Madderty

   MADDERTY, a parish, in the county of Perth, 6 miles (E.) from Crieff; containing, with the hamlet of Bellyclone, and the burgh of barony of Craig of Madderty, 634 inhabitants. A religious house was founded here in the year 1200, by Gilbert, Earl of Strathearn, and his countess, Matilda, and dedicated to the honour of God, the Virgin Mary, and St. John the Apostle and Evangelist. It was called Inch-Effray, and took its name both from its situation on an eminence surrounded, or nearly so, by the river Pow, and from the nature of the institution; its Latin appellation was insula missarum, or "the island of masses." David I. and Alexander III. conferred upon it many valuable privileges and immunities, and it was esteemed one of the richest abbeys in the kingdom. The Abbot Mauritius was present with Robert Bruce at the battle of Bannockburn, and is reported to have had with him the arm of St. Fillan, to which relic much importance was attached as to the issue of the conflict. James Drummond, son of David, Lord Drummond, having become possessed of this monastery by favour of the commendator, Alexander Gordon, Bishop of Galloway, was styled Lord Incheffray, and afterwards, in 1607, was created Lord Madderty, by King James VI., who erected the estate into a temporal lordship. The title, however, was forfeited in 1715. The extensive buildings of the establishment have at different times supplied stones for various purposes; but there are still a few remains, which, with six or seven acres of land in the vicinity, belong to the Earl of Kinnoull, who, in consequence of this property, possesses the right of patronage to twelve parishes formerly attached to the abbey.

   The parish comprises 3430 acres, of which 2820 are under cultivation, 450 in plantations, and the remainder waste. The climate is wet and cold; and much of the land is still marsh and moor, requiring thorough draining, which has, however, been carried on to a considerable extent in some parts for several years. The Pow, which rises from the Red moss, about a mile eastward, runs through the parish, in a canal or cut about twenty-four feet wide, and six deep, dug, in order to straighten its course, nearly 100 years since; a part of the stream takes an eastern direction, and falls into the river Almond, while the other part travels westward, and empties itself into the Erne at Innerpeffray. The latter portion has the appearance almost of stagnant water, from the gentleness of the declivity; and on account of the adjacent lands lying so low, they occasionally suffer much from inundations. The mansion-houses are those of Dollerie and Woodend. The village of Craig has become nearly extinct; and in its place has risen up the village of St. David's, consisting of about fourteen feus, where a school has been erected within the last few years, by the proprietor, Lady Preston Baird, with commodious and ornamental premises. It is intended for the instruction of children in sewing and knitting, and in the first rudiments of education, preparatory to admission (of some of the scholars) into the parochial school; the teacher receives a salary of £10 per annum, a free house, and other perquisites. The parish also contains the hamlet of Bellyclone. A turnpike-road runs through the district; the inhabitants communicate principally with Crieff, but the dairy produce is generally sent to Perth. The rateable annual value of Madderty is £3500. It is in the presbytery of Auchterarder and synod of Perth and Stirling, and in the patronage of the Earl of Kinnoull: the minister's stipend is £225, with a manse, and a glebe of nine acres valued at £11 per annum. The church is a plain edifice erected in 1668. The parochial school affords instruction in the usual branches; the master has a salary of £34. 4., with a house and garden, and £12 fees.