LOGIE, a parish, in the counties of Clackmannan,
Perth, and Stirling, 2 miles (N. E. by N.) from Stirling;
containing, with the villages of Craigmill, Menstrie,
Blairlogie, Bridge-of-AUan, and Causewayhcad or
Causeyhead, 2200 inhabitants. Logie derives its name
from the (iaelic word lag or laggie, denoting " low or
flat ground ", the lands consisting principally of an extensive
tract of perfectly level country. The parish is
situated on the northern bank of the Forth, which separates
it from the parishes of Stirling and St. Ninian's;
and has a very irregular outline in this direction, on
account of the many bends of the river. Its extreme
length from north to south is about six and a half or seven
miles, and the greatest breadth six miles, comprising an
area of about 12,600 acres, of whicli ,'jOOO arc arable,
and 1260 occupied by wood. The Devon bounds the
parisli on the east, and after a beautifully-winding course
of about thirty miles through a great variety of romantic
scenery, falls into the Forth at Cambus, in the parish of
Alloa, nearly due south of the spot where it rises, only
a few miles off, on the north side of the Ochil hills.
The Ochil range, stretching along the northern boundary
of the parish, ascends abruptly from the plain to the
height of 2500 feet, and from Demyat peak commands
extensive and richly-diversified prospects. These embrace
the Forth almost from its source in Loch Ard to
the German Ocean; also the city of Edinburgh; with
views of the adjacent lands, the romantic stream of the
Devon, the ruins of Cambuskenneth Abbey, and the
castle of Airthrey shrouded in sylvan beauty: on the
north and west, the bold outline of the Grampians bounds
the view, and forms a striking contrast to the widespread
tracts below. From the foot of the Ochils, which
have little wood, but are well clothed with pasture, the
land is a rich, well-cultivated, and fertile plain entirely to
the southern boundary of the parish; and besides many
mountain streams and excellent springs, the lands are
watered by the Allan, which, as well as the Devon and
all the burns, contains a good supply of fine trout.
The soil of the carse land, which comprehends threefourths
of the arable portion of the parish, is a deep,
rich, alluvial earth, occasionally mixed with gravel, but
for the most part formed solely of a strong tenacious
clay, varying in depth from three to six feet, and incumbent
on a dark blue silt with sand, plentifully interspersed
with the shells of oysters, mussels, cockles, and
many other fish. On the Ochils the soil consists principally
of loam, gravel, and sand, and rocky deposits,
among which large boulders are sometimes found. All
kinds of grain and of green crops are raised; the husbandry
is excellent, and nearly the same on the dryfield
portion as on the carse land, except that wheat is
not sown upon the former. The pasture on the hills
comprises about .5000 acres, and is grazed by upwards
of 4000 sheep, chiefly of the black-faced and the Cheviot
breeds; the latter has been lately introduced, and
the wool of the former has been greatly improved by
a cross with the Leicester breed. Much attention is
shown to the live stock; and the cows, which are the
Ayrshire, are of a good description. The strata vary
considerably according to the nature of the ground.
The Ochil hills consist of trap rock, comprising a large
proportion of amygdaloid, with agates, calc-spar, and
many other minerals peculiar to the trap formation.
The substratum immediately south of the Ochils is a
continuation of the Clackmannanshire coalfield; but no
works have been formed, as it is concluded that in this
part the seams are too thin to be profitable. Ironstone
also exists in the jjarish; and copper-ore has been
wrought at the vein of the Mine-house. Logie derives
much celebrity from its mineral spring, situated on the
estate of Airthrey, near the village of Bridge-of-Allan,
to which ])lace large numbers of visiters resort every
season for tlie benefit of the waters. The annual value
of real property in the Clackmannanshire part of the
parish is £6445, of that in the Perthshire part £3100,
and the Stirlingshire £5292.
The wood in the parish consists chiefly of plantations
of ash, elm, plane, beech, larch, oak, and fir, in the vicinity
of Airthrey Castle, which stands on the brow of
the Ochil hills, and is the seat of Lord Abercromby,
grandson of the celebrated Sir Ralph Abercromby. A
saw-mill has been built on the s])()t, for prejiaring the
wood for transit to various parts of the country, where
it is used for palings, in farm houses and offices, and for
many other purposes. Airthrey Castle is surrounded by
a small but beautiful park, ornamented by an artificial
lake, and is the only mansion of note, with the exception
of Powis House, a neat and commodious modern structure.
Independently of several small hamlets, the parish
contains the villages of Menstrie, Blairlogie, Craigmill,
Causewayhead, and Bridge- of- Allan. Craigmill is situated
at the southern base of the Abbey -Craig, a remarkable
rock of greenstone 500 feet high, in which there is
an extensive quarry, affording a material employed for
several purposes, but especially adapted, on account of
its firm texture, and rough surface when broken, for
grinding wheat. Upwards of 300 pairs of millstones
have been made for preparing flour, and for the use of
distilleries, at a cost of from £12 to £20 per pair; but
they are not at present in much demand, those made in
France being now sold for a low sum. The French
millstones were originally the only ones employed, and,
at the period of the war, rose so much in price as to induce
the London Society for the Encouragement of Arts
to offer 100 guineas for the discovery of any stone in
Great Britain from which millstones could be manufactured,
capable of being substituted for those from France.
In consequence of this, Mr. James Brownhill, of the
Alloa mills, presented specimens made from this rock;
they were approved, and he received the premium.
Afterwards, the stones from France still commanding
from £45 to £60 per pair, the native stones continued
in use till the peace, when the great reduction in the
price of the former rendered those here prepared scarcely
worth the cost of the labour. There is another village,
called Abbey, situated where the celebrated abbey of
Cambuskenneth once flourished; but this, with the barony
of the same name, in which it stands, has been
considered from time immemorial as belonging to the
parish of Stirling, though it has been claimed by the
parish of Logic. The commissary of Stirling and the
commissary of Dunblane each exercise jurisdiction over
it as belonging to their respective provinces. Great
facility of intercourse is presented by the Scottish Central
railway, which intersects the parish, and has stations
at Bridge-of-Allan and Stirling. The turnpike-roads
from Crieff, Alloa, Dollar, and Stirling all meet in the
parish, at the village of Causewayhead; but the first has
long been in a very bad condition, and the others are
indifferent. The Forth also affords facility of communication,
and is crossed by an elegant bridge lately constructed,
in place of the old one, at Stirling, to which
place the river is navigable for vessels of considerable
size. There are regular steam-boats between Stirling and
the city of Edinburgh.
Logie is ecclesiastically in the presbytery of Dunblane,
synod of Perth and Stirling, and in the patronage
of the Earl of Dunmore: the minister's stipend is £263,
with a manse, and a glebe valued at £24 per annum.
The church, built in 1805, is a neat edifice containing
sittings for 644 persons, and is beautifully situated at
the foot of the Ochil mountains. The members of the
Free Church have a place of worship. Logie parochial
school affords instruction in Greek and Latin, and all
the ordinary branches of education; the master has a
salary of £30, with £33 fees, and about eighty children
receive instruction in the school. Ou the Abbey-Craig
hill, the Scottish army under Wallace was posted the
night before the celebrated engagement of Stirling, Sept.
13th, 1297: upon the summit were formerly the remains
of a fort said to have been erected Ijy Oliver Cromwell
when he besieged Stirling Castle. Large stones, set up
to commemorate battles, are to be seen in some parts;
and spear-heads and other military relics have been
found, some of which, from the skill displayed in the
construction, are supposed to be of Roman origin. The
entire skeleton of a whale, between sixty and seventy
feet long, was discovered in 1819 in the alluvial subsoil,
and is now in the museum of Edinburgh University.
The first Earl of Stirling, born in 1580, an elegant
scholar and poet, and a great favourite of James VI.,
was the sixth Baron of Menstrie in this parish; and
General Sir Ralph Abercromby, the hero of Aboukir,
was born at the family mansion at Menstrie, in 1734.
See Cambuskenneth, Bridge-of-Allan, &c.