TOMINTOUL, a village and quoad sacra parish (for a time),
in the parish of Kirkmichael, county of Banff;
containing 919 inhabitants, of whom 530 are
in the village. This place is supposed to have derived
its name, signifying the " barn hillock ", from the situation
of the barn belonging to a farm that originally
occupied the site of the village. Tomintoul was commenced
in 1750; it stands on a tract of table-land overlooking
the river Aven, and consists chiefly of one long
street. In the centre is a spacious square. The houses
of the village, with few exceptions, are one story high,
neatly built, and roofed with slate; and attached to
each are about two acres of land, in the cultivation of
which the inhabitants are partly employed. No manufactures
are carried on here, nor any trade, except the
handicrafts requisite for the wants of the neighbourhood;
there are a few shops for the sale of various
articles of merchandise for the supply of the inhabitants,
and a circulating library containing nearly 200 volumes
of religious and historical works. A post-office has
been established, which has a daily delivery; and there
arc four good inns. A small lock-up house has been
erected for the temporary confinement of offenders
against the peace; but there is no resident magistrate.
Fairs, chiefly for cattle and sheep, and for the hiring of
servants, are held on the last Friday in May, the last
Friday in July, O. .S., the third Wednesday in August,
O. S., the Friday after the second Tuesday in September,
(). S., and the second Friday in November, O. S.
The great mditary road from Perth to Inverness passes
through the village; and the district affords ample means.
which might easily be made available to greater facilitiesof communication.
The district was separated for ecclesiastical purposes
from the parish of Kirkmichael, and erected into a quoad
sacra parish, under act of the General Assembly. It
comprises by computation 30,000 acres, of which by far
the greater portion is moorland pasture. The surface is
hilly and mountainous, and the scenery, from the want
of plantations, bleak and comparatively uninteresting;
the river Aven flows through the district in its course to
the Spey, and there are numerous springs. Some of
these possess mineral properties, but they are not used
medicinally. The soil in some parts is a rich marl,
and the arable lands are under good cultivation, producing
favourable crops of grain; the hills, also, afford
pasturage for sheep and black-cattle, of which considerable
numbers are reared, and sent to the southern
markets. Toraintoul is in the presbytery of Abernethy
and synod of Moray. The church was erected in 1827,
at a cost of £750, by the commissioners under the act
for building additional places of worship in the Highlands
and Islands of Scotland. It is situated about five
miles from the parish church, and is a neat substantial
structure containing 336 sittings, to which ^OO may be
added by the erection of a gallery, for which the plan of
the building is well adapted. The minister has a stipend
of £120, paid from the exchequer; with a manse, built
by government at an expense of £738, and a glebe
valued at £2 per annum: patron, the Crown. A Roman
Catholic chapel was built in 1838; and there is a school
in connexion with the Established Church, the master of
which receives £17-3. 3. as a gratuity from the Duke of
Richmond, in addition to the fees. There is also a school
the master of which has a salary of £26, arising from an
endowment by the late Mr. Donaldson, of Aberdeen.