MARYTOWN, a parish, in the county of Forfar, %
2^ miles (W. S. W.) from Montrose; containing about
400 inhabitants. This place is supposed to have derived
its name from the dedication of its church to the Virgin
Mary, or from the existence here, at some ancient period,
of a religious establishment in honour of that saint: on
the confines of the parish is a spring which still retains
the appellation of Marywell. The parish consists of the
estates of Old Montrose and Dysart, distant from each
other about half a mile, and divided by an intervening
portion of the parish of Craig. It is three miles in length
from north to south, and one mile and a half in average
breadth. Marytown is bounded on the north by the
river South Esk, and the basin of Montrose, commonly
designated the Back Sands, and on the south-east by the
sea; comprising 2180 acres, of which 2080 are arable,
about seventy woodland and plantations, and thirty in
natural pasture. Its surface is broken by a small ridge
of hills, of which the highest point, Marytown Law, has
an elevation of nearly 400 feet above the level of the
sea. The summit of this eminence seems to be of artificial
structure, and is supposed to have been raised as a
beacon, or to have been the spot where the great family
of Montrose in feudal times dispensed justice to their
vassals. One of the most extensive and beautiful views
in this part of the kingdom is to be obtained from the
summit of Marytown Law, embracing to the north the
richly-fertile vale extending from Montrose to Brechin,
enlivened by the picturesque windings of the South Esk,
and thickly studded with elegant seats and pleasing
villas. The basin and harbour of Montrose, with the
town, are seen at one extremity of the vale, and to the
west the town of Brechin; while in the back ground
appear the Grampian hiUs, with part of the county of
Kincardine, and to the east the view terminates with a
prospect of the sea. The South Esk abounds with salmon
and sea-trout; and in the month of May great
numbers of smaller trout, called sraouts, are found in its
stream. Vast numbers of aquatic fowl frequent the
Back Sands of Montrose during the winter; among
these are wild geese, ducks, sea-gulls, curlews, and
herons. In the parish generally are partridges and hares
in abundance, and pheasants in moderate numbers.
On the lands of Old Montrose the soil is a strong
loamy clay, of great depth, and admirably adapted for
the growth of wheat; on the lands of Dysart the soil is
of much thinner and lighter quality, but rendered fertile
by the improvements that have been made of late years.
The system of agriculture is in the most advanced state,
and the six-shift course generally prevalent; the crops
are oats, barley, wheat, peas, beans, potatoes, and turnips.
The lands are well drained, and inclosed in the higher
parts with stone dykes, and in the lower with hedges of
thorn i the farm-buikiings, also, are substantial and
commodious. A considerable portion of land has been
recovered from the Back Sands, and brought into profitable
cultivation; and all the more recent improvements
in implements of husbandry are in use. A great number
of cattle are fed during the winter for the butcher;
and a tolerable number of horses are reared, chiefly for
agricultural purposes: the breed of these, and also of
the cattle that are reared, has been much improved
through the encouragement afforded by the agricultural
association in the county. The principal substratum is
trap rock of a coarse quality; and several quarries are
worked, mostly for dykes for inclosures, or to furnish
materials for the roads. A fishery is carried on in the
South Esk, the produce of which is estimated at about
£100 a year. The annual value of real property in
Marytown is £4438. The nearest market-town is Montrose,
where a ready sale is found for the agricultural
and other produce of the parish, and from which place
every requisite supply of articles necessary either for the
farm or for domestic use can be procured. Facility of
communication with the neighbouring towns is maintained
by the Aberdeen railway, and the turnpike-road
from Montrose to Forfar; and lime and coal maybe
easily obtained by the river.
Ecclesiastically the parish is in the presbytery of Brechin,
synod of Angus and Mearns, and in the patronage
of the Crown. The minister's stipend is £198. 6. 9.,
with a manse, and a glebe valued at £18 per annum.
Marytown church, erected in 1*91, and repaired within
the last twenty or thirty years, is a neat plain structure
adapted for a congregation of 300 persons. The members
of the Free Church have a place of worship. The
parochial school affords a good course of instruction;
the master has a salary of £30 per annum, with £10 fees,
and a house and garden. Tlicre are also two Sabbatli
schools, and a parochial library in which are more than
'200 volumes of standard works, chiefly on religious
subjects, and about 100 pamphlets. Bonnytown, now
forming part of the estate of Old Montrose, was formerly
the property of the Wood family; and the foundations
of the ancient castle where they resided, and of the moat
by which it was surrounded, are still traceable.