, all verdant to their 
 summits, and forming valuable sheep walks. Kinpurnie 
 is derived from the Gaelic kin-fuaran, " the head spring," on 
 account of so many springs being on that hill. 
 
 Ecclesiastically, we find that about 1180, William the 
 Lion, King of Scotland, by royal charter, signed at Forfar, 
 granted to the Abbey of Arbroath the Church of Newtyl, 
 with all its just belongings, in lands, tithes, and other 
 rights and privileges ; and this charter was confirmed by 
 his son, King Alexander II. in 1214. According to the 
 JKegistrum vetus de Aberbrothoc, Hugh, Bishop of St,
 
 142 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Andrews, confirmed the royal charter, in 1180. In 1200, 
 Pope Innocent gave his imprimatur to both royal and 
 ecclesiastical charters. In 1198, according to its Register, 
 a carueale of land in Neutile was conferred on the Abbey 
 of Lindo'-es. According to the Taxatio of 1250, by the 
 Bishop of St. Andrews, the vicar of Newtyl, besides his 
 vicarage, had one bovate of land by use and wont ; and 
 the parish was assessed at 30 merks. In 1211, Ylif, 
 Clerk of Newtyl, signed as a witness to the confirmatory 
 charter of Richard, Bishop of Dunkeld, for the Church of 
 Ruthoven. On 20th September 1365, David II. con- 
 firmed the gift by King Alexander of the lands of Balmaw 
 to the Abbey of Lindores. After a considerable lapse, we 
 find that, in 1458, an excambion was made by William of 
 Strathachin, a burgess of Dundee, of lands in Latham near 
 Forfar, for the Church lands of Newtile. In the following 
 year, his son resigned into the hands of the Abbot of 
 Arbroath his lands of Kirkton of Newtile, with the tithes 
 of lands at Latham. In the Registrnm nigrum we find 
 that, in 152G, the tithes were let to James Ogilvy, in a 
 lease of 19 years, for 80 Scots. In 1533, the lands of 
 Kyrkton of Newtild, witli tithes, were sold to John Inglis 
 by the Abbot. In the Assumption of the " Thrid of the 
 Abbey of Lundoris," in 1561, the lands of Balmaw and 
 Newtyld are set down at 17 8s. These lands are in the 
 charter of " Feu-Ferme" by King James VI, in 1600, to 
 Patrick Leslie, enumerated and erected into the Temporal 
 Lordship and Barony of Lundores, and valued at the same 
 amount with the addition of 36 capons. 
 
 In 15G7, John Novay was minister of Newtyle, Nevay, 
 and Essie for 8 6s. 8d. Ten years afterwards John 
 Anderson, from Newtyle, in the General Assembly " com- 
 peirit in linnen clothes, and, prostrated on his knees, con- 
 fessed he had offended his minister, Robert Boyd, by draw-
 
 NEWTYLE. 143 
 
 ing his blood, whereof he repented and asked forgiveness, ' 
 promising by the grace of God not to fall into the like 
 wickedness." On August 28th 1651, George Pattullo, 
 minister of Newtyle, was captured in the Sidlaws by spies 
 sent out when General Monk was at the siege of Dundee, and, 
 "taken prisoner on board a ship at Dundee, lay five weeks 
 in his clothes on the deck of the ship Tinmouth Castle ; " 
 whence he was carried to London and kept there in prison 
 for twenty weeks. In 1684, Thomas Black was deprived for 
 not appearing before the Privy Council when cited. In 
 1695, Alexander M'Kenzie was deprived for non-jurancy, 
 but continued to preach in the meeting-house till 1716. 
 
 The parish has not many historical associations. Near 
 the village of Hill of Keillor there is a field called Chester- 
 park, from castra, which points to a Roman station in 
 early times. Tradition points out Graham's Knowe and 
 King's Well, in the north-west of the parish, as the route 
 of King Macbeth from Dunsinane fortress, when pursued 
 by Macduff, Thane of Fife. Crew- Well in Auchtertyre is 
 beside the remains of a camp, in a square form, where 
 tradition suggests that Montrose once stationed his army 
 during the civil wars. South of it was discovered, a 
 century ago, a Weem or Pictish dwelling, a subterranean 
 cavern made for protection during the early dangerous 
 times. Near the village, on the farm of Hatton, the grey, 
 ruinous, ivy-clad tower, is all that remains of Hatton 
 Castle, which was built, in 1575, by Lawrence, Lord 
 Oliphant. It is finely situated in the opening of the 
 Glack (or valley) between Hatton and Newtyle hills, 
 commanding at the same time the Strath. From the 
 remains we see that it had been a fortified residence of 
 very substantial workmanship. It was garrisoned by the 
 Earl of Crawford for the Covenanters in the year 1645. 
 Browne, in his valuable work on the " Scottish Highlands,"
 
 144 STRATIIMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 tells us that Montrose, after defeating Hurry at Auldearn, 
 on the 14th of May of that year, was so pressed by 
 General Baillie that he came south by forced marches ; 
 and, being out of reach of his worst enemy, set about 
 attacking the Earl of Crawford to put off the time. It so 
 happened that this nobleman, who stood next to Argyle, 
 as head of the Covenanters, had often complained to the 
 Estates against Argyle (whose rival he was), for his weak- 
 ness and inactivity, and was then put in command of the 
 army ; but he was without military experience and quite 
 unfit to cope with Montrose. However, just when Mon- 
 trose had completed his preparations, the whole of his 
 men deserted him, and left him to fight alone. Malcolm's 
 lines aptly occur to us as we look on the noble ruins of 
 Hatton Castle : 
 
 " A spectre of departed days 
 Yon castle gleams upon the gaze, 
 And saddens o'er the scene so fair, 
 And tells that ruin hath been there ; 
 And wheresoe'er my glance is cast, 
 It meets pale footprints of the past ; 
 And from these high and hoary walla, 
 All mournfully the shadow falls, 
 Dark'ning, amidst the garden bowers, 
 The farewell of the fading flowers 
 Which seem for gentle hands to sigh, 
 That tended them in days gone by. " 
 
 Near this, a little south, are discernible some traces of 
 the Castle of Balcraig, where several urns in a broken state 
 were some time ago turned up by the plough. West of 
 the Hill of Keillor, there is a tumulus with a large 
 standing-stone, of great antiquity, with rude hieroglyphics 
 on it ; but of which even tradition tells us nothing. The 
 rough stone is formed of gneiss, convex in front, and 
 rugged behind. The tumulus on which it is situated is 
 formed of earth and stones ; and several cists containing 
 bones have been found in it. Some years ago it was 
 broken across about a foot from the ground ; but the
 
 NEWTYLE. 145 
 
 parts have been clasped together and replaced. Dr. 
 Hibbert, when he visited it, thought that a Gaelic inscrip- 
 tion was at the top, meaning " the burying-place of the 
 slain ; " but no trace of this inscription is now to be seen. 
 In a field below the Kirkton there are two very old 
 artificial mounds, which were used as archery butts in 
 ancient competitions. In the MSS. of Panmure, there is 
 this curious note, in the handwriting of Henry Sinclair, 
 Dean of Glasgow, to the Extracta e Cronicis Scotiae of 
 1569:^" At Newtylde thair is ane stane, callit be sum 
 the Thane stane, iii. eln of heicht, v. quarterns braid, ane 
 quarter thik and mair, with ane cors at the heid of it, and 
 ane goddes next that in ane cairt, and twa hors drawand 
 hir, and horsinan under that, and fuitmen and dogges 
 halkis and serpentis ; on the west side of it, ane cors 
 curioslie gravit, bot all is maid of ane auld fassane of 
 schap : It is allegit that the Thane of Glammis set thir 
 twa stanis quhen that Cuntrey wes all ane greit forrest." 
 Probably this is one of the stones now in the valuable 
 collection at Meigle. 
 
 The name Templeton gives evidence of the lands 
 possessed there by the Knights Templars of the twelfth 
 century. A short distance westward from Newtyle 
 stands a small castellated burlding, still inhabited, called 
 Bannatyne House, which was once the house of the 
 Manor. It was erected, in 1589, by Mr. Thomas Banna- 
 tyne, a Lord of the Court of Session. The building has 
 obtained a celebrity in the annals of Belles Lettres from 
 the fact of the Bannatyne manuscript having been com- 
 posed there. The writer of it was George, a younger 
 brother of the Judge. At one time he held an office in 
 the Supreme Court, although he afterwards became a 
 Leith merchant. But when the plague was raging in 
 Edinburgh in the sixteenth century, George came to Banna- 
 
 E
 
 146 STRATH MORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 tync House, and occupied his time in collecting the early 
 poetry of Scotland. This arduous work has handed down his 
 name to our day ; and in his honour the Bannatync Club 
 was founded. The manuscript extends over 800 closely- 
 written folio pages, and was composed in the short space 
 of three months. In the north side of the building there 
 is a capacious circular turret, which, tradition says, 
 George made his study. Instead of being stained with 
 blood and polluted by crime as other castle-towers, the 
 turret of Bannatyne House is hallowed by the associations 
 of unexampled literary devotion. He thus concluded his 
 work, which is now in the Advocates' Library : 
 
 " Here endis this bulk, writt in tyme of pest, 
 Quhen we frae labor was compelcd to rest. 
 Swa till conclude, God grant us all gude end, 
 And aftir deth eternall lyfe us send." 
 
 The lands of Newtyle and Kinpurnie, which once formed 
 a baron} 7 , were granted by King Robert I. to Isabella, 
 daughter of Sir James Douglas, and wife of Walter de 
 Oliphant, Justiciary of Scotland. One of their descend- 
 ants, we noted, built Hatton Castle. In 1605, Lawrence, 
 Lord Oh'phant, was served and retoured heir in the lands 
 and barony of Newtyle and Kinpurnie. In 1627, these, 
 with Auchtertyre and Balcraig, passed to William Hally- 
 burton of Pitcur; thence, in 1694, to George Mackenzie 
 of Rosehaugh, son of the "Bloody Mackcenie;" but 
 having taken part in the rebellion of 1715, his estates 
 were forfeited to the Earl of Bute, one of whose de- 
 scendants, Lord Wharncliffc, is now in possession. The 
 Hill of Kinpurnie, the highest of the Sidlaws, being 1151 
 feet above the sea-level, was once a station for signal 
 tires ; and in the course of last century an Observatory 
 was erected and fitted up on it by the proprietor, 
 the Hon. James Mackenzie, the Lord Privy Seal of the 
 day. The roofless ruins give evidence of substantial
 
 NEWTYLE. 147 
 
 workmanship, the walls being three feet thick. The 
 Observatory was 30 feet long, 20 feet broad, and 40 feet 
 high. There were two doorways facing tiie south ; one 
 window in the east side, two on the north, and one 
 on the west. On the top of the walls are still rough 
 turrets, one in each corner, with one in the centre of each 
 end, and three on the north side, the south being kept 
 quite clear for the instruments. It is a useful land-mark 
 for vessels at sea. From the Observatory never having 
 been applied to the purpose intended, it has been desig- 
 nated by the peasantry, " Castle Folly." 
 
 Keillor is another property in the parish, but as the 
 mansion-house is in Kettins parish, we will reserve de- 
 tails about it for that parish. Suffice it to say that it 
 was once a part of the Earldom of Strathearn, and that 
 Randulph de Kelore, a vassal, did homage to Edward I. 
 at Berwick, in 1296. Watson, tenant of Keillor, was the 
 most celebrated breeder of Angus Cattle. Couston and 
 Davidston are the other properties. 
 
 The soil is in general a mixture of black earth and 
 clay, with patches of sand and gravel ; but it is fertile 
 and well cultivated. The air is dry and healthy, except 
 in the marshes in the north, where slow fevers and scro- 
 fula used to be frequent. In 1684, John Ochterlony in 
 his "Account of the Shyre of Forfar" thus describes 
 Newtyle : " Ane excellent country, fertill in cornes, 
 abounding in grass for pasture and meadows for hay, with 
 extraordinare good pasturage for multitudes of sheep on 
 the hills of Kilpurnie." 
 
 Among the flora of the parish, there are to be found 
 the Redrattle (with its large crimson flowers, overtopping 
 all the surrounding herbage) ; Butterwort (with its very 
 handsome purple flowers) ; the elegant Grass of Parnassus 
 (beautifully veined and cream-coloured) ; the Rockrose
 
 148 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 (whose bright yellow flowers open only in the sunshine) 
 the Sneeze wort (with white flowers and pungent smell) ; 
 the highly ornamental Milkwort (with its variegated 
 starlike flowers); and the Sea Plantain (with its narrow 
 fleshy leaves and yellowish cylindrical spikes). On the 
 ruined walls of Hatton Castle Dr. Barty found the 
 Gromwell ; and in the parish, though rare, the common 
 Bird's-foot. 
 
 In 1755, the population of the parish was 913, there 
 being a considerable number of handloom weavers with 
 a small croft of land each ; now it is about the same in 
 population, though differently occupied. The valued 
 rent is 2730 ; and the assessed property about 10,000. 
 The old Church was built in 1767 ; but this gave place, in 
 1871, to a very handsome new edifice, which does great 
 credit to the architect and proprietors. One curious in- 
 scription i.s found on a tombstone in the churchyard (of 
 date 1771) : 
 
 " Here lies the body of Robert Small, 
 Who, when in life, was thick, not tall ; 
 But, what's of greater consequence, 
 He was endowed with good sense." 
 
 The Parochial records go back to 1G48, and contain an 
 instructive historical epitome of the parish and curious 
 documents illustrative of the customs of bygone ages. 
 For example, on 8th May 1G98, " The Prisbitry violently 
 entered the Church by breaking up the doors thereof; so 
 that the parishoners did conveen to the Haltoun, where 
 they are to have sermon maintained by the Bishop of 
 Aberdeen ;" and this service, by the Bishop or his deputes, 
 was continued for twelve years. In 1715, the minister, 
 George Chcphane, was prevented by armed interference 
 from preaching in the Church ; his house was outrageously 
 entered by soldiers ; and he himself was threatened, and 
 forced to "abscond " for a time. The soldiery barbarously
 
 NEWTYLE. 149 
 
 frightened his wife and family, stabbed the very beds 
 with naked swords, and carried off a considerable part of 
 ilie goods. Yet afterwards, by prudence and patience, 
 he ingratiated himself to his parishioners, and became a 
 very useful and efficient, as well as a zealous and faithful, 
 minister. According to the Records of the Presbytery, 
 19th July 1808, "In the parish of Newtyle it appears 
 the minister had right of pasturage over Hatton, a very 
 considerable farm, and that the minister and Presbytery 
 consented to give up this right for two acres of ground." 
 In the recent case of Newtyle in the Court of Session, in 
 re Whitton v. Lord Wharncliffe, 1869, the point was 
 raised (but, under an arrangement of parties, withdrawn 
 from judicial consideration) whether, after a particular 
 course of action such as rebuilding, as opposed 
 to repairing merely, the parish church has been 
 adopted by a resolution duly passed at one meeting 
 of heritors, such resolution can be, at a subsequent 
 meeting of heritors, competently negatived by a counter 
 resolution. The conclusion come to is that where 
 nothing of a practical nature has followed upon the 
 first resolution, it can be recalled at a subsequent 
 meeting. 
 
 One thing during this century which has brought 
 Newtyle more prominently into notice is the fact that 
 the first railway (or one of the first railways) in existence 
 was constructed between Dundee and Newtyle. It was 
 begun in 1826, and completed in 1831 ; with an authorised 
 capital of 140,000 in shares and 30,000 in debentures. 
 It left Dundee on an inclined plane half-a-mile long, with 
 a gradient of 1 in 10, and proceeded through a shoulder 
 of Dundee Law in a tunnel 340 yards long. Altogether 
 there were three inclines, where stationary engines drew 
 up the carriages ; and two level portions, where the car-
 
 150 STIIATIIMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 riages were drawn at first by horses and then by 
 locomotives. The last incline at Hatton was 1 in 12, 
 reaching an elevation of 544 feet above sea level, from 
 which a descent was made to the valley of Strathmore. 
 The carriages were at first open ; but when the spark s 
 from the locomotive began to set fire to the passengers' 
 clothing, they were roofed in with canvas. On one 
 occasion, a country wife was on her journey for the first 
 time with her basket of eggs for Dundee market, when 
 the rope of the incline-engine broke, and the carriages 
 ran down with increasing momentum till all were turned 
 out ; though her eggs were smashed, she had no idea it 
 was an accident, for, when afterwards asked how she 
 liked the train, she replied " It was a guygude ride, but 
 it was a rough affpittin." This railway terminated in a 
 field of fifteen acres, which Lord Wharncliffe laid out on 
 a regular plan, with streets named as in a town, building 
 stances being disposed of in lots ; but the projectors of the 
 scheme were very much disappointed, though the village 
 rapidly increased, and is now an active, compact place. 
 The bone-mill, which was then erected to crush bones for 
 agricultural purposes, is still doing an extensive business, 
 though now more in dissolved bones. The old railway is 
 now replaced by an entirely locomotive railway, passing 
 through the Glack between ITatton and Newtyle Hills ; 
 and there suddenly opening to the passengers the magni- 
 ficent panorama of Strathmore. There is a station at 
 Newtyle connecting this line with the branches to Alyth 
 and Blairgowrie. Last year the Dundee Water Commis- 
 sioners put up a tank at Pitnappie, where the course of the 
 water-supply from the Loch of LintrathentoDundee reaches 
 its highest elevation an experiment to relieve the pipes 
 from pressure of air and sotopreventbursting. Whatever the 
 cause, this has not been effectual ; for every two or three
 
 NEWTYLE. 151 
 
 months the pipes have burst in the lower part of the 
 Strath, where the pressure is enormous ; and it seems 
 that, as some miscalculation was originally made about 
 the thickness of the pipes, a new set of relief pipes is 
 indispensable for the convenient transit of the water 
 through the valley. 
 
 Next in size to the village of Newtyle is Newbigging, 
 now rather old-looking, with about 25 dwelling-houses 
 and 10 pendicles. This was originally a manor called 
 Newtibber, from which " Angos and Richard de Neuto- 
 bere," both designed of the shire of Forfar, did homage to 
 Edward I. at Berwick in 1296. The history of the pro- 
 perty is obscure ; but from the Register of Arbroath 
 Abbey, we find that in the fifteenth century a family of 
 Ramsay of Auchterhouse were designed of it, and that 
 more recently it belonged to the Scrimgeours. The name 
 is derived from tobar, a " well," and new, a prefix denoting 
 a peculiarity of the well. A century ago there was only 
 one dissenter. The U.P. Church became transformed, a 
 few years ago, into a fine hall ; but there is still a small 
 F.C. congregation. The school is new, handsome and com- 
 modious. There is one hotel in the village, and one at Alyth 
 Junction on the main line of railway from Perth to Aber- 
 deen. There is an excellent public library, a branch of 
 the Commercial Bank, and a Savings Bank ; a surgeon 
 also resides in the village. From 1740 to 1790 provisions 
 tripled in price, and wages quadrupled ; " yet the ser- 
 vants save no more money now than formerly, owing 
 chiefly to their extravagance in dress ; " though Mr. Small 
 adds (in the Old Statistical Account): " The people are in 
 general sober and economical, enjoying in a reasonable 
 degree the comforts and advantages of society, and on the 
 whole seem pretty well satisfied with their condition." 
 Mr. Moon, in the New Statistical Account in 1842, re-
 
 152 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 marks : " Complaints are general as to the lowness of 
 wages ; but employment continues to be afforded to those 
 willing to work." Such complaints, we are afraid, will 
 be made to the end of the chapter, in the increasing 
 struggle between capital and labour.
 
 KETTINS. 
 
 ON the southern side of Strathmore, partly in Perthshire, 
 hut mostly in Forfarshire, lies the quiet parish of Kettins. 
 The Perthshire portion called Bandirran about a 
 square mile in area, is six miles south-west of the nearest 
 part of the main body, which is 4 miles long and 3 broad. 
 Two rivulets, of 6 and 4 miles' course respectively, pass 
 through or bound the parish, and unite a little south of 
 Cupar-Angus. The village of Kettins, about a mile 
 south-east of Cupar, 12 from Perth and 14 from Dundee, 
 is delightfully situated upon one of these streams, al- 
 most hidden among trees. It is much admired by the 
 lovers of the picturesque. For rural simplicity and art- 
 less loveliness it cannot be surpassed, the neatly-kept 
 cottages, with their pretty flower gardens, adding to 
 Nature's beauty. The village green in the centre forms 
 the field of many an innocent amusement ; the Church 
 looks out from its belt of trees, uttering pax vobiscum, 
 and the Manse nestles close below, with its peaceful 
 shelter of yew trees, all embosomed in a magnificent wood, 
 not unlike the " Taxwood " of Dr. Macduff's last story. 
 Henry Dryerre thus beautifully addresses this sweetspot: 
 
 "Serene, sequestered, and supremely sweet, 
 For dreamy poet's habitation meet ; 
 In tender beauty, peacefulness, and ease, 
 With softly-murmuring stream, and whispering trees ; 
 Fair Kettins ! Nature hath bestowed on tliee 
 Such gifts as only for her favourite be ! " 
 
 A learned antiquarian has suggested to us that the 
 name originally spelled Kethenys is derived from the 
 East-of-Scotland god Keth, as in Inchkeith and Keithock. 
 Possibly his sidhe or attendant spirits haunted the hills
 
 154 STRATH MOKE : PAS! AND PltE&LLNT. 
 
 on the south (Sidlaws), and spread terror into the minds 
 of the people for many a clay after Christianity had ob- 
 tained a hold. The parish is bounded on the east by 
 Newtyle and Lundie, north by Cupar, west by Cargill 
 and Collace, and south by Abernyte. 
 
 The soil is various, a great part being light and thin, 
 but some of strong clay and friable black mould. A cen- 
 tury ago there were seven villages in the parish, whose 
 inhabitants had small pendicles and eked out their 
 honest living by handloom weaving of coarse linen. To 
 a great extent these are now joined into large farms. 
 Nearly all the hills and the least productive of the low 
 grounds have been planted with trees of various kinds, 
 which adds to the value and beauty of the district. The 
 principal points of the Sidlaw range in the parish are 
 Keillor Hill (1088 ft.), and Gask Hill (1141 ft), partly 
 heathy, partly wooded, and partly pastured. In his 
 " Agriculture of Perthshire," Dr. Robertson suggests that 
 the range received its name Seed-law, as lie spells it 
 from the circumstance of its commanding a prospect of 
 the German Ocean from Aberdeen to Berwick ; but we 
 cannot easily reconcile this suggestion with the oldest 
 way of spelling the range, Sidlo. 
 
 Besides the more common plants to be found in the parish, 
 may here and there be seen the Round-leaved Sundew (an 
 insectivorous plant) ; the Water Lobelia (with light-blue 
 drooping flowers) ; the Bloody Crane's Bill (with handsome 
 bright purple (lowers) ; the Mare's Tail (a singular plant, 
 with narrow-leaved whorls) ; the Bladderwort (adorning 
 ditches with large brightyellowclusters); the Sweet-scented 
 Orchis (with rose-purple flowers) ; and the Trailing St. 
 John's Wort (whoso j'ellow flowers open only in the sun). 
 
 The honourable family of Hallyburtonhad for a consider- 
 able time extensive property in this parish. In the early part
 
 KETTINS. 155 
 
 of the fifteenth century, the family built the Castle of Pit- 
 cur, one mile south of the village. This castle is now in ruins, 
 which give no idea of its former grandeur. The moulder- 
 ing remains stand, on the brow of a gentle declivity, 
 romantically backed by the wood-clad Sidlaws, and facing 
 the grand panoramic scene of Strathmore. Pitcur is an 
 ancient barony, which came into the possession of the 
 Hallyburtons by marriage, in 1432 ; and which gave its 
 title to the family afterwards. A very celebrated mem- 
 ber of it was James, who was Provost of Dundee for 
 thirty years, and was one of the Commissioners appointed 
 by the estates of Scotland to go to France and arrange 
 the marriage of Queen Mary and the Dauphin. The Laird 
 of Pitcur was a strong supporter of Viscount Dundee, and 
 followed hiinin his engagements. Ochterlony in his"Shyre 
 of Forfar" (dated 1684), says of Pitcur : " It is a great 
 old house, with much fine planting. It is ane ancient 
 great and honourable familie." 
 
 D 
 
 In more recent times Lord Douglas Gordon Hally burton 
 represented the County of Forfar from the passing of the Re- 
 form Bill till his death. He was succeeded by his nephew, 
 who in 1836 married the daughter of William IV., and cou- 
 sin to our present Queen. After the Castle of Pitcur became 
 unfit for a residence, the family removed to Hallyburton 
 House, a modern mansion east of the village. A few years 
 ago the property was sold to Graham Menzies, Esq., father 
 of the present proprietor, Robert Stewart Menzies, Esq., a 
 candidate for the Kirkcaldy Burghs in the Liberal interest. 
 
 About a hundred years ago some tumuli were found in 
 the parish, when digging for the turnpike road from 
 Cupar, through the deep ravine, dividing the Sidlaws, 
 on to Dundee. One at Pitcur contained at least 1000 
 loads of stones ; and in its centre, a few flat, unwrought 
 stones, without date or marks, contained some human bones.
 
 156 STRATH MORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 In another, a mile further south, an urn was discovered full 
 of bones. At Campmuir, in Lintrose, close to Cupar, 
 there are still observable vestiges of a Roman Camp (with 
 only one gate opening towards Cupar) ; where part of 
 Agricola's army put up in 83 A.D., when the rest camped 
 at Cupar- Angus, on the site of the ancient Abbey and 
 the present Parish Church. At Baldowrie, in the north 
 of the parish, there is an erect Danish monument, six 
 feet in height, containing some figures, which are almost 
 wholly defaced. On the summit of one of the hills which 
 stretch along the south side of the estate of Pitcur are the 
 ruins of the Castle of Dores ; in which, according to tra- 
 dition, Macbeth resided for some time during the erection 
 of his stronghold on the neighbouring hill of Dunsinane. 
 On this hill, near the ruins, great quantities of ashes have 
 been discovered, which show that it had been one of the 
 hills where fires used to be kindled in ancient times, to 
 alarm the country on the approach of the enemy. In 
 17G3, when some quarriers were working, they discovered 
 an excavation in the solid rock, in which they found some 
 half-consumed bones of a soft consistency. The hole was 
 a yard square, and seemed to direct its course towards 
 the south ; but it had no means of communication with 
 the outer world. No light has ever been thrown upon 
 this mysterious piece of human handiwork. A Weem or 
 Peght's house was discovered fifty years ago in a field at 
 Lintrose, with built sides, paved floor, and two fireplaces 
 the breadth of the inner end being 8 feet, and height 5 
 feet, gradually narrowing to 3 feet at the entrance. Lin- 
 trose, once called Todderance.. from Lord Todderance, a 
 senator of the College of Justice, is one mile west of the 
 village, environed with fertile fields and thriving planta- 
 tions. About six years ago, a cave was discovered at 
 Pitcur, through the overturning of a large stone which in-
 
 KETT1NS. 157 
 
 terfered with the progress of the plough in turning over 
 the land. On removing the stone, an underground pas- 
 sage was discovered. In digging out the rubbish an 
 earthenware bowl was found, broken in pieces by the 
 workmen's implements. These pieces were gathered and 
 cemented together, and form a bowl well-made in good 
 preservation, and with well denned figures of ancient 
 warriors and lower animals on the outside of the rim. 
 When the property came into the hands of Mr. Menzies, 
 he, at great trouble and outlay, had the passages to a 
 large extent opened up and cleared out. Many cup 
 marks were seen on the stones. An ancient coin and 
 several articles of interest to antiquarians were found ; but 
 nothing to determine accurately the date or history of 
 this subterranean passage, which, being about 500 yards 
 to the east of Pitcur Castle, is supposed by some to have 
 extended itself to it, and to have been employed 
 variously. Hopes are entertained that interest will not 
 abate in these excavations, and that further light may yet 
 be thrown on the history of the place. 
 
 The estate of Keillor, the mansion-house of which is in 
 Kettins, was anciently a part of the Earldom of Strathearn. 
 Randulph de Kelore, who did homage to Edward I. in 
 12D6, was a vassal. In the time of King Robert the 
 Bruce, the lands seem to have been divided ; for then 
 Robert Harkers had a gift of the barony, and again, in 
 the time of Robert III., Walter Ogilvy had Easter Keillor. 
 In 1384, in a charter " by John of Kelor to John of 
 Ardillar (Ardler), six merks were to be given annually 
 out of the two towns of Keillor." In 1407, Walter 
 Ogilvy gave an annuity from it to the altar of St. George 
 in the Cathedral of Brechin. Subsequently Sylvester 
 Hadden (or Haldane) held it. In 1514, he witnesses the 
 retour of service of Alexander Lindsay to the office of
 
 158 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 hereditary blacksmith of the Lordship of Brechin. In 
 1G45, Easter Keillor fell to Susan, sister of Alexander 
 Haldan. Tradition says that for some act of kindness 
 which was shown by one of the " auld guidwives " to 
 King James, when travelling incognito as " the Quid 
 man o' Ballengeich," in this district, the patrimonial 
 estate of the family was increased by royal grant, and 
 held upon this curious tenure : 
 
 " Ye Haddens o' the moor, ye pay noclit, 
 But a hairen tether if it's socht 
 A red rose at Yule, and a sua' ba' at Lammas." 
 
 Keillor passed from the Haldanes to the Hallyburtons of 
 Pitcur ; in 1800 to the Hon. James M'Kenzie (Lord Privy 
 Seal) ; and now is in possession of Lord Wharncliffe. 
 
 According to Skene, Kettins was a Thanage for a con- 
 siderable peiiod; in 1264, Eugenius, Thane of Kathenes, 
 possessed a large grange, a small part of which was an ab- 
 thanrie. Thereafter it was erected into a Barony; for we find 
 that, in 1309, King Robert I. on the resignation of Malcolm 
 de Kaithness gave a charter of the Barony of Kettins to 
 Sir Patrick de Ogilvie, an ancestor of the Earl of Airlie. 
 
 Ecclesiastically it is believed that Kettins was once 
 the seat of a Celtic Monastery. The occurrence of the 
 word abthen as descriptive of land may always be held 
 to point out the territory of an ancient Abbey. In one 
 very old work (Martin's Relig. Divi. Andree), the " ab- 
 denrie " of Kettins occurs ; and in another (Inquisit. 
 Retorn. Abbrev. voce Forfar), certain lands are described 
 as "abden of Kettins." This view is supported by the 
 fact that in a charter, dated 1292, Hugh of Kettins 
 granted the well in his lands of Ketenes, called Bradwell, 
 with its aqueduct bounded and servitude and waterage, 
 to the Abbey of Cupar ; hence it was the site of an early 
 ecclesiastical establishment. Bradwell is just Bride's 
 Well, afterwards changed to Saint Bridget, the virgin, the
 
 KETTINS. 159 
 
 patron saint of Kettins. The Kirk of Ketyns had six 
 chapels dependent upon it Peatie, South Coston. Pictur, 
 Muiryfaulds, Denhead, and Kettins each of these having 
 small enclosures used as burying-grounds. It belonged 
 to the Diocese of St. Andrews, and was dedicated by 
 Bishop David, in 1249. In the Register of the Priory of 
 St. Andrews, according to the Taxatio of 1250, Ketenis 
 was rated at 55 merks. In the Registrum vetus de 
 Aberbrothoc Ketyns was rated in the Taxatio of 1275 at 
 55 merks. The fruits and revenues were granted to the 
 hospital or Domus Dei of Berwick. But, in 1390, Sir 
 James Lindsay of Crawford granted his house in Dundee 
 first as a convent for the ransom of Christian captives 
 from Turkish slavery, and then to the Red or Trinity 
 Friars for an Hospital or Maisondieu, in which the old 
 and infirm might reside. King Robert III., in confirm- 
 ing this charter, enriched it with a gift of the Church of 
 Kettins and its revenues. These the king transferred 
 from Berwick to Dundee: " Because the burgh and castle 
 of Berwyk have been in the hands of our adversaries the 
 English, we will and give the church of Ketnes with all 
 its fruits and forthcomings to the hospital of Dunde." 
 In the rental of the lands of the Priory of Rostinoth, 
 Ketynnes-mill paid 40s., and the lands of the Barony 
 of Kethenys 4 Scots. The patronage of the teinds 
 of Kettins belonged at one time to the Church of 
 Peebles ; for, in 1536, James Paterson, minister of Peebles 
 and Rector of Ketnes, granted a lease of some of the 
 teind-sheaves of the parish to George Hallyburton, who 
 agreed to give 4 merks yearly out of the same to Sir 
 David Jack, for five years, on account of " his thankful 
 service and labours done for us at our command to the 
 minister of Peebles." In 1558, Friar Gilbert Brown of 
 the Church of the Holy Cross at Peebles, granted by
 
 160 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 charter the Kirk lands at Kettins (now called Newhall) to 
 James Small of Kettins. In 1590, James Anderson (who, 
 in 1574, also served Bendochy and Collace), was 
 minister, and " his haill buikis were estimat at 200 Scots, 
 and utencils at 40; he wrote a treatise in verse, (reprinted 
 in 1851), on the first and second coming of Christ. In 
 1606, Colin Campbell was one of the forty-two ministers 
 who subscribed a petition to Parliament against the Intro- 
 duction of Episcopacy. In 1638, James Auchiuleck of 
 Ketins, whose wife presented the Communion cups, was 
 brought before the General Assembly, accused of " de- 
 fending the doctrine of universal grace ; " but satisfying 
 the Assembly of his orthodoxy, he was acquitted ; how- 
 ever some years afterwards he was deposed by the 
 Assembly's Committee for visitation. In 1654, for some 
 time there was no Session, " because of the Englishers 
 coming alongs who made the people to return quicklie to 
 their howses." In 1716, James Patone was taken prisoner 
 by George Duncan, his cousin, one of the Lieutenants of 
 the Shire. In 1793, James Trail published a translation 
 of the rather curious description in Latin, of date 1678, of 
 the Shire of Angus by Robert Edwards of Murroes. In 
 1800, when Mr. Symers was nominated by the Crown to 
 Kettins, the Magistrates and Town Council of Peebles 
 presented another ; but the Court of Session decided in 
 favour of Mr. Symers because of proscription. In 1786, 
 the Court of Session decided, in the case of Kettins, that 
 when the minister, as pursuer of the process of augmenta- 
 tion and modification of stipend, is not culpable of undue 
 delay, the decree of augmentation operates retrospec- 
 tively to the date of the demand in the summons : in 
 this case the summons was dated in 1764, and decree 
 was pronounced in 1786, so that the minister received 
 at once twenty-two years of augmentation. In 1808, a
 
 x^i'IilVS. Inl 
 
 Committee of Presbytery reported that Kettins had no 
 grass-glebe designed for it by decreet of the Presbytery. 
 Protests were taken by the Heritors and 20 Scots were 
 given in lieu of this glebe. According to the Parliamentary 
 Return, the total sum levied by way of assessment for 
 building, and repair of, the Church and Manse during the 
 10 years ending 31st December 1879, was 1,045. 
 
 The chapel of Keillor is believed to have had the 
 largest burial enclosure. Ancient sculptured remains are 
 found there, especially one remarkable sculptured monu- 
 ment, embellished with the rude outline sketch of a boar. 
 In the churchyard of Kettins there is an interesting 
 sculptured monument (fully nine feet high), of the 
 same type as those in the churchyard of Meigle ; this 
 had been used, from time immemorial, as a foot-bridge 
 across the Burn flowing through the village of Kettins, 
 until the spring of 18GO, when it was properly placed in 
 its present site by Lord Douglas Gordon Hallyburton. 
 
 The bell in the belfry of the Church was unearthed from 
 the Baldinnie bog, some hundreds of yards south of the 
 Church, while the ground was being trenched. The 
 occupants of Baldinnie at the time presented the bell to 
 the Church, in return for which they obtained a right of 
 burial beneath the belfry. The present incumbent Rev. 
 James Fleming, M.A. has kindly furnished us with the in- 
 scription on it in relievo, which he took down personally 
 to prevent mistakes : " Maria Troon es minem neem 
 Meester Hans Popen reider gaf mi. Anno Domini 
 MCCCCCXIX.," i.e., "Mary Troon is my name. Mr. 
 John Popen, the owner (or knight ?) gave me. A.D. 
 1519." Somewhat similarly the old bell of St. Lawrence 
 of Edzell was brought to light in the early part of the 
 present century, after a long lapse of years, by being 
 accidentally dragged from the bottoir of the old Well of 
 
 L
 
 1C2 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Duraj'hill. The Feme bell is about the same period as 
 Kettins : " Je ben ghegotan int iaer MCCCCCVI." 
 
 Two silver Communion cups, of date 1636, are still in 
 use; and comparing the weight marked on them with 
 the weight now, they have only lost 2 dwt. Troy. The 
 two collection plates are of date 1723. In 1684, Ochter- 
 lony says : " Keatens is in the Diocese of Dunkeld, but 
 the minister's name and patrone are unknown to the 
 informer." 
 
 From the Parochial records, which go back to 1618, 
 we find that, in 1645, Robert Yullo had to pay 6s. 8d. for 
 " drinking on the Sabbath, and make his repentance 
 before ye pulpit." In 1654, the same delinquent com- 
 peared and confessed that " he was taken with drink and 
 promised to tak heid to himself afterward, and he was 
 sharply rebuked be the Session for his fatt," Along with 
 him, " James Yullo confessed that his drunkenness was 
 the cause of his Sabbath-breaking, and professing his 
 sorrow he was ordained to compeir next Sabbath in sack- 
 cloth before the congregation " which was done on two 
 occasions. In 1664, Janet Yullo compeared before the 
 congregation, and professed her repentance and sorrow 
 for her sin of " scalding and swearing, cursing and rail- 
 ing, against her Christian neighbour, Catherine Small ; " 
 and was duly dealt with. Shortly afterwards, the said 
 Catherine Small was guilty of the same offence, and 
 suffered similar punishment. For four years George 
 Yullo was dealt with for the sin of ante-nuptial fornica- 
 tion, but would not confess, as he professed his innocence; 
 but at last, in 1715, " having now (!) come to a sense of 
 his sin, he compeired in the public place of repentance 
 for his sin, and was spoken to and exhorted to a serious 
 repentance." On May 10th, 1713, "The Session con- 
 vened for enquiring into the scandal committed by
 
 KETTINS. 163 
 
 Patrick Smith, in West Town-End of Ketins, anent the 
 selling of his wife to one Lindsay in Glenisla, which 
 scandal was recommended to ye Session by ye Justice of 
 ye Peace. So being summond and called compeired 
 not, therefor the Session remitted him to the Justices of 
 Peace." 
 
 The valued rent of the parish is 428 ; and the real 
 rent 12,206, besides 734 for Railway. The population, 
 in 1726, was 1400 ; now it is 903. The Old Statistical 
 Account (1793) states that " there were only 4 un- 
 married women in the parish, 41 farmers, 3 bleachfields 
 whitening 130,000 yards of linen annually, and one man 
 alive at the age of 106." 
 
 In 1757, an Association was formed in the district for 
 the Improvement of Agriculture, by giving premiums for 
 the best stock and produce. Hugh Watson of Keillor 
 will be long remembered as the most enthusiastic and suc- 
 cessful breeder, particularly of the Angus breed. Of him 
 Mr. M'Combie of Tillyfour the highest authority testi- 
 fied that " he was the first great improver, and no one 
 will question his title to that distinction ; for there is no 
 herd in the country which is not indebted to Keillor 
 blood." From the Polled Herd-Book of Edward Ravens- 
 croft (1862) we notice that Mr. Watson's first breed were 
 from the old stock of Keillor doddies, which obtained 
 celebrity so far back as 1800. In 1844, he produced his 
 first animal at the Highland Society's Show, and gained 
 the first prize. The Herd-Book contains notices of 23 
 pedigreed bulls and 22 cows belonging to Mr. Watson. 
 Among these we will mention one cow Old Grannie 
 which was photographed, in 1859, two days before she 
 died, by request of His Royal Highness Prince Albert. 
 She died at the age of 36, of sheer old age ; for Mr. Wat- 
 son wished to see how long an animal of this breed, with
 
 164 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 a fine constitution, could be profitably kept. She was 
 the mother of 25 calves, 11 of which are registered as 
 first-prize takers. The cattleman who had attended her 
 all her life-time was awarded 100 francs by the " Socidte' 
 Protection des Animaux Justice et Compassion Hygiene 
 de Paris;" and Mr. Watson received a special silver 
 medal from the Highland Society. 
 
 In 1825, Lord Hallyburton valued his lands and let 
 them to the tenants at rents according to Coventry's 
 principle, which was, that the rent increases as the square 
 of the produce ; so that land that produces eight bolls per 
 acre will have to pay four times the rent of other land 
 that produces only four bolls per acre; and this principle 
 was considered very equitable, for bad land required as 
 much seed and labour as good land. 
 
 Owing to several good bequests for education and the 
 poor, the parish of Kettins is about the minimum for local 
 taxation. As far as we can trace, the walls of the present 
 Manse were built in 1792 ; and those of the Church in 
 17G8. The situation of the Manse is not desirable ; being 
 below the level of the adjoining churchyard. In 1871, 
 the Church was very much improved in the interior 
 with the addition of beautiful memorial windows. And 
 recently a very handsome American Organ was presented 
 to the Parish Church and congregation by Mungo Murray, 
 Ksq., and Mrs. Murray of Lintrose, in memory of their 
 nephew who died at sea. 
 
 The Very Reverend Principal Tulloch of St. Andrews 
 was minister of Kettins from 1848 to 1854, during which 
 time he wrote some of his best articles to the Edinburgh 
 Review, and the Burnct-Prize Treatise on Theism. Little 
 did the parishioners think that the pleasant-mannered 
 and quiet-dispositioned minister who used to go in and 
 out among them was in that seclusion preparing himself
 
 KETTINS. 165 
 
 for a brilliant career in the future ; for now he is unques- 
 tionably the most distinguished preacher, theologian, and 
 litterateur that Scotland possesses in any denomination : 
 he is Dean of the Order of the Thistle, Her Majesty's 
 Chaplain, Senior Clerk and ex-Moderator of the General 
 Assembly of the Church of Scotland. A quaint old 
 man was parish teacher during the time of Principal 
 Tulloch's incumbency James Gibb who died about 
 ten years ago. Lord Hallyburton, having a leaning to 
 phrenology, selected Gibb as schoolmaster on account of 
 his mathematical head. In his younger day he was a 
 good teacher, especially in arithmetic and mensuration 
 of land at which he was an adept. His holidays were 
 taken up in searching the curiosity shops in London, for 
 old instruments, which he would purchase and fit up for 
 use. At the sale, after his death, we never saw such a 
 collection of astronomical and meteorological instru- 
 ments, gold and silver watches, and eccentric curiosities 
 of vertu. He wrote the excellent " New Statistical Ac- 
 count " of the Parish, in 1842 the year that Dr. John 
 MacdufT was inducted minister. Dr. Macduff left the 
 parish, in 1848, and has since devoted himself to religious 
 literature. Kettins has neither Dissenting Church, nor 
 public-house, nor poor assessment, and is in many respects 
 a model country parish. 
 
 "Thou Kettins art so fair, 
 Let sweet consistency breathe everywhere 
 Kind hearts and noble deeds with Nature's gift abound 
 The True, the Beautiful, and Good, in one bnght round ! "
 
 EASSIB AND NEVAY. 
 
 AFTER driving two miles eastward from the village of 
 Newtyle along a most excellent level road, we enter the 
 united parishes of Eassie and Nevay. The time-honoured 
 boundary-mark is a conspicuous old ash, which popularly 
 goes by the name of the Temple-tree. Tradition cannot 
 guess at its age. It is of considerable diameter, but quite 
 hollow from the ground upwards for twenty feet. The 
 bark is stripped off in several parts, and the thin shell of 
 wood exposed is quite worm-eaten ; here and there being 
 quite worn through, forming a rude door and rugged 
 windows for the weird-like interior. Large branches 
 spread out, half dead-and-ali ve, with some foliage, scantily 
 furnished with the life-giving root-sap. Could it speak ; 
 it would tell of many a strange incident in its vicinity or 
 underneath its arms. Its appearance might almost take 
 one back to the time when the Templars left the neigh- 
 bourhood; thus fixing its curious appellation. We drive 
 eastward on this beautiful day in the end of August ; the 
 sun shining with medium brightness, and his fiery rays 
 being mellowed by thin clouds. On our left we see, laid 
 out for six miles, the many -chequered fields, some approach- 
 ing to the ripe gold-tinge, the rich green hue of turnip 
 and potato squares bringing into relief the white crops 
 nearly ready for the reaper, and the verdant hedges and 
 woodlands of dense foliage, till our eye reaches the distant 
 slopes, which enclose the Howe of Strathmore. The 
 towering ridges of the Grampians, with their numerous 
 intervening spurs, make a background of surpassing 
 grandeur; the cold outline clearly marked against the
 
 EASSIE AND NEVAY. 167 
 
 kindling azure of the heavens. A rugged road on our 
 left hand leads down to the ruined Church of Nevay, in 
 the village of Kirkinch. Soon we pass the new Manse 
 and Church, the handsome school and schoolhouse, the 
 finely-situated farm-house of Ingliston, and the railway 
 station of Eassie on the Caledonian Railway ; till we come 
 to the old Manse and the ruins of the Kirk of Eassie. 
 Leaving our conveyance, we walk into the churchyard. 
 The grass is carefully cut, and the moss-green pediments 
 and grey tombstones are exposed to view. Spectral 
 silence points to decay all around. Stepping inwards we 
 are shocked at the nettle-possessed enclosures, where rank 
 weeds reeking grow. What means this ? Surely com- 
 mon decency to say nothing of fitting reverence should 
 rouse the public mind to get this shocking eyesore 
 removed. The roofless walls of the old place of worship 
 should yet be dear to the memory of worshippers. The 
 ivy clings around one gable, keeping the stones dry 
 in many a shower, its web-like roots exuberantly issuing 
 from every portion of the branches ; and so binding every- 
 thing together with intricate lace- work that not a stone 
 can be removed without first tearing away the protecting 
 safeguard. The earth and grass have filled up a consider- 
 able portion of the doorways ; and on the lintel of the 
 principal entrance we decipher " 1753, Mr T. 0. Minr," 
 rudely carved. But no yew-tree, green even amid the 
 snows of winter, tells there of immortality. No drooping 
 willow stands there as the suggestive symbol of the per- 
 petual mourner. No beauteous natural flowers are there 
 to soothe the melancholy spirit, which dwells too sadly on 
 life's close. Never there does the sad-hearted visitant 
 behold the primrose on a little infant's bed, or modest rose 
 on bowed stalk to grace the grave of some sweet maiden 
 taken away in her blooming years, or pansy planted by
 
 1C8 STRAT11MORE : PAST AND PKEsKNT. 
 
 children round their playmate's tomb. But on the symbol- 
 stone of death alights a gladsome butterfly, which, once a 
 worm creeping on the bare earth, now twits its gaudy 
 wings in the summer's sun, as if to remind us of our im- 
 mortality that soon from his cell of clay the departed man 
 " will burst a seraph in the blaze of day." Time's gradual 
 touch has mouldered into beauty the rude stones; and with 
 Schiller we can say : 
 
 " Time consecrates, 
 And what is grey with ago becomes religion." 
 
 The united parishes of Eassie and Nevay extend for 
 four miles from west to east, and three miles from north 
 to south. In a very old map (about the sixteenth cen- 
 tury) the names are written Esse and Nevoy. They 
 are bounded on the east and south by Glamis, on the 
 south-west by Newtyle, on the west by Meigle, and on 
 the north by Airlie. The Dean, which flows from the 
 Loch of Forfar, forms the northern boundary of Eassie. 
 Silent but deep is its course, scarcely moving through 
 some reedy pool, or gently diffused into a limpid plain 
 
 " So calm, the waters scarcely seem to stray, 
 And yet they glide, like happiness, away. ' 
 
 But on account of the sudden and frequent bends in its 
 course, it often, when swollen with rains and melted snow, 
 breaks through its banks and inundates the neighbour- 
 ing fields. It is noted for the large size and delicious 
 taste of its trout ; but they are difficult to catch, the 
 angler requiring to conceal himself behind a bush or keep 
 a respectful distance, " the better," as Izaak Walton says, 
 " the scaly people to betray." Here and there may be seen 
 the great white Water-Lily (cradled in the dimpling tide 
 to rest its lovely head) ; and the handsome Comfrey (with 
 its two-fold clusters of white and pink and purple flowers). 
 The rare Wood Club-rush, among many other interest-
 
 KASSIE ANt) NEVAY. 109 
 
 ing flora, was found on the sides of the Dean by Miss 
 Annie Ogiivy of Ruthven. Eassie Burn rises in the 
 north of Auchterhouse ; and, running for six miles 
 through Denoon Glen, in Glamis, in its course bathing 
 the wall of the churchyard of Eassie, falls into the Dean. 
 . The haughs on the banks of the Dean are only 160 
 feet above the level of the sea ; but southwards the sur- 
 face gradually rises to the Sidlaws, attaining 371 feet near 
 Murley well, 621 at Ingliston, and 947 in the border. The 
 rocks of the uplands are partly eruptive and partly 
 sandstone ; and though the soil is cultivated well up to 
 the summits, it is poor and better fitted for planting or 
 pasture. The soil in the Strath is a soft sandy loam of 
 high fertility, with moorish portions interspersed; the 
 crops are generally excellent, and the heart of the husband- 
 man now rejoices, 
 
 " When large increase has bless'd the fruitful plain, 
 And we with joy behold the swelling grain." 
 
 Dr. Playfair, afterwards the Principal of St. Andrews 
 University, who wrote the "Old Statistical Account" of the 
 United Parishes, in 1794, states that a greater quantity of 
 rain falls in this district than in the low country south of 
 the Sidlaws ; because " all clouds and vapours from the 
 south-west are divided near the mouth of the Earn, and 
 are attracted partly by the Sidlaws and partly by an 
 elevated ridge stretching along the north coast of Fife ; 
 so that little rain from that quarter falls upon the inter- 
 val between those mountains." 
 
 The Sidlaws are rich in botany. There can be seen 
 the insectivorous Sundew ; the Milkwort's little humble 
 flowers of red and white and blue ; a peculiar specimen of 
 the Eye-bright (an infusion of which makes a useful eye- 
 water); the handsome Meadow Crane's-bill (with purplish- 
 blue flowers) ; the purple mountain Milk- Vetch ; and the
 
 170 STR ATI! MORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 heart-leaved T way blade. Among the mosses can be found 
 the Leafy Diphyscium, the Rock Andraea, the Sharp-pointed 
 Weissia, the Zig-zag Fork-moss, the Curve-stalked Apple- 
 moss, the Dwarf and Heart-leaved Jungerrnannia?, and the 
 Crisped Neckera. There is also a great variety of Crypto- 
 gamic plants ; while the little dells through which streams 
 pass from the Sidlaws have each peculiar floral treasures. 
 There is nothing particularly noteworthy in the 
 antiquities of the united parish. About a mile west of 
 the old Church of Eassie are the remains of an ancient 
 fortification, surrounded on the west, south, and east 
 sides by a very deep and broad ditch, and on the north 
 by a rivulet, from which the ditch was filled with water f 
 when required. Within a vast earthern circular mound 
 there is an area (of 120 yards by GO yards), on which the 
 handsome farmhouse of Castle-Nairne is now situated. 
 The rampart went by the name of Castletoun, and is 
 thus marked on the quaint old " Map in Edward's County 
 of Angus," in 1678. Some coins of Edward I. and a very 
 ancient spear-head having been found in this area, it is 
 probable that the fort was constructed by the army of 
 that English invader. This is borne out by the fact that 
 on the farm of Ingliston (English town), in the neighbour- 
 hood, there were, a century ago, vestiges of a large en- 
 campment. A few miles north is the farm of Brucetown ; 
 and on the 2nd of July, 129G, Edward left Inverqueich 
 Castle, on the Isla (a few miles north-west) to take up his 
 quarters in Forfar Castle ; but on his way he called up 
 his men from their encampment at Ingliston to join 
 battle with the forces of The Bruce, at Saddle-hillock, in 
 Ruthven, where, under a huge cairn in the moor, the 
 English dead were buried. Outside the wall of the 
 churchyard of Eassie stands a large sculptured stone, of 
 the same character as the famous stones at Meigle and
 
 EASSIE AND NEVAY. 171 
 
 Aberlemno. It had evidently lain for many years in the 
 Eassie Burn ; but about thirty years ago it is stated that 
 a lady, passing and noticing the stone, gave a workman 
 a pound to have it removed and erected in its present 
 site, in order to preserve the sculptured marks on it. 
 We were accustomed to point it out to our visiting 
 friends, when driving past, as the likely tombstone of 
 some suicide, whose remains were generally deposited in 
 such a place or where cross-roads meet. But we have 
 carefully inspected it and found out our mistaken guess. 
 In the centre is a massive and baautifully- wrought cross, 
 covered with circles ; two figures in the corners are like 
 angels with huge wings ; a figure on the left hand is like 
 that of a tall, thin man with a long spear and square 
 shield ; and on the right are representations of a stag and 
 a hound. The forms on the other side cannot be de- 
 ciphered ; but, according to old accounts, there are four 
 figures, like priests, and oxen below. When it was cut 
 cannot be ascertained ; but evidently in a time of peace. 
 The beautiful execution of the devices and characters 
 attest the skill to which the people had attained in 
 sculpture ; and give evidence that, at remoter periods 
 than the historian has been able to reach, there existed 
 communities in a fairly advanced stage of civilization. 
 The chase was the national amusement of Scotland from 
 a very remote period ; and as, in the days of Canute, the 
 keeping of deerhounds was restricted to the nobility, this 
 stone may be a memorial of some one of high rank. The 
 Cross was intended to commemorate the introduction of 
 Christianity into Caledonia ; and Pinkerton assigns the 
 period from 843 to 1056 for such engraven obelisks ; 
 but that may only be a guess. They are certainly not 
 of Danish origin ; for they are not like the famous Danish 
 monument in the churchyard of Ruth well in Dumfries-
 
 172 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 shire, which is curious from having been ordered, by the 
 General Assembly, in 1G44, to be thrown down, as it 
 might be an object of idolatry to the common people. 
 The tradition, connecting it with the death of Lulach, the 
 great-grandson of Kenneth IV., who fell in the battle at 
 Eassie, in 1057, has no foundation ; for the Eassie referred 
 to is in Strathbogie. Accordingly, whether it records a 
 domestic or national story, whether it marks the grave 
 of a noble or the tombs of the fallen in battle, are points 
 which still bring forth different opinions ; yet it is a 
 feast for the antiquary. 
 
 Near Castleton there is a mineral spring, and another 
 a mile south of the old Manse of Eassie ; but their 
 qualities and virtues are unknown. In the south-east of 
 Eassie parish a small vein of silver ore was discovered, a 
 century ago ; but the amount of the metal realized would 
 not pay the working. There was a fine freestone quarry 
 in the south of Nevay, the stones of which admitted of a 
 good polish. The Temple-tree and the farm of Temple- 
 ton suggest the ancient property of the Knight-Templars 
 of the twelfth century. They gave their estates to the 
 Knights of St. John, who went by the cognomen of the 
 Knights Hospitallers ; hence the name Spittal in so many 
 districts. 
 
 In 1390, Isabella Douglas, Countess of Mar, granted to 
 Walter Ogilvy a charter of the Kirkton of Eassie and 
 other lands. His successor, Alexander Ogilvy, possessed 
 the barony of Eassie, and was Sheriff of Forfar. In 1 400, 
 King Robert III. granted a charter to William Cunning- 
 ham of Neve and other lands. Very little is known until 
 1528, when John, Earl of Buchan, had a charter of the 
 barony and lands of Eassie and Nevay ; united with 
 Auchterhouse, Blacklunans, and Drurafork into the barony 
 of Glendowoquhy. A new charter for the same was
 
 EASSIE AND NEVAY. 373 
 
 given, in 1547. In 1615, Lady Mary Douglas, Countess 
 of Buchan, granddaughter and heiress of Lady Christina 
 Stewart, was retoured in the lands and barony of Eassie 
 and Nevay; Eassie A.E. 12, N.E. 72; Nevay A.E. 
 5, N.E. 20. In 1619, James, Earl of Moray, was 
 retoured in the lands and barony of Eassie and Nevay. 
 In 1621, Lady Elizabeth Nevay, wife of Lord John Hay 
 of Murie, was retonred in the lands and barony of Nevay, 
 with the teinds as principal, A.E. 5, N.E. 20. In 1695, 
 John, Earl of Strathmore, was retoured in the lands of 
 Nevay. In 1745, the estates of Nevay and Kinloch were 
 forfeited because of Sir James Kinloch 's participation in 
 the Rebellion. Now the estate of Nevay is in the 
 possession of the Earl of Wharncliffe. 
 
 The property of Dunkenny was once possessed by 
 David Lindsay, Bishop of Edinburgh, who, on the 23rd 
 of July 1637, read the Collects in the High Church there ; 
 and occasioned the well-known episode, when Jenny 
 Geddes threw her stool at his head, exclaiming, " Dei'l 
 collick ye ! will ye say mass at my lug ? " The bishop 
 was excommunicated by the General Assembly held at 
 Glasgow in the following year, and died in England, in 
 1640. He was succeeded in the property by his son 
 John, who survived him only three years. John's sisters 
 got possession as heir-portioners. About 1661, the 
 Lindsays were followed in Dunkenny by Peter Blair. 
 When John Ochterlony wrote his interesting " Accounts 
 of the Shyre of Forfar," in 1684, it was possessed by John 
 Lammie, ancestor of the present proprietor, Major John 
 Ramsay L'Amy. Ochterlony called it " a pleasant place. 1 ' 
 
 The patron saint of the Kirk of Eassie was St. 
 Brandon, Abbot and Confessor, who flourished in 532 and 
 died in 577, at the age of 95, after training 3000 monks. 
 The Kirk was dedicated, in 1246, by David, Bishop
 
 174 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 of St. Andrews. In the Taxatio of 1275, in the Register 
 of Arbroath Abbey. Essy gave 20 merks to the Abbey ; 
 and in the Taxatio of 1250, in the Register of the Priory 
 of St. Andrews, it gave the same to the Priory. In 1309, 
 King Robert the Bruce gave the advocation and donation 
 of the Kirk of Eassie, in the Diocese of St. Andrews, to 
 the monks of Newbattle. In 1400, Robert III. gave a 
 charter to found a chaplaincy within the Kirk of Brechin 
 by Alexander Ogilvy, of 10 merks sterling, " furth of the 
 barony of Eassie." In 1450, the Chapel of the Blessed 
 Mary of Balgownie, in the parish of Eassie, is mentioned 
 in a charter; in the extreme east of the parish, two houses 
 and a mill still bear the name of the Chapel of Balgownie, 
 as evidence of the religious edifice which once stood 
 there. 
 
 The patron saint of the Kirk of Nevay was St. Nevyth. 
 Bishop Forbes, in his " Kalendar of the Scottish Saints," 
 says, " St. Neveth, martyr, was one of the sons of Bry- 
 chan, a bishop of the north, slain by the Saxons and the 
 Picts, and buried at Nevay." The Kirk of Nevay 
 (Newyth) was in the Diocese of St Andrews ; giving 14 
 merks to Arbroath Abbey, and the same to St Andrew's 
 Priory. There is no notice of either parish in the 
 Register of Cupar Abbey. It went popularly by the 
 name of Kirkinch (or the kirk on the island), as the 
 hillock on which it stood was at one time surrounded by 
 a marsh or swamp. In 1400, King Robert III. granted a 
 charter assigning 10 merks sterling, from Nevay for 
 the foundation of a chaplaincy in the Kirk of Atichter- 
 liouse; and, in 142G, Sir Walter Ogilvy of Lintrathen 
 made payments out of the lands of Nevay to the same ; 
 for the safety of the souls of the king and queen, and of 
 the knights who fell at Harlaw. In 1531, Walter Tyric 
 of Drumkilbo was interred in the churchyard : an old
 
 EASSIE AND NEVAY. 175 
 
 stone bearing this inscription : " Here ly the Tyries of 
 Nevay ; honest men and brave fellows." The date, 1651, 
 is on the ivy-clad ruins of the old Church, and "16 D. N. 
 95" on the lintel of the door. On the enclosing walls is 
 this inscription : " Built by subscription, 1843." 
 
 The Parishes were united with the approval of the 
 General Assembly on the 21st March 1600; and the union 
 was ratified by Parliament prior to 1610. In 1614, the 
 Synod " concludit that in tyme coming the parochiners 
 sail conveine two Sabothes at Essie, and the third at the 
 Kirk of Nevay." There were formerly two places of 
 worship, at the eastern and western extremities ; but these 
 are now in ruins. The Manse was at Eassie ; and after a 
 time, divine service was conducted in each church on al- 
 ternate Sabbaths in the summer months, but only at 
 Eassie in the winter months. It is said that, on one 
 occasion in the end of October, the minister, who was of 
 far broader views concerning the Sabbath than most of 
 his time, seeing that it was a reevin day after weeks of 
 muggy weather, told the people from the pulpit of Nevay 
 to go and take in the corn, though it was Sabbath, as this 
 was an act of necessity and mercy ; but, alas ! for this so- 
 called desecration, the roof of the Church fell in, during 
 the ensuing week, and no minister's voice was ever again 
 heard in that sacred edifice. Fortunately times are now 
 changed ; for science has educated most now to discern the 
 naturalness of the judgments of the Ruler of the Universe. 
 
 A handsome new Church, midway between the two, was 
 built in 1833, and a commodious Manse close to the 
 Church in 1841. The churchyards are, however, still in 
 the old places. The heritors made an excambion of the 
 old glebes for a new one adjoining the new manse. But 
 we notice in the report of the Committee, appointed by 
 the Presbytery, in 1808, to investigate into the state of
 
 176 STR.YTHMOKE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 the several benefices within the bounds, that Eassie and 
 Nevay had no grass-glebe designed for them by decrcct 
 of the Presbytery. By the act abolishing patronage, in 1874, 
 the patron, the Earl ofWharncliffe.was entitled to one year's 
 stipend, when the next incumbent was inducted, but lie 
 handsomely returned it to the living. The present incumbent 
 Rev. Nathaniel Law, M.A. has very kindly furnished us 
 with extracts from the Kirk-Session records, which date 
 from 1721. On Jan. 15, 1725, "The minister reported that 
 this da} 7 , about three in the morning, there was a man- 
 child laid down at his gate, and that he had sent for them 
 to advise what to do." Temporary arrangements having 
 been made, and the minister having written to the neigh- 
 bouring parishes to endeavour to find out the unnatural 
 mother, but without success, " the matter is reported to 
 the Presbytery and their help requested as to maintaining 
 the exposed child." In answer to this appeal Airlie con- 
 tributed 30s. Blairgowrie, 80s. Newtyle, 80s. Kingoldrum 
 24s. and Lintrathen 24s. Then Mr. Angus of Castleton 
 agreed, on receipt of a bill for 25 Scots, to maintain the 
 child till he be 14 years of age ; "so the Session was to be 
 no more troubled with the exposed child, which the 
 Session approve of." One female delinquent had to sit 
 the cutty stool " in sackcloth " for several days ; but 
 scarcely had her compearances for fault number one been 
 completed than we find her again as, on 31st May, 1725, 
 " having laid down a child in Inverarity Parish on 
 Thursday was a fortnight, about bed-time, but could not 
 tell the man's house she laid it at ; " for which she was 
 sent for a time to Forfar gaol ; and after her liberation she 
 had to sit the " stool" no fewer than twenty -three times. 
 This extreme rigour in punishment by the Session had no 
 restoring effect on delinquents. In April 4th 1725, a col- 
 lection was made, " according to order," for building a
 
 EASS1E AND NEVAY. 177 
 
 a bridge betwixt "Never and Le'Jmot," to the amount of 
 1 13s. 6d. Scots. The mortcloth must have been hand- 
 some in those days ; for on April 5th, 1733, is the entry for 
 9| yards of velvet and fringe, 420 Scots. On August 5th, 
 1734, the rent of the seats in the loft (which had been 
 erected by the Session and taxed by them for behoof of 
 the poor), amounted to 2 18s. for the year. In 1730, 
 for beating another man's child on the Sabbath, and 
 thereby causing " public scandal and offence," one trans- 
 gressor had to be publicly rebuked. The minister's man 
 was publicly rebuked for " giving scandal and profaning 
 the Lord's day by drinking." Two men had to express 
 sorrow for " scolding one another and thereby profaning 
 the Sabbath," in order to escape the severe admonition. 
 A miller got off with a Sessional rebuke for " setting on 
 his mill on Sabbath night," because he alleged it was 
 necessary. In 1744, a mason had been fined 6 Scots for 
 some misdemeanour ; but being a poor man, and having, 
 with other work, "made a dyal for the west church," he 
 was let off. In 1745, an elder requiring to leave the 
 parish when owing the box 4 14s. 5d. Scots, the 
 Session " are to have patience with him till he make a new 
 box ;" but this gigantic work the box at present in use 
 was accomplished only after seven years. In 1748, " it 
 was reported that John Lunan had practised something 
 that was looked upon as inclining to witchcraft or charm- 
 ing against John Spence, and that upon inquiry the 
 minister found that there was some ground for the report 
 to the great scandal of religion ; the offence was that on 
 loth August said John Lunan, having his kiln burnt, came 
 to John Spence 's house with two of his servants, and 
 calling for a choppin of ale, desired the tapster to give 
 him two sixpences for a shilling, which she did, and he 
 went off. Then the company sitting in the house made 
 
 M
 
 178 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 John Spence uneasy, by telling him that this changing of 
 money was a charm used with an intent, that the 
 sufferer by fire should make up his loss at the expense of 
 his neighbour. The sixpences were after some difficulty 
 returned, and friendship restored; but the Session were 
 not content with this. They must report the matter to 
 the Presbytery." After due deliberation the Presbytery 
 appointed the minister to examine witnesses and report. 
 Finally the following deliverance of the Presbytery was 
 ordered to be read from the pulpit : " Find the proof 
 imperfect ; could not find him guilty of bad intent ; and 
 appoint the minister to give public warning against such 
 practices in time coming." 
 
 There is neither a Dissenting Church nor a public- 
 house in the united parishes. The population has varied 
 little for a century and a half. In 1721, it was (J57 ; in 
 1794, 630 ; in 1831, 054- ; in 1881, 561. The valued rent 
 of both parishes is 100; the real rent about 9000. No 
 heritor resides within the bounds, which is an especially 
 unfortunate circumstance in these dull times, when tenants 
 require every encouragement to keep them in heart and 
 healthy 'social bearing to those over them. Dr. Play fair, 
 with appropriate point and wisdom, thus spoke of a laird 
 of Nevay in his day, who met his tenants fairly and took 
 a fair rent from them, that they might, with industry, 
 have a decent living : " Had the usual methods of screw- 
 ing and racking tenants been adopted, the landlord might 
 have greatly increased his revenue ; but he preferred the 
 pleasure of making several hundreds of people comfortable 
 and happy." Lairds ! listen to such advice, Heaven-sent 
 to you, in these days, when you are on your trial in the 
 eyes of a nation which knows, and will yet enact, that you 
 hold your property as a trust, in order that, as far a3 possible, 
 the greatest good may be afforded to the greatest number !
 
 EASSIE AND NEVAY. 179 
 
 Dr. Playfair regretted, a century ago, that little atten- 
 tion was paid to the breed of animals ; we are now glad 
 to see such an enthusiasm abroad for rearing excellent 
 stock. He asserted that " sheep are entirely banished ; " 
 now many flocks of Highland ewes are kept to improve 
 the summer pasture, and crosses are plentifully seen on 
 most of the farms. In 1684, Ochterlony remarked : " In 
 Nevay there is extraordinary good land, and well-served 
 with grass." The farm-houses and steadings are, on the 
 whole, very much in advance of what they were half-a- 
 century ago. Dr. Playfair gave a good account of the 
 farmers of his day : " In affluence they rival the middling 
 order of proprietors, and in hospitality they excel 
 them." And we conclude this article with the record of 
 the sage experience of that distinguished scholar and ob- 
 server, which, we hope, is still a marked characteristic of 
 those who now live under the mild influence of a country 
 scene, and the soft obscurity of rural retirement : " The 
 inhabitants of this territory are sober and industrious ; 
 strangers alike to intemperance and dissipation of every 
 kind. The vice of dram-drinking, which, if we may rely 
 on statistical information, so much prevails in many 
 parishes of Scotland, is here unknown. There is not a 
 tavern or alehouse in either parish. These people how- 
 ever are open, generous, and hospitable. That servile 
 spirit, which diffused itself among the lower class during 
 the rigour of the feudal system, no longer exists ; and pas- 
 sions then predominant have subsided. They are neither 
 proud nor parasitical. Mild and peaceable, they are 
 neither ready to resent an injury, nor to harbour revenge. 
 Attached to the National Church, and the present form 
 of Government, they are not inclined to schism, nor 
 prone to sedition, nor liable to change. Not a few 
 of them enjoy the benefits and comforts of society,
 
 180 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 and all are contented with their condition." Happy 
 parish ! if, with Dryden, the people can thus contentedly 
 say: 
 
 *' We to ourselves may all our wishes grant j 
 For, nothing coveting, we nothing want."
 
 AIELIB. 
 
 IF there is anything in the romantic grandeur of natural 
 scenery, in the patriotic associations of historical places, 
 and in the divine spell of lyric poetry, to help a band of 
 holiday-seekers to have a day's pure enjoyment, there is 
 no spot in this charming district of Strathmore to be 
 compared with the Den of Airlie. Here all summer, for 
 three days a-week, pic-nic and tourist parties delight to 
 spend some happy hours. The scenes are resistless to the 
 most callous and worldly man. Brakes from Dundee and 
 Forfar pour their pale and careworn occupants into 
 the fairy-land of health. Hardy artisans, close-confined 
 clerks, and nerve-shaken mill-workers become here, with 
 other than alcohol, for the time "o'er a' the ills o' life 
 victorious." Carriages with birth-day family parties and 
 carts with the whole household on their annual trip, 
 drive in to give the young folks their long-anticipated 
 feast. Only the other day we saw two brakes full of 
 close-shaven priests, as happy as the day was long, in 
 their blessed (!) celibacy, " getting off the chain " with 
 greater ease than poor " John Gilpin " of ballad renown. 
 Nature gives the picturesque scenery of the Den, history 
 gives the Castle, and poetry combines both in the ballad 
 of "The Bonnie House o' Airlie." An ivy-clad wall alone 
 remains of the ancient structure. A modern mansion 
 forms one side within ; and in the central grassy square 
 the pic-nic parties strengthen the inner man before taking 
 the different routes to enjoy the scenery. The Castle is 
 situated on the summit of a huge peninsulated rock, 
 which overhangs the junction of the Isla and the Melgum.
 
 182 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 The rock is not so precipitous as at Craighall on the 
 Ericht, but the scenery is more charming. Looking 
 northward, from fully a hundred feet above the water, 
 you see four parishes joining within a stone's cast 
 Alyth, Glenisla, Lintrathen, and Airlie. The ruins give 
 evidence of enormous strength impregnable in olden 
 times to all but fire. Inaccessible on three sides by 
 natural securities, the fourth or front side, looking south, 
 was protected by a ditch and drawbridge, thirty feet 
 wide, and a wall thirty-five feet high and ten feet thick. 
 When complete, it must have been one of the largest and 
 least accessible of mountain fortresses. No one can tell 
 who planned the ancient keep ; no jotting of history tells 
 when the massive walls were reared to defend the High- 
 land chieftain's home. There is, however, a suggestion, 
 that Sir Walter Ogilvy, when Lord High Treasurer of 
 King James I., obtained the necessary permission to erect 
 the Castle, in 1432. But the old Castle long rearing its 
 battlements in seclusion burst into historical fame dur- 
 ing the broils of Covenanting times. The Earl of Airlie 
 was at that period a faithful supporter of King Charles I., 
 who was pressing his ecclesiastical polity with undue 
 haste and severity upon a dour and prejudiced people, 
 that characteristically clung with death-grip tenacity to 
 the religious forms of their fathers. To discharge his 
 duties to his Sovereign, the Earl had to be in England ; but 
 he left his Countess, with his son, Lord Ogilvy, in Airlie 
 Castle. The strong Covenanting party, hearing of the 
 departure of this hated champion of the royal cause, 
 appointed the Earl of Argyle, a hereditary enemy of the 
 Ogi Ivies, to destroy the stronghold, along with the Castle 
 of Forter, in Glenisla, another of his seats. It was in 
 1G40, and as the ballad puts it, " on a bonnie summer day, 
 when the corn grew green and rarely," that the work of
 
 AIRLIE. 183 
 
 destruction was accomplished. The Earl of Argyle 
 appeared before the Castle, and summoned Lord Ogilvy 
 to surrender. With 5000 well-chosen Covenanters, Argyle 
 considered his word as law. Jervise, in his " Memorials," 
 and Browne in his "History of the Highlands," consider 
 that the Countess and her son had fled during the night 
 to Forter, which became the scene of the ballad. But no 
 less an authority than Ochterlony thinks differently, and 
 tradition is so strongly in favour of the bravery and 
 devotion of the noble and high-spirited wife, that we are 
 inclined to consider Airlie Castle as the tragic scene ; 
 otherwise the popular song would have lost its fervour 
 and sympathy. Who wrote the song, no one knows; but 
 the whole spirit of it favours the belief that the heroic 
 woman vowed that, if Argyle destroyed her patrimonial 
 castle, she would perish in the ruins rather than flee for 
 safety with a lily-livered coward's shame. Out of her 
 bower window (looking weary for her absent lord, and 
 in a precarious state of health, as she was so soon to be- 
 come a mother), she spied the great, but "gleyed," Argyle, 
 making his diabolical preparations. With sham gallantry 
 he asked her to " come down, and kiss him fairly ;" but 
 with indignant scorn she refused, and exposed the cruel 
 tyrant behind the smiling mask. On this, 
 
 " Argyle, in a rage, attacked the bonnie ha'. 
 In a lowe he set the bonnie House o' Airlie." 
 
 Soon the splendid baronial mansion was burned to the 
 ground ; and Argyle, according to the old historian, Gor- 
 don of Rothiemay, showed such bitter earnestness in the 
 work of destruction, that with a hammer " he knocked 
 down the hewed work of the doors and windows till he 
 did sweat for heat at his work.'' The half-frantic Coun- 
 tess then burst into vehement denunciation in her forced 
 flight,
 
 184 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 " Gif my gude lord were now at hame, 
 As he is wi' King Charlie, 
 The dearest blude o' a' thy kin 
 Wad slocken the burnin' o' Airlie." 
 
 When the Earl of Airlie heard of this nefarious work, 
 and told the king, a spark of the fire was taken to kindle, 
 in revenge, one of Argyle's strongholds; for, in 1645, 
 the Castle of Gloom, near Dollar, was by the Royalists 
 destroyed by fire; and Lochow, Argyle's principal residence, 
 was overthrown. Deep-seated patriotism clings to such 
 associations ; and the ruins still speak of their former glory. 
 Airlie is a parish in the west of Forfarshire, in the 
 shape of a parallelogram ; being six miles Jong and four 
 miles broad. The name is supposed to be derived from 
 the Gaelic, aird, " the extremity of a ridge." Two-thirds 
 of it lies in Strathmore ; but the Kirk, in a hollow over 
 the ridge that bounds the Strath on the north, is very in- 
 conveniently situated. Compensation in religious service 
 is, however, afforded by the Free Church in the southern 
 part. Whether it was from necessity, on account of the 
 difficulty of obtaining a good site, or from pawkiness to 
 see that more worshippers could be in attendance when 
 the fields of Eassie, Glamis, and Ruthven could also be 
 drawn upon, or from the sense of decency, we cannot say; 
 but it is certainly far more seemly, respectful, and charit- 
 able to see this, than, as in too many cases, rival churches 
 within a stone-cast of each other. From the " Howe " (120 
 feet above sea level), the parish gradually rises in a series of 
 parallel waving ridges, the most northerly (55G feet above 
 sea level), terminating in a deep gorge on the west, through 
 which the Isla flows. Here, as already noted, the Isla is 
 justly celebrated for its romantic beauty. Wordsworth, in his 
 " Effusion," thus refers to a scene not unlike the Den of 
 Airlie : 
 
 " Strange nccne, fantastic and uneasy, 
 A ever made a maniac dizzy."
 
 AIELIE. 185 
 
 We first saw the Den thirteen years ago, on a Sunday 
 afternoon, in the first week of November, when the sere 
 tints of autumn were on the trees, and the river was in 
 flood ; and we were fairly entranced with the scenery. 
 But whether in the season of the varied colours of the 
 foliage, or in the fresh green leafy month of June, the 
 gorgeous display on Nature's face is equally attractive. 
 North of the Castle, for several miles up to the Falls of 
 the Keeky Linn, the Isla presents at every turn kaleido- 
 scope views, which never fail to interest ; and within a 
 short distance are the famous Slugs of Auchrannie, already 
 described in the article on Alyth (p. 110). For a mile and 
 a-half, the river, swollen by the Melgum at the Castle, 
 continues its majestic course onwards to the bridge of 
 Delavaird ; through not so alarming, yet grand scenery, till 
 wearied with its labours it calms down in the plain. 
 Thomson's lines seem written for this scene 
 
 "Nor can the tortured wave here find repose ; 
 But, raging still amid the shaggy rocks, 
 Now flashes o'er the scattered fragments, now, 
 Aslant the hollow channel rapid darts ; 
 And falling fast from gradual slope to slope, 
 With wild infracted course, and lessen'd roar, 
 It gains a safer bed, and steals, at last, 
 Along the mazes of the quiet vale." 
 
 The rocks in the Den of Airlie are nearly all Devovian ; 
 and the strike or run of the basset edges of the different 
 beds is from north-east to south-west. The lower beds 
 are applicable to all the different objects of architecture, 
 and are quarried for building purposes. There is a re- 
 markable Kaim, running east from the Castle two miles 
 long, described in the Proceedings of the Royal Society. 
 Traces of fossil fishes have been found in a quarry of 
 the mottled sandstone on the farm of Grange. The 
 rock and impervious debris are throughout most of the 
 parish overspread with sand and gravel. The gravelly
 
 186 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 cover is generally acervated into low rounded hillocks, or 
 raths, filled up with peat moss or earthy marsh. Some 
 contain deposits of shell-marl under a surface of peat. A 
 century ago, these deposits were dug out for manure ; 
 which very materially improved the agriculture of the 
 vicinity. Robertson in his Agriculture, however, mentions 
 that at the end of last century the soil of Bradiston, by the 
 continuous use of marl, lost all the power of cohesion, and 
 became so light that it had no sward ; the surface soil 
 being blown away like dust before the wind, and dens six 
 feet deep being thereby formed. The Moss of Baikie was the 
 largest. Sir Charles Lyell published a very complete re- 
 port of it in the Transactions of the Geological Society. 
 This was formerly a loch of 150 acres in extent. But, in 
 1750, the proprietor began to drain it for the marl, and 
 some beds were found 18 to 20 feet deep. During the 
 work several very large deers' horns were found ; one of 
 them, presented to the Antiquarian Society, weighing 
 24 Ibs. There was also dug up the tusk of a wild boar, 
 4 inches from the supposed seat of the jawbon?, and 2 
 inches broad remarkably like ivory in colour and sub- 
 stance. 
 
 The soil varies in quality according to the character of 
 the sub-stratum. Where it lies on the rock it is loamy 
 and fine, suitable for green crops and grass. When the 
 subsoil is of the impervious debris or mortar nature, the 
 soil is thin and barren, especially in dry and hot seasons. 
 A margin of deep loamy earth stretches for about 300 
 yards on either side of the river Dean, in the south part of 
 the parish ; and is very productive, though the crops are 
 somewhat subject to mildew. 
 
 Tlie Den of Airlic is an exceptionally rich field for 
 the botanist. It was the scene of the labours of Don 
 and Drummond. Gardiner, in his " Flora of Forfar-
 
 AIRLIE. 187 
 
 shire," gives a very elaborate list of the principal wild 
 flowers found there by the late Dr. Barty of Bendochy, and 
 other eminent authorities. In that list we may particularize 
 the Rock-Currant, and the Black Bitter- Vetch both rare 
 plants; the Herb-Paris (with its large green flowers rising 
 out of the centre of four pointed leaves), found here only 
 in Forfarshire ; the T way blade (with its small green 
 flowers issuing from the two egged-shaped leaves) ; the 
 Bird's-nest (a leafless parasite, with brownish-yellow 
 flowers, turned all one way) ; the Wood-vetch (covering 
 the rugged steeps with its trailing festoons of beautifully 
 pencilled flowers) ; the Bed German Catchfly (distin- 
 guished from the other Campions around, by its slightly 
 notched petals and clammy stem) ; the Luckengowan 
 (with its handsome yellow globe flowers); the Three-nerved 
 Sandwort (distinguished from chickweed by its undivided 
 petals) ; the beautiful Alpine Lady's-Mantle, " throwing 
 the shadows of its silvery leaves o'er fresh green mosses;" 
 and the Great Leopard's-bane, which, in the dark ages of 
 witchcraft, found a place in Hecate's Pharmacopoeia. 
 Writing in 1678, Edward, in his " County of Angus," 
 says : " On the banks of Yla and Melgum, and a few 
 other places, may be gathered plenty of well-flavoured 
 wild strawberries. Here is abundance of timber for 
 labouring utensils, and for the houses of the common 
 people ; and water-mills, unless obstructed by frost, 
 are constantly employed in sawing the timber. Shells 
 containing pearls are found in the river Yla. In Yla there 
 are many salmon caught every season, sufficient not only 
 to supply the inhabitants, but merchants for exportation 
 to other countries." Few salmon are caught now ; but 
 fair baskets of trout can in the proper season be got in 
 the Isla, Melgum, and Dean. Occasionally are to be seen 
 the Kingfisher, the Golden-eye, and the Crane ; and the
 
 188 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 wood Martin, a very rare animal in Britain, has been 
 found a very fine specimen having been shot, in 1814, 
 by the Earl of Airlie, in the woods near the Castle. 
 
 In the south-west corner of the parish, near Cardean, 
 are the remains of a Roman camp ; and about 500 yards 
 of the great Roman road (which ran eastwards along the 
 Strath), can be traced in a plantation on the farm of 
 Reedie, in the eastern part of the parish. On the farm of 
 Barns there is the most entire specimen of a Weem or 
 Peght's House to be found in the kingdom. It is nearly 
 seventy feet long, six wide, and six high ; constructed of 
 dry stone walls on the sides, and roofed over with very 
 large, long stones, quarried with considerable labour and care. 
 Those who discovered it (according to a local rhymster) 
 
 " On descending saw a Weem, 
 Of length and build that few could dream. 
 Strewn here and there lay querns and bones 
 Strange cups and hammers made of stones, 
 And tiny flints for bow or spear 
 Charr'd corn, and wood, and other gear." 
 
 As already noticed, the old Castle of Airlie occupied a 
 commanding site on a rocky promontory, If miles N.N. 
 W. of the Kirkton. The moat has now been filled up, to 
 render the place accessible to carriages ; and a goodly 
 modern mansion, originally designed (about a century 
 ago) as merely a summer resort, has been built inside the 
 ruins ; and is now occupied by the Countess of the deceased 
 Earl. Edward states : " The Earl of Airly boasts of 
 deriving his descent from Gilchrist, an ancient Earl of 
 Angus." The traditionary origin is this : Earl Gilchrist 
 was married to a sister of William the Lion, by whom he 
 had three sons. One day his Majesty was out hun< ing in 
 the Glen of Ogilvy, in Glamis; and, getting detacheu from 
 his party, was set upon by robbers. The Gilchrists, happen- 
 ing to be near, ran to his rescue ; for which he, on learning 
 their names, gave them the glen ; accordingly, in honour
 
 AIRLIE. ] 89 
 
 of the place where they saved their Monarch's life, they 
 took the name of Ogilvy, which has been so long and so 
 worthily borne by their descendants. 
 
 Gilchrist's male heirs failing in 1225, the representation 
 passed to the heirs of his brother Gilbert. In 1309, Sir 
 Patrick de Ogilvy adhered steadily to Robert the Bruce. 
 In 1458, Sir John Ogilvy obtained from the Crown the 
 Lands, Barony, and Castle of Aroly. In 1491, Sir 
 James was created a Peer with the title of Lord Ogilvy ; 
 and appointed Chief Bailie of the Abbey of Arbroath. 
 In 1639, James, Lord Ogilvy, was created Earl of Airlie 
 and Baron Ogilvy of Alyth and Lintrathen, by King 
 Charles I., as a reward for his loyalty. In 1647, his son 
 was to have married Lady Magdalene, daughter of the 
 Earl of Southesk ; but, as his horse refused to cross the 
 river while on his way to propose marriage, he thought 
 it a bad omen, and immediately returned. On learning 
 this, Lady Magdalene was sorely grieved ; but her father 
 soothed her by advising her " not to mind, as he would 
 soon find her a better husband than Airlie ; " and that 
 husband was the Marquis of Montrose, who, in 1650, died 
 on the scaffold in Edinburgh. The second Earl suffered 
 much for his loyalty. Taken prisoner at Philiphaugh, he 
 was sentenced to be executed at St. Andrews ; but he 
 escaped from that Castle by the help of a loving sister, 
 who dressed him in her own clothes ; and in this disguise 
 he safely passed the guards on the night before he was to 
 suffer death. After this event the history of this noble 
 family is sufficiently well known ; and we have not space 
 to add more. The present holder of the titles is David 
 Ogilvy, who was born in 1856, and succeeded as eleventh 
 Earl in 1881; he has, only the other day in Egypt, shown 
 his hereditary prowess by his distinguished conduct under 
 General Stewart at the battles of Abu-Klea Wells and
 
 190 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Metammeh in each of which he was slightly wounded. 
 He owns land to the value of 26,000 a year. 
 
 The remains of Baikie Castle, which was situated on a 
 rising ground near the west end of the Moss of Baikie, 
 are now scarcely traceable. About a century ago, how- 
 ever, the proprietor got the ground cleared out ; and the 
 workmen came upon a part of the causeway which led 
 into the drawbridge. It seemed very strong and almost 
 impregnable, the walls being eight feet thick well suited 
 for a place of refuge in times of danger. According to 
 the Reverend Mr. Stormonth (the writer of the Old Sta- 
 tistical Account of the parish in 1791), it was more than a 
 hundred years before his time when any part of the roof 
 of that Castle was standing. The early proprietors were 
 the Fentons; John of Fenton, Sheriff of Forfar, in 1261, 
 being the earliest on record. William of Fenton did homage 
 to King Edward I. of England, within the Monastery of 
 Lindores in 1291. In the following year, he was one of those 
 who declared that Edward might proceed to decide be- 
 tween the claims of Bruce and Baliol for the Scottish 
 crown. John of Fenton was present at the celebrated 
 Parliament held at Arbroath, in 1320. In 1362, the Laird 
 gifted the adjoining property of Linross to the chapel of 
 St. John of Baikie. In 1403, Regent Albany granted a 
 charter, arranging the lands of Fenton of Baky. In 
 1458, David Lindsay of Lethnot, a son of the Earl of 
 Crawford, married Margaret Fenton ; and their only son, 
 the bailiff to the Earls of Crawford, was charged with 
 being one of those who took part in the sacrilegious 
 outrage on " twa monks " belonging to the Abbey of 
 Cupar. He is the last designed Lindsay of Baikie, and it 
 is likely that the estate passed from the family in the 
 time of his successor, for John, third Lord Glamis, had 
 charters of it in 1489. After the execution of the unfor-
 
 AIELIE. 191 
 
 tunate Countess of Glamis for the alleged crime of witch- 
 craft, the Lord High Treasurer made a payment of forty- 
 pounds for the " reipar of the Glammys and Baky ; " so 
 that it is probable that some of the King's courtiers oc- 
 casionally resided at Baikie. Ochterlony, in his "Account 
 of the Shyre of Forfar," in 1684, thus writes :" The 
 Barronie of Baikie, a great interest, and excellent land, 
 and als good cornis and a great deal more ear \i. e. early] 
 than upon the coast." The lands now belong to the Earl 
 of Strathmore ; and the only thing that keeps up the as- 
 sociation of the ancient name, is a hillock near, called 
 " Fenton-hill," upon which stone coffins containing bones 
 were discovered some time ago. The fertile patch which 
 tells the site of the Castle, "where once the garden smiled, 
 and still, where many a garden flower grows wild," brings 
 up hallowed memories ; and in an old ballad reference is 
 thus made to the undrained Loch 
 
 " Bonnie shines the sun on the high towers o' Airly ; 
 Bonnie swim the swans in the Loch o' the Baikie ; 
 High is the hill, an 1 the moon shining clearly, 
 But the cauld Isla rins atween me an' my dearie." 
 
 In the reign of Robert III., John Straiten was proprietor 
 of the lands of Erroly (Airlie), which he resigned in 
 favour of John Cuthris. Fletcher of Balinscho added the 
 estate of Lindertis to his original patrimony, and rose to 
 the rank of Major in the Indian Army. He was succeeded 
 by his brother, who along with "Panmure" enacted those 
 youthful vagaries for which he is so well known as the 
 " daft laird." At his death the estates were sold to Wed- 
 derburn of Balindean, who parted with them in the 
 course of two or three years to Gilbert Laing-Meason 
 (brother of Malcolm Laing, the Historian of Scotland), 
 who, in 1813, erected a most splendid mansion of dark red 
 sandstone, in the castellated style, from a design by Elliot 
 of Edinburgh. The house is beautifully situated two
 
 192 STRATI1MORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 miles east of the Kirkton, in a compact wood, with an 
 extensive view of the richest part of Strathmore. It 
 came into the possession of Major-General Munro, who 
 was made a baronet, in 1825, when Governor of Madras. 
 The estate has belonged to his son Sir Thomas Munro, 
 Bart., since his succession, in 1827. In this fine property 
 are Kinalty, Reedie, and Littleton. Kinalty was once a 
 thanedom, belonging to the Crown, in the reign of Robert 
 II. That King, in 1370, gave to Walter of Ogilvy a charter 
 of an annual rent of 29 stg., " furth of the Thanedom of 
 Kyngoltvy ; " and 20 years afterwards, King Robert III. 
 confirmed a charter by William of Abernethy, Knight, 
 to John Abernethy of the lands of Kynnaltie in the 
 Barony of Rethy (Reedie). In 1403, the Regent Albany 
 arranged the lands of Thomas heir of the Barony of 
 Rethy. The lands of Littleton once belonged to the 
 Grays. In 1449, Lord Gray had a charter of them. They 
 afterwards passed to the Carnegies, and then to the Earls 
 of Strathmore: till at the middle of the eighteenth 
 century Major Fletcher bought them for Lindertis. 
 
 About the beginning ot the sixteenth century, the 
 Ogilvies of Balfour acquired Cukistone property. John 
 Ogilvy, heir of Cukiston is named in a precept of Sasine 
 by George, Archdeacon of St. Andrew's, of the lands of 
 Bennathy, in 1538. In 1G20, Cookston came into the 
 possession of David Livingstone of Donypace : in 1088, 
 to the Carnegies ; and now it belongs to the Earl of 
 Strathmore. 
 
 Ecclesiastically, the parish of Airlie was in Pre-Refor- 
 mation times connected with the Abbey of Cupar, under 
 the names of Erlie, Eryle, Eroly, and Erolyn. The 
 donor and the date are not to be found ; but somewhere 
 between 1214 and 1226 (dated Edinburgh, October 3rd), 
 Alexander II. confirmed by royal charter the original
 
 AIRLIE. 193 
 
 gift, with the consent of the Bishop of St. Andrews. From 
 the Eegister of Cupar Abbey we find that, in 1464, the 
 alterage of the Church was let to the vicar thereof for 
 five years for the annual payment of 12 Scots. In 1469, 
 the Church was let to the vicar thereof (Sir Andrew 
 Holand) for five years, for the annual payment of 18 
 merks, with the obligation to keep the Church in repair ; 
 and the farm of Grange was let to William Spalding for 
 13 merks annually, with 2 dozen capons and 4 bolls of 
 horse-corn. In 1474, David Blair of Jordanston leased 
 the Church that is, received powers to uplift the tithes, 
 and the altar and cemetery dues, and to use the proceeds 
 belonging to the manse and glebe, and of all lands belong- 
 ing to the same, for 3 years for 20 Scots annual rent; all 
 ordinary expenses being deducted, except reparation of the 
 choir and altar, the visitation of the bishop, and bishop's 
 subsidy, or other annual taxes, for which annual payment 
 Robert Michaelson of Lytvy (Leitfie) is cautioner. In 1479, 
 the vicarage, along with the fruits of the Kirk of Mathy, 
 was let for 5 years to Master Thomas of Durame, Dene of 
 Angus, for 110 merks Scots ; raised to 125 merks at next 
 tack. In 1539, Abbot Donald gave Lord Ogilvy of Airlie 
 a feu -charter of Auchindorie. In 1540, James, Lord 
 Ogilvy of Airlie, was appointed hereditary bailie of the 
 regality of Cupar. In 1550, the Abbot let to the vicar, 
 Sir John Smythe, all the vicarage for his whole life-time 
 for 24 Scots ; but " he shall hold the choir of the kirk 
 watertight." In 1561, the "hale rentalis of the Abbacie 
 of Cupar " included the teinds of the farms in Airlie to 
 the amount of 28 chalders 14|- bolls of meal, and 11 chal- 
 ders 7J bolls of beir, with 8 bolls of horse-corn ; but Andrew 
 Ogilvie had to officiate at Airlie and Glenisla for 8 17s. 9d. 
 In 1G62, John Robertson was deprived by the Privy Coun- 
 cil; and in 1729, WilliamLyon joined in a dissent against the 
 
 N
 
 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 deposition of John Glas, minister of Tealing (the founder 
 of the Glassites). In 1747, the Earl of Aii'lie got 800 as 
 compensation for the abolition of the Bailie of Cupar. 
 
 The Kirk of Airlie was dedicated to St. Madden, by 
 David, Bishop of St. Andrews, in 1242. A fine spring in the 
 neighbourhood, with a knoll and hamlet, bears the name 
 of this saint. The Dunkeld Litany has a bishop styled Aleda- 
 nach, who is probably the saint here referred to, and whose 
 feast-day is April the 29th. A document, dated 1447, makes 
 mention of the " bell of the Kirk of St. Madden of Airlie/' 
 as an evidence of right and title to property ; then it was 
 resigned by its hereditary possessor, the curate, to Sir 
 John Ogilvy, who gifted it to his wife, Margaret Countess 
 of Moray, in virtue of which she had possession of a 
 house and toft near the Kirk of Lintrathen. In the pre- 
 sent church (built in 1783) is an old aumry or press for 
 holding sacred vessels, bearing on its back the initials of 
 the Fentons of Bailie (A. F.) The coping-stone of an old 
 burying aisle, removed from the old church, has marks of 
 the five passion-wounds of our Saviour, with the addition 
 of the scourge, the pillar to which Christ was bound, the 
 spear, and the pincers. In. the west gable of the church 
 is built the gaunt effigy of a man, 3 feet high, representing 
 Saint John, whose right forefinger is pointing to a lamb 
 which is standing upon a book, meaning "The Lamb's 
 Book of Life." This had been taken from the ruins of 
 the Chapel of St. John the Baptist at Baikie. The Abbey 
 of Cupar possessed the teinds and patronage of this chapel, 
 gifted to the monks by one of the Fentons. A coffin slab 
 of red sandstone, bearing the common figures of an orna- 
 mental cross, a sword, a hunting horn, and a blank shield 
 has the shaft of the cross thus inscribed: "Lyis heir Roger 
 and Yofom Rolok, quha died in Ridie, 1G40." A statue, 
 very rudely sculptured, and placed in one of the apertures
 
 AIELIE. 195 
 
 of the old wall of Airlie Castle, of hirsute appearance, 
 with one of the arms supporting something before the 
 breast, is thought by some to be a rude image of the Baptist. 
 
 The Parochial records date back to May 28th 1662. In 
 ] 759, we see that 3 was the penalty for the current breach 
 of Session discipline. In 1765, the Kirk-Session expended 
 10 upon the new east loft in the Church, and 15 on 
 the west loft. The Manse was built in 1792. A hand- 
 some organ, presented by Mrs. Monro, Lindertis, was 
 lately used in the service of the church, when the esteemed 
 incumbent (the Keverend Thomas Reid), preached with 
 all the energy that he displayed when elected fifty-one 
 years ago; and showed thereby his cultured common- 
 sense in supporting this movement for the improvement 
 of the psalmody. 
 
 The population of the parish, in 1775, was 1012, and is 
 now 844 the decrease being accounted for by the 
 junction of farms. The valued rent was 258 ; and the 
 real rent now is 11,092. There is no legal assessment 
 for the poor. There are two public schools, with accom- 
 modation for 104 and 62 pupils respectively. A century 
 ago, some of the Airlie tenants were among the first in 
 Strathmore to set the example of an improved mode of 
 husbandry ; and this worthy distinction has not been lost 
 since. Then there was one flock of sheep brought from 
 Northumberland, weighing 22 Ib. per leg ; now there are 
 the finest specimens in many farms. Then 16 four-horse 
 ploughs were employed in taking in the ground ; now the 
 implements of agriculture are far more easily suited to 
 the working of the soil. A hundred and fifty years ago, 
 the low part of the parish was almost in a state of nature, 
 with scarcely an enclosure ; now there are excellent 
 dykes, ditches, fences, and steadings to mark off the 
 farms. Then the climate, though mild, was very foggy
 
 196 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 rheumatism, slow fevers and agues being not unfrequent, 
 especially in the mossy grounds ; now, by the extensive 
 draining of the marshes, the parish has been made ex- 
 ceptionally healthy. The parish has always been noted 
 for its breed of cattle. Since 1855, the Earls of Airlie 
 have been raising the fine Angus breed, now taking a 
 prominent place. The Herd Book of Ravenscroft mentions 
 a good stock, from which the modern excellent breed 
 have sprung. The manures required for feeding the 
 poorer land are now easily carried from Dundee and 
 Glasgow, as the Caledonian Railway passes through the 
 parish ; and these, when mixed with the ordinary reed 
 produce, form a very suitable stimulant for green crops. 
 The parish is traversed by 16 miles of principal roads, 
 and 1 2 miles of less resort ; all under the Road Trust, and 
 in very good condition. A very fine avenue of chestnut 
 trees extends for half-a-mile along the main road at 
 Lindertis. 
 
 Many interesting associations make the parish of Airlie 
 noteworthy among the neighbouring country districts ; 
 its pleasant walks, and bonnie braes so charm the lover of 
 Nature that English scenes fail to obliterate their memory, 
 as James Guthrie thus fondly brings before us : 
 
 " Bonnie sing the birds in the bright English valleys, 
 Bonnie bloom the flowers in the lime-sheltered alleys, 
 Golden rich the air, with perfume laden rarely, 
 But dearer far to me the bounie braes o' Airlie. "
 
 GLAMIS. 
 
 THIS widely-known parish especially on account of its 
 venerable and princely Castle derives its name (accord- 
 ing to Dr. Lyon) from glamm, " noise or sound," and iss, an 
 affix signifying an obstruction ; on account of the mur- 
 muring sound caused by the waterfall of the Burn, in a 
 deep and rocky gorge above the village ; but Jervise 
 thinks it is a corruption of the Gaelic glamhus, " a wide, 
 open country." Strange, however, in the earliest charter 
 extant it is spelled Glampnes. In a very old map we 
 find it marked Glamms C. ; but in Edward's map Glams 
 C. It is pronounced as one syllable. 
 
 The parish lies in the southern side of Strathmore, and 
 is bounded on the west by Eassie and Nevay ; on the 
 north by Airlie and Kirriemuir ; on the east by Forfar 
 and Kinnettles ; and on the south by Tealing, Auchter- 
 house, and Newtyle. It is of an elliptical shape, being 
 7^ miles from north to south, and 5| miles from east to 
 west. The northern part is a gentle undulated surface, 
 all whose softly featured knolls are of nearly equal height. 
 The Dean Water divides this from the central portion, 
 which gradually rises southward till it heaves up in the 
 lower ridge of the Sidlaws, to about 700 feet above the 
 level of the sea. South of this, three parallel ranges of 
 hill stretch away to the Denoon Glen and Glen Ogilvie ; 
 and terminate about 1500 feet above sea-level. In the 
 northern division the soil is of light gravelly and sandy 
 loams, with a few portions of clay and a considerable area 
 of moss ; on the whole unexpectedly poor for the situa- 
 tion. The central portion is of a deep alluvial brown
 
 198 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 loam of very productive quality. A good sharp gravelly 
 loam is in the dens of the south portion ; but the hills are 
 moorish and covered with heath. The climate is now 
 much healthier since the swamps and mosses have been 
 elaborately drained ; the prevailing ague and consump- 
 tion, on account of the moist air, being now little known. 
 
 The western end of the Loch of Forfar is within the 
 parish ; but by drainage, it has been reduced to an incon- 
 siderable strip of water, forming the head of the Dean, the 
 principal stream in this quarter. The Dean is joined in 
 the parish by the Ballandy Burn from Kirriemuir, the 
 Kerbet Water from Kinnettles, and the Glamis Burn from 
 the Sidlaws ; and below the parish by the Denoon Burn. 
 The united waters form a deep sluggish stream, with 
 much serpentine winding, confined to twenty or thirty 
 feet in width by embankments. 
 
 Sandstone of close granulation is the prevailing mineral. 
 There is a quarry close upon the village of Glamis, famous 
 for its millstones, which are fire-proof. The slate-beds in the 
 Sidlaws were formerly wrought for the roofing of houses : 
 but now, under the name of Arbroath pavement, they are 
 extensively wrought for flooring and paving purposes. A 
 century ago, an attempt was made to find out a lead mine 
 near the village ; but the ore obtained was not worth the 
 expense. The mosses contain marl ; and large quantities 
 were taken from the drained part of the Loch for agricul- 
 tural purposes. Among the grey sandstone beds, impres- 
 sions of plants and scales of fish have been frequently 
 discovered. In 1831, a block taken from a quarry at 
 Thornton, from a depth of 30 feet of solid rock, wns split 
 up; and a complete vertical section of a fish along the 
 1 >ack bone was exposed in the two fragments. Two years 
 afterwards, an entire fossil fish, about G inches in length, 
 waa found in the breaking of a block in the Millstone
 
 GLAMIS. 199 
 
 Quarry. Mr. Lyell of Kinnordy sent this specimen to the 
 famous geologist, M. Agassiz, who gave it the name 
 " Cephalaspis Lyelli." In the moss very large antlers of 
 the red deer and tusks of the wild boar were at times 
 found, as well as shells of the pearl mussel. 
 
 The streams and dens afford plenty of interesting study 
 for the botanist. In the Den of Glamis may be found the 
 rather rare Marjoram (with its aromatic purple flowers, dis- 
 tinguished by the long bracts); the Wood Bitter- Vetch, very 
 rare in Strathmore, though more plentiful at the Reeky 
 Linn on the Isla; the rare variety of Herb-Bennet (with the 
 semi- double flowers) ; the rare specimen of Speedwell 
 (with white instead of blue flowers) ; the rare white Stone- 
 crop (without the ordinary red spots on the flowers) ; the 
 well-marked Bugle (with its solitary tapering stalk of 
 blueflowers); the bitter Wood-Sage (with greenish-yellow 
 flowers) ; the Broad-leaved Garlic (easily distinguished 
 from the Lily of the Valley by its intolerable stench); and 
 the favourite Woodruff, whose beautiful star-like leaves 
 are pressed between the pages of a book for the sweet 
 perfume. The Dog's Mercury should be better known lay 
 herds and cattlemen ; for in the village of Arneyfoul 
 several cows had their milk coagulated in the udder, 
 without any apparent cause ; but on visiting the Den, 
 where the cattle had been browsing, it was found that 
 they had cropped much of this plant, concealed among 
 the herbage in the early spring, when they were especially 
 anxious for a " bite ; " and this had contracted the disease. 
 On the banks of the Dean may be seen the yellow 
 Water-Lily (nearly globose and smelling like brandy) ; 
 but most conspicuously the attractive Myrrh, often 
 taken home by the labourer and planted at his door, 
 or under his window, suggesting to us the beautiful 
 lines :
 
 200 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 " Oft by the peasant's cot, the humble myrrh, 
 His meet companion, doth unfold its leaves 
 Of pleasant green, and umbels of fair flowers 
 That through his casement, and around his door, 
 Shed richest fragrance, sweetening those few hours 
 That toil allows mm home born joys to share." 
 
 The present incumbent of Glamis (the Reverend John 
 Stevenson) has gathered 1265 specimens of Fungi in the 
 parish, out of 2256 in Scotland and 4000 in Great Britain. 
 Ecclesiastically we can trace the parish back to the 
 time of William the Lion. From the Registrum vetus de 
 Aberbrothoc we find that in 1178, this King (at Dunferm- 
 line), granted the Church of Glampnes, with its chapels 
 and lands and tithes, to the Abbey of Arbroath. This 
 charter was confirmed, in 1178, by Hugh, Bishop of St. 
 Andrews, and in 1182, by Pope Lucius. The confirmation 
 of Bishop Roger, in 1198, was homologated, in 1200, by 
 Pope Innocent. It was also confirmed by the successive 
 bishops, William in 1202, and David, in 1233 ; and by 
 the Chapter of St. Andrews, in 1204. In 1249, Bishop 
 David gave orders that the vicar of Glaumes would re- 
 quire to plant the Chapel in Cloveth (Clova), and give to 
 the monks of Arbroath annually the sum of one hundred 
 shillings. Two years afterwards, the Bishop allowed the 
 vicar twenty shillings for the sacramental and other ex- 
 penses at Clova ; because it is so far distant from the 
 Mother Church. In the Taxatio of 1275, the parish is 
 assessed at 56 merks. In 1322, King Robert the Bruce 
 confirmed by charter (at Forfar) the gift of Glammes to the 
 Abbey of Arbroath; and, in 1375, John, Abbot of Arbroath, 
 drew out a charter of the locality of Glammes. In 1486, 
 David, Abbot of Arbroath, let the lands of the Chapel of 
 Clowa (annexed to our Church at Glammys), to James 
 Rivok, burgess of Dundee, and his heirs, for 9 years; and, 
 in the following year, let the lands of the Church to Lord 
 John Lyoun of Glammes, for 5 years, at 90 Scots annually
 
 GLAMIS. 201 
 
 for the first three years and 83 6s. 8d. Scots for the last 
 two years. In 1501, James, Archbishop of St. Andrews, 
 presented William Preston to the perpetual vicarage of 
 Glammys. In 1518, James, Commendator of Arbroath 
 Abbey, let the tithes of Glammes to the Marquis of Huntly 
 (then Lord Gordon) for 5 years, at 100 Scots. In 1528, 
 the Abbot let for 19 years to Mr. Alex. Lyon, Chanter of 
 Murray, brother and executor of the deceased John, Lord 
 Glarnrnys, the teind sheaves and fruits of the parsonage 
 of the Kirk of Glammys, for 100 Scots yearly. In 1560, 
 a reader was appointed for Clova, under the vicar of 
 Glammes, at 50 merks yearly. The teinds belonged to the 
 first Marquis of Hamilton, as Commendator of the Abbey 
 of Arbroath ; and subsequently to the Earl of Panmure, 
 down to their forfeiture in 1716 the Laird of Clova 
 being tacksman of the whole vicarage, which (being 
 thirds) amounted to 40 Scots. In 1542, according to 
 the rental of the Monastery of St. Marie of Cupar, pro- 
 perty formerly belonging to Lord Glammes paid 33s. 4d. 
 annually. According to the rental of the lands belong- 
 ing to the Priory of Rostinoth, the lands of Gla'mys con- 
 tributed 40 shillings annually. The first minister after 
 the Reformation (Robert Boyd) had only 5 lls. Id. for 
 stipend. In 1685, George Middleton became Principal of 
 King's College Aberdeen. His widow lived to 100 
 years of age. In 1780, Dr. James Lyon was ordained 
 minister of Glamis ; in 1790, he wrote the " Old Statistical 
 Account " of the parish ; and in 1836, he wrote the " New 
 Statistical Account " a most remarkable, and, as far as we 
 know, unique instance of one minister writing both 
 Accounts. In 1838, Dr. Crawford became minister ; but 
 six years afterwards, he was translated to St. Andrew's 
 Church, Edinburgh ; from which he was appointed Pro- 
 fessor of Divinity in the University of Edinburgh and
 
 202 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Moderator of the General Assembly. The Parish Church 
 was built in 1793 a plain, commodious building, with a 
 spire. The walls of the original part of the present 
 Manse were built in 1788. The earliest Parochial regis- 
 ter bears the date of the year 1634. Glamis Castle 
 still pays a feu of 19s. 2d. to the College of St Andrews. 
 According to the Parliamentary Return of last year, the 
 unexhausted teind amounts to 20. 
 
 The ancient Castle of Glamis is acknowledged to be 
 one of the noblest and most interesting baronial resi- 
 dences of feudal times that have lasted to our day. The 
 time when, and the person by whom, it was erected arc 
 alike unknown. It is situated upon an extensive plain, 
 instead of a rocky eminence, which Nature suggested. 
 But, according to a legend, when the builder attempted 
 to begin his work upon the northern slope of one of the 
 Sidlaws, he was horror-stricken to find that what he 
 built by day was demolished by night Watching one 
 night, he heard a sepulchial voice thus warn him : 
 
 " Build the castle in a bog, 
 Where 'twill neither shak' nor shog." 
 
 Accordingly, he abandoned the hilly site and chose 
 that in the plain. It is truly an imposing and ro- 
 mantic building. Surrounded by dusky woods, and 
 approached by mile avenues, this ancient pile roai-s its 
 tall gaunt form with stately dignity. The central part 
 of the Castle, which is the oldest, rises to the height of 
 100 feet Two wings extend at right angles to each 
 other, and a quarter-circle tower contains the staircase 
 which affords access to these divisions. The door-way at 
 the base of this tower is flanked by pilasters with richly 
 carved floral capitals. The building conveys no distinct 
 impression of any particular age ; but has assimilated the 
 buccessive styles of Scottish baronial architecture. The
 
 GLAMIS. 203 
 
 massive round roofed vaults and thick walls, with narrow 
 light-slits, speak of the castellated masonry of the Norman 
 period ; the upper apartments bear traces of the fifteenth 
 century ; and the clusters of turrets and round tower 
 stair-case belong to the French School of the seventeenth 
 century. The building is still in excellent preservation. 
 
 There was a royal residence at Glamis from a very re- 
 mote date a dwelling " whose birth tradition notes not." 
 That keen antiquarian, Sir James Dalrymple, speaking of 
 the laws of Malcolm II. (1003-1033), says:" Albeit, it be 
 said that the King gave all away, yet it is not to be 
 thought but that he retained, with his royal dignity, his 
 castles and other places of residence, as at Fort-teviot, 
 Glames, and Kincardin." Fordun tells us, that in the 
 neighbourhood, on one of his royal visits, Malcolm was 
 attacked and mortally wounded in the winter of 1033 ; 
 and that his assassins perished in attempting to cross the 
 Loch of Forfar, only half-frozen. Tradition says, that he 
 was murdered in the Castle, and even in a room, which is 
 still pointed out, in the centre of the old tower, as " King 
 Malcolm's Room." According to Skene, in hia " Celtic 
 Scotland," we have no authentic history of Glamis before 
 the year 1264. In this year the return of rent received 
 from the royal manor for Alexander III. was 13| (sic) 
 cows, and 74 bolls of barley meal for feeding seven 
 whelps and their dam for purposes of the chase ; besides 
 cheese, butter, hens, and malt. In the same year, a payment 
 of 16 merks to the Thane of Glamis was made from the lands 
 of Clofer and Cossenys. In 1038, after the followers of The 
 Bruce had to destroy the " Castell off Forfayr," which, 
 according to Barbour, was " stuffit all with Inglisrnen," 
 the Court made Glamis their principal residence when 
 visiting the district. In 1363, John de Logy (probably 
 the father of Margaret Logy, queen of David II.) had the
 
 204 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 reversion of the thanedora of Glamis from his son-in-law, 
 the reddendo being a red falcon to be delivered yearly at 
 the feast of Pentecost. Thanes were originally stewards over 
 kings'lands,but ultimately became hereditary tcnantsof the 
 king,andthe title and lands descended accordingly, after the 
 premium of one hundred cows was duly paid to the king. 
 
 In 1372, King Robert II. created it into a Barony ; and 
 by charter gave " our lands of the Thainage of Glammis !> 
 to Sir John Lyon, who married the King's daughter, 
 Princess Jane, and was allowed to carry the double 
 treasure of the royal arms on his shield. From being 
 secretary to the King, Lyon became Great Chamberlain ; 
 and in his success forgot Sir James Lindsay, Chief Justice 
 of Scotland, who had once recommended him to the royal 
 notice ; and treating his former patron too cavalierly, he 
 had to accept a challenge for a duel on horseback, in 
 which he was killed in the year 1382. Lyon's body was 
 buried at Scone among the ancient kings ; and his son, 
 then a boy of thirteen years of age, was educated under 
 his Majesty's especial care. In 1445, his grandson was 
 created Lord Glammiss. In 14G3, his successor received 
 the castle of Kinghorn from Queen Mary, mother of 
 James III. In 1537, Lady Glammiss was barbarously 
 burned on the Castle Hill, Edinburgh, for the alleged 
 crime of witchcraft, in so far as she used spells and in- 
 cantations against the life of James V. ; and the estates 
 were confiscated, though afterwards restored. Her son, " the 
 bold Baron," used the famous expression, referring to James 
 VI., when, on account of his youth, the king wept during 
 his detention at Ruthven House in 1582 : " Better that 
 bairns should weep than bearded men." The Lord Trea- 
 surer made a payment of 40, for the " reipar of the Glam- 
 mya and Baky," as the residences of the King and Court. 
 
 In 1577, David, Karl of Crawford, "ane princely man
 
 GLAMIS. 205 
 
 but a sad spendthrift/' son of the " wicked master," mur- 
 dered Lord Glands at Stirling; and by way of reprisal 
 for this murder, the tutor of Glamis killed the Earl's man, 
 for which he had to pay blood-money. About 1603, Lord 
 Spynie married Jean Lyon of the noble house of Glamis 
 her third marriage. James VI., when in Denmark, thus 
 jocularly wrote to Spynie about her considerable fortune 
 and widowhood : " Sandie, we are going on here in the 
 auld way, and very merry. I'll not forget you when I 
 come home you shall be a lord. But mind Jean Lyon, 
 for her auld tout will make you a new horn." 
 
 In 1606, Patrick was created Earl of Kinghorn. In honour 
 of this, there is a tradition that a lofty building was erected 
 on an eminence near the centre of the town of Kinghorn 
 called the tower of Glamis, at the close of last century. 
 Grose states that it had been in use as a land mark ; but, 
 becoming ruinous, a pillar was put instead with this in- 
 scription "Here stood Glamis Tower." He seems to 
 have been the first of the family who attempted to ex- 
 tend the Castle ; for he built the side staircase which now 
 leads to the oldest part, and added the wings, under the 
 direction of Inigo Jones. He also bought Castle Huntly 
 (in Longforgan) for a summer residence. On his death, in 
 1615, his son set about repairing the newer domicile and 
 borrowed money on Glamis for that purpose ; he also 
 completed the ceiling of the drawing-room in 1621. 
 Quite recently, while some alterations were being ex- 
 ecuted in this apartment, the workmen came upon a com- 
 plete fireplace with chimney ; the existence of which was 
 unknown for nearly three centuries. 
 
 In 1653, part- of the army of the Commonwealth were 
 for a time located about the Castle ; on which occasion the 
 Forfar bakers had to provide the soldiers with "fower 
 dussen of wheate breade " daily, and the butchers " beefe,
 
 206 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 mutton or lambe each Monday and Wednesday," under 
 pain of the same being forcibly exacted. In the same 
 year, the Earl of Panmure acquired by purchase the whole 
 lands of the estate of the Earl of Kinghorn, on the con- 
 dition that the Earl of Kinghorn or his heirs should 
 receive back the lands " how soon the whole shall 
 be redeemed by him or them ; " which was accomplished 
 ten years afterwards. In 1G54, the Earl was fined 1000, 
 because his father had refused to give up King Charles to 
 the English. In 1G77, Patrick, his son, was created Earl 
 of Strathmore, to whom the task of completing the re- 
 storation of the Castle fell. When the Stuarts were 
 driven into exile, he retired from public life in semi-poli- 
 tical despondency, to improve his estates and encourage 
 the fine arts. In a most interesting MS., the " Book of 
 Record," he has described with minuteness his lifework 
 there. When he succeeded to the estates, they were very 
 much impoverished " nothing remaining but the bare 
 walls." The whole plantation round the Castle, consist- 
 ing of old shattered and decayed trees, was about five 
 acres in extent, bounded by a low dry-stone dyke. The 
 one entrance was from the south-east, with an outer gate 
 recessed erection and inner gate with low wall at the 
 court, " where there was a bridge with a pend over a 
 mightie broad and deep ditch which surrounded the house, 
 upon the inner brink whereof there was a high wall, a 
 gate forenent the bridge, and over the gate a little lodge 
 for the porter." No remains of these are visible, except 
 the two circular towers, standing at a short distance from 
 the entrance. How different are his views from those of 
 Sir Walter Scott ! Soured at the disgrace of the Stuarts, 
 Patrick declared " that there is no man more against these 
 fashions of tours and castles than I am ; " and to carry 
 out his convictions he transformed the feudal keep into a
 
 GLAMIS. 207 
 
 residential palace. But hear Sir Walter's comment after 
 visiting the Castle in 1794, as given in his " Essay on 
 Landscape Gardening: " " The huge old tower once 
 showed its lordly head above seven circles of defensive 
 boundaries, through which the friendly guest was admit- 
 ted, and at each of which a suspicious person was un- 
 questionably put to his answer. A disciple of Kent had 
 the cruelty to render this splendid old mansion more 
 parkish ; to raze all those exterior defences, and to bring 
 his mean and paltry gravel walk up to the very door from 
 which, deluded by the name, we might have imagined 
 Lady Macbeth issuing forth to receive King Duncan ! " 
 
 In his " Record," Earl Patrick has this entry : "There 
 is in the gardin a fine dyal erected, and there is a designe 
 for a fountain in the boulin-green. Another of the gates 
 is adorned with two gladiators." The fountain has dis- 
 appeared ; the gladiators are now well marked with the 
 missiles of school-boys ; but the Lyon dial still presents 
 its eighty faces to the sun. According to Grose, in " The 
 Antiquities of Scotland " (1797), there were in the court 
 four brazen statues, bigger than life, on pedestals, viz., 
 James VI. in his stole, Charles I. in his spurs and sword, 
 Charles II. in a Roman dress, and James II. as at White- 
 hall ! He also built the Chapel at the Castle, the most 
 interesting apartment in that ancient structure. It is SO 
 feet by 18 ; and the panels of the walls and roof were 
 filled with paintings of Biblical subjects by the artist, J. 
 de Witt, who is noted for giving all the Kings in Holy- 
 rood Gallery the nose of the same model. It was dedicated 
 to St. Michael in 1688. The windows have lately been 
 filled with some exquisitely painted panels of stained 
 glass from the studio of Mr. Kempe, London. He put up 
 the fine iron railing round the top of the centre tower in 
 1682, from which Billings gives a fine description of the
 
 208 STRATHMOHE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Strath in his " Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of 
 Scotland." The Rev. Mr. Edward of Murroes, his con- 
 temporary, thus speaks of him : " As he is of royal 
 descent, so he adorns that high pedigree by a noble genius 
 and generous disposition." 
 
 A story is told of this Earl which must be cautiously 
 interpreted, though it recounts a strange coincidence. 
 One day, in presence of his four sons, when speaking to 
 an old tenant, he said, " Are not these four pretty boys?" 
 " Yes," said the old man ; " but they will all be Earls, my 
 Lord, and God help the poor when the youngest of the 
 four will be Earl." This was literally verified, and 
 during the life of the last, in 1740, the poor perished in 
 thousands from the want of the commonest necessaries of 
 life, on account of a famine produced by intense frost. 
 
 In 1715, the first Pretender slept a night in the Castle pre- 
 vious to his mock coronation at Scone ; on which occasion 
 no fewer than 88 beds were made up for his retinue. On 
 the 9th of May, Charles, Earl of Strathmore, was endeavour- 
 ing to reconcile his kinsman of Brigton and Carnegy of 
 Finhaven in a drunken brawl at Forfar, when Carnegy, 
 who had been hurled by Brigton into the common kennel, 
 recovering himself, made a thrust at Brigton with a 
 drawn sword, which accidentally passed through the 
 Earl and killed him. In 174G, the Duke of Cumberland's 
 army rested at Glamis, when the Forfarians displayed 
 their favour for the exiled Stuarts by cutting the girths 
 of the horses under night, so that the Duke's progress 
 northward to Culloden might bo retarded as much as 
 possible. The present Earl, Claude Bowes Lyon, who 
 succeeded his brother in 18G5, is a Representative Peer 
 and the Lord Lieutenant of Forfarshire. The eulogium of 
 Sir Walter Scott in " Don Roderick " is not inapplicable 
 to the family of Lyons
 
 GLAMIS. H09 
 
 " A race renown'd of old , 
 Whose war-cry oft hath waked the battle-swell." 
 
 Great alterations have been made on the Castle and 
 grounds since Patrick, the first Earl of Strathraore, spent 
 his life on what he considered improvements. Though in 
 a great measure dismantled, a few relics of the possessions 
 of its lordly owners still possess historical interest. From 
 the notes to Waverley we find that Sir Walter Scott got 
 the idea for the drinking-cup of the valiant Baron of 
 Bradwardine the Blessed Bear from the Lion at 
 Glamis. This is a massive beaker of silver, double- 
 gilt, moulded into the shape of a lion (alluding to the 
 family name). When exhibited, this cup must be emptied 
 to the Earl's health. Among the other relics rich 
 memorials of ancient times which Sir Walter took 
 notice of, was the clothes-chest (now in the billiard- 
 room), containing some Court dresses of the seventeenth 
 century, along with the motley raiment of the family 
 fool, very handsome and ornamented with many bells, 
 which suggested the "Innocent " of Waverley, whom David 
 Gellatley thought to be "more rogue than fool." In 
 the Great Hall are several valuable portraits. Some 
 specimens of old armour (both chain and plate, less or 
 more entire), and several other warlike remains, includ- 
 ing swords, battle-axes, and bronze celts, as also a bronze 
 cabinet ornament, which were found at various times 
 in the drained parts of the Loch and the mosses, 
 are there also arranged. About forty years ago, when the 
 workmen were repairing the floor of one of the rooms of 
 the Castle, a stone spiral staircase was discovered cut out 
 of the solid walls, which vary from eleven feet to six feet 
 in thickness. This was examined with more than 
 ordinary interest, as it was considered to be the mode of 
 entrance to the secret chamber, said by well-known
 
 210 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 tradition to be only known to three persons at one time 
 the Earl, the heir-apparent, and the factor on the estate 
 although it is only a myth that " Beardie," the fourth 
 Earl of Crawford, was confined in it, in 1454, to play dice 
 till the day of judgment ; for he " wis buried with great 
 triumph in the Greyfriars of Dundee." On one side of 
 the servants' corridor a concealed well was discovered a 
 few years ago, apparently intended as a secret water- 
 supply for refugees in the upper chambers. 
 
 DeFoe,in his "Tour through Scotland in 1726," remarked 
 that " Glammis was one of the finest old built palaces in 
 Scotland, and by far the largest ; that, when seen at a dis- 
 tance, the piles of turrets and lofty buildings, spires and 
 towers, make it look like a town." In 1765, the poet 
 Gray, in a letter to Wharton, remarked that " from its 
 height, the greatness of its mass, the many towers a-top, 
 the spread of its wings, the Castle has really a very 
 singular and striking appearance like nothing I ever 
 saw." But when Sir Walter Scott slept a night in the 
 Castle, in 1794, he was strangely entranced by the weird 
 associations, the legendary stories of the Thane of Glamis 
 pressing hard on his historical conclusions ; for he wrote, 
 in his " Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft : " " In 
 spite of the truth of history, the whole night-scene in 
 Macbeth's Castle rushed at once upon me, and struck my 
 mind more forcibly than ever, when I have seen its terrors 
 represented by John Kemble and his inimitable sister 
 (Mrs. Siddons)." 
 
 There are also some stones which tradition clothes with 
 a mystic spell. Within a few yards of the Manse stands 
 an obelisk of rude design, which is supposed to be in 
 memory of Malcolm's murder. On one side are the figures 
 of two men, who seem to be making up the bloody plot, 
 which is represented by a lion and a centaur right above
 
 GLAMIS. 211 
 
 them. On the reverse side appear fish of various kinds, 
 as a symbolical representation of the Loch of Forfar, in 
 which the assassins were drowned. The same facts are 
 represented on a similar obelisk, of smaller size, in a 
 neighbouring field. At a mile's distance from the Castle, 
 at a place called Gossans, is a third obelisk, commonly 
 called Sir Orland's Stone, even more curious than the 
 others. One side bears the marks of a rudely-flowered 
 and chequered cross. The reverse side represents four 
 men on horseback at full speed, the horse of one trampling 
 on a wild boar ; and below an animal like a drao-on. 
 
 7 O 
 
 These also have been conjectured to be in keeping with 
 the current tradition of the officers of justice in pursuit of 
 the King's murderers. 
 
 Besides Glamis Castle, there were at one time three 
 other castles within the parish, but they are now entirely 
 demolished. One was at Gossans, another in the Glen of 
 Ogilvy, and the third in the Glen of Denoon, on the 
 summit of an isolated hill, two miles from Glamis village. 
 A circular wall, supposed to have been 27 feet high, 30 
 feet broad, and 1020 feet in circumference, encloses faint, 
 though evident, traces of buildings in the intermediate 
 space. This was considered to be a safe retreat in time 
 of danger. On the top of Hayston Hill, an arm of the 
 Sidlaws on the east side of the parish, are remains very 
 like the circular moat of a Roman observing station. 
 
 In the Glen of Ogilvy the earliest legends fix the 
 dwelling-place of the nine virgin daughters of St. Done- 
 walde, at the beginning of the eighth century. These 
 were remarkable for their industry and humility, having 
 laboured the ground with their own hands, and partaken 
 only once a day of the humble fare of barley-bread and 
 water. Their father died when they were in this glen, 
 on which they retired to Abernethy, the Pictish capital,
 
 212 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Where they were visited by King Eugen VII. of Scotland; 
 and when buried under a large oak's shade, pilgrims, till 
 the Reformation, made their yearly visit on the loth of 
 June. A centuiy ago, the rental of the Glen was 200 ; 
 but by draining and fencing the value has very materially 
 increased to 2954. It was anciently the property of the 
 Ogilvies of Powrie ; it then fell to Graham of Claver- 
 house, and at the battle of Killiecrankie (1689), it was 
 forfeited, and reverted to the Douglas family, the 
 superiors ; and it is now in the possession of the Earl 
 of Strathmore. The Den of Ogilvy is now traversed by 
 the public road from Glamis to Dundee, and forms a very 
 romantic five miles' drive. With the exception of the 
 feus off the Glamis estate and the farm of Brigton (which 
 belongs to the trustees of William Charles Douglas), the 
 whole parish belongs to the Earl of Strathmore, the 
 assessed property being close on 14,000, whereas in 183G 
 it was 9262. 
 
 Markets are held at Glamis on the first Wednesday of 
 April and May, the first Wednesday after the 26th of 
 May, the second Saturday of October, and the fourth 
 Wednesday of November. Formerly these were more 
 frequent, as in the quaint notice of Ochterlony two and 
 a-half centuries ago: "Glammis is a burgh of Barronie, 
 hath two great fairs in it yearly, and a weekly mercat. 
 There is a Cunnigare within the parks and dovecoat 
 at the burn Mr. Lyon, minister thereof." (Sic !) 
 
 The population of the parish in 1755 was 1780; in 
 1790, 2040 ; in 1836, 2150 ; and now, 1631. It contains 
 the villages of Charleston, Newton, Milton, Thornton, 
 Grasshouses of Thornton, Drumgley, and Arneyfoul. 
 About 1730, the people were sunk in sloth and 
 apathy ; but towards the end of the century things 
 were very much improved ; though Dr. Lyon re-
 
 GLAMTS. 213 
 
 marked that the six alehouses and one inn even then 
 much reduced in number " have always been found to 
 have a very bad effect on the morals of the people." 
 In 1806, a mill 16 horse-power Tor spinning flax was 
 built on the Glamis Burn. In 1820, a steam-engine of 
 10 H.P. was added, which produced 4000 pieces of brown 
 linen annually for the Dundee market. At the same time 
 7500 pieces of Osnaburgs were annually manufactured by 
 private individuals in the parish, which accounts for the 
 difference of the population. The tenants are now most 
 industrious, and the progress of improvement has been 
 much encouraged by the liberality of the Earls. For a 
 very considerable time Glamis has been noted for the 
 high class of fat cattle it sends to the English markets. 
 The Earl is a keen breeder of the Angus cattle and 
 Shropshire Down sheep, as shown by the Herd-Books, and 
 prizes taken at County-Shows. There is a very excellent 
 public school in the village. In several parishes the " New 
 Statistical Account " bears the name of Mr. Blackadder, 
 civil engineer, Glamis, as contributing the geological 
 sections. The Caledonian Railway crosses the northern 
 part of the parish, and has a station on it, near which is 
 a natural encamping ground occasionally used for a 
 week by the Volunteers of Dundee. 
 
 The name will be known so long as the world reverences 
 Shakespeare's master-mind in his famous historic notice 
 of it as the thanedom of the usurper Macbeth 
 
 " All hail, Macbeth ! hail to tlice, thane of Glamis ! "
 
 KIRRIEMUIR. 
 
 ON the north side of Strathmore lies the large parish of 
 Kirriemuir. Three very plausible suggestions have been 
 made as to the derivation of the name : (1) Corrie-mkdr, 
 " the large hollow ; " (2) a Celtic word meaning the large 
 district ; and (3) Kil-Marie, like Kilmaurs, the religious 
 Gaelic word for Mary-kirk. From the popular pronuncia- 
 tion of the name " Killamuir," we incline to the last sug- 
 gestion, " Kirk of St. Mary." Skene derives the name 
 from Ceath-ramJi, corrupted to Keri, " a quarter " of Angus. 
 But this is by analogy of reasoning from the supposed deri- 
 vation of the Saxon equivalent of the name in the tenth 
 century, Wertermore, which he thinks is from the Saxon 
 feorde, corrupted into werte, " a quarter." 
 
 The parish is divided into two very extensive districts, 
 the northern, which now forms the quoad sacra parish of 
 Glenprosen, being chiefly pastoral ; while the southern is 
 agricultural and manufacturing. The northern division 
 measures nine miles by three, the southern five miles by 
 five j the whole containing fully fifty square miles. The 
 parish is bounded on the East by Oathlaw, Tannadice, 
 and Cortachy ; on the north by Clova ; on the west by 
 Glenisla, Lintrathen, Kingoldrum, and Airlie ; and on the 
 Routh by Glainis and Forfar. The mountainous division 
 is separated from the division in the Strath by the parish 
 of Kingoldrum. All the southern division is visible from 
 the hill of Kirriemuir, which is cultivated to its summit. 
 The most remarkable eminence in the parish, seen in its 
 majestic form through all the Strath, is the heather-clad 
 Catlaw according to some, the Mons Grampius of Tacitus
 
 KIRRIEMUIB. 215 
 
 2264 feet above the level of the sea. The ranges of 
 the Grampians north are wild and awe-striking in their 
 lonely grandeur, torn here and there by impetuous snow- 
 swollen streams. These enclose a weird, bare glen, tra- 
 versed by the river Prosen ; but this glen is rich in botany. 
 
 One of the highest authorities on the flora of Scot- 
 land was the minister of Glenprosen, now of Fearn the 
 Rev. John Ferguson, M.A. In the small glens and open- 
 ings, or on the rocky mountain sides, may be found, 
 among hundred of others, such varieties as the flesh- 
 coloured flowers of the Trailing Azalea ; the yellow 
 flowers of the procumbent Sibbaldia ; the Great Wild 
 Valerian, whose roots attract the wily rat and afford a 
 strange fascination for the feline tribe ; some rare varie- 
 ties of the perplexing Hawk- weed; the bare flowering stems 
 of the Cudweed; the light purple Alpine Flea-bane; 
 the scarlet fruit of the Bear-berry ; the staining Alkanet ; 
 the white-flowered variety of the Self-heal ; the loose 
 spikes of the viviparous Bistort ; the small creeping 
 Goodyera; the rare white snow Cetraria; and the unrival- 
 led large-fruited Bottle-moss. 
 
 The late Mr. Kinloch of Kilry collected the fauna of the dis- 
 trict and presented them to St. Andrews University. Among 
 the rarer kinds of birds found by that keen naturalist are the 
 golden eagle, merlin, raven, rock-ouzel, king-fisher, bit- 
 tern, goodwit, spotted fly-catcher, goatsucker, ptarmigan, 
 and quail ; while of other animals he has found the wild 
 cat, ermine, badger, viper, lizard, and wheat-fly. This 
 last pest is at times very destructive to the crops; for Mr. 
 Gorrie, in the "Quarterly Journal of Agriculture," cal- 
 culated that in one year the loss sustained by the farming 
 interest in the Carse of Gowrie exceeded 90,000. One 
 remedy found to be successful was to sow wheat without 
 grass-seed a plan which is observed to this day
 
 216 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 The river Prosen rises in the most northerly nook, in its 
 course absorbing the waters of ten considerable brooks; and 
 flows into the South Esk, near the confluence of the Carity, 
 in exact correspondence with the old rhythmical saying 
 
 " The Waters o' Prosen, Esk, an' Carity 
 Meet at the birken bush o' Inverquharity." 
 
 Thence they roll their united waters to the ocean, 
 through a rugged and romantic channel, fringed on all 
 sides by clustering and shady trees. Near this " meet- 
 ing of the waters," stands the bridge of Shielhill (built in 
 1769), famous as the place where the celebrated Scotch 
 scholar, Dr. Jamieson, laid the scene of his admirable bal- 
 lad of the " Water Kelpie ; " in which he thus takes 
 marked advantage of the story of the Kelpie bringing the 
 stones to build the bridge and the rude head of a Gorgon 
 
 " Yon bonny brig quhan folk wald big, 
 
 To t?ar my stream look braw ; 
 A sair-toil'd wicht was I bcnicht ; 
 
 I did limit- than them aw. 
 An* wcel thai kcnt quhat help I lent, 
 
 For thai yon image frum't, 
 Aboon the pond, whilk I defend ; 
 
 An' it thai KELPIE nam't" 
 
 About two miles west of the town the river Gairie has 
 its source in a meadow, formerly the Loch of Kinnordy. 
 This Loch was drained, in 1740, by Sir John Ogilvy, for 
 marl to cultivate the land adjoining. From time to time 
 huge skeletons of stags have been found in this marl-bed; 
 and, sixty years ago, an ancient canoe was found embedded 
 in the peat-moss. 
 
 In the eastern part of the parish there is a vast forest, 
 called the Forest of Plater or Platane ; so dense was it in 
 olden times that, according to tradition, the wild cat 
 rould leap from one tree to another between the hills of 
 Kirriemuir and Finhaven. A century ago, when the 
 people were digging in the moor for peat, they came upon 
 many roots of enormous trees. The Earl of Crawford,
 
 KIERIEMUIR. 217 
 
 when proprietor, had a special forester over it ; and the 
 Earl of Strathmore had for one of his titles the " Herit- 
 able Forester of the Forest of Plater." It is now on the 
 Kinnordy estate. Fordoun relates that Sir Andrew 
 Moray, the friend of the hero Wallace, when once pressed 
 by the English, had to conceal himself for a winter in 
 this forest ; from which he marched toPanmure and gained 
 a splendid victory, leaving 4000 men dead on the field. 
 
 The climate of the parish varies considerably ; but on 
 the whole it is very healthy, being above the mists of the 
 low ground. Ague is unknown. Great ages are often 
 reached by careful living. Agriculture has been for a 
 considerable period improving. Draining what was wet, 
 bringing into tillage what was uncultivated but arable, 
 and planting what was not arable, were all commenced in 
 this district before many of the neighbouring parishes. 
 An unusual spurt was made, a century ago, with such 
 success that the manure of the town was doubled in price 
 within three years. And there is still to be seen the 
 same keen spirit for improvement. 
 
 The most of the southern division of the parish con- 
 sists of the old red sandstone, with occasional protrusions 
 of trap and red-schist. There is in one part a stratum 
 of gray roofing-slate, with here and there distinctly 
 marked vegetable impressions. And on the farm of 
 Balloch there is a curious dyke of serpentine nearly 
 vertical, which shows the manner in which stratified 
 rocks are at times peculiarly affected. In the Grampian 
 district the rocks are principally mica-schist, hornblende 
 slate, and gneiss, studded with rock crystals and garnets. 
 In geology, the district has been immortalized by the 
 name of the distinguished scientific explorer, the late Sir 
 Charles Lyell. The soil is in general light, sandy, and 
 gravelly; here and there being fields of a clayey or
 
 218 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRUSENT. 
 
 mortary constitution, and occasionally of alluvial deposit 
 in the flats and hollows. In the northern division the 
 cultivated ground is confined to the bottom of the glen 
 a very great extent being covered with moss ; but on the 
 whole, in respect of soil, the parish is fully equal to any 
 of those contiguous. 
 
 West of the town is a large semi-globular artificial 
 mound, called the " Court-hillock ; " and, beside it, is a 
 circular pond excavated to form the mound, called the 
 " Witch-pool." In a disposition to the estate of Kinnordy, 
 by one of the Douglas family, a road to this mound is 
 reserved. They seem to have been ready for use to exe- 
 cute justice, or to pander to popular superstition. On the 
 hill of Kirrie the Brehons of earlier times administered 
 the law to the men of Angus ; and afterwards the Earls 
 of Angus held their Courts of Regality, as Kirriemuir 
 was the capital of the Earldom. According to the famous 
 antiquarian, Stewart, in his costly and elaborate work on 
 the " Sculptured Stones of Scotland " (which we have ex- 
 amined with some care), the parish abounds in remains of 
 ancient times. Two rocking-stones are situated a little 
 to the north-west of the hill of Kirrie, within a few yards 
 of each other, the one of whinstone and the other of 
 porphyry; but no clear account can be given of their 
 history. There are several standing stones the most 
 early of all monuments but none have inscriptions. 
 One, on the hill of Kirrie, evidently at one time split 
 in two, is nine feet above the surface of the ground. In 
 the foundations of the old Parish Church, in 1787, three 
 stones were found of some importance to archaeologists. 
 On one of them is the figure of a man seated on a chair ; 
 on one side of him is what seems to be a sword, and on 
 the other a mirror and comb, which may have been a 
 representation of a Brehon in the chair of judgment. On
 
 KIRRIEMUIR. 219 
 
 the top of the hill of Mearns is a remarkable Weem built 
 with stone, and covered above with stones six feet wide, 
 which can be traced for the distance of seventy yards, in 
 which were found a great many human bones, querns, 
 and other curiosities. The " Weem's Park " at Auch- 
 lishie, when opened, was found to contain a currach and 
 some querns. This currach, or boat, was unfortunately 
 burned as useless by the farm servants, but was doubtless 
 of a date anterior to the historical records of the country, 
 Several granite boulders, both red and gray, are found in 
 the parish ; these (according to the Report of the Royal 
 Society of Edinburgh, just issued to Fellows), " are sup- 
 posed to have come from Aberdeenshire," on floating ice 
 in the ice-period. 
 
 It is the general opinion that Christianity was intro- 
 duced into this parish at a very early date ; but we can 
 give no authentic account of the introduction. The first 
 ecclesiastical charter, according to the Register of the 
 Abbey of Arbroath, was in 1201, by Gillechrist, Earl of 
 Angus, in which he bestowed on that Abbey the Church 
 of Kerimore, with the chapels, lands, tithes, common 
 pasturage, offerings, aisements, and all pertinents of said 
 Church. This was confirmed by William the Lion, King 
 of Scotland, in the same year ; and ratified, at Selkirk, 
 ten years afterwards. In 1203, William, Bishop of 
 St. Andrews, confirmed the grant. When Henry was 
 Prior of St. Andrews, the Chapter confirmed the grant 
 in 1204. Dunecan of Angus confirmed, in 1211, the 
 charter of his father Gillechrist. Three years after- 
 wards, Malcolm, Earl of Angus, gave to the Abbey "all 
 the land between Aldenkoukro and Aldhendouen in the 
 territory of Kerimor." In 1219 and the following year, 
 Pope Honorius gave two confirmatory charters of Gille- 
 christ's donations. In 1233, David, Bishop of St. Andrews,
 
 220 STRATHMOHE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 gave a renewed confirmation, Matilda, Countess of 
 Angus, in 1242, confirmed the gifts of her " proavus." 
 David, Bishop of St. Andrews, in his Taxatio of the 
 vicarages within his Diocese in 1249, enacted that the 
 vicar of Kerimor will have all the alterage, and will 
 uphold all the Episcopal burdens, thirty merks being 
 exacted. In 1485, David, the Abbot of Arbroath, pre- 
 sented John Lychton to the perpetual vicarage of the 
 Parish Church of Kylymwre ; and four years afterwards 
 let the tithes of Kyrymore for nine years at the rent of 
 240 merks Scots. 
 
 It appears that there were four religious houses in the 
 parish, besides the one used as the Parish Church, and the 
 Chapel of Glenprosen, where the minister, a hundred 
 years ago, was only obliged to officiate two or three times 
 annually, but which has now a fixed and resident minister 
 and parish of its own. These were at Chapelton, three 
 miles north of the town ; at Killhill, three miles east ; at 
 Balinscho ; and in the town. The Chapel at Balinscho 
 was built by the proprietor for the use of his own family, 
 and dedicated to Saint Ninian. Its site is still enclosed 
 with a good wall, and used as the burial ground of the 
 Fletchers of Balinscho. The one in the town was dedi- 
 cated to Saint Culmoch. The proprietor of the site long 
 went by the name of Sainty, and was exempted from the 
 usual statutory thirlage to a mill ; and a piece of ground 
 adjoining, now used as a garden, went by the name of 
 the Kirkyard. 
 
 From Dr. Scott's " Fasti " we make a few extracts in 
 connection with the ministers of Kirriemuir. In 15G7, 
 Alexander Auchinleck was minister of Kirriemuir and 
 Kingoldrum, for the stipend of 8 6s. 8d. To these 
 Nether Airlie was joined seven years afterwards. In 
 16G9, Sylvester Lyon was commended for his zealous and
 
 KIRRIEMUIR. 221 
 
 daring sermon against Popery, preached before the Synod 
 of St. Andrews. In 1713, when George Ogilvy was 
 being translated from Benvie, there was a strong and 
 determined opposition. It is related that when the 
 members of Presbytery came lo the steps of Wester 
 Tarbines, they were attacked by a numerous mob of men, 
 women, and children, who fired blunt shot, threw stones 
 and clods, and obliged them to return. The Presbyters 
 were pursued for a mile, and in the Burgh of Logie, on 
 the border of the parish, the induction was duly carried 
 through. In the beginning of this century, Dr. Thomas 
 Easton was a great power in the district. He was 
 learned yet modest, and his moral worth was tempered 
 by a meekness of soul which peculiarly enhanced his 
 character. He was the author of several works, among 
 which were the " Statements in Relation to the Pauperism 
 of Kirriemuir " and the " New Statistical Account of the 
 Parish." In 1835, the South Church was built, made a 
 Chapel the year following, and a parish (quoad sacra) in 
 1870. Its first minister, William Norval, was presented 
 to Brechin by the Crown ; but when preaching his trials 
 before the congregation, he was accused of borrowing 
 from a volume of Henry Melville of London. This he 
 denied ; but the charge being brought to proof, he with- 
 drew his acceptance of the presentation, with the per- 
 mission of the General Assembly The Assembly, how- 
 ever, having given instructions to the Presbytery to con- 
 sider the cas3, he demitted his charge and went over to 
 the Church of England. From Duncan's " Ecclesiastical 
 Law" we notice that, in 1715, the Court of Session de- 
 cided in re Ogilvie v. the Heritors of Kirriemuir that 
 the point of time at and from which the incumbent's 
 right to the benefice emerges is that of his induction as 
 opposed to his presentation or election; and that, in 1762,
 
 222 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 inre Earl of Strathmore v. the minister of Kirriemuir 
 the Court decided that while heritors included feuars, 
 those feuars only were entitled to vote for the election of 
 a schoolmaster who paid cess on a separate or cumulo 
 valuation. 
 
 In 1748, the Rev. George Ogilvy drew up a Historical 
 Account of the Parish, with especial reference to its 
 ecclesiastical state. This account, transcribed into the 
 Baptism Register, is in some respects of considerable 
 value ; but it dwells rather too much upon a proof from 
 historical facts that our first Protestant ministers had no 
 other than Presbyterian ordination. The present incum- 
 bent the Rev. John Boyd, M.A. assuresusthat the extant 
 Records of the Kirk Session go no further back than the 
 beginning of last century. According to the Parliamentary 
 Return, the total sum levied by way of assessment for 
 building, and repair of, the Church and Manse, during the 
 ten years ending Dec. 31, 1879, amounted to 1050. 
 
 The district of Kirriemuir was one of the great quarters 
 of Ancient Angus, having then the name Wertermore. 
 Simeon of Durham says that ^Ethelstau, king of England 
 (and grandson of Alfred the Great), invaded Scotland 
 (Alban), in 934, bysea and land, ravaging the country with 
 his cavalry as far as Wertermore, and the shores with his 
 navy as far as Caithness. 
 
 Kirriemuir is a burgh of royalty of great antiquity ; 
 but the date of its erection is unknown. The jurisdic- 
 tion of the Bailie was once very great, he having power 
 to punish, even by the gallows, culprits found guilty of 
 certain crimes, from the Law of Dundee to the Grampian 
 Mountains. There is a charter of lands by Malcolm, 
 Karl of Angus, in the year 1214. On a seal appended to 
 a deed, dated 1584, is the legend :" S'Wiliel Stevart 
 Come A.D. Pettynvo Dni Regal. D. Kerymvr," which
 
 KIRPJEMUIR. 223 
 
 shows that the Commendator of the Priory of Pitten- 
 weem, in Fife, was lord of the regality of Kirriemuir. 
 Since 1748, the Bailie can judge in no civil actions where 
 the damage exceeds two pounds stg. ; and on account of 
 the restrictions laid on him, his power is now almost nil. 
 As early as 1392, the Highlanders came down in bands 
 and made terrible raids on the tine country of Strath- 
 more ; for in that year a bloody battle took place, in 
 which Sir John Ogilvy of Kirriemuir was slain with 
 many of his followers. When, in 1411, Donald, Lord of 
 the Isles, advanced to prosecute his claims to the Earldom 
 of Ross, he was opposed by Lord Ogilvy, the Sheriff of 
 Angus, with many followers from Kirriemuir, and at 
 Harlaw was signally defeated. In the cruel encounter 
 between the Ogilvies and the Lindsays, in 1447, five 
 hundred of the former were slain. The celebrated poet, 
 Drummond of Hawthornden, was, during the p]ague of 
 1645, prohibited from entering Forfar, but took refuge in 
 Kirriemuir, while a feud was pending between the in- 
 habitants of these two towns regarding the commonty of 
 Muir Moss. Determined to play off a joke upon the in- 
 habitantsof Forfar for their wantof hospitality, he addressed 
 a letter to the Provost, to be communicated to the Town 
 Council in haste. It was imagined that the letter was 
 from the Estates of Parliament then sitting at St. 
 Andrews. But what was their chagrin when, after as- 
 sembling with due solemnity, they read these lines: 
 
 " The Kirriemarians an' the Forfarians met at Muir Moss, 
 The Kirriemarians beat the Forfarians back to the Cross ; 
 Sutors ye are, an' Sutors ye'll be 
 Fye upo' Forfar, Kirriemuir bears the gree ! " 
 
 We will now give an outline sketch of the principal 
 families and properties within the parish. As we have 
 already, in our articles on Airlie and Glamis, given a con- 
 densed history of the families of Airlie and Strathmore,
 
 224 STRATH MORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 we shall not here repeat them. Inverquharity was 
 anciently under the superiority of the Earls of Angus ; 
 and Sir Alexander of Crawford received, in 1329, the 
 charters for the property from his sister-in-law, Mar- 
 garet, Countess of Angus. In 1390, the first Earl of 
 Crawford resigned the Newton in favour of one John 
 Dolas ; and in 1405, Sir Walter Ogilvy, then Lord High 
 Treasurer of Scotland, came into possession. In 1420, Sir 
 John Ogilvy, received from his brother the lands and 
 barony, and became the founder of the house. King 
 James II. granted a license to Sir Alex. Ogilvy in 1 445, 
 to fortify his house and to " strength it with ane Irne 
 yhet." This Castle of Inverquharity was one of the 
 strongest, and is now one of the most entire, in Angus. 
 It was a fine ashlar building, with walls nine feet thick, 
 in the Gothic style of architecture. The walls project 
 considerably near the top and terminate in a parapet. 
 Blast of it are some vestiges of a wing, demolished, it is 
 said, by the Crawfords in some feud with the Ogilvies. 
 The third baron was appointed Justiciary of the Abbey 
 of Arbroath ; and, being wounded in the battle of 
 Arbroath, was taken prisoner to Finhaven, where he was 
 smothered by his sister, the Countess of Crawford. One 
 of the family was composer of the Jacobite song, " It was 
 a' for our rightful King ; " and was with King James at 
 the battle of the Boyne. The ruined Castle is still 
 glorious in its ruins. Around it are some fine chestnut 
 trees of great age; and some massive ash trees, of not 
 leas than a hundred cubic feet in contents. One ash i.s 
 upwards of fourteen feet in circumference, only equalled 
 by an elm. Yet no human step treads the grounds once so 
 hallowed by a long and honourable family lineage ; and 
 the dwelling stands 
 
 " Now forhow't 
 And left the how let's proy."
 
 KIRRIEMUm. 225 
 
 The family of Kinloch of Logie may be traced to the 
 twelfth, if not to the ninth, century. There is a charter 
 extant which was confirmed by William the Lion to Sir 
 John de Kinloch. One of the family was raised to the 
 high position of physician to King James the Sixth. 
 The baronetcy was forfeited after the battle of Culloden. 
 On the passing of the General Police Act, Colonel Kinloch 
 of Logie was appointed the first Inspector of that force 
 in the counties and burghs in Scotland. The house of 
 Logie stands about a mile south of the town. It is sur- 
 rounded by the largest trees in the parish. One ash-tree 
 measures twenty-one feet in circumference. Irrigation 
 was very extensively and successfully practised by Mr. 
 Kinloch in 1770. Having command of the river Gairie 
 he flooded his enclosures in November, continuing to do 
 so at intervals until April. The consequence was that 
 the rent for grazing very soon rose. The grass was the 
 earliest and best in the district. Before that date, his 
 land was letting at 8s. an acre ; but after six years of 
 flooding, it let at nine times that sum; and from statistics 
 in 1830, after being fully fifty years in grass, when the 
 fields were broken up for a course of cropping, some of 
 them rose as high as 7 8s. the imperial acre. This ex- 
 periment showed that irrigation not only improves grass, 
 but ameliorates the soil. Can no hint from such a pro- 
 cess be taken now ? Proprietors who have the command 
 of rivers might surely try something to feed the starving 
 land. Logie has shown that the benefit of irrigation is 
 no dream, but a demonstrated fact. 
 
 The principal resident heritor is Charles Lyell, Esq. of 
 Kinnordy. His famous ancestors have done full justice 
 to the Mansion-House and grounds. Last century, the 
 proprietor embellished his seat with planting every variety 
 of ornamental trees on all waste pieces of ground in his 
 
 p
 
 220 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 policies. The garden is enriched by many rare plants ; 
 and there is a valuable Museum, consisting of minerals, 
 bones of animals, antiquities, and the insects of the dis- 
 trict. Mr. Lyell is the Baron and Superior of the town. 
 Shielhill is a property which also belongs to the Lyells. 
 It is beautifully situated on the banks of the South Esk. 
 Lindsay property down to 1629, it was then sold to John 
 Ramsay of Balnabreich. The Castle stood on the top of 
 a romantic rock, and part of it forms the walls of the 
 cottages which now occupy its place. These are about 
 three feet thick ; the door and window lintels are of old 
 hewn ashlar, and one of them is dated 1G86. At a little 
 distance is a fountain, known by the name of St. Colm, 
 which was probably near the ChapeL The wife of Dr. 
 Jamieson, the celebrated lexicographer, was a Miss Watson 
 of ShielhilL 
 
 Balinscho the town of rest is a property with many 
 historical associations. During the sixteenth century it 
 was possessed by Bailie Scrymgeour of Dundee. In 1595, 
 the Ogilvies were proprietors ; for Sir John Lindsay, son 
 of the tenth Earl of Crawford, slew an Ogilvy and took 
 possession. His sons were distinguished for their bravery 
 in foreign campaigns. Fletcher, who married the youngest 
 daughter of young Ogilvy of Airlie (who fell at Inver- 
 lochy), was the first of his name in Balinscho. In I'll! 4, 
 George Fletcher of Balinscho succeeded tj the Barony of 
 Rostinoth, to the teinds of which Robert was served heir 
 in 1G58. Eleven years afterwards, the magistrates of 
 Forfar bought the patronage and teinds. The Castle of 
 Balinscho, now the property of the Earl of Strathmore, is 
 a roofless ruin ; a circular tower and other buildings stood 
 at the north-east corner down to a late date. The ruins 
 of the more modern house stand near by. Many fine old 
 trees surround the Lindsay 'w Castle ; and in the orchard
 
 KIRRIEMUIR. 227 
 
 there is the largest walnut-tree in the kingdom. As al- 
 ready mentioned, a chapel stood on the west of the turn- 
 pike road. The " Stannin' Stane o' Benshie," which stood 
 for centuries, and was the source of much antiquarian 
 speculation and superstitious awe, was blown up by gun- 
 powder about fifty years ago. It was not less than twenty 
 tons in weight ; and, at a considerable depth below it, a 
 large clay urn, three feet in height, was found, containing 
 a quantity of human bones and ashes ; but to whom this 
 rude monument was erected must remain for ever a 
 mystery. 
 
 " All ruined and wild is their roofless abode, 
 And lonely the dark raven's sheltering tree ; 
 And travelled by few is the grass-covered road 
 Where the hunter of deer and the warrior trode. " 
 
 The population of the parish, in 1755, was 3409 ; in 
 1792, 4358 ; and in 1881, 6616. The valued rental is 
 674; and the real rental, 30,000. 
 
 The town of Kirriemuir is pleasantly situated, 400 feet 
 above sea level, on an inclined plane which rises to the 
 ranges of the Grampians. It is a first-rate starting- point 
 (after landing from the Caledonian railway, which has a 
 terminus there), for a three days' pedestrian tour by 
 Clova, " Dark Lochnagar," Braemar and Glenshee, Glenisla 
 to Alyth, where the railway can be got again. The form 
 of the town may be fancied to resemble an anchor, giving 
 ample evidence of taste, industry, and success. The 
 Parish Church is a very handsome edifice (built in 1787 
 and seated for 1 260), to which Charles Lyell of Kinnordy 
 added a handsome spire, catching the observer's eye for a 
 considerable distance. There are, besides, seven places of 
 worship in the town. Four banks show the business 
 stir. Above a dozen schools prove that education is well 
 attended to. In 1784, Mr. Henry of London left 1400 
 to Ms native town of Kirriemuir, the interest of which
 
 228 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 was to be laid out in educating and furnishing with 
 schoolbooks, pens, ink, and paper, a number of boys be- 
 longing to the parish. Mr. John Webster, in 1829, left 
 8000 for endowing a school, at which instruction in the 
 arts and sciences may be obtained. A dozen Friendly 
 Societies conserve the savings of the industrious. A 
 Justice of Peace Court for the eight neighbouring parishes 
 is held ; and the ratepayers have availed themselves of 
 the Lindsay Act for the Police Commission. A weekly 
 market for corn is held on Friday ; fairs are held on the 
 first Monday of the first five months of the year, the 
 Wednesday after the 2Gth of May, the fourth Tuesday of 
 July and October (for sheep), and the fourth Wednesday 
 of July, October, and November (for horses and cattle). 
 
 In no town of its size (about 4000) is more trade car- 
 ried on, being the centre of a wide agricultural district, 
 and having considerable manufacturing work. About a 
 century ago, many hands were employed in the manu- 
 facture of Osnaburgh, Scrim, and Birdy, 38,000 sterling 
 being realised annually; 1200 pairs of shoes were made 
 annually for exportation. Piece-work caused many keen 
 competitors, one man having for a wager wrought a web 
 of 91 yards in 18 consecutive hours. In 1782, there was 
 great distress in the town, not so much from a scarcity of 
 victual (for the crop was good), but from a resolution 
 entered into by the people not to give above a certain 
 price. Famine threatened them, and to prevent its 
 ravages, a society called the Weaver Society was instituted, 
 the surplus funds of which were to buy meal at cost price 
 to the members. From 178G to 1792 trade got gradually 
 brisker, and wages proportionally changed. In these six 
 years a labouring man's wages rose from 5 to 10 13s. ; a 
 woman's from 2 10s. to 4 4s. ; a mason's daily wage 
 from Is. 3d. to 2s. ; and a joiner's from Is. to Is. Gd. The
 
 KIRRIEMUIR. 229 
 
 opulence of the town was tested by the collection at the 
 Church-door (before there was any dissent in the parish), 
 the average in 1762 being 9s. 9d., and in 1792, 1 8s. 
 per Sabbath. The Kev. Thomas Ogilvy, in the " Old 
 Statistical Account," gives this character of the people a 
 hundred years ago : " Such is the disposition of the 
 people that their purse is open to every vagabond who can 
 tell a plausible tale of woe, most of whom are fit objects 
 for a house of correction ; and in this way as much money 
 is squandered as would make all the poor in the parish 
 live comfortably." In his day nine carriers went regu- 
 larly to Dundee twice a week, and two came twice a week 
 from Montrose. There were ten brewers, ten inn-keepers, 
 twelve retailers of foreign spirits, three of wine, twenty 
 of ale and whisky, twenty-seven merchants, two hundred 
 and twenty-eight weavers, three tan-yards, and one dis- 
 tillery all in a town of 1584 inhabitants. What a dif- 
 ference in the railway conveniences, for bringing coals 
 and provisions to the very door and taking away so ex- 
 peditiously the produce of the town and district ! Ever 
 since 1820, when about 2| million yards of brown linen 
 were stamped, the trade of Kirriemuir has steadily in- 
 creased ; and now, by the aid of steam instead of hand- 
 loom work, a very considerable business is being success- 
 fully carried on, making Kirriemuir a recognised feeder 
 of the great manufacturing industries. By industry, may 
 the town go on flourishing ! For, if conducted in a right 
 spirit, it will have the reward of Ben Jonson's prophetic 
 couplet: 
 
 " "Virtue, though chained to earth, will still live free, 
 And hell itself must yield to industry. "
 
 KINNETTLBS. 
 
 THE northern part of this parish lies in the lowest hollow 
 of Strathmore, where probably at a remote period was 
 the bed of a large lake, which, finding a pretty level 
 passage into a small valley among the Sidlaws, formed a 
 basin. This basin, when the water was diverted into 
 another channel, formed a marsh ; and at the head of it 
 was built a Church, probably in the twelfth century. 
 From the nature of the situation, this Church took the 
 name Kinnettles, meaning in Gaelic " the head of the 
 bog." The marshy ground still bears the name of " The 
 Bogg." 
 
 The parish is of nearly a square form, two miles aside ; 
 and is enclosed by the three parishes, Forfar, Glamis and 
 Inverarity. Brigton Hill (543 ft.), or, as it is sometimes 
 called, the Hill of Kinnettles (being divided between the 
 proprietors of the two estates of Brigton and Kin- 
 nettles), divides the parish into pretty equal parts. The 
 form of the hill is elliptical and flat on the top; it is 
 arable, except in a few acres of rocky land crowned with 
 varied coloured trees ; and its appearance adds much to 
 the beauty of the parish scenery. About half a century 
 ago, a herd-boy sat on that part of the hill which faces 
 the valley of Strathmore ; and, fascinated with the 
 grandeur of the view on a summer evening, when the 
 fiercely brilliant streaks of the sun's crimson were dis- 
 appearing, and over the western hills a flush of orange 
 hovered, he made a strange resolve, which showed 
 the inherent genius and ambition beneath the ple- 
 beian fustian, that if ho should succeed in amass-
 
 KINNETTLES. 231 
 
 ing wealth he would buy that hill, and on that 
 spot build his house. The wish and resolve suc- 
 ceeded ; and, in 1867, Paterson of Kinnettles built 
 there one of the most handsome and most handsomely 
 furnished mansions we can find in any part of the 
 country. 
 
 Numerous springs supply the parish with excellent 
 water ; one at the Kirkton discharging about twenty-five 
 gallons per minute. The Kerbet or Arity (rising in 
 Dilty Moss, in the parish of Carmylie), affords a diversi- 
 fied beauty to the parish, gentty flowing along, driving 
 mills, and giving good sport to anglers. 
 
 Whinstone rock is found in several parts, but is diffi- 
 cult to work ; though it is very useful, on account of its 
 lasting qualities for drains and road-metal. Sandstone, 
 stratified to the surface, forms the base of the hill of 
 Kinnettles, and furnishes stones of very large dimensions. 
 Slate-rock, though not extensive, is used for flagstones, 
 which are of good quality. In these three kinds of rock 
 various ores are found, copper is embedded, and veins of 
 lead are disseminated ; but the quantity is too small to 
 pay the working. Garnets, micas, and lime-spar are fre- 
 quently met with. The soil is various, consisting of 
 brown clay, loam, mixed loam and clay, and mixed loarn 
 and sand. Boulders were once very numerous; but these 
 have been blasted and removed. How these boulders, of 
 a different character from the adjoining rocks or soil, got 
 into their places is a problem which has excited the in- 
 genuity of the Fellows of the Royal Society ; and after 
 ten years' enquiry over all Scotland, these learned men 
 have issued a Report (only the other day), making in- 
 dividual suggestions, but not agreeing as to the exact way 
 of accounting for their existence. 
 
 With such a variety of soil and rock there is to be
 
 2o2 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 found a corresponding variety of flora. Among these we 
 can see the Milk-Thistle (with the white veins on its 
 leaves which give it its name) ; the Rest-harrow (with 
 its handsome rose-coloured leaves), generally found 
 nearer the sea; and the Scarlet Pimpernel the Poor 
 Man's Weather-glass whose brilliant petals close at the 
 approach of rain, thus alluded to by Dr. Jenner in his 
 " Signs of Rain " : 
 
 " Closed is the pink-eyed Pimpernel : 
 'Twill surely rain, I see with sorrow, 
 Our jaunt must be put off to-morrow." 
 
 The parish has an atmosphere of considerable humidity. 
 The climate is mild and genial in the valley, and pure 
 and cold in the elevated situations ; on the whole it is 
 good and salubrious. The Rev. Mr. Ferney, in the " Old 
 Statistical Account " written in 1793 naturally won- 
 dered why so many people left the healthy air of the 
 country to live in the stifled dens of towns : " The 
 sickly looks of many children, in large, crowded, ill-situ- 
 ated towns, show that the country is the preferable place 
 for children. But how is the prevailing resort to towns 
 to be prevented, when the piesent taste is to raze or 
 suffer almost every unrequircd house to go to decay?" 
 According to his experience, the year 17H2 must have 
 been a most exceptionally bad one. The driest lands 
 were not for receiving seed till the 17th of April. About 
 the 29th of May, it rained without intermission for fifty 
 hours. On the 16th cf August, an uncommon flood 
 chilled the ground for a considerable time. On the 
 morning of the 12th of September, there was hoar-frost 
 as thick as at Christmas ; and after this was melted by 
 the sun's heat, peas and potatoes had the look of having 
 been dipped in boiling water. The corn soon grew white, 
 then from whitish to green, according as the frost or rain 
 prevailed. The fine, deep, Mack soil only produced from
 
 KIN NETTLES. 233 
 
 three to four bolls of oats per acre, so light that it yielded 
 mill-dust instead of meal. Considerable misery was the 
 result. Fortunately the next year's harvest was early, 
 producing a heavy crop ; thus convincing men of the com- 
 pensating powers of Nature. The Rev. Robert Lunan, 
 in his scholarly and elaborate notice in the "New 
 Statistical Account " of the parish written in 1835 
 remarked : " Every species of corn is less or more ex- 
 posed to the depredations of insects. Wheat suffers 
 from slugs ; but the greatest enemy that has yet assailed 
 it, is a fly that was introduced in 1826. This insect in- 
 serts into the ear its ova, which, soon becoming small 
 worms, injure it very much. Wheat has in consequence 
 been almost banished from the parish for the last six 
 years." 
 
 Ecclesiastically, the Church of Kinnettles was in the 
 Diocese of St. Andrews. It stood upon an eminence 
 called Kirkhill not far from its present site. Kynetles, 
 Kinetlys, Kynathes, and Kynnecles are the oldest forms 
 of its name in the several charters. In 1189, during the 
 Chancellorship of Hugh, King William the Lion gave to 
 the Priory of Rostinoth (then a cell of the Abbey of Jed- 
 burgh), the lands of Gossans in exchange for those of 
 Foffarty in Kinnettles, which, with waters, woods, and 
 plains, meadows and pastures, muirs and marshes, were to 
 be held in free and perpetual alms by the Prior and 
 Canons. In 1226, Laurence of Montealt was rector of the 
 Church. In the Taxatio of the Priory of St. Andrews, in 
 1250, the Church of Kinetlys was rated at 18 merks. In 
 1264, Robert of Montealt, Sheriff of Forfarshire, and his 
 brother Laurence, the rector of Kinnettles, were witnesses 
 to the foundation charter of the Hospital, or Maisondieu, 
 of Brechin. Homage was paid to King Edward I. of 
 England, in 1296, by "Mestre Nicol de Merton, persone
 
 234 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 del Eglise de Kynathes." Four years afterwards, this 
 parson was a witness to a grant by Bishop Lam- 
 berton of the Kirk of Dairsie, in Fife, to the Priory of 
 St. Andrews. From the Register of the Abbey of Arbroath 
 we find that Mathew was rector of the parish in 13G4. 
 
 For two centuries we can trace no references to this 
 parish. In 1597, James Fotheringham was minister of Kin- 
 nettles along with Inverarity and Meathie (suppressed in 
 1GG7 by the Court of Teinds), with a stipend of 8 Gs. 8d. 
 It was joined to Forfar, Rostinoth, and Tannadice, in 1574, 
 Alexander Neva being local reader under the minister 
 Ninian Clement. In 1604, King James VI. gave the 
 Church of Kinnettles to the Archbishop of St. Andrews. 
 James Lawmonth (with seventeen other ministers) was 
 deposed in the Synod by the Assembly's Committee of 
 Visitation, in 1G49, for " insufficiencie for the ministrie." 
 After his death, his widow received twelve shillings from 
 Archbishop Sharp, and was referred by the Synod to the 
 charity of the Kirk-sessions in the diocese. Alexander 
 Taylor, the last Episcopal clergyman of Kiimettles, was 
 the author of a curious poem entitled : " Signal dangers 
 nnd deliverances both by land and sea with a violent tem- 
 pest, when going to Edinburgh, in IG81, with Claverhouse 
 and many of his brethren for the purpose of taking the 
 oath required by the Test Act between Burntisland and 
 Leith in the boat called The Blessing." Here is a specimen 
 of liis quaint style, where lie is describing the effect of the 
 stormy waves on the frail vessel : 
 
 " Kach kept his time and place, 
 As if they meant to drown us with a grace 
 The first came tumbling on our Imat's side, 
 And knockt us twice her breadth and more beside ; 
 But, vext that it had wrought'ii no more disgrace, 
 It spits ou us spits iu its follower's face." 
 
 In 1743, Thomas Brown was deposed for deserting his 
 charge for seven months. Under an assumed name he
 
 KINNETTLES. 235 
 
 celebrated an irregular marriage, for which he was in- 
 dicted and tried before the High Court of Justiciary, and 
 transported to the British plantations in America for 
 fourteen years. 
 
 At the time of the Reformation, the Bishop of Dunkeld 
 was propietor of 250 acres (quoad civilia in Caputh), 
 which he let to Alexander Pyott, a staunch papist. 
 Alarmed at the progress of Protestantism, Pyott, with the 
 Bijshop's consent, went to Rome, and got the deed of con- 
 veyance confirmed by a Papal Bull. Though we cannot 
 ascertain the date, yet sometime after the Reformation 
 this propietor of FofFarty, aided by the Catholics in the 
 neighbourhood, built a chapel there (probably on the site 
 of an old chapel), and appointed a priest, with manse, 
 offices, and glebe. This chapel was burnt by a party of 
 royal dragoons in 1745. Remaining roofless and ruinous 
 for many years, the stones were afterwards used for 
 making drains. Mr. Bower of Kincaldrum removed the 
 stone, which contained the holy water, to his own pre- 
 mises. The glebe of the statutory five acres remained 
 unclaimed for many years after the demolition of the 
 chapel. The Earl of Strathmore, in 1758, bought the lands 
 of Foffarty ; yet, for a long time, he would not venture to 
 break up the glebe, but let it lie waste and unclaimed. 
 As it was declared by the General Assembly of 1773, 
 quoad civilia in the parish of Caputh, the minister of 
 that parish about eighty years ago advanced his claim to 
 it ; but he lost it in the Court from the want of a charter 
 and occupancy. But the whole lands of Foffarty, being 
 church-lands, pay no teind to this day. The Parochial re- 
 cords consist of six old volumes, containing notes of the 
 doings of the people under the old and time-honoured 
 ecclesiastical police supervision. The modern ones are 
 in accordance with improved ideas.
 
 236 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Historically, we have not much to say about Kinnettles. 
 A branch of the famous family of the Lindsays settled 
 there about the year 1511, and flourished in considerable 
 repute for nearly a century and a-half. Robert, a descend- 
 ant of a younger brother of the third Earl of Crawford, 
 was the first Lindsay of Kinnettles. In 1612, one of the 
 family of Wishart of Logic- Wishart, who was proprietor 
 of Balindarg in Kirriemuir, had an interest in the lands 
 of Ingleston (in Eassie) and Kinnettles. In the church- 
 yard of Rescobie is a tombstone where the inscription 
 shows that one of the two wives of the minister there 
 (David Lindsay), in 1677, was Marjory, daughter of Lind- 
 say of Kinnettles. This Marjory was the aunt of the 
 famous Dr. Thomas Lindsay, Archbishop of Armagh, and 
 Primate of all Ireland, who died in 1713. With him all 
 trace of the male descendants of the house of Kinnettles 
 passed away. Mr. Bower of Kincaldrum then became 
 proprietor. Of this family was the learned Jesuit Archi- 
 bald (1686-1766), whose principal work was a " History of 
 the Popes," in seven volumes, concerning which, as well as 
 his connection with the Jesuits, he stood accused of much 
 imposture. About the middle of last century, the pro- 
 prietor of Brigton was Mr. Douglas, who did much good to 
 the parish, and after whom the village of Douglaston 
 took its name. His gardener's son, William Patterson, 
 born in 1755, had the good fortune to receive the patronage 
 of Lady Mary Lyon of Glamis, by whom he was educated. 
 He rose to the dignified station of Colonel of the 102nd 
 Regiment and Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales. 
 After a long period of ill-health, ho attempted to return 
 to his native country, but died on the voyage in 1810. A 
 cenotaph, with a suitable inscription, containing an 
 account of his services and abilities, was afterwards 
 erected in Kiunettles churchyard. About the beginnin-r
 
 KINNETTLES. 237 
 
 of this century, Kirmettles was possessed by the family of 
 Harvey, one of whom, John Inglis Harvey, in 1823, 
 obtained an appointment to a very honourable and dis- 
 tinguished office in the East Indies ; afterwards becoming 
 a Civil Judge there. It is stated that Harvey was to be 
 proprietor of the estate (which came by his wife) so long 
 as his wife was above ground ; accordingly, to keep to 
 the letter of the deed of settlement, he, after his wife's 
 death, put her into a glass case which he laid into a mau- 
 soleum above ground, and thereby retained his vested 
 rights. 
 
 The churchyard contains some very old tomb-stones. 
 One of date 1626 is quite legible, and another of 1630. 
 From the shape of the letters, and the quality of the 
 stone, some undated appear to be even much older. Two 
 large monuments, and a number of stones, well designed 
 and executed, occupy prominent places ; but most con- 
 spicuous of all are those erected, in 1814, for the three 
 principal families in the parish. The Church was entirely 
 rebuilt in 1812 ; and is commodious and substantial, 
 seated for 420 sitters. With the exception of the seats 
 of the heritors, minister, and elders, the sittings are let 
 annually, to keep up the necessary expenses. The Manse 
 was rebuilt in 1801, and has been frequently repaired 
 the old Manse having lasted from 1737, with one repair 
 in 1785. Mr. Forney, in his Account of the parish, very 
 judiciously suggested that the ordinary glebe to a minister 
 is little more than a " white elephant," for he said : " A 
 minister, labouring it at the expense of a man and two 
 horses, must be a considerable loser. It was an unlucky 
 circumstance, in assigning land to ministers, that the 
 Legislature did not think of allotting more." However, 
 the good feeling which ought to subsist between a minister 
 and his people is often creditably shown by the farmers
 
 238 STKATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 working the glebe for the minister a great saving to him, 
 and no loss to them. 
 
 In 1833, the upper stone of a hand-mill, of mica-schist, 
 was dug up in a grass-field. It was 25 inches in diameter, 
 and 1 \ inch in thickness being nearly circular, with a 
 neat chisel ornament round the central opening. This is 
 probably of great antiquity having been in use long 
 before the larger mill driven by oxen ; and that would 
 likely be before the Romans were in Britain, or two 
 thousand years ago. 
 
 Towards the end of last century, Mr. Douglas of 
 Brigton erected a large and commodious spinning-mill, 
 of twelve horse-powerdriven originally by water, then 
 partly by steam, which gave employment to a consider- 
 able number of hands. The same gentleman superintended 
 the thorough repairing of the roads, and the erection of 
 stone bridges, which do him lasting honour. There are 
 two villages Douglaston and Kirkton where the 
 houses are well built, and tidily kept. The public school 
 is in the former, and is a very commodious building. 
 What a difference between the life of the teacher of to-day 
 and that of the dominie of a hundred years ago ! Now ho 
 is far better off than the minister, for his salary is as good, 
 and he is expected to keep up less ; but before he had a 
 pitiful living salary, 5 ; fees, 4 13s. 9d. ; registrar 
 and session-clerk's extras, 2 8s. 4d. in all, 12 2s. Id., 
 less than the income of a common labourer of his day. 
 There is also a Free Church in the parish. 
 
 The population has decreased from G16 in 1755 to 
 418 in 1881, principally by reason of the enlarging 
 of the farms. The rental has increased from 1600 
 in 1790 to 6529 in 1883. The valued rent is 155 
 sterling. 
 
 A century ago, tinkers a class of sturdy beggars of
 
 KINNETTLES. 239 
 
 both sexes were a source of great annoyance to the poor 
 people. Their insolence, idleness, and dishonesty made 
 them ready for prey of all kinds. Mr. Ferney wisely 
 remarked of these : " So long as mankind are supported 
 by strolling, the industry and ingenuity of thousands 
 must be lost to the community, and vice cherished to 
 a considerable degree." Of his own parishioners he was 
 proud, as they were " pretty remarkable for an acuteness 
 of genius, which enables them to attain to dexterity in 
 their several occupations." The boundaries between the 
 ranks were more distinctly marked, and more attentively 
 observed. There were in the parish only one coach and 
 one two- wheeled chaise. The judicious difference of rank, 
 which forms the very life-blood of a healthy nation, is by 
 no means so carefully respected in our day ; and, by the 
 test of the very existence of our country as a recognised 
 great power in the world, our successors will judge which 
 is the more lasting and disastrous evil the old aristocratic 
 tyranny, or the levelling despotism of communism. Yet 
 it would be well for the proprietors here, as in other parts 
 of Scotland, to recognise the fact, which will be taught 
 them yet more bitterly whatever be their political lean- 
 ings that it is unwise, and ultimately suicidal, to attempt 
 to force out of the land a rent which is not in it ; and it 
 would be for the true conservation of this important 
 interest, if they, admitting this fact, would arrange, by 
 arbitration and common-sense, what (we are afraid) may 
 yet be done by statutory enactment. If they are wise in 
 time, and act on this principle in a body, the clamant 
 cry will be smothered, and Westminster will be saved 
 from displays of the passionate clashing of interested 
 classes, which, in the peculiar circumstances that occasioned 
 the passing of the Land Act for Ireland, well nigh broke 
 up the Constitution of our United Empire.
 
 PORFAR. 
 
 No satisfactory account can be given of the origin of the 
 name of this important parish in Strathmore. Some con- 
 jecture that the town arose on the ruins of the Roman 
 Arrea, but the most probable derivation is from the Gaelic 
 fuar, " cold," and barr, " a point " that is, " the cold 
 point." The common people pronounce it Farfar. In the 
 writings connected with the patronage, the parish is de- 
 signated Forfar-Restennet, Rostinoth probably being the 
 original parish. It is of irregular shape six miles by five 
 in extent and is bounded by Rescobie, Dunnichen, Inver- 
 arity, Kinnettles, Glamis, and Kirriemuir. The parish is 
 divided into burgh and landward, having distinct inte- 
 rests : for a considerable time, separate collections at the 
 Church-door were made for the poor in each division ; and 
 now they have separate School Boards. The landward 
 part presents a level prospect to the eye, intercepted only 
 by Balnashannar hill (572 feet), directly to the south. 
 
 Before the extensive draining, there was a chain of three 
 lochs, abounding in pike, perch, and eel. The Loch of 
 Forfar a mile in length, and a quarter of a mile in 
 breadth stretches from the town westwards ; but, above 
 a century ago, a communication was made at the cost of 
 3000 to allow it to discharge part of its waters into the 
 Dean River. Before that drain was cut, the loch was 
 about sixteen feet deeper; but it is still from two to twenty- 
 two feet deep in summer. No arable land was gained by 
 the draining, but large quantities of moss and marl. At 
 some very far distant date, there was made near its north 
 side an artificial island, com posed of large piles of oak and
 
 FORFAR. 241 
 
 loose stones, with a stratum of earth above ; but now it is 
 only a very curious peninsula. The loch and drained land 
 belong to the Earl of Strathmore ; and as much as 700 
 per annum was realised for the moss and marl. Loch 
 Feithie is a beautiful little sheet of water a mile, in cir- 
 cumference belonging to Mr. Dempster of Dunnichen. 
 Before its banks were cleared of thriving wood, it had a 
 singularly romantic appearance ; but now it is bleak and 
 uninviting, except to the keen anglers old and young ; 
 for, according to George Dempster 
 
 " Even school-boys perches in Loch Feithie take, 
 And the sun's shadow dances on the Lake." 
 
 At the northern boundary of the parish lies Loch Kes- 
 tennet ; but only a loch in name, for it has been for a long 
 time drained. The extent of ground recovered is about 
 250 acres, and the value of moss and marl was computed 
 at above 50,000. 
 
 Several excellent stone and slate quarries are within 
 the parish, and immense quantities of pavement are sent 
 to Dundee and Arbroath. The soil is various : to the 
 north and south, it is (in general) light and thin, with a 
 gravel bottom ; in the middle, it is spouty clay, where, 
 however, excellent oats, barley, and green-crop are pro- 
 duced ; and all along, the state of agriculture has been 
 highly creditable to the skill and enterprise of the farmer. 
 
 The botanical enthusiast, Mr. George Don, when resid- 
 ing in Forfar, collected the flora of the parish. Among 
 these, he mentions the rare variety of the Hawk-weed 
 (found by him, for the first time in Britain, in the fir- 
 woods) ; the Lesser Winter-green (distinguished by its 
 large stigma, included in the flower) ; and the Wood 
 Melic-grass. In Forfar Loch, he found the club-like, spiked 
 Heed-mace ; the Water-Soldier (rising to the surface, to 
 spread its white flowers) ; the minute floating Duck- weed ; 
 
 Q
 
 242 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 the rare Lesser Bladderwort (with small yellow flowers, 
 which float till the bladders become filled with water) ; 
 and the Maiden Pink (easily known by its rose-coloured 
 flowers, with white spots and a dark ring in the centre). 
 In Loch Feithie, he discovered the Quill-wort supposed 
 to be found only in Alpine lakes ; and, in pools in the 
 marsh of Restennet, he found the Hispid Chara. 
 
 Before taking up the ecclesiastical edifices and royal 
 castles which have surrounded this district with hallowed 
 and historical associations, we shall say a few words about 
 the minor antiquarian remains. A Roman causeway ran 
 through the greater part of the parish, between the camp 
 of Battledykes, in Oathlaw, and Haerfaulds, in Inverarity ; 
 and some indications of this road can still be traced, where 
 the land has not been cultivated. Midway between these 
 camps a mile and a-half east of the town the remains 
 of another camp of considerable size are still distinctly 
 visible. This is understood to be a Roman camp, built 
 upon what was once an old Pictish camp ; but of far 
 larger dimensions than was necessary for the army of 
 Agricola. Between the Lochs of Forfar and Restennet 
 was a fosse, strengthened by a rampart, which some be- 
 lieve to have been a work of defence formed by the Picts. 
 Occasionally, coins, urns, and pieces of armour have been 
 found, some of which are now in Glamis Castle. When 
 Home of the rubbish of Forfar Castle was being cleared 
 away, about 1760, a vessel, of conical form, and a bunch 
 of arrows, were found. At the same time, a pit was dis- 
 covered, built of hewn stones eighteen feet deep in 
 which was a human body in an extreme stage of decom- 
 position ; the unfortunate man having fallen in, and died 
 of starvation. For a long time, there hung in the steeple 
 of the Parish Church the Witch's Bridle ; but this, accord- 
 ing to Mr. Daniel Wilson, the late Secretary of the Anil-
 
 FORFAR. 243 
 
 quarian Society, has been given to the collection of Alex- 
 ander Deuchar, Edinburgh. The Bridle is a skeleton iron 
 helmet, having a dart-shaped gag of the same metal, 
 which entered the mouth, and effectively " brankit " the 
 tongue. On the circle is punched " 1661 Angus S." 
 With this the wretched victim of superstition was led to 
 execution in the Witches' Howe, where the public wash- 
 ing-green is now situated. The object aimed at, in apply- 
 ing so dreadful a gag to those who were condemned to 
 the stake as guilty of witchcraft, was not so much the 
 purposed cruelty attending it, as to prevent the supposed 
 witches from pronouncing the potent formula by which 
 it was believed they could transform themselves at will 
 into other shapes. From 1650 to 1662, in consequence of 
 the passing of the celebrated statute by James VI. for the 
 punishment of witches, no fewer than nine victims of 
 fatuous stupidity suffered at the stake in the Witches' 
 Howe of Forfar. The trials of these poor beings are ex- 
 tant, of which extracts were printed in the Strathmore 
 Journal of 1829. According to one document, a Royal 
 Commission was addressed to the Heritors and Magistrates, 
 to deal with certain women who confessed themselves 
 guilty of witchcraft. One, for example, confessed " That, 
 about three years the last oate-seed time, she was at a 
 meeting in the Kirkyard of Forfar, and that yr were first 
 there the devill himselfe, in the shape of a black iron- 
 heived man, and a number of other persons ; that they all 
 danced together, and that the ground under them was all 
 fyre flaughten ; " and on another occasion " That, after 
 dancing a whyle, she and the other women went into a 
 house and sat down, the devill being present at the head 
 of the table ; that, after making themselves mirrie with 
 ale and aqueavitae, the devill made much of them all, and 
 especiallie of Marion Rinde." The Town Council, with
 
 244 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 all due solemnity, approved of the care and diligence of 
 an inn-keeper, who brought over the " pricker of the 
 witches in Trennent," to assist in the detection of sus- 
 pected culprits. They had to secure the services of the 
 executioner and " scourger of the poore " of Perth, to ad- 
 minister the extreme penalty of the law. The site of the 
 gallows when that alternative was employed was either 
 in that part of Forfar where a saw-mill is now (and where 
 human bones have been dug up in great quantities) ; or 
 on the western part of Balnashannar HilL The last exe- 
 cution which took place there was in 1785 ; and that was 
 of the last criminal in Scotland who was executed by the 
 sentence of a Sheriff. In the Old Church steeple are the 
 jougs an instrument consisting of a flat iron collar with 
 distended loops, through which a padlock was passed to 
 secure the delinquent from Church discipline in his " dur- 
 ance vile." 
 
 Ecclesiastically, the parish takes a prominent place as 
 to antiquity, influence, and work. Spottiswood states 
 that, in G97, St. Boniface came from Italy to Scotland ; 
 and among the Churches erected by him was Restennet, 
 on the Loch of the same name. It was encompassed by 
 the water except at one passage, where it had a draw- 
 bridge. But narrow and poor was the church-life of that 
 early period, though retired from the rancour and storm 
 that raged without; for the religious devotees, uneducated 
 and unrefined, consecrated themselves by ascetic fastings 
 and scourgings, till the time when they were " doomed to 
 die as the world's life grew." Upon the old site of this 
 primitive Church, the Priory was erected, in 1120, by 
 King Alexander I., as a repository for the public records 
 which were not so convenient for reference in the 
 Cathedral of lona. The Priory was dedicated to St. Peter,
 
 FORFAR. 24-5 
 
 and occupied by monks of the Order of St. Augustine. 
 Kobed in white, with a black cloak, and a hood 
 covering the head, neck, and shoulders, these monks 
 trod the sacred courts, and made the " grand old psalm 
 peal through the pillared calm." Of a different tone 
 and training from their predecessors, they encouraged 
 the arts and education, becoming the practical instructors, 
 as well as the religious teachers, of the whole neigh- 
 
 O ' O 
 
 bourhood : 
 
 " But something of wisdom the monk would know, 
 Something of gladness here below, 
 
 Something of beauty, and what it can ! 
 He was not sinless, and yet he brought 
 A larger heart, and a freer thought, 
 
 And a fuller life to the sons of man." 
 
 We find from the charters regarding Rostinoth (in the 
 possession of, and arranged by, the late Patrick Chalmers 
 of Aldbar), that, about 1140, King David I. gave to the 
 monks the rents of certain thanages, bondages, and other 
 royal lands. From its foundation until 1160, very con- 
 siderable grants and privileges were made to the Priory. 
 Among these in the parish was the Church of Craignathro, 
 which had existed for some time. Of others, we may 
 mention the Churches of Forfar, of Petterden (between 
 Forfar and Tealing), of Tealing, of Duninald, of Dysart, 
 and of Egglispether. The Priory also possessed the 
 Crown teinds in Angus, including those in money, wool, 
 chickens, cheese, and malt, and those of the mill and fish- 
 market of Forfar ; also 10s. out of Kynaber, and the 
 teinds of the King's lordships of Salorch, Montrose, and 
 Rossie. It had the free passage of Scottewater (Firth of 
 Forth) ; and tofts in the burghs of Perth, Stirling, Edin- 
 burgh, and Forfar. But, between 1159 and 1163, King 
 Malcolm IV., by a charter signed at Roxburgh, made 
 the Priory of Rostinoth, along with the chapel of 
 Forfar, a cell of the Abbey of St. Mary of Jedburgh ; and
 
 24G STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 granted all its pertinents to that Abbey Rostinoth 
 being the mother church, and the chapel of Forfar 
 (which was dedicated to St. James) being dependent 
 thereon. This royal charter was, in 1242, confirmed by 
 Bishop Arnold of St. Andrews ; the Priory being in his 
 diocese. 
 
 From the Registers of the Abbeys of Cupar and Ar- 
 broath we find that the chaplain of King William the 
 Lion bestowed on the former a tenement in the burgh of 
 Forfar (of rental 26s. 8d.) ; and that, in 1211, the King 
 himself gave to the latter a toft in the same burgh, 
 which was formerly possessed by the Bishop of Caithness. 
 William also signed, at Forfar, charters for the confirma- 
 tion of the grants of eighteen churches to the Abbey of 
 Arbroatb, and two to the Abbey of Cupar. The same 
 King likewise gave to the Abbey of Jedburgh the lands 
 of Cossans, in exchange for those of Foffarty (in Kin- 
 nettles) ; and during his reign, Adam, Abbot of Forfar, in 
 the event of his dying " without offspring," constituted 
 the monks of Forfar his heirs. Besides the Priors, who 
 are witnesses to many royal charters, we find, in 1227, 
 the only trace of the existence of a steward of the Con- 
 vent, viz., " David Senescalle de Rostynoth," who was the 
 perambulator of the marches of lands in dispute between 
 the Abbey of Arbroath and K inblethmont. 
 
 In 1234, Alexander II. built the chapel of the Holy 
 Trinity, near the ruins of Queen Margaret's Castle, on the 
 island in Forfar Loch ; he likewise gave ten merks yearly 
 from lands in Glenisla, and pasture for six cows and a 
 horse on the lands of Tyrbeg, for the sustenance of two 
 monks, who were pcpotually to celebrate Divine service 
 there. In 1508, the Abbot of Cupar granted to Sir Alex. 
 Turnbull, the chaplain, the whole chaplaincy, on certain 
 conditions. A century ago, the vestiges of this chapel were
 
 FOKFAR. 247 
 
 seen by the incumbent of Forfar, in the shape of an oven 
 and the furnishings of a pleasure garden. 
 
 King Alexander, in 1234, also confirmed, at Forfar, 
 seven charters for the Abbey of Arbroath, and one for the 
 Abbey of Cupar. Eleven years afterwards, he gave to 
 the Abbey of Arbroath a hundred shillings stg., from the 
 Royal Manor of Forfar, for the relief of thirteen poor 
 people. In the Taxatio of 1250, Rostynoth and Forfar 
 are assessed at 24 merks, and the lands of Rostynoth at 
 40 merks. King Alexander III. gave the Prior and 
 Canons a right to the tenth of the hay grown in the mea- 
 dows of the Forest of Plater ; and granted them the privi- 
 lege of uplifting so much bread and ale every day the 
 King resided in Forfar Castle. In 1289, the Prior of 
 Rustinoth was one who signed the letter of the Com-" 
 munity of Scotland, consenting to the marriage of Prince 
 Edward of England with the Scottish Queen Margaret. 
 In 1296, " Robert, Prior de Rostinnot, et les Chanoines/' 
 swore fealty to the English King Edward I. " Be vertew 
 of ane antient gift, in 1299," the minister of Finhaven 
 (Oathlaw) had a small annuity from the burgh mails. 
 
 After the Castle of Forfar was destroyed in 1308 
 
 " And all the towns tumlit war 
 Down till the erd'' 
 
 King Robert the Bruce resided occasionally at the 
 Priory, from which he issued two charters to the Abbey 
 of Arbroath, and granted to the Prior of Rostinoth power 
 to cut wood in the forest of Plater at all convenient sea- 
 sons. In 1322, he granted to Roustinot 20s. lOd. from 
 the thanage of Thanachayis (Tannadice) ; and appointed 
 Alisaundre de Lamberton to inquire into the ancient 
 rights and privileges of the Priory. In 1333, the first 
 Lindsay of Glenesk mortified a small sum to the Priory 
 from the thanedom of Downie ; and three years after-
 
 248 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 wards, the Bishop of St. Andrews made over to it his 
 whole lands of Rescobie. King David II., in 1344, out 
 of special regard for the Priory as the place where his 
 brother John was buried, granted 20 merks stg. from the 
 great customs of Dundee. The last gift to the Priory 
 was 4 annually out of the thanedom of Menmuir, by 
 Dempster of Careston, about the year 1360. It may be 
 well said, with Keble, of both Kings and Monks : 
 
 " They gave their best. O tenfold shame 
 
 On us, their fallen progeny, 
 Who sacrifice the blind and lame, 
 Who will not wake or fast with Thee I " 
 
 The Abbot of Arbroath, in 1434, feued the land in the 
 burgh of Forfar ; and, nineteen years afterwards, exactly 
 defined the property there belonging to his Abbey. 
 In 1465, a long-standing dispute about the comuionty 
 was brought to a bearing by this writ of King James III., at 
 Edinburgh : " For as meikle as thair is certaue debaitis 
 beteux the Abbot off Abirbrothoo and the communite of 
 our burgh off Forfar for certane landemairis we grant 
 liciens and fredome to the said partees to accorde in the 
 said caus as suir pleisis tham sa that it be na prejudice 
 till us nor our successors." This was about the rights of 
 the inhabitants of " Ouchterloony " and the tenants of 
 the lands belonging to the monks of Arbroath, about the 
 occupation of King's Muir ; and in the preceding year 
 the Magistrates had drawn up a deed when " devly 
 gaderit in our tolbuth obligin us to defende the saide 
 Abbot in iosyng off the said commone." 
 
 For a hundred years there is merely a register of the 
 Priors and their occasional signatures to charters. But 
 at the time of the Reformation in Scotland, in 1560, the 
 Commendator of Jedburgh and Rostinoth had charters 
 of the dominical lands ; and his sister had a charter of 
 confirmation of the " house and enclosure of Restenneth."
 
 FOKFAB. 249 
 
 According to Dr. Scott's " Fasti," the Churches of Forfar, 
 Iiestennet, and Aberlemno were served, in 1566, by the 
 same minister, at the salary of 16 13s. 4d., and the 
 glebe lands. Fourteen years afterwards, Kinnettles and 
 Tannadice were added to this incumbent's labours. In 
 1590, Forfar and Restennet were given to one minister ; 
 but, six years afterwards, these were made one charge, 
 Restennet being suppressed, though originally it had 
 been the mother-charge. In 1606, the Earl of Kelly re- 
 ceived from James VL a grant of " the haill temporal 
 landis and rentis quhilkis pertenit of befoir to the Priorie 
 of Restenneth, with the richt of the patronage of the 
 Kirkis of the said Priorie." On two occasions has the 
 ministerof Forfar been Moderator of the General Assembly, 
 viz. : James Elliot, in 1610 ; and John Kerr, in 1776. Until 
 1643, the glebe of Rostinoth-Forfar was situated within 
 the Priory ; but the incumbent (Thomas Piersone, whose 
 books were estimat at 200 Scots, and debts at 1900), 
 succeeded in getting it removed nearer to the town. 
 
 In 1657, three very handsome bells cast in Stockholm 
 were presented to the Church of Forfar by two brothers, 
 of the name of Strang, who also gave money for the re- 
 lief of the deserving poor. When the principal bell 
 arrived in Dundee from Stockholm, it was thought by 
 the magistrates of that town too good for a small place 
 like Forfar. A struggle ensued for possession of the bell, 
 during which the tongue of it made of silver was 
 wrenched out and thrown into the Tay. After a time, 
 Forfar got possession of the Strangs' gift ; but only on 
 condition that Forfar would buy all the ground to be 
 passed over in conveying it from the quay to the northern 
 boundary of Dundee parish. This was done at great 
 cost ; and the place in Dundee goes still by the name of 
 Forfar Loan. The bell was without a tongue for a cen-
 
 250 STUATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 tury ; and the one now in it has not power enough to 
 bring out its rich tone. 
 
 As a reward for the determined opposition which the 
 Magistrates had taken against the " Nationall Covenant " 
 and the "Solemne League and Covenant," King Charles 
 II., in 1GG3, gave a new charter to the town, confirming 
 all that had been lost of the charters during the raids of 
 the Revolution period ; among which was the patronage of 
 the Kirk of Forfar, previously disponed for a certain 
 sum to the town by Sir George Fletcher of Balinsho 
 who had secured the patronage. In 1G87, James Small 
 was driven from his Church "without so much as a 
 shadow of a sentence against him." In 1G90, the Burgh- 
 records show that Forfar owes 933 Scots to the Church 
 of Dundee ; and that the minister received GOO Scots 
 for " teynd corn eaten and destroyed by yr Majestie's 
 forces and their horses." 
 
 The Presbytery of Forfar was erected by the Arch- 
 bishop in 1611. The Records are contained in eight 
 volumes ; but one of the early volumes is said to be in 
 private hands. It was re-arrranged in 1717. 
 
 The Parochial records go back to 1G59. The Session 
 Clerk, Mr. John Knox a scholar and antiquarian 
 has very kindly furnished us with some extracts from 
 these volumes. On July Gth, 1718, " the Session, con- 
 sidering the great offence, given and taken, by reading 
 from the desk intimations of roups that prove occa- 
 sion to people to break the Sabbath by unnecessary 
 talking thereabout, unanimously discharge the same 
 in all time coming." In 1720, a representation was 
 made to the Session, " that the scandals of drunkenness 
 and Sabbath-breaking are too prevalent, some by carry- 
 ing in their water and cutting their kail ; others by 
 shaving their faces and carrying home ale in stoups, &c ;"
 
 FORFAR. 251 
 
 and a joint consultation with the Magistrates was resolved 
 upon to punish such unchristian vices. In the year 
 following, two worthies were " delated guilty of drinking 
 the whole of an afternoon's sermon ; " and, while their 
 case was being under process, it was resolved that the 
 elders " should search the public-houses in time of divine 
 service." As it was proved on oath that the accused had 
 only had "three chappins of ale between sermons, the 
 last being finished before the first psahn was ended," the 
 Session, considering the matter a " little intricat," referred 
 both to the Presbytery "for their advice." In 1723, a 
 farm-servant, having been " delated as guilty of an act of 
 drunkenness when he came in to provide a coffin for his 
 child, with apparent sorrow confessed his fault on his 
 knees, and was duly rebuked." In the same year, the 
 minister, having a substitute in the pulpit, went out with 
 the elders and made search for people that " might be 
 drinking or profaning the day by idleness, and found 
 loose vagrants " in certain houses. In 1724, more elders 
 and deacons being required, and the Session being ad- 
 vised that the four nominated " were as fit as could be 
 found in the town," in the emergency, these, such as they 
 were, had to be appointed. Shortly after, one who had 
 been frequently before the Session for drunkenness " got 
 a token to come to the Table, but he had neither observed 
 the fast nor preparation days ; " accordingly, the officer 
 was ordered to take the token from him. Next year, the 
 minister and elders "perlustrat" the town, when the 
 pulpit was being supplied by the minister of Tannadice. 
 They found two drinking ale, a third " gathering in his 
 lintseed bolls with his coat off and a belt about him ; " 
 and a fourth with his family "at dinner in time of 
 sermon ! " One of the " drouths " was dismissed with an 
 exhortation, because, " being lame of a foot," he was
 
 252 STRATI1MORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 waiting in the public-house for a horse to take him home, 
 as well as his wife, who was at sermon. The man, 
 without the coat and with the belt, was ordered to 
 be rebuked in presence of the congregation, but this " he 
 obstinately refused, and swore by his faith before the 
 Session he would not do it ;" the man who had to dine, 
 "obstinately refused to be rebuked, and would not even 
 acknowledge it a breach of the Sabbath, thinking the less 
 of himself for even waiting on the Session," for which he 
 was declared contumacious, and therefore incapable of 
 receiving " sealing ordinances." The Provost and Magis- 
 trates ordered this free-thinker to give satisfaction to the 
 Session for his offence ; but he " continued obstinate." 
 In 1726, the church-officer was accused of " not joining 
 in the praise of God, and of keeping silent among the rest 
 who were disaffected, so that the minister was left alone 
 in this work ; " but on being penitent " with a seeming 
 sorrow," he was rebuked, and got another chance. Next 
 year, a scold was accused of calling a young man " the 
 bad name of lowi," and of wishing that a young married 
 woman's first child " might be shorn out of her broad- 
 side ; " this case occupied several days in process before 
 proof of guilt could be brought home, and the penalty of 
 the Session duly paid. For repeated offences, especially 
 habit and repute carrying water, sleeping at home, ale 
 drinking during sermon on Sabbath, the delinquents were 
 ordered to be " nailt be the lug," to the church-door, or 
 " put in the jougs " during the interval between the fore- 
 noon and afternoon services. 
 
 The two principal cases in which the ecclesiastical 
 affaire of the parish had to be settled by the Court of 
 Session, when civil rights were involved, were in 1793 
 and 18C3. In the one case, the Court decided that, 
 Forfar being a burghal-laudward parish, the cumulo
 
 FORFAR. 253 
 
 assessment for the expense of a new church must be im- 
 posed on the two sections of the parish, according to a 
 standard, not of the value of the property in each district, 
 but of that of the population ; though this was afterwards 
 reversed by the House of Lords in the case of Peterhead. 
 In the other case, the Court decided that the principal 
 incumbent alone, and not an assistant and successor, can 
 sue for an augmentation of stipend ; and that the alleged 
 immorality of a minister does not form a relevant objec- 
 tion on the part of the heritors against his obtaining an 
 augmentation. According to the Parliamentary Return of 
 last year, the unexhausted teind amounts to 157. 
 
 The ruins of the Priory are still of considerable extent. 
 Grose, in his " Antiquities of Scotland," written in 1797, 
 has a beautiful engraving of the ruins of " Restenote 
 Priory." The tower is about sixty feet high, and of the 
 first pointed style of architecture. The walls of the 
 Church are pretty entire. The ruins are beautified by 
 many fine old trees. Even now, at little expense, the 
 belfry could be put into decent repair. The area of the 
 Church has long been used as the burial-place of the pro- 
 prietors, the Dempsters of Dunnichen. In olden times the 
 ruffian bands " came to reform when ne'er they came to 
 pray." Many a one was nursed in these sacred aisles " to 
 more than kingly thought." We cannot help treading 
 the ruins with a reverent step ; for all is hallowed 
 ground. In these quaint old lines, we, in a word, express 
 the devotion of our historic soul : 
 
 " I doe love these auncyent Abbayes. 
 We never tread within them but we set 
 Our foote upon some reverend historic." 
 
 Historically, Forfar can trace itself back for a consider- 
 able period ; it being in early times a hunting-ground for 
 the early Pictish and Scottish Kings. We very much
 
 254 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 doubt Boece's statement that it had a Castle at the time 
 of the Roman Agricola's invasion in the first century ; 
 but we have reason to accept Buchanan's assertion that 
 a bloody and indecisive battle was fought at Restennet 
 about the year 830, between Feredith, the Pictish usur- 
 per, and Alpin, King of the Scotch. The Pictish usurper 
 was killed ; and, according to Boece, Apin commanded 
 the body of his opponent to be " laid in Christian buriall 
 not farre from Forfaire " that is, within the walls of the 
 first Church of Rostinoth. Doubtless a Castle was the 
 nucleus around which houses gradually accumulated; and 
 we have reason to believe that the first of three Royal 
 Castles, under the name of Forfar, was built during the 
 reign of Malcolm Canmore, about 1057, on the island 
 (now a peninsula) in Forfar Loch, called Queen Margaret's 
 Inch. This Inch was a " crannog," or lake-dwelling. Up 
 to 1612, Monipennie traced the ruins of its tower. Queen 
 Margaret was a lady of the most lovable disposition and 
 singular piety, giving instructions to the young women 
 of Forfar, during her residence on her island-home; where, 
 among other good advices, she is said to have laid down 
 the custom " that none should drink after dinner who 
 did not wait the giving of thanks " which accounts for 
 the phrase of the "grace drink." For centuries she lived 
 in the affectionate memory of the inhabitants ; and in 
 her honour, as patroness of Scotland, the young females 
 frequently went on the 19th of June in solemn procession 
 to her Inch. It is not unlikely that King Malcolm built 
 a fort on the Castlehill, which was subsequently raised 
 to a Castle. That hill is a conical mound, fifty feet high, 
 in the north-east of the town, where are still the remains 
 of the third Castle. Still we have in its vicinity Can- 
 more Street and the Canmoro Linen-Works, as tradi- 
 tionary evidence. In one of these Castles, Malcolm held
 
 FORFAR. 255 
 
 his first Parliament; where he instituted titles of dis- 
 tinction, restored forfeited estates, and, by abolish- 
 ing Evenus's cruel law, raised the social position of 
 women, doubtless by the advice and entreaty of his 
 exemplary queen. The associations of the early kings 
 have been handed down to us by names of places viz., 
 the King's Muir, Palace Dykes, Queen's Manor, Queen's 
 Well, Court Road, Wolf Law, &c. in the neighbourhood. 
 
 Forfar was erected into a burgh of royalty by David 
 I. about 1150. About twenty years afterwards, in 
 William's reign, we find from a charter of Robert de 
 Quincy, in the Register of the Priory of St. Andrews, 
 that the king had given him the " place of the old Castle 
 of Forfar," which he made over to Roger de Argenten for 
 one pound annually. In this reign Forfar was recognised 
 as one of the " steddis of warranty in Scotlande." In 
 1202, King William in person held an Assembly there ; 
 and appointed William Cumyn, the Sheriff of Forfar, to 
 be Justiciary of Scotland. Successive sovereigns fre- 
 quently resided and held their Courts and Parliaments in 
 the Castle. There, in 1225, Richard of Abernethy resigned 
 into the hands of King Alexander II. some lands in Fife, 
 which, fourteen years afterwards, were given at the 
 foundation of the Abbey of Balmerino. Already had the 
 town been growing in size and importance ; but, in 1244, 
 it was almost totally destroyed by fire. At the Court 
 held in 1250, King Alexander III. adjudged the disputed 
 lands of Inverpepper to be the property of the Abbey of 
 Arbroath. Horticulture was then patronised and en- 
 couraged by the King; for it is mentioned that the King's 
 gardener at Forfar had a yearly wage of five merks. 
 It is also recorded in this reign that William of Hamyll, 
 hunting at Forfar with the King's hawks, had a fixed
 
 250 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 allowance, as well as the grooms for the King's horses ; 
 that 16 pipes of wine were carted from Dundee, and a 
 number of sheep were driven from Strathylif (Glenisla) ; 
 and that 24 cows and 50 hogs were received as rent from 
 the Royal Manor of Forfar. 
 
 When, in 1291, Edward I. of England received the 
 Kingdom of Scotland from the four Regents, the Castle 
 of Forfar was held by Gilbert d'Umphraville, an English 
 nobleman (but Earl of Angus in right of his wife), whc 
 only yielded possession to the English monarch upon re- 
 ceiving a letter of indemnity from the claimants to the 
 Crown and the guardians of the Kingdom, along with a 
 reimbursement of his expenses. This being easily ar- 
 ranged, the King gave the Castle in charge to an English- 
 man, named Brian Fitzadam, one of the five Governors of 
 Scotland. Five years afterwards, the English King and 
 his suite took up their abode in the Castle for four days. 
 The town had so far recovered from the fire as to receive 
 the appellation of the " bonne ville " in the King's Diary, 
 which was not always so appreciative of the Scottish 
 towns. Here Geoffrey Baxter, of Loch Feithie, performed 
 homage to the King ; probably this man or an ancestor 
 had received his property for services as bakester (or 
 baker) to the Royal household there. In the following 
 year the Castle was captured by Sir William \Vallace; 
 but it soon again fell into the hands of the English, who 
 kept possession of it till 1308 ; for then the English King 
 granted a mandate to John of Weston, " Constable of 
 our castle of Forfare," to supply it with the necessary 
 provisions and fortifications. But in that year Philip, the 
 Forester of Plater, made an escalade under night, let down 
 the bridges, and secured a passage for Robert the Bruce 
 and his followers, who put most of the inmates to the 
 sword, and captured and destroyed the Castle. Thus does
 
 FORFAE. 257 
 
 Barbour, in 1489, quaintly describe the brave deed: 
 (Dr. Jamieson's edition) : 
 
 "The Castell off Forfayr wes then 
 Stuffyt all with Inglis men. 
 Bot Philip the Foraster off Platane 
 Has off his freyndis with him tane, 
 And with leddrys all priuely 
 Till the Castell he gan him hy, 
 And wp our the wall off stane ; 
 And swagate has the Castell tane, 
 Throw faute of wach, with litill payne. 
 And syne all that he fand has slayne : 
 Syne yauld the Castell to the King, 
 That maid him richt gud rewarding. 
 And syne [he] gert brek donn the wall, 
 And fordyd well and Castell all. 
 
 From the records of 1372 we find that King Robert II. 
 held Parliaments in Forfar, and enacted that Torbeg and 
 Balnashannar should be held for the cartage of three 
 hundred loads of peats, when the Court were residing at 
 Forfar. Possibly Heatherstacks was held under a similar 
 tenure, for furnishing " heather " for the use of the Royal 
 kitchen. There is little of interest recorded for two 
 hundred } T ears ; but, in 1593, King James VI. by special 
 Act of Parliament " changis the mercate daie of the burgh 
 of Forfar from Sondaie to Fridaie, and the samen to 
 stande with the like privileges and freedoms as the 
 Sondaie did before ; " yet six years afterwards he incon- 
 sistently fixed the market of Arbroath to be held on 
 Sunday. In 1627, King Charles I. created Walter, Lord 
 Aston, Baron Forfar, a title which became extinct in 1845. 
 When Alexander Strang went as Provost and Commis- 
 sioner of the burgh to the Parliament of 1647, " the re- 
 nowned Sutor " stood alone, boldly denounced the sale of 
 Charles I. to his English enemies, and, " with a tongue 
 most resolutely denoted in loyal heart and pithie words 
 ' I disagree, as honest men should doo.' " [The Rebell 
 States, by Sir Henry Spottiswoode.] The bitter strife 
 
 between the sutors of Foifar and the weavers of Kirrie- 
 
 it
 
 258 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 muir, in 1648, wo have already noticed in our article on 
 Kirriemuir. 
 
 During the Commonwealth the town suffered much at 
 the hands of the soldiery, on account of the loyalty of 
 the inhabitants to the deposed King, Charles II. They 
 secured in the Tolbooth " an intelligencer," which so 
 roused Colonel Ocky that he rushed north and pillaged 
 the town, destroying all the charters and records. Hence 
 the oldest record extant bears the date of 16GO. After 
 the Restoration, Charles II., in gratitude for their noble 
 actions, ratified the ancient, and granted some new, 
 privileges to the burgh ; making Archibald Douglas, Earl 
 of Forfar a title which only existed for 54 years. We 
 have not space to go into details about the events after 
 this period ; but we may mention the fact of the " scuffle " 
 on the Muir between the giant M'Comies of GlenLsla arid 
 the Farquharsons of Brochdarg in 1G69 ; the murder of 
 the Earl of Strathmore in 1728 (noticed in our article 
 on Glamis) ; the " catastrophie " of Councillor Binny in 
 1741 ; the tyranny of the Tailor Association in 1844, 
 which was the occasion of having the Act of Parliament 
 passed, two years afterwards, to abolish corporation 
 monopolies; and the Quixotic expedition of the Chartists 
 from Dundee in 1842. At what time the third Castle 
 was erased we cannot ascertain ; but a representation of 
 it forms the device of the burgh seal, being a square-like 
 building. In 1569, a writer says nothing about the state 
 of the Castle itself, but mentions the ruins of the house 
 " quhairin the constabill of Foirfair Castell duelt in the 
 tyme of King Malcolme Kanmore." In 1674, it is de- 
 clared to have been " now long time ruinous ; " and, ten 
 years afterwards, Ochterlony says that " the ruins of 
 Canmore's Castle are yet to be seen." There was a serious 
 riot, in 1G72, in consequence of the market being pro-
 
 FOEFAR. 259 
 
 claimed by William Gray of Invereichty, hereditary con- 
 stable of the Castle, who thus ignored the rights of the 
 Magistrates. But, in 1748, the office, then held by the 
 Earl of Strathmore, was, with other similar heritable 
 jurisdictions, abolished ; compensation being given by the 
 Treasury. 
 
 The population of the parish has very much increased. 
 In 1660, it was 1058 ; in 1755, 2450 ; in 1792, 4756; in 
 1881, 14,470. The valued rent is 215; the real rent, 
 46,346. 
 
 The town of Forfar is a singular instance in Scotland 
 of a town of any note built at a distance from running 
 water. It is 200 feet above sea level, 12f miles from 
 Brechin, 14 from Dundee, and 54 from Edinburgh. Like 
 most old towns, it was originally without any plan ; 
 every man's fancy dictating the site of his abode. In 
 1526, Boece speaks of it as having been "in time past a 
 notable citie, though now it is brought to little more than 
 a countrie village." In 1684, Ochterlony says : "It is a 
 considerable little toune, and hath some little trade of 
 cremerie ware. It is presently building a very stately Cross." 
 This Cross was erected at the expense of the Crown, at 
 the head of Castle Street (the ornament on its top being 
 a representation of one of the Castles of Forfar.) It was 
 called, a century ago, " in the eyes of the police a nuisance 
 as an incumbrance on the street ; " and was, several years 
 ago, removed to the Castle ruins. King James VI., 
 shortly after he succeeded to the throne of England, 
 when a banquet was given to him by a large English 
 burgh, was twitted about the niggardliness of the Scotch . 
 to which he naively replied " The Provost o' my burgh 
 o' Forfar keeps open house a' the year round, and aye the 
 raae that comes the welcomer " a trite and well-known 
 expression ; but his hearers did not know that that
 
 2GO STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 Provost kept an alehouse. The first incorporation of 
 trades took place in 1653 the shoemakers, tailors, 
 glovers, and weavers. Forfar was in those days chiefly 
 famous for a particular kind of shoes, called " brogues," 
 light and coarse, and well adapted for hill-travelling. 
 Dr. Arthur Johnstone, in 1G42, wrote a Latin poem about 
 Forfar, in which he makes this comparison between the 
 ancient Romans and the modern Forfarians in jocular 
 allusion to the staple trade : 
 
 " They laid their yoke on necks of other lands, 
 But Forfar ties their feet and legs with bands." 
 
 Since that time the chief occupation has been the manu- 
 facture of Osnaburghs, and other descriptions of coarse 
 linen, carried on in a dozen large establishments, and em- 
 ploying a considerable number of hands. The increase 
 in work has made a vast improvement in the buildings, 
 the style and expense of living, and the dress of the com- 
 munity. Before the rebellion of 1745, there were not 
 above seven tea-kettles and watches in Forfar ; in fifty 
 years " the meanest menial servant must have his watch, 
 and tea-kettles are the necessary furniture of the poorest 
 house in the parish." At the one period, a leg of good 
 beef, of 70 Ib. weight, could be bought for 5s. ; a leg of 
 veal, 5d. ; a leg of mutton, 8d. Very seldom was an ox 
 killed till the greater part of the carcase had been be- 
 spoken. A man, who had bought a shilling's worth of 
 beef or an ounce of tea, would have concealed it from his 
 neighbours like murder. Yet Sir Thomas the Rhymer's 
 faith in the enterprise of the inhabitants never slackened; 
 his prophecy will not come true ; but by vast strides the 
 town has improved : 
 
 " An' Forfar will be Forfar still, 
 When Dundee's a' dung down." 
 
 In its municipal capacity, Forfar is governed by a provost,
 
 FORFAR. 261 
 
 two bailies, a treasurer, eleven councillors, and four 
 deacons of crafts. Before the great Reform Act, the 
 Town Council had the privilege of choosing a delegate to 
 vote for the election of one representative in Parliament 
 for ths burghs of Perth, Dundee, St. Andrews, Cupar-Fife, 
 and Forfar ; now Forfar is united with Arbroath, Bervie, 
 Brecbin, and Montrose, in sending one member, the 
 franchise being extended to householders. 
 
 Three famous men are claimed by Forfar, either for 
 birth or residence. Dr. Thomas Abercromby, physician 
 to King James VII., and the author of a " Treatise on 
 Wit," was born in Forfar in 1656. From 1780 to 1797, 
 Dr. John Jamieson, of " Scottish Dictionary " repute, 
 laboured as pastor of the anti-burgher congregation for 
 the miserable pittance of fifty pounds a year ; though 
 the people thought he was "uncommonly well paid." 
 And Mr. George Don, whose high botanical attainments 
 would have shed a lustre over any age, resided in Forfar 
 in the early part of this century. 
 
 The inhabitants of Forfar have always been of a 
 wonderfully distinct and peculiar caste of mind and 
 temperament; though doubtless their habits have been 
 much exaggerated. Not that they are more particularly 
 godless than in other manufacturing towns ; yet Dr. 
 Jamieson with hidden humour thus wrote of them : 
 " My worthy friends of the burgh of Forfar have never 
 been accused of going to an extreme in religion ; " and we 
 cannot but smile at the jocular inventor of the legend 
 that the evil one reserved this town as his peculiar care. 
 There was a time when, as the writer of the " Old Statis- 
 tical Account" remarks, there was an undue " multiplicity 
 of low ale-houses, these seminaries of impiety and dis- 
 sipation." This was the occasion of the revengeful re- 
 tort of a nobleman who had been " skinned " by a Forfar
 
 2G2 STRATHMORE : PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 solicitor : " If a few hogsheads of whisky were tumbled 
 into the Loch, the drucken writers o' Forfar would soon 
 drink it dry." Yet, strange to say, there was not a beggar 
 in the landward part of the parish, and only five were 
 found in the town ; and these were furnished with a per- 
 mission ticket by the Kirk-Session the general character 
 of the people being praiseworthy, so far as " industry, 
 economy, and hospitality" go. In 1G99, a remarkable 
 warrant was issued by the Sheriff, that a certain thief 
 should " have his right ear cut off, and his female accom- 
 plice should be burnt on the right cheek, by the hand of 
 the common hangman, in the presence of the Magistrates 
 of Forfar." The rimes from the Loch kill the delicate, 
 and strengthen the strong ; yet, epidemics, though they 
 sometimes appear, are not now more fatal than in other 
 neighbouring communities, which may be accounted for 
 by the recent efficient drainage of the town. 
 
 Being the County-town it is now comfortable and well- 
 built. Many of the shops are spacious and elegant. The 
 Parish Church was erected in 1791 ; altered in 1836 ; and 
 had a new spire (150 feet high) built in 1814. Within 
 it are some neat marble tablets. The Town- house is not 
 now used as a prison, the lower part being employed for 
 the Free Library, and the upper part for County meetings; 
 in that hall there are some excellent portraits by Opie 
 and Raeburn. The old County Buildings adjoining were 
 built in 1830. The County Prison is outside the town, 
 and close to it were built the Sheriff Court Houses, in 
 1871. A Hall for public meetings was erected, in 18G9, 
 by Peter Reid, of " Forfar Rock " celebrity, at a cost of 
 JCGOOO, and presented to the town ; for which he was 
 made Provost: that house must be substantial when 
 founded on rock. Besides the Parish Church, and the 
 sacra Parish Church of St James's, there arc two
 
 FORFAR. 263 
 
 Free Churches (one of which was recently built, and is a 
 handsome edifice) ; a United Presbyterian, an Indepen- 
 dent, a Baptist, and a magnificent Episcopalian Church 
 (erected in 1881 at the cost of 12,000). 
 
 Forfar is the seat of a resident sheriff; courts being 
 regularly held for a considerable part of the county. 
 There are five schools and an Academy in the parish. 
 The Burgh Academy is well suited for a High-Class 
 School, commanding as a centre a considerable distance 
 around ; but it is unfortunately still under the equalizing 
 Code-regime. A well laid-out cemetery of eleven acres 
 has in it a commanding monument of Sir .Robert Peel. 
 There are six banks, five hotels, and one weekly news- 
 paper. The Corporation revenue, arising from lands and 
 customs, has increased from 400 per annum, in 1792, to 
 3094, in 1883. The Caledonian Railway from Perth to 
 Aberdeen has a station at Forfar ; and the direct line 
 from Forfar to Dundee was completed in 1870. The 
 roads are excellent. 
 
 There is a weekly market for corn on Monday and 
 Saturday when changed from Friday we cannot trace ; 
 fairs, for cattle, horses, &c., on the 2nd Wednesday of 
 April and October, 1st Wednesday fo.s.) of May, Wednes- 
 day after the 1st Tuesday of July and August, Friday after 
 the 3rd Thursday of June, last Wednesday of September, 
 and the 1st Wednesday of November ; and feeing markets 
 on the Saturday after the old terms of Whitsunday and 
 Martinmas. These special fairs go by the name of St. 
 Valentine, All Saints, St. Peter (probably held at one 
 time near Rostinoth Priory), St. James (the principal 
 fair), St. Trodline (St. Triduana, once held at the kirk- 
 style of Rescobie), St. Margaret (in honour of Malcolm's 
 Queen), and St. Ethernan (to whom some chapel near 
 had been inscribed).
 
 264 STRATHMORE: PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 The American war was a perfect " godsend " to the 
 manufacturers of Forfar ; one having been heard mutter- 
 ing to himself that though formerly they were making 
 sovereigns in " gowpenfus," they were now making them 
 in "hat-fies." There is considerable wealth accumulated 
 about the town ; though brisker times would now be a 
 welcome blessing. 
 
 We have required to cramp ourselves very much in 
 this notice, on account of our limited space ; though we 
 had ample material for much interesting writing and 
 reading. But we conclude it by hoping that the town will 
 keep up, even in these dull times, the high financial 
 character and sterling business honour which the Rev. 
 Mr Bruce ascribed to it at the close of last century : 
 " It has been observed, to the honour of the Merchants of 
 Forfar, by the people from a distance who have had long 
 and extensive dealings in this country, that there is no 
 town in Angus, where they find fewer bankruptcies and 
 more punctual payments." 
 
 These sketches of the development of the past in the 
 present of Strath more have taught us by experience how 
 to work on in the living movement of true progress. May 
 we so work now that, when the time comes that we can- 
 not work, we can look on our country and our lives with 
 this gladdened retrospect : 
 
 " Oh ! through the twilight of autumnal years, 
 Ilow sweet the back-look on our first youth-world ! " 
 
 THE END.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 
 Form L9-25m-B,'47(A5618)444
 
 DA 
 
 880 
 S85M2 
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 A 000998019 4