Tulliallan

   TULLIALLAN, a parish, in the county of Perth, ½ a mile (N. by E.) from Kincardine; containing, with the sea-port town of Kincardine, 3196 inhabitants, of whom 321 are in the rural districts. This place derives its name, signifying in the Gaelic language, the "Beautiful Hill," from its situation on a gently sloping eminence at the south-western extremity of the county. It was anciently the property of the Blackadder family, of whose baronial residence, Tulliallan Castle, there are still some portions remaining. Previously to the Reformation, and for some time after, the parish consisted only of the barony of Tulliallan; but in 1673, the barony of Kincardine, with the lands of Lurg, Sands, and Kellywood, was separated from the parish of Culross, and annexed to this parish, by the Earl of Kincardine, at the recommendation of the presbytery. The parish is bounded on the south by the river Forth, and is about three miles and a half in extreme length and nearly two miles and a half in breadth, comprising 3850 acres, of which about 3000 are arable, 500 woodland and plantations, and the remainder rough pasture and waste. The surface is varied, rising by a gradual ascent from the shore of the Forth towards the north, and commanding some fine views of the river and the country adjacent; and the prevailing scenery, enriched with wood, and embracing many interesting features, is in some places beautifully picturesque. The soil is various; in some parts clayey, in others a deep rich loam alternated with sand; and on the lands recently reclaimed from the sea, an alluvial deposit of great fertility. The crops are, wheat, barley, oats, beans, peas, potatoes, and turnips, with the usual grasses. The system of husbandry has been greatly improved, and considerable quantities of land have been reclaimed from the sea by embankments on the east and west of the town of Kincardine, of which one was commenced by the late Viscount Keith in 1821, and completed in 1823, at an expense of £6000; the other was commenced in 1829 by his trustees, and completed in 1838, at a cost of nearly £14000. The farm-buildings are generally substantial and well arranged; the lands have been inclosed partly with stone dykes, and partly with hedges of thorn, which are kept in excellent order. The facility of obtaining manure from the town of Kincardine in some degree counterbalances the expense of bringing lime from distant quarries; and the farms are all under excellent cultivation, producing abundant crops. The plantations, which are in a thriving state, consist of firs, interspersed with various kinds of forest-trees; and in the hedge-rows on the public roads are fine specimens of oak, ash, beech, elm, plane, and hornbeam, of stately growth. The principal substrata are, freestone, coal, and ironstone. The freestone is excellent for building, of very compact texture, and of a beautiful white colour; the quarry at Longannat, in the eastern portion of the parish, has been long in operation, and the produce in high repute. This quarry was formerly wrought by a company from Holland, who raised from it the materials for the erection of the Stadt House; and in addition to the Royal Exchange, the Infirmary, and the Register Office, of Edinburgh, and one of the churches in Aberdeen, it has supplied materials for most of the principal mansion-houses in the neighbourhood. The rateable annual value of the parish is £4880. Tulliallan House, one of the seats of Lady Keith, is a handsome modern mansion, beautifully situated on a rising ground about half a mile from the Forth, in a richly-planted and tastefully-embellished demesne. The town of Kincardine is described under its own head. At Longannat is a small hamlet, inhabited by persons employed in the quarry, and where are some slight remains of a pier which is said to have been constructed by the Dutch company who rented the quarry.

   The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Dumblane and synod of Perth and Stirling. The minister's stipend is £259. 3. 9., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £44. 10. per annum; patron, Lady Keith. The church is a handsome and substantial structure, erected in 1833 by the heritors, at an expense of £3500, and contains 1176 sittings. There are also places of worship for members of the Free Church and United Secession. The parochial school affords instruction to 180 children; the master has a salary of £34. 4. 4., with a house and garden, and the fees average about £60 per annum, out of which he pays £40 to an assistant. A schoolroom has recently been built by aid of government; and the school, in which about 100 children are taught, is supported by the parents. The remains of the castle of Tulliallan, situated on a rising ground to the west of the town, consist of a portion of the walls, of great thickness, and three rooms on the lower story, of which the groined roofs are sustained on a pillar in the centre; the castle appears to have been originally a place of great strength, and was surrounded with a moat communicating with the Forth. There are also vestiges of the ancient church at Overtown, formerly the buryingplace of the Keith family, and in which are several tombstones of great antiquity. Near the site have been found gold, silver, and copper coins of the reign of Edward I. of England; and on the farm of Damend, in the north of the parish, Roman urns partly filled with ashes were dug up in 1830.