Nostri Regis per me Dominum Joannem Skene de Curriehill mili- clericus registri etc. THE PARISHES OF ABOYNE AND GLENTANER.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE PARISH OF ABOYN. A.D. M.DCC.XXV. BY MR. WILLIAM ROBERTSON. 2 HE parish of Aboyne, in the sherifdome of Aberdeen, is bounded on the east, by the parish of Kincardine O'Neil; on the north-east, by the parish of Lumphanan; on the north, by the parish of Coul; on the west, by the parish of Coldstone and Loggy, and part of the parish of Tullich; on the south-west, by the parish of Glentanar; and on the south and south-east, by the parish of Birss. The church is but a little edifice, and thatched with heather, without a bell, and situate about the midle of the parish, within a short mile eastward of the castle of Aboyn, the residence of the Earl of Aboyn; which is a goodly structure, and lyes pleasantly to the south, being fenced from the north by a hill planted with firs, now fully grown, which is a great ornament and advantage to the place. Within an eighth part of a mile from that castle, southward, midle way 'twixt and the river Dee, lyes a litle town called Charlestown, so called after the first Charles Earl of Aboyn. It's a burgh of barrony, and has pretty good accomodation for passengers, there being a rode from Aberdeen to Bremar going through it, and another from south to north. There is in it a weekly mercat, every Thursday, by which the country is supplyed with all necessarys. There are also two yearly fairs in it; the first, holden the last Tuesday of Aprile, called The Rood Fair; the next, the second Tuesday of October, standing three or four days, called Michael Fair, where there is a horse race, a man race, and woman Beside the said town is a milne, slated very beautifull, which goes upon the burn of Charlestown, and is passed at the milne by a timber bridge. The burn runs from north-west to south-east, and a little below Charlestown terminates race. [See Collections for a History of the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff, pp. 634, 635.] 2 [From Macfarlane's Geographical Collections for Scotland, MSS. Bibl. Adv.] in Dee, the spring of it flowing from Cromar. Charlestown is distant from Aberdeen, twenty-one miles; from Kincardine church, three miles; from Lumphanan, two long miles; from Coul church, one long mile; from Glentanar, three miles; from Birss church, two short miles, the river interveening. There is, upon that rode which goes north-westward from Charlestown, at a miles distance, upon a hillside, a well called Mochryhalls Well; besides which is a stone, with the sign of the cross cut on it, which has frequently been removed some distance from the well, but was still found to be brought back in a short time. The rode, near which it is, goes into Crowmar. There is not any other gentleman's dwelling, worth naming, in the said parish: Only it's noticeable that the lands of Balnacraig, (of which Dr. Alexander Gordon, who lives at Balnacraig, but has no other than a country house, is heritour,) are separated from the rest of the parish by the river Dee, and seem rather to belong to Birss than Aboyn. There are also two other villages, near the remotest skirts of the parish of Birss, belonging to the parish of Aboyn, most of the parish of Birss interveening. There is a ferry boat on Dee, opposite to Charlestown; and, about a mile and a half above it, is another boat, called Waterside; and another, about three quarters of a mile above that, called The Boat of Miln of Dennity, which rather belongs to Tullich parish. The parish, on the east, is divided from Kincardine by the burn of Desk, on which is the miln of Desk; and from Tullich, on the west, by another burn, called The Burn of Miln of Dennity, where is also a miln, which will be four long miles from milne of Desk. 1 [" About a mile and a half north-west from the church, there is a stone, with a cross cut on it, standing near a well. This stone, when removed at some olden time, is said to have been miraculously brought back by Muchrieha, the guardian of the well. Near the cross formerly stood a stone, of considerable size, with a hollow rudely cut in it, called Muchrieha's Chair. This chair some masons, about thirty years ago, split into pieces, to assist in the building of the neighbouring farm-house. "On a knoll, near Aboyne Castle, stands a sculptured stone, six-and-a-half feet high. This stone formerly stood on an eminence, on the bank of Loch Kinord, and was removed by the Earl of Aboyne from its original site to that which it now occupies, near a small Druidical circle. There is carved on it a cross, curiously and very laboriously cut." (The New Statistical Account of Scotland, number xlii., p. 1059. Edinb. 1843.)] E DESCRIPTION OF THE PARISH OF GLENTANAR. A.D. M.DCC.XXV. BY MR. WILLIAM ROBERTSON. 1 THE parish of Glentanar, in the sherifedome of Aberdeen, lying on the south side of Dee, is bounded on the east by the parish of Birss; on the south, with the parish of Lochlee, in Glenesk, severall mountains interveening; on the west, by the parish of Glenmuick; on the north, by the parish of Tullich; and northeast, by the parish of Aboyn. The church of Glentanar is a little house, thatcht with heather, without a bell, situate on a muir near Dee. Its reported to have had the name of The Black Chappel in the Muir, in our ancient chronicles. The country is mountainous, not very fertile, the people living more by traffiquing in timber, than husbandry. This timber they have from The Wood of Glentanar, which lyes on the south side of the said parish, and is the only ornament of the place. It is very large in extent, and ten or twelve miles in circumference, tho' not full in all places. The timber in this wood, which is all fir, grows to a great height and bigness; the whole country round about being served in fir timber out of it, to the considerable advantage of the Earl of Aboyn, who is heretour of it, as he is of all that parish. There is a small water, called The Water of Tanar, flowing from the wood, and running down through a corner of the parish, called The Glen; which, indeed, is the only pleasant place in the parish, being hedged in on both sides with hills and pleasant corn fields, with severall plats of birch wood. There are two milns within the said glen, served by the said water. There is also a very good inn, at the mouth of the wood, where the forrester lives, called Bordland. A quarter of a mile above Bordland, lives a gentleman, by sirname Garden, a fewer of a town from the Earl, called Brelyne. The said water of Tanar is, for ordinary, very impetuous; and, if any ways in speat, is not passable but at Bordland, where is an excellent timber bridge, in form of an arch. About a large half mile below the bridge, the said water terminates in Dee, at a village called Delquhiny. There is a rode passing thro' the wood, from north to south, thence through Glenesk, and so to Brechin, by far nearer than by the Cairn of Mount. The church of Glentanar is distant from Aberdeen, twenty-four miles; from Kincardine, six miles; from Aboyn, three long miles; from Glenmuick, four miles; and three from Tullich, the nearest way; four, from Birss; and six or seven, from Lochlee. 1 [From Macfarlane's Geographical Collections for Scotland, MSS. Bibl. Adv.] Carta confirmacionis pro Johanne Senescalli domino de Buchane de baronia de Obeyn. 1 (A.D. 1407.) et ma Robertus dux Albanie comes de Fife et de Mentethe ac gubernator regni Scocie Omnibus [etc.] Omnibus [etc.] · Salutem Sciatis nos quandam cartam dilecti patris nostri Willelmi de Keth militis Marescalli Scocie tris nostre Margarete Frasere sponse sue [etc.] intellexisse ad plenum in hec verba. OMNIBUS hanc cartam visuris vel audituris Willelmus de Kethe Marescallus Scocie et Margareta Frasere sponsa sua salutem in Domino sempiternam. Noueritis nos vnanimi consensu et assensu nostro · habito super hoc diligenti consilio eciam cum consensu et assensu proximorum nostre parentele dedisse concessisse et hac presenti carta nostra confirmasse carissimo nepoti nostro Johanni Senescalli domino de Buchane camerario Scocie omnes et singulas terras baronie de Obeyn cum pertinenciis infra vicecomitatum de Abirdene. Tenendas et habendas [etc.] de domino nostro Rege prefato Johanni et heredibus suis masculis de corpore suo legittime procreandis quibus forsan deficientibus. Andree Senescalli fratri suo germano et heredibus suis masculis de corpore suo legitime procreandis. quibus forsan deficientibus. Roberto Senescalli fratri suo germano et heredibus suis masculis de corpore suo legitime procreandis quibus forsan deficientibus carissimo filio nostro Domino Roberto de Ketht militi et heredibus suis masculis de corpore suo legitime procreatis seu procreandis quibus forsan deficientibus ad nos et nostros veros et propinquiores heredes libere reuertendas in feodo et hereditate pure et imperpetuum [etc.]. Faciendo inde domino nostro Regi [etc.] seruicium inde debitum et consuetum [etc.]. In cuius rei testimonium presenti carte nostre sigilla nostra vnanimiter sunt appensa apud Abirdene 1 [From the Registrvm Magni Sigilli Regvm Scotorvm, p. 230. was Among the Scotish records taken to England in the year 1296, by King Edward I., "Charta de Obeyn." (Robertson's Index to the Charters, p. xxv.) In a roll of missing charters of King Robert 1. is" Carta Walteri Bisset, of the lands of Oboyn, in vicecomitatu de Aberdeen." (Id., p. 2.) In a roll of missing charters of King David II. are " Carta to Thomas Bisset, of the lands of Obeyn, in vicecomitatu de Aberdeen;"" Carta to William Keith, Marishall of Scotland, and Walter Moygne, of the arrearage and annuells of Oboyn, in vicecomitatu de Aberdeen;"—" Carta to Rannald More, chalmerlan, of the lands of Formerteine, Akintor, Oboyn," etc. (Id., pp. 49, 50, 53.)] secundo die mensis Maij anno Domini millesimo ccccmo Septimo. QUAM quidem cartam [etc.] ratificamus et auctoritate officij nostri gubernacionis regni predicti nobis commissi imperpetuum confirmamus. Saluo domino nostro Regi et heredibus suis de dictis terris cum pertinencils seruicio debito et consueto In cuius rei testimonium presenti carte nostre confirmacionis sigillum officij nostri apponi precepimus Testibus reuerendo in Xpo patre Gilberto Episcopo Abirdonensi cancellario Scocie. carissimo nepote nostro Roberto Senescalli filio heredis nostri Murdaci Senescalli de Kynclevyne militis Johanne Senescalli de Lorne Willelmo de Graham de Kyncardyn Georgio de Lesly consanguineis nostris. Ricardo Comyne militibus. Michaele de Narne Johanne Wrycht constabulario nostro de Falkland. scutiferis et Andrea de Hawyc canonico Dunkeldensi secretario nostro apud Falkland duodecimo die mensis Maij anno Domini millesimo ccccmo. Septimo Et gubernacionis nostre anno Secundo. THE PARISH OF LUNFANNAN. 1 Carta Roberti de Camera de Balnecrag 2 (A.D. 1357.) OMNIBUS hanc cartam visuris vel audituris / Andreas de Balnecrag ac ceteris pertinentijs suis ad dictas terras spectantibus seu spectare valen 1 [See Collections for a History of the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff, p. 635; The Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. vi., pp. 382-389. Edinb. 1793; The New Statistical Account of Scotland, number xlii., pp. 1079-1095. Edinb. 1843.] 2 [From a copy, in private hands. "A Memoir of some of Balnacraig's writes," compiled before the year 1770, and now in the custody of Patrick Chalmers of Auldbar, esquire, enumerates the three following deeds, as extant about the year 1737, in the possession of Roderick Chalmers, Ross Herald: 1. Charter by Sir Thomas Ranulph, earl of Murray, lord of Annandale and Man, to Sir James of Garwyaugh, knight, of the lands of Belody, Balnecrag, Cloychok, and Tolachsyn, with their pertinents, and half a merk out of the mill of Lunfannan, yearly; to be |