CULTS, a parish, in the district of Cupar, county
of Fife; including the village of Pitlessie, and the
hamlets of Crossgates, Cults-Mill, Hospital-Mill, and
Walton; and containing 889 inhabitants, of whom 36
are in the hamlet of Cults-Mill, 4 miles (S. S. W.) from
Cupar. This parish, the name of which (in ancient
documents Quilts or Qiiilques) is of Celtic origin, and
supposed to be descriptive of its situation, lies nearly in
the centre of the county, and is about two miles and a
quarter in length, and one mile and a half in breadth.
It comprises 2250 acres, of which 1900 are under cultivation,
140 in meadow and pasture, 115 woodland and
plantations, thirty-five acres garden, and about sixty in
roads, fences, and waste. The surface, though for
the greater part flat, is diversified with hills, of which
the chief in height is that of Walton, near the southeastern
boundary of the parish; and from some of the
hills are fine views over the rich valley of Strath-Eden,
embracing the Lomond heights in the distance. The
scenery is in some places embellished with wood, and in
others enlivened by the course of the river Eden, which
is joined on the west side of the parish by the Ballomill
burn.
The SOIL varies considerably in quality. In some
parts it is light and sandy; in others, a rich black loam
about twelve inches in depth; and on the higher grounds,
a strong clay which under good management produces
excellent crops. The system of agriculture is vastly improved;
the surface has been rendered more productive
by draining, and considerable progress has been made in
the inclosure of the lands: all the recent improvements
in farming have been introduced. The crops are, grain
of all kinds in abundance, turnips, and potatoes. Few
sheep are either reared or fed; what there are, are
generally of the Cheviot breed: the cattle, to the improvement
of which much attention is paid, are of the
Fifeshire breed. The annual value of real property in
the parish is £3208. The substrata comprise yellow
sandstone, limestone, and in some places coal; the hills,
towards their summits, are generally trap or whinstone,
partly of amygdaloid, and partly of greenstone. Limestone
is procured in abundance from quarries on the
Pitlessie hill; the principal vein is about fourteen feet
in thickness, and of a blue colour, and above it is another
stratum two feet thick. Both, when wrought, produce
lime of excellent quality, of which 30,000 bolls are annually
burnt, the greater part whereof is shipped at Newburgh
for Dundee and Perth, and the remainder used in
the parish and adjacent districts. Coal was formerly
worked, of which there were pits on the southern declivity
of the Pitlessie hill; the seams are superincumbent
on the strata of limestone, and one of them is about
twelve inches in thickness. There are several quarries
of freestone of good quality, affording an abundant supply
for building and other purposes; and boulder limestone
is also procured for mending the roads. The only
house of any importance is Crawfurd Priory, a handsome
castellated mansion, erected by Lady Mary Lindsay
Crawfurd in 1813, when the ancient family seat in the
adjoining parish of Ceres, having become dilapidated,
was abandoned. The Earl of Glasgow is now proprietor
of the whole parish with the exception of one farm, having
a short time ago purchased the Pitlessie estate.
The weaving of linen affords employment to about 165
persons, of whom nearly one-half are females; the number
of the webs produced, which are 140 j'ards in length
and thirty inches wide, may be reckoned to average
1800 per annum. The linen chiefly woven is dowlas,
for the manufacturers of Kettle, Leslie, and Newburgh,
who furnish the materials. The spinning of tow is also
carried on at Hospital- Mill, where an old corn and flax
mill has been converted to this purpose; the machinery
is propelled by a water-wheel of fourteen-horse power,
and the quantity of yarn spun annually is from 175 to
190 tons, sent principally to Dundee. This work affords
employment to about fifty persons, the greater number
of whom are women and children. There are also mills
for flour, barley, malt, and oatmeal. The high road from
Edinburgh to Dundee passes through the parish. An
annual fair is held for the sale of agricultural stock and
implements of husbandry, on the second Tuesday in
May (O. S.), and is numerously attended. Ecclesiastically
the parish is in the presbytery of Cupar, synod of
Fife, and in the patronage of the United College of St.
Andrew's; the minister's stipend is £162, with a manse,
an arable glebe valued at £13 per annum, an allowance
of £8 for a grass glebe, and £* for communion elements.
Cults church, which is situated about a mile from the
village, and nearly in the centre of the parish, is a neat
plain edifice, erected in 1793. It contains a handsome
monument in marble, by Chantrey, erected by Sir David
Wilkie to the memory of his parents; and a monument
erected by Miss Helen Wilkie (now married to Dr. William
Hunter, of the Coldstream guards) to the memory
of her distinguished brother: this latter consists of a
medallion likeness of Sir David, of considerable size,
executed by Mr. Joseph, sculptor, from the same block
of marble as the statue in the British Museum. There
is likewise a timepiece iu the front gallery, made by
Thomson of London, a present from Miss Wilkie. Here
is a place of worship for the United Presbyterian Synod.
The parochial school affords education to about 100
children; the master has a salary of £34, with about
£30 fees, and a good house and garden. On the sides
of Walton Hill are several ramparts, supposed to have
been a Roman encampment; and urns and other relics
have been discovered on and near the spot. Sir David
Wilkie, the eminent painter, was born in the manse on
the ISth November, \'Hj, while his father, the Rev.
David Wilkie, was incumbent. The latter was the author
of a treatise on the Theory of Interest and Annuities;
the former, who had been appointed limner for
Scotland to George IV., was knighted by his Majesty
William IV. in 1836, and died in 1S41, leaving an imperishable
name. Dr. Thomas Gillespie, professor of humanity
in the university of St. Andrew's, and author of
sermons on The Seasons contemplated in the Spirit of the
Gospel, was for fifteen years incumbent of the parish of
Cults.