THE SHIRES OF ABERDEEN AND BANFF.

THE PRESBYTERY OF KINCARDINE.

THE PARISH OF KINCARDINE O'NEIL.'

DESCRIPTION OF THE PARISH OF KINCARDIN ONEIL. BY MR. WILLIAM ROBERTSON. A.D. M.DCC.xxv. 2

T

HE parish of Kincardin Oneil, in the sheriffdome of Aberdeen, is bounded, on the south-east, with the parish of Banchory Ternan; and, on the east, divided from Midmar by The Hill of Fair; on the north and north-west, by the parishes of Tough and Lumphanan; on the west, by the parish of Aboyn; and on the south, by the parish of Birss.

The church of Kincardin is situate within a mile of the west end of the parish, very near the river of Dee, which runs on the south side of the same, and is passed by a ferry boat opposite to the village call'd Kincardin Oneil, in which the church stands. The said church is distant from Aberdeen eighteen miles westward up the said river; from Banchory, six miles; from Midmar, six miles; from Lumphanan church, two miles; from Aboyn church, two long miles; from Aboyn castle, three short miles; and from Birss church, two miles. The said church is a goodly edifice, higher and wider than any other upon Dee, thatch'd at present with heather. Tho' the building be pretty large, yett it's shorter by a half, as appears by the remaining walls, than it has been within these hundred years. It stands in the east end of the town, in a

[See Collections for a History of the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff, p. 631. deen, 1843. 4to. Presented to The Spalding Club by the Earl of Aberdeen.]

Aber

2 [From Macfarlane's Geographical Collections for Scotland, MSS. Bibl. Adv. (Jac. V. 4. 19.)]

large churchyard, with a pretty good bell on the west end of it. The kirktoun is a burgh of barrony, containing about thirty families, and is pretty well accomodated for passingers, with which it is frequented, in their way south and north by The Cairn of Mount. There is a tollbooth in the said town, and several other good houses, but none slated. The heritour of the town, and lands belonging thereto, is John Forbes, youngest son to the late Sir John Forbes of Craigivar, who purchas'd it from the Strachans, who had long possessed it. The minister's house is separated from the town, on the east side, by a litle burn, over which is ane arch. The minister under Episcopacy, it being a personage, was accounted a baron, and held court within the kirk lands, which are very considerable, which still continue to pay customs, videlicet: geese, weddars, etc. to the minister. There are three yearly fairs in the said town: the first, on the second Tuesday of May, called May Fair; the second, on the first or second Saturday of July, called Play Saturday; and the third, on the last Tuesday of August, called Barthol Fair, which stands three days; the other two, but a day each. Near to the town, on the north side, is an excellent spring well, called Saint Erchan's Well.

There is scarce any gentleman's seat worth naming in all the parish. The nearest heritour's residence is Milne of Kincardine, a mile westwards up the river from the church, and upon the direct road from Aberdeen to Bremar. The milne goes upon the burn of Desk, which flows from the Lough of Auchlossen, in the parish of Lumphanan, about a mile and an half north-west from the said milne. There is upon this burn, a quarter of a mile above the milne, a very large high waterfall, called The Slogg of Desk, which falls into a very deep pot of water, that has not been known to be anything like fathomable, even in the droughtiest seasons. This burn, which, in a stonecast after it passes the said milne, emptieth itself into Dee, divides Kincardin from Aboyn parish, and is rendered very passable by a strong timber bridge, with stone landsteals, a litle above the said milne.

To the northward of Kincardine, about a mile, upon the highway, is a village called Hillhead: midway 'twixt, and Burnside of Lumphanan, (a publick inn,) hard by the toun, on the north side, is an inclosure belonging to Sir Patrick Fraser of Dores; the said Sir Patrick being a considerable heritour in this parish, but has no dwelling-house in it: his interest begins hard by the toun, and goes along with the road on each side north-eastward, untill it comes to The Burn of Canny, which will be two long miles. The said burn, which is pretty impetuous upon occasions, is passed at Walk-milne by a timber bridge, where is a walk-milne, and very good service at it: there having been a race of people by name Walkers, which have lived there past memory of man. A litle below, upon the same burn, is a meal-milne, called The Milne of Mid Bealty. This burn runs from north-west to south-east. From that bridge eastward a short quarter of a mile, is an other

burn running southward from The Hill of Lairnie, on which are two milnes: the first, The Milne of Lairney, near the hill; the next, The Milne of Craigmyle, about half a mile southward from that, or less.

North-eastward from that, towards The Hill of Fair, a quarter of a mile, is the mannour place of Craigmyle, upon a rising ground. The heritor is Alexander Farquharson of Monaltry, brother to the laird of Invercald. He has a pretty good house, new built, having but lately purchased these lands from the heirs of Sir Alexander Burnet of Craigmyle, who, during his having these lands, built a very fine loaft in the church of Kincardine, finely coloured, to be seen intire. East from Craigmyle, about half a myle, lyes The Hill of Fair, a very beautifull hill, and commodious for the country, having a fine soil for fewel, and stored with a great many fine weathers, that stay in it in summer and winter. There is a road breaks off from the former, which was said to go north-eastward, within a short mile of the church, which leads northwards to the said Burn of Canny, passed there only by steps, on the other side of which are the lands of Wester Beltie.

Northwards, a quarter of a mile, are the lands of Lairney, the hill of which is famous for the good kind of stone in it for grave-stones, miln-stones, and hewn stone for building, very much frequented to for that end. On the north side of the hill, towards the east end, is a famous well, near a village called Drumlassie, resorted to the first Sunday morning of May by crouds of people, readily sitting by it all the Saturday night before.

North-west from that well lyes a pleasant litle corner of the parish, called The Breas of Tomads, enclosed with hills on all sides, except a litle open towards the south, thro' which the forsaid burn Canny runs. There is in the midst of that country a miln upon the said burn, called The Milne of Tomads, and another below that, towards the open of the country, called The Miln of Ennek, upon the same burn. The heretour of that corner is Francis Fraser of Findrock, who lately purchased them from the Lord Forbes. His residence is in the mouth of that little country, only distinguishable by a few trees, but belongs to Lumphanan parish.

There is a rode northward through that country, by the church of Tough, and another thro' it, thro' Kinnairny parish, Aberdeenward, from the Highlands. The distance betwixt Tomads and the church, keeping by the church rode, (which passes from the toun up the burn of Kincardine, thro' the hill of Kincardine, and so in over another little hill eastward, thence northward to The Milne of Balnacraig, near which they enter the country,) will be three miles, and four in the remoter places.

From Kincardine, eastward, a quarter of a mile, to a village called Borrowstoune, the highway goes on; thence turns with the river till it comes to Inchbair, where the highway passes the river by very good ferry boats. There is on the

left side of the rode a litle birch wood inclosed, called The Wood of Cordach, belonging to Strachan of Dalhaikie, who has an estate in the parish, containing the lands of Slowie and Dalhaikie, which lye betwixt Mossmad on the north and Dee on the south, but no place of residence for the heretour. This Mossmad, which will be two short miles from Kincardin, is very large, and serves a good part of the country thereabout. It's of a foggy nature, and very deep, but appears to stand on water; as appears by an instance of a poor man, a few years ago, who digging a little too deep for the best fewall, which are the better the deeper, was, by the opening of one peat, so suddenly overflowen, that no relieff could be made, notwithstanding severall by-standers. There is, at the west end of this moss, the walls of an old castle, of a vast thickness in the walls, but will not exceed twenty foot square. It's thought to have been under roof in Wallace days, by his book. The rode from Breamar to Aberdeen passes by on the south side of the moss, in dry weather, otherways through the hill of Slowie, which, beginning at Borrowstoun, goes eastward till it comes to Walkmiln of Invercanny, which will be about two and a half miles, and so into the parish of Banchory. On the north side of the said moss is The Hill of Beltie, by the north side of which the rode from Kincardine is continued, and in half a mile reaches another bridge upon the burn of Canny, called The Bridge of Craigour, of timber also.

Eastward from that, a long half mile, is the residence of William Burnet of Camphield, at the foot of The Hill of Fair, known by a little planting about it. Camphield is three miles from Kincardine. Midway betwixt bridge of Craigour and Camphield, is Milne of Camphield, which is serv'd with a small burn coming from The Hill of Fair. Camphield is about a mile south-east of Craigmyle the said Camphield's land, adjoyning to the parish of Banchory, divided only by a small burn called The Pooly Burn. From the foresaid bridge of Craigour, southeast, about half a mile, is another miln upon Canny, called The Miln of Bealty, which serves the lands of Easter Bealty, lying betwixt the upper end of the hill of Bealty, and a little below the milne.

Lectiones in die Sancti Irchardi episcopi et confessoris . 1

Inter barbaras et indoctas gentes oriundus fuit Beatus Irchardus in Tolmaid in Kincardin Oneyll qui sanctam et celebrem a puerili etate incepit

1 [From the Breuiarium Aberdonense, prop. Sanctorum pro tempore estiuali, xxiv. Aug., f. lxxxix. Edinb. 1509, 8vo. The following is the collect appointed for his day: Omnipotens et misericors Deus qui per fidem tui pontificis Irchardi Pictos a Gallorum seruitute liberasti: concede omnibus eundem deuote querentibus ab omni inimicorum fraude et eterna dampnacione liberari Per Dominum . "]