BARRY, or BARRIE, a parish, in the county of
Forfar, including the former quoad sacra district of
Carnoustie, and containing 2124 inhabitants, of whom
21* are in the village of Barry, 9 miles (E. N. E.)
from Dundee, and 126S in the village of Carnoustie.
This parish is situated at the southern extremity of the
county, on the shore of the German Ocean, and at the
mouth of the Firth of Tay; measuring about four miles
from north to south, and three and a half from east to
west. In the latter direction it is intersected, throughout
its whole extent, by a high verdant bank, supposed
to have once formed a steep shore of the ocean, and
separating the locality into two grand divisions totallj'
dissimilar in character. That on the north is of a good
soil, and elevated about fifty feet above the southern
portion, from which it has the appearance of an extensive
and regularly constriicted terrace. The lower division is
sandy and sterile, affording in general but a scanty pasture
for a few sheep and cattle, with small patches of
arable land, producing, in moist seasons, moderate crops
of grain. The vi'hole comprises about 4000 acres, half
being in the sandy, and half in the cultivated, portion.
In the upper part the soil has the several varieties of
light loam, good gravel, and a deep black earth; and
under the skilful application of the most approved usages
of husbandry, crops are obtained of wheat, barley, oats,
peas, turnips, flax, clover, and potatoes, nearly equal to
those grown in more favoured districts. Of the part
never yet cultivated, covering nearly 2000 acres, very
little is serviceable on account of the light and sandy
nature of the soil, except for occasional pastures. The
annual value of real property in the parish is £4052.
The larger part of the population, both male and female,
are engaged in the manufacture of brown and white
linen, for the Dundee and Arbroath houses. A vitriolwork,
employing four or five hands, was erected a few
years since; and there are five stations for the fishing
of salmon, belonging to three different proprietors. The
turnpike-road and the railroad between Dundee and
Arbroath pass through the parish; and to these two
towns the produce is usually sent for sale. Ecclesiastically
the parish is in the presbytery of Arbroath, synod
of Angus and Mearns, and in the patronage of the
Crown; the minister's stipend is £143. 12. 11., with a
manse, and a glebe of five acres, valued at £5. 10. per
annum. The church, situated in the centre of the
parish, is a plain structure, altered and enlarged in the
year 181 S. A place of worship and a schoolroom have
been erected in connexion with the Free Church. The
parochial school affords instruction in the usual branches;
the master has a salary of £'29. IS. 9., with £30 fees.
Till lately there were several tumuli on the eastern hmit
of the parish; and in the same vicinity, near Carnoustie,
were the vestiges of a camp, where, it is said,
the Danes under Camus were defeated by the Scots
headed by INIalcolm II.