MEIGLE, a parish, and the seat of a presbytery, in
the county of Perth; containing 7-S inhabitants, of
whom 271 are in the village or town of Meigle, 5 miles
(N. E. byE.) from Cupar-Angus. The etymology of the
name is doubtful: it has been conjectured that, the
church and manse being built on a plain between two
marshes or " gills ", the whole district took the appellation
of Mid-giUs, gradually changed into Meigle. The
only historical memorial of any interest connected with
the place is the monument of Vanora, the reputed wife
of the renowned King Arthur, who hved in the sixth
century. She was captured in a battle which he fought
with the Picts and Scots, and sent as prisoner to a
strong place at Barry-hill, about two miles and a half
from this parish: having there formed an illicit connexion
with Mordred, a Pictish king, she was ordered
by Arthur, when he received her again, to be torn in
pieces by wild beasts. The parish is four miles and a
half long and from one to two broad, and contains above
.3000 acres. It lies in the centre of the great level of
Strathmore Proper, which reaches from near Perth to
Brechin, a distance of forty miles; and the parish is
even throughout, with the exception of a gentle eminence
on which Belmont Castle is situated. On the north and
north-west rise the Grampians, and on the south and
south-east the Sidlaw hills. The river Isla and the
Dean water unite about half a mile north-west from the
town: in the former, common white trout, pike, and a
few salmon are taken; in the Dean are perch and pike,
and its red trout are much esteemed for their excellent flavour.
The SOIL iu general is a fine black mould; but in
some parts the ground partakes of the nature of sand
and clay. There are '2726 arable acres; 100 acres iti
pasture, a small part of it in its natural state; and 178
acres occupied by wood, consisting of most of the trees
usually grown, and which are regularly thinned and
pruned. The best system of husbandry is followed;
and being well cultivated, the land bears excellent green
and white crops of every description. Since the period
of the commencement of agricultural improvements in
Scotland, tiie appearance of the parish has undergone
an entire change, the barren and rough ground having
been all reclaimed, and fenced with hedge-rows. The
chief disadvantage is the deficiency of roads. In this
parish the rocks are mostly red sandstone, of which
two quarries are wrought for building: marl has been
obtained in considerable (piantitics. The annual value
of real property in Meigle is .£.')442. Belmont House,
a seat of Lord Wharncliffe's, built upwards of seventy
or eighty years ago, on the site of the old mansion of
Kirkhill, is a quadrangular edifice, retaining part of the
ancient tower; the interior is handsomely fitted up,
and contains a superior library: there is a fine park,
with excellent lawns and gardens, and an observatory.
The other mansions are Meigle House, Drumkilbo,
Potenti), and Caerdean.
Meigle is an ancient, but inconsiderable and meanlybuilt,
town, pleasantly situated on a rivulet of the same
name, in the centre of the parish, at the intersection of
two turnpike-roads. The regular weekly market has
for some time been discontinued, but there is a tryst
every fortnight for the sale of cattle; and two fairs are
held, one on the last Wednesday in June, the other on
the last Wednesday in October, for cattle, horses, and
for general traffic; both which are well attended. A few
persons in the parish are employed in weaving coarse
hnen, and there is a mill for dyeing and dressing
cotton-cloth for umbrellas. The fuel chiefly used is coal
brought from Dundee. There is a post-office here, and
about six miles of turnpike-road run through the parish.
A bridge has been erected by subscription over the Isla,
connecting Meigle with Alyth; and there is a very
ancient bridge over the Dean, connecting it with Airlie,
in the county of Forfar: the bridges and roads are
generally in good repair. The railway from Perth to
Forfar passes at a short distance from the town, and
has a station called the Meigle station, where the line is
joined by the Dundee and Newtyle railway.
For ecclesiastical purposes the parish is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Meigle and synod of Angus
and Mearns; patron, the Crown. The stipend of the
minister is £238, including about £3. 8., vicarage-tithe
on yarn; and there is a manse, built in 1809-10, with a
glebe of about five acres and a half, worth £1" a year.
The church, a plain structure, erected about the year
I78O, comprises two aisles of the former edifice; it is in
tolerable repair, and seats 7 00 persons. This benefice
was formerly annexed to the see of Dunkeld; several of
the bishops resided here, and two of them were buried
in the church: the greater part of the stipend of Dunkeld
is still paid out of this parish. There is an episcopal
chapel, and the members of the Free Church have
a place of worship. The parochial schoolmaster receives
a salary of £36. 7- '2., including £2. 2. 85. in lieu of a
garden, and has a house; his fees amount to about £16.
The ruin of the famous sepulchral monument of Vanora
is distinguished by a variety of sculptured figures, consisting
of a centaur, a huge serpent fastened to a bull's
mouth, and wild beasts tearing human bodies to pieces.
There is a tumulus in Belmont park called Belliduif,
which tradition asserts to be the spot where Macduff
slew Macbeth; and about a mile distant is a block of
whinstone, twenty tons in weight, called Macbeth's Stone.
The correct opinion, however, is that Macbeth was slain
at Lumphanan, in Aberdeenshire.