FOSSOWAY, a parish, in the county of Perth
and county of Kinross, 6 miles (W.) from Kinross, and 8 (N. E.
by E.) from Alloa; containing, with the villages of
Blairingone, Crook of Devon, and Easter and Wester
Gartwhinean, 1724 inhabitants. This parish includes
the ancient parish of Tulliebole, united with it in 1614,
and which, forming part of the county of Kinross,
divides Fossoway into two separate portions. Of these,
the one lying northward of the lands of Tulliebole, comprises
the barony of Fossoway, with a considerable part
of the Ochil hills; and that lying southward, the barony
of Aldie on the east, and the lands of Blairingone on the
west, with the valley between the Ochils on the north
and the Cleish and Saline hills on the south. The whole
of the united parish is eleven miles in extreme length,
and about ten miles in extreme breadth, comprising an
area of 18,682 acres, of which nearly 11,000 are arable
and pasture, 1 125 woodland and plantations, and the
remainder waste. Its surface is diversified with hills of
various elevation, the principal of which are from 1000
to 1500 feet in height above the level of the sea. One
of these, called Easter Downhill, is of conical form, skirted
round its base with natural wood, and covered with verdure
to the summit; and the hill of Inmerdownie, which
is the highest iu the parish, commands an extensive
prospect, embracing at one view the rivers Forth and
Tay. Most of the hills afford excellent pasturage for
sheep and cattle, and the intervening valleys are richly
cultivated. The lower grounds are also intersected with
ridges, rising more or less precipitously to considerable
degrees of eminence. The river Devon, which bounds
the parish for nearly nine miles, has its source in the
Ochils, and after a long and winding course falls into
the river Forth at Cambus. The lands are also watered
by the rivulets of North and South Quiech and the East
Gairuey, which flow into Loch Leven, and the West
Gairney, which joins the Devon near the Linn Caldron.
In the Devon and in the other streams trout of good
quality are taken. The scenery is boldly varied, and in
some parts strikingly romantic. The river Devon forms
several cascades, one of the principal of which is the
Rumbling Bridge, so called from a bridge twenty-two
feet in span, below which the river, impeded iu its progress
by projecting rocks, falls successively from various
heights with tumultuous noise. Lower down is the
Linu Caldron, where, within a distance of twenty-eight
yards, the stream has two falls, one of thirty-four and
the other of forty-four feet, of nearly perpendicular
descent; and in the interval the rocks are worn into
three spacious cavities, in two of which the water, from
its violent agitation, has the appearance of boiling. Near
the old Rumbling bridge, which is still entire, a new
bridge has been lately erected.
In some parts of the parish the soil is mossy, in others
a gravel, and in some places clay alternated with loam.
The system of agriculture is in an advanced state; much
waste land has been brought into profitable cultivation,
and the inclosures, partly of stone dykes and partly
fences of thorn, are well kept. On the lands of Fossoway,
a fence of wire- work attached to posts of wood has
been introduced. The farm-houses and offices, with very
few exceptions, are substantial and commodious; and
most of the later improvements in husbandry have been
adopted. The annual value of real property in the
Fossoway or Perthshire portion of the parish amounts to
£3900, and of real property in the Tulliebole or Kinrossshire
portion to £46 IS. The plantations are extensive,
and properly managed; they consist principally of
spruce and Scotch fir, ash, elm, plane, and beech, all of
which grow well in the soil. Larch, which formerly
produced considerable profit, has within the last few
years appeared to degenerate: oak, which has only lately
been planted, seems to thrive. There are quarries of
whinstone and freestone in several parts, and in the
western districts are found limestone, coal, and ironstone:
at Blairingone are three collieries in operation,
two of which were but lately opened. The ironstone for
many years was extensively wrought, but the working of
it has been almost discontinued. In a rock near the
Rumbling Bridge is found copper-ore; but the quantity
bears so small a proportion to the material in which it
is contained, that it cannot be wrought to advantage.
Tulliebole Castle, the seat of Sir James W. Moncrieff,
Bart., one of the judges of the Court of Session, is an
ancient mansion, having been erected in 1608. Devonshaw
House and Arndean are both handsome modern
mansions, pleasantly situated on the banks of the Devon.
The castle of Aldie, once the baronial seat of the Mercers,
and now the property of their representative, the
Baroness Keith, though uninhabited remains entire.
The principal villages are Blairingone and Crook of
Devon, both of them burghs of barony: the latter is
situated on the river Devon, which here makes a sudden
turn in its course, whence the village takes its name;
and there is a good inn for the accommodation of the
numerous visiters who frequent the place in order to
view the interesting scenery in its vicinity. The parish
also contains several hamlets, of which the most considerable
are Gartwhinean and Carnbo. Fairs are held
in May and in October, when cattle and wares are exposed
for sale. The turnpike-road from Dunfermline to
CriefF passes through the parish from north to south, and
that from Kinross to Alloa intersects it from east to
west: parallel with the latter, and about two miles to
the north of it, is the turnpike-road from Stirling to the
east of Fife; and the Dunning road also crosses a portion
of the parish. There are six bridges over the Devon,
which tend to facilitate the communication with the
neighbouring towns.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs the parish is within
the bounds of the presbytery of Auchterarder, synod of
Perth and Stirling. The minister's stipend is £164, with
a manse, and a glebe valued at £S. 13. 4.; patron. Sir
Graham Montgomerie, of Kinross. The church, built in
1S06, is a plain edifice in good repair, containing b'-lb
sittings. A church, with which a quoad sacra parish
was for a short time connected, was erected on a site a
little eastward of the village of Blairingone, given for
that purpose by Mark Watt, Esq., who also subscribed
liberally towards its erection; it was opened for divine
service in li33S, and is a neat structure containing 250
sittings. The parochial school is attended by about
seventy children; the master has a salary of £34, with
a house and garden, some land worth £12 per annum,
and fees averaging £27. Another school is partly supported
by private subscription. There is a petrifying
spring on the lands of Devonshaw; and on the estate of
Blairingone, a mineral spring was discovered about
twenty years since, the water of which, according to an
analysis made by Dr. Thomson, professor of chemistry
in the university of Glasgow, contains in an imperial
gallon 5'S7 grs. common salt, 17099 grs. sulphate of
soda, 953' IS grs. sulphate of alumine, 1753'10 grs. dipersulphate
of iron, 14r55 grs. persulphate of iron, and
5870 grs. of silica. The water is too strong for internal
use, without dilution; but, externally applied, is powerful
in healing wounds. See Blairingone, &c.