KILMORACK, a parish, in the county of Inverness,
11 miles (W.) from Inverness; containing, with
the village of Beauly, 2694 inhabitants. The church of
Kilmorack, a Gaelic term meaning literally " the church
of Mary ", was dedicated, like so many other churches,
to the Blessed Virgin. The parish is of great extent, and
chiefly a sylvan and pastoral district. It is partly
situated on the northern bank of the Beauly river, by
which it is separated from the parish of Kiltarlity; while
in the opposite direction it reaches to the southern confines
of the county of Ross. The surface is richly diversified,
and the scenery in several places exquisitely beautiful,
consisting of hill and mountain covered with pasture
and wood, and rural valleys, well-cultivated tracts,
and rivers and lochs. The western portion of the parish
is exceedingly wild and mountainous, and indebted for
its imposingcharacter principally to the three great glens
of Strath-Glass, Glen-Farrar, and Glen-Cannich, which
are named from the several streams that run through
them and contribute to form the principal river, the
Beauly. This river, in its course through that part of the
eastern division of Kilmorack called Dhruim, which extends
two or three miles west of the church, passes between
ranges of lofty mountains covered with birch and
fir; its banks are fringed with oak, alder, and weepingbirch,
and it here presents numerous cascades, falling over
broken sandstone rocks, especially at the farm of Teanassie.
Its finest display, however, is about two miles
west of the village, where a splendid cataract called the
Falls of Kilmorack is formed by the stream dashing over
a succession of precipitous rocks. The river joins Loch
Beauly at the eastern extremity of the parish, having
gently glided along the southern boundary of Kilmorack,
through a large open plain. The parish contains a number
of inland lakes; the chief are Loch Monar and Loch
Moyley, situated among the remains of an extensive
pine-forest, and seldom surpassed in striking scenery.
The mountain of Maum-Soule, on the south side of Loch
Moyley, is distinguished for its summit of perpetual
snow, which, even in the hottest summer weather, yields
but very slightly to the rays of the sun. In one part of
Glen-Farrar is Loch Muilie, containing an island where,
it is said. Lord Lovat found a retreat after the defeat at
Culloden, and on which the present proprietor has
erected a shooting-box, the neighbouring hills and
mountains abounding with grouse, partridges, and almost
every kind of game. Four or five miles westward is the
mountain of Scour-na-lapich, almost as high as Ben-
Nevis, and about two miles north of which is Loch
Monar, where there is an excellent fishing-station, which
is frequently resorted to by those fond of the sport. In
general the lochs are well stocked with various kinds of
trout and pike, the latter of which are sometimes found
also in the Beauly: this river is distinguished for its
salmon, grilse, and trout, the fishery of which is rented
at £1600 per annum.
The parish belongs to Lord Lovat and The Chisholm
of Chisholm; but from its great size, and the different
situations of the farms, pastures, and woods, no correct
estimate of the extent has been made. Many thousands
of acres are under natural wood and in plantations, which
are managed with great care, and annually thinned; the
firs are usually sold for railway sleepers, and the birch
made into staves for barrels. The upper part of the
parish is more particularly pastoral, and the little attention
paid to tillage is merely for the supply of domestic
wants. The Lovat property is supposed to contain about
2000 arable acres, and the Chisholm 900; and the farms,
some of which have been united within the last few years,
to the exclusion of a considerable part of the population,
many of whom have emigrated, are now remarkably well
cultivated: they are subject to the five-shift rotation,
producing wheat, barley, oats, and the usual green crops.
Numerous improvements have been introduced, comprising
the use of lime, and bone-dust for manure; and
draining, also, is making progress; this is much required
in some parts, as the soil, though it consists to a
great extent of rich loamy, sandy, clayey, and gravelly
earth, is frequently heavy and wet. There are few inclosures;
and the farm-t)uildings are in general indifferent,
the want of capital on the part of the tenant
being an obstacle to more extensive advancement. The
sheep, which traverse the pastures in very large flocks,
are of many different breeds; but those most common
are the Cheviot and the black-faced. The rocks in the
district comprehend gneiss; inferior red sandstone, which
is quarried; and conglomerate. A lead-mine was opened
some years since on the Lovat projjcrty; but the operations
having been found dillicuit, and the material of
inferior quality, it is no longer worked. The annual value
of real property in the parish is £9y:il.
The only village is that of Beauly (which see), pleasantly
situated at the eastern extremity of the parish.
Its buildings are of some extent, and iir the principal
street, the houses of which are slated, are some good
shops, a post-office for the surrounding district, and a
branch bank of the North of Scotland Hanking Ci)in|)any,
lately established. Here is a small harbour formed by
the river licauly, which expands at the village into the
basin called Loch Beauly, communicating with the Moray
Firth. Two small vessels belong to the place; and it is
visited by many others, chiefly from Inverness, Leith,
Glasgow, and Liverpool: coal, lime, and various other
articles are imported, and the vessels take in return,
among other produce, cargoes of timber, many thousands
of trees being annually cut down in the woods around.
A parliamentary road runs through the whole of the parish.
A handsome bridge of five arches was some time
since erected over the Farrar; and one was built across
the Beauly in 1810, at a cost of nearly £10,000. The
largest cattle-fairs in the north of Scotland are held on
the Muir of Ord, and attended by dealers from every
part of Scotland, particularly the south, on the third
Wednesday in April, the second Wednesdays in May
and June, the third Thursday in July, the third Tuesdays
in August, September, and October, and second
Wednesday in November. There are also four annual
fairs in the village of Beauly, in May, August, October,
and November, the two last for the sale of country produce,
and that in August for engaging shearers; but
these fairs are ill attended.
Ecclesiastically the parish is in the presbytery of
Dingwall, synod of Ross, and in the patronage of Professor
Scott, of King's College, Aberdeen, to whom the
presentation has been transferred by Lord Lovat. The
minister's stipend is £244, with a manse, and a glebe
valued at £8 per annum. Kilmorack church is conveniently
situated a few miles from the eastern boundary j
it was enlarged in 1"S6, and lately new-seated, and now
contains 506 sittings. A missionary, supported by the
Royal Bounty, divides his services between this and the
adjoining parish of Kiltarlity; and some of the inhabitants
attend a church in the latter parish, built a few
years since by the late Chisholm on his own property,
and which accommodates 300 persons. For the convenience
of the two parishes there are also two Roman
Catholic chapels, one situated at Wester Eskadale, and
the other not far from the house of Fasnacoil, together
accommodating about .500 persons. Kilmorack parochial
school affords instruction in English and Gaelic
reading, the classics, algebra, and mathematics, in addition
to other branches; the master has a salary of
£25. 13., with a house and garden, and £24 fees. A
school, also, is supported by The Chisholm; and the inhabitants
enjoy the advantages of two schools belonging
to the adjoining parish. There are remains of several
Druidical temples, and a chain of walled structures along
the course of the Beauly and the other streams; but the
principal antiquity is the ruin of the priory of Beauly.
This establishment was founded in 1230 by James Bisset,
of Lovat, for mcmks of the order of Valliscaulium, a
reformed branch of the Cistercians, and followers of the
discipline of St. Bennet, who were brought into Scotland
by Malvoison, Bishoj) of St. Andrew's, early in the
thirteenth century. There are no traces, however, of
turrets, or any kind of ornament; and the inclosed area
is merely covered with tombstones, many of them without
letters, and the earliest inscription dated 300 years
after the foundation of the priory. The north aisle is
the property of the Mackenzies of Gairloch; and Sir
Kenneth Mackenzie, eighth laird of Kintuil, who died in
149.J, is represented t)y the elligy, in a recumbent posture,
of a knight in full armour, under an arched canopy.
The other portions consist of the burying-grounds of the
chief branches of the clan Fraser, of the Chisholnis, ond
others. Farquharson, a collector of Gaelic poetry, and
conspicuous iu the controversy concerning the poems of
Ossian, resided for upwards of thirty years in the Strath-
Glass district, in the capacity of Jesuit missionary.