Kincardine In Monteith

   KINCARDINE IN MONTEITH, a parish, in the county of Perth, 2 miles (S. by W.) from Doune; containing, with the villages of Kirklane and Woodlane, 2232 inhabitants. This parish, of which the name is of very uncertain etymology, is pleasantly situated in the vale of Monteith, and in the southern part of the county; it is of triangular form, having the east angle washed by the confluence of the rivers Forth and Teith, of which the former bounds the parish on the south, and the latter on the north-east. The parish extends from the east point for nearly ten miles to the south-west, and for about twelve miles to the north-west; but is intersected by a portion of the parish of Kilmadock, three miles in breadth, which reaches from the Teith to the Forth. It comprises by computation 7500 acres, of which 5000, on the shores of the Forth, are mostly rich carse land, and the remainder, on the banks of the Teith, dry-field. The surface towards the Forth is generally level, but rises in gentle undulations, westward of Blair-Drummond, into a ridge, which has an elevation of 300 feet above the level of the sea, and commands a fine view of the Grampian mountains to the north and west; of the Ochils to the east, with the castle of Stirling, the field of Bannockburn, and the hill of Craigforth; and to the south, of the hills of Lennox, extending from the castle of Stirling to Dumbarton. The river Goodie, which has its source in the loch of Monteith, in the parish of Port, intersects this parish in its course towards the Forth; and there are numerous springs, and several small burns in various parts. The carse land includes the moss of Kincardine, which to a considerable extent has been cleared, and also part of Moss Flanders.

   The soil, where the moss has been removed, is generally a rich blue clay of great depth and fertility, producing grain of all kinds and good green crops; that of the dry-field is chiefly a light loam, yielding excellent crops of oats, barley, potatoes, turnips, and the various grasses. The farms are of moderate extent, and the system of agriculture in an improved state; the farmbuildings are substantial and commodious, and the lands have been partly inclosed. Considerable attention is paid to live stock; the cattle were formerly of the Highland breed, but on most of the dairy-farms cows of the Ayrshire breed have been introduced. Few sheep are pastured. The horses used for agriculture on the dry-field lands are of a moderate size; but on the carse, which requires a stronger kind, a breed between the hardier of the Perthshire, and the Clydesdale, is preferred. The substratum of the parish is chiefly of the old red sandstone formation; in some parts, of good quality for building, for which purpose it is quarried; but in other parts, of too soft a texture for that use. Veins of calcareous spar, and occasionally barytes, are found in the quarries; but no organic remains, except a few vegetable impressions, have been discovered. The woods and plantations are of oak, ash, beech, elm, birch, and firs, for which the soil appears well adapted; and the plantations, which have been recently much extended, are well managed and in a thriving condition. The rateable annual value of the parish is £12,500. Blair-Drummond, the seat of Henry Home Drummond, Esq., M. P., the principal landowner, is a spacious and handsome mansion, erected about the year 1715, by his ancestor, George Drummond, Esq., and to which a wing has been added by the present proprietor. It is situated in a richly-wooded park planted by Lord Kames, who, by marriage with the grand-daughter of George Drummond, succeeded to the estate, which at that time included 1500 acres of Kincardine Moss. Of this moss a considerable portion was recovered by his exertions; and under those of his son and successor, nearly the whole of the remainder was reclaimed. In the house is a collection of portraits by Sir Godfrey Kneller, among which are those of the Lord Chancellor Perth and his brother, the Earl of Melfort, and, in the drawing-room, a portrait of the late Lord Kames in his robes of office as a judge. Ochtertyre, the seat of David Dundas, Esq., M.P. for Sutherlandshire, is beautifully situated on the banks of the Teith. On the lands of Blair-Drummond, and also on those of Ochtertyre, various comfortable cottages have been built by the proprietors, for the accommodation of the families of the persons employed on their estates; and in the district which formed part of the late quoad sacra parish of Norrieston is the village of Thornhill, noticed in the account of Norrieston.

   The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Dunblane and synod of Perth and Stirling. The minister's stipend is £255. 8., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £14 per annum; patroness, Lady Willoughby de Eresby. The church, which was greatly dilapidated, was rebuilt in 1814, chiefly through the exertions of Mr. Drummond, who, in addition to the payment of more than two-thirds of the expense of a plainer building, contributed the whole additional charge of the present elegant structure after a design by the late Mr. Crichton, of Edinburgh. It is a cruciform edifice in the later English style, with an embattled tower crowned by minarets, and contains 770 sittings. The parochial school is well conducted, and is attended by about seventy children; the master has a salary of £34, with a good house and garden, and the fees average £14 per annum. There are schools, also, at Norrieston; a school in Kincardine Moss, of which the master has a dwelling-house, with an acre of land, the gift of Mr. Drummond; and two others, unendowed. Within the gardens of Blair-Drummond is a tumulus, 92 yards in circumference and fifteen feet in height; and in the pleasure-grounds is one of larger dimensions. Near the east lodge is another, in which were found fragments of urns and human bones; it is surrounded with a circular fosse, called Wallace's trench. In clearing the moss, several remains of antiquity were discovered, among which were a large brass camp kettle, some spear heads, and part of a Roman road, of which seventy yards were clearly defined, crossing the moss of Kincardine from the Forth to the Teith.