LUNDIE-AND-FOWLIS, districts (two), constituting
a parish, the former in the county of Forfar, and the
latter in the county of Perth; containing 734 inhabitants,
of whom 286 are in Fowlis or Foulis, and 448 in
Lundie, 6 miles (N. W.) from Dundee. Of these two
ancient parishes, united by a decree of the High Commissioners
in 161S, Lundie derives its name, in the
Gaelic J,i»n-De, signifying " the pool of God," from a
very extensive lake which formed its chief feature: the
other district, which is often distinguished by the adjunct
Easter from the parish of Fowlis Wester, in the same
county, is said to have derived its name from tlie family
of Fowlis, who came over from France and settled in
this country. Lundie is bounded on the north by the
Sidlaw hills; it is about three miles in length and two
in breadth, and comprises 4000 acres, of which 2500 are
arable, 140 water, and the remainder meadow and hill
pasture. Fowlis is bounded on the north by Lundie, and
is about three miles in extreme length, and rather more
than one mile in average breadth, comprising an area of
2400 acres, of which nearly 1500 are arable, 160 woodland
and plantations, 260 meadow and pasture, and the
remainder moor and waste. The surface of Lundie is
gently undulated in the central parts, and bounded on
the west, north, and east by hills of considerable elevation,
of which the Sidlaws rise to the height of SOO feet
above the level of the sea. At the base of these hills
are four lakes, from which, though much diminished in
their extent by draining, the river Dighty issues in two
streams, flowing through the valley to which it gives
name. Of these lakes, that of Lundie, formerly covering
100 acres, is now reduced to little more than eight; the
Long loch is about half a mile in length and one-quarter
of a mile broad, and the Pitlyal and Balshandie lakes
are of small size. There was formerly a lake of some
extent in Fowlis; but it was drained long since for the
sake of the marl, and little more of it remains than a
reedj' marsh frequented by various kinds of aquatic
fowl. The other lakes abound with perch, pike, and eels.
The higher grounds command extensive and interesting
views of the surrounding country; and from the summit
of Blacklaw, the only hill of any eminence in Fowlis,
is obtained a richly-diversified and beautiful prospect.
The glen of this district, a thickly- wooded and deep
ravine extending southward from the church, contains
much romantic scenery.
The SOIL is generally a deep black loam, well adapted
for all sorts of grain; but on the higher grounds is
thin and sharp. In the lower parts are considerable
tracts of marshy land, the greater portion of which has,
however, been reclaimed by draining, and is now under
profitable cultivation. The chief crops are oats and
barley, with a moderate quantity of wheat, and the
usual green crops; the system of agriculture is greatly
improved. The lands are partly inclosed with fences of
thorn, but in general with stone walls; the farm-buildings
and offices are substantial and well arranged, and
all the more recent improvements in the construction of
implements have been adopted. The pastures are rich,
and much attention is paid to the management of the
dairy-farms, and to the breed of live stock; the cattle
are of the Angus breed, occasionally crossed with the
Teeswater, and the sheep of the Cheviot and Leicestershire
breed, with a few of the black-faced kind: the
produce of the dairies finds a ready sale in the market
of Dundee. In the lower parts of the parish the substratum
is chiefly common grey freestone; the hills are
mostly of trap. The annual value of real property in
Lundie is £3261, and in Fowlis £3270. There is no
regular village, the population being exclusively agricultural,
with tlie exception of a small number who are
employed in the several trades re(|uisite for the supply
of the parish. Facility of communication with the
neighbouring towns is afl'orded by the Dundee and
Cupar-Aiigiis t>irni)ike-road, which intersects tiic parisli;
and by the Carse of (iowrie road, from which
Fowlis is not more than a mile distant. Fairs are held
at Lundie in June and August, for the sale of cattle.
Ecclesiastically the parish is within the bounds of the
presbytery of Dundee, synod of Angus and Mearns: the
minister's stipend is £201, with a manse, and a glebe
valued at £9 per annum; patron, the Earl of Camperdown.
Lundie church is a plain neat structure in good
repair, and contains 330 sittings. The church of Fowlis
is a very ancient structure, having been erected about
the year IH^, in fulfilment of a vow, as is traditionally
said, for the safe return of her husband from the crusades,
by a lady of the Mortimer family; it is a remarkably
fine specimen of the richest style of Norman architecture,
in the most perfect state of preservation, and
abounding in interesting details: there are about 300
sittings. A parochial school is supported in each district;
the masters have each a salary of £30, with a
house and garden, and fees averaging about £'25 per
annum. A subscription library, of which the schoolmaster
has the superintendence, is established at Fowlis,
and contains about 600 volumes. Admiral Viscount
Duncan, who signalised himself by his intrepidity during
the mutiny of the Nora, and by his brilliant victory over
the Dutch fleet off Camperdown, was a native of Dundee,
and one of the chief proprietors of this parish; he died
in 1804, and was interred in the churchyard of Lundie.
In a handsome mausoleum adjoining Lundie church are
the remains of Sir William Duncan, Bart., M. D., and
his lady, daughter of Sackville, Earl of Thanet. The
Earl of Camperdown, son of the gallant admiral, and
proprietor of Lundie, was promoted from being Viscount
Duncan of Camperdown to be Earl of Camperdown, of
Lundie and of Gleneagles, at the coronation of his late
Majesty, William IV.: he also bears the inferior title of
Baron Duncan of Lundie. conferred on his father with
the viscounty. In the church of Fowlis are the remains
of Lord Gray, of whose ancestors and family it has been
the burial-place for many generations.