URQUHART, a parish, in the county of Elgin, 4^
miles (E. by S.) from Elgin; containing 1082 inhabitants,
of whom 185 are in the village of Urquhart. This
place derives its name, signifying in the Gaelic language
" an extensive line of sea-coast", from its situation on the
shore of the Moray Firth, along which it stretches from
the mouth of the river Spey to that of the river Lossie.
It appears to have been of some importance at a very
early period: a priory was founded here in 1125, by
David I., who endowed it with lands in this parish and
in that of Fochabers, together with a portion of the
fisheries in the Spey. This priory, which was dedicated
to the Holy Trinity, was dependent on the abbey of Dunfermline
until the year 1345, when it was separated from
that establishment, and united to the priory of Pluscardine,
with which it continued till the Reformation. In
the year 1 160, the inhabitants of Moray, who had taken
up arms against Malcolm IV., were encountered in the
moors of this place by a detachment of the king's army,
and, after an obstinate conflict, were defeated with great
slaughter. All the families in Moray who had participated
in this insurrection were immediately dispersed into
ditferent parts of the kingdom; such as were removed
into the northern counties took the name of Sutherland,
and those who were sent into the southern parts, the
name of Murray.
The PARISH is bounded on the north by the Moray
Firth, and on the west by the river Lossie. It is very
nearly in the form of an equilateral triangle, each side
being about five miles; and comprises 7500 acres, of
which almost 4000 are arable and in cultivation, 3000
woodland and plantations, and the remainder waste.
On the north-west is a plain of considerable extent, but
in other parts the surface is undulated, and diversified
with hillocks, or small elevations: no portion, however,
of the parish is much raised above the level of the
sea. The prevailing scenery is beautifully picturesque,
and the district is embellished with flourishing plantations.
In this parish the waters are unimportant; the
small lake of Cotts has been drained, and the only streams
that flow through the lands are three rivulets, on one of
which are mills for grinding corn and sawing timber:
the supply of water, even for domestic use, is insufficient.
The coast is low and sandy throughout its whole
extent, with the exception of a small rock called the
Bear's Head, which is visible at low water; and there is
neither bay nor creek capable of affording shelter even to
the smallest vessel.
In general the soil is light and sandy, but fertile, and
under good cultivation; the crops are barley, oats,
wheat, potatoes, and turnips, with the usual grasses.
Husbandry is in an improved state, and a regular rotation
of crops is didy observed; the farms mostly vary
in size from twenty to 100 acres, but there are some
small crofts rented by the villagers, containing only
from two and a half to seven acres. Very little of the
waste land appears to be capable of improvement with
any hope of remuneration; and from the want of stone,
and the expense of raising fences, the lands are but
partially inclosed. The only agricultural produce exported
is grain, of which a larger amount is grown than
is required for the supply of the inhabitants; and wheat
especially, to the cultivation of which a much greater degree
of attention has been paid within the few last years,
is sent to Elgin in considerable quantities. The woods,
which are very extensive, and consist chiefly of Scotch
fir, were partly planted by the late I'^arl of Fife, and are
all in a thriving state: about 30,000 forest-trees have
on the average, of late, been planted annually. Innes
House, belonging to the Earl of Fife, who is proprietor
of four-lfths of the parish, is a stately mansion beautifully
seated in grounds tastefully laid out, and adorned
with plantations. Leuchars, the property of the same
nobleman, is a modern mansion pleasantly situated.
The village is neatly built, and consists of nearly forty
houses, to almost all of which are attached crofts of
land; various handicraft trades are carried on, and there
are several shops for the supply of the neighbourhood.
At Finfan, near the eastern boundary of the parish, is a
mineral spring possessing properties resembling those of
the Strathpeffer water, and which is frequented by a few
invalids: a neat cottage was lately erected on the spot,
as a residence for a person appointed to take care of
the well. Facility of communication is afforded by the
turnpike-road to Elgin, which passes for nearly three
miles through the parish; and by other roads that intersect
it in various directions, and which are kept in
repair by statute labour. The annual value of real property
in Urquhart is £377'2.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs this place is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Elgin and synod of Moray.
The minister's stipend is £233. 3. 8., with a manse, and
a glebe valued at £5 per annum; patron, the Earl of Fife.
Urquhart church, situated nearly in the centre of the
parish, is a handsome modern structure containing sufficient
accommodation. The parochial school is attended
by about fifty children: the master has a salary of £34.
4. 4., with a house, an allowance of £<2. 2. in lieu of
garden, and the fees, averaging £8; also twelve bolls of
meal every year from a bequest by the Earl of Dumfermline.
Of the ancient priory the only vestige is the
abbey well, which serves to indicate the site of that
amply endowed establishment. About half a mile from
the church, and near Innes House, are the remains of a
Druidical circle, consisting of nine lofty stones, with two
others of greater height near the entrance. In a barrow
or hillock near the farm of Meft, have been found two
rude urns containing ashes and half-burnt human bones;
and in a hillock called the cross-hillock of Kempston,
there was found within the last few years a human
skeleton in a reclining position, which on exposure to
the air quickly crumbled into dust. In one of the moors
now covered with wood, at a distance of a mile and a
half from the church, are the remains of a Danish camp,
on a rising ground almost entirely surrounded with a
deep trench; and in a hollow near the site, called the
Innocents' Howe, some women and children who had retired
into it for safety on an invasion of the enemy, w^ere
discovered and cruelly slaughtered.