Kilmadock

   KILMADOCK, a parish, in the county of Perth, 9 miles (N. W.) from Stirling; containing, with the late quoad sacra parish of Deanston and part of that of Norrieston, the town of Doune, and the villages of Buchany and Drumvaich, 4055 inhabitants. This place derives its name from the dedication of its ancient church to St. Madocus or Madock, one of the Culdees, who lived here in sequestered solitude. It is sometimes called Doune, from the removal of the parochial church to the town of that name. The parish, which is situated in the western part of the county between the Ochil and the Grampian hills, includes a considerable portion of the old stewartry of Monteith, and is about twelve miles in length and nearly of equal breadth, comprising an area of 51,200 acres, of which a large part is waste. The surface is varied with hills, of which the most conspicuous is Uamvar, or Uaighmor, commanding an extensive and richly-diversified prospect over the adjacent country; and the lands are intersected with numerous small vales. The ground rises from the river Forth, which bounds the parish on the south, by a regular and gradual ascent, to a great elevation; and on the acclivity of Uaighmor is a large cavern, said to have been, till the year 1750, infested with bands of robbers. The river Teith rises in two streams, of which one flows through the Lochs Katrine, Achray, and Vennachar, and the other passes by the braes of Balquhidder, and runs through Lochs Voil and Lubnaig: above Callander they form one stream, which intersects the parish, and falls into the Forth about two miles above Stirling. The river Ardoch issues from Loch Maghaig, and, uniting with the burn of Garvald, joins the Teith below the castle of Doune. The river Kelty bounds the parish on the west, and flows into the Teith at Cambusmore: and the Annat, or Cambus, which makes some picturesque cascades near the site of the old mansion of Annat, and has formed a deep glen in the solid rock, called the Caldron Linn, runs into the Teith at the ancient church of Kilmadock. There are two considerable lakes in the parish, Loch Watston, on the lands of Gartincaber, and Loch Maghaig, in the braes of Doune, each of circular form, and about a mile in diameter. Numerous springs flow from the sides of the Grampians, and from the acclivities of Uaighmor. Near the burn of Garvald is one issuing out of the solid rock, in the form of a spout; the water is supposed to possess mineral qualities, but has not been fully analysed.

   The soil is exceedingly various; near the Forth, a fine carse clay; on the rising grounds to the north, rich garden mould; upon the south bank of the Teith, a tilly loam, but on the north bank less productive, being alternated with sand. The soil around Doune, being enriched with the manure of the town, is luxuriantly fertile. The crops are, wheat, barley, oats, beans, peas, potatoes, and turnips, with rye-grass, flax, and clover. The system of agriculture has recently been much improved; and considerable tracts of waste land have been rendered fertile, and brought into profitable cultivation, by the adoption of the Deanston plan of thorough-draining introduced by Mr. Smith, of that place. The farmbuildings have also been much improved, and are in general substantial and commodious. The cattle are principally of the Highland black breed, for which the pastures are better adapted than for sheep, of which few only are kept, and these chiefly on the braes of Doune, and on the moors of Lanrick and Cambusmore. There is little wood of native growth; but plantations have been formed on the lands of the Earl of Moray, to whom onethird of the parish belongs, and on the pleasure-grounds of Cambusmore and Newton, which are celebrated by Scott in his Lady of the Lake. The mansions are, Doune Lodge, Gartincaber, Lanrick Castle, Cambusmore, Newton, and Argaty. Doune is a post-town, and the cotton manufacture is carried on extensively at Deanston, besides which there are several villages in the parish, all noticed under their respective heads. Facility of communication is afforded by good roads; and a suspension-bridge has been thrown over the river Teith, at Lanrick, under the superintendence of Mr. Smith, of Deanston. The rateable annual value of the parish is £18,200.

   The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Dunblane and synod of Perth and Stirling. The minister's stipend is £288. 7., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £7 per annum; patroness, Lady Willoughby de Eresby. The ancient church of Kilmadock was, with the exception of the eastern gable, taken down in 1744, and a church erected at Doune, which is now the parish church; it is a handsome structure in the later English style, and is seated for 1121 persons, but capable of holding a congregation of 1400. On the opening of the church, a service of communion-plate was presented by William Mitchell, Esq., of Jamaica, a native of the town of Doune. A church has been erected at Deanston; and there are places of worship for members of the Free Church, the United Secession, the Congregational Union of Scotland, and Wesleyans. The parochial school, for which a handsome building was erected in 1830, by the heritors, at a cost of £257, is well conducted, and attended by about seventy children; the master has a salary of £34, with a house and garden, and the fees average £40 per annum. There are several other schools in the parish, of which two are partly endowed, together affording instruction to about 600 children.