CUPAR-ANGUS, or Coupar-Angus, a market-town
and parish, partly in the county of Forfar, but chiefly
in the county of Perth; including the villages of Balbrogie,
Longleys, and Washington, and containing '2745 inhabitants,
of whom 1868 are in the town, 12 miles (N.
N. E.) from Perth, and 55^ (N.) from Edinburgh. It
derives the affix, distinguishing its name from that of
Cupar in Fifeshire, from the more ancient part of the
town, which is within the county of Forfar or Angus.
An abbey of Cistercian monks was founded at this place
in 1164, by Malcolm IV., who amply endowed it with
lands in the parish, and various other estates in different
parts of the country. Among its possessions here
were, Cupar grange, the home- farm of the monastery,
where the abbot had a country residence; and the lands
of Keithiek, Arthurstone, Denhead, Balgersho, and Cronan.
The endowment was augmented by the Hays of
Errol, and other benefactors; and the establishment
continued to flourish till the Dissolution, when its revenue
was valued at £1^239 in money, and large payments
in wheat, oats, barley, and other produce. The
buildings had begun to fall into a state of dilapidation
some few years before the Reformation, and their ruin
was completed by a body of reformers from Perth. The
only vestiges now remaining of this once magnificent
structure are in the south-west angle of the present
churchyard, on the side of the road to Dundee. A portion
of the building with a beautiful arch was taken down
in 1780, to furnish materials for the erection of the
parish church, of which the north wall rests upon part
of the foundation of the ancient edifice. The lands belonging
to the monastery were erected, after its dissolution,
into a temporal lordship by James VI., and granted
to the Hon. James Elphinston, second son of Lord
Balmerino, who was created Lord Coupar in 1609. On
his decease without issue the title and estates merged in
the Balmerino family, and, on the attainder of Arthur,
Lord Balmerino, in 1745, became forfeited.
The TOWN of Cupar, which was an ancient burgh of
regality, is pleasantly situated on the banks of a stream
that flows into the river Isla about three miles to the
west. It consists principally of four streets, formed by
the lines of the Perth and Dundee roads, which intersect
each other in the market-place. The houses are generally
neat and well built, and some, of more recent erection,
are of elegant appearance; the streets are paved, and
lighted with gas by a company established within the
last few j'ears, and the inhabitants are amply supplied
with water. A public news and reading room, well
furnished with the London and provincial journals, is
supported by subscription; and an agricultural society
formed about twenty or thirty years since, for awarding
premiums to the best breeders and feeders of cattle, hold
their meetings here twice every year. There are two
branch banks. The post-office has a good delivery, and
facility of communication with Perth and other towns in
the vicinity is afforded by excellent roads, and by the
Perth and Forfar railway, which has a station here.
The principal employment pursued is the hand-loom
weaving of the coarser kinds of linen; there is also a
tanner}'. A salmon-fishery is carried on in the river
Isla, which likewise abounds with trout. The market is
on Thursday. Fairs are held on the third Thursday in
JIarch, for horses and cattle; on the 26th of May, if on
Thursday, otherwise on the first Thursday after, for
cattle and sheep, and for hiring servants; on the third
Wednesday in July, and the first Tuesday in October,
for horses, sheep, and cattle; and on the 22nd of
November, if on Thursday, or on the first Thursday after,
for cattle and for hiring servants. Cattle-markets are
also held on the first Thursday in December, and every
succeeding Thursday till May. The Steeple was erected
by subscription in 1767, on the site of the ancient prison
of the burgh of regality, and the lower part of it is used
as a place of temporary confinement.
The PARISH is bounded on the north by the river Isla,
and is intersected by the great north road through the
vale of Strathmore. It is about five miles in length, and
from one mile and a half to two miles and a half in
breadth, comprising 2800 acres. The surface is varied;
and from a high ridge which intersects the parish, is
obtained a splendid view of the Sidlaw mountains on the
south, the lower range of the Grampians on the north,
with the distant summits of Ben-More, Schihallion, and
Ben-Voirlich. The soil is various; in some parts a rich
alluvial loam; in others a stiff retentive clay, alternated
with sand and gravel, and with peat-moss. The system
of agriculture is improved, and the rotation plan of husbandry
is in general use; the chief crops are wheat, oats,
barley, and turnips. The lands have been well drained,
and much soil of inferior quality has been brought into
profitable cultivation; the buildings on the larger farms
are substantial and commodious, but on the smaller of a
very inferior description. The cattle, generally of a
mixed breed, have been much improved under the encouragement
afforded by the agricultural society. The
annual value of real property in the Perthshire portion of
the parish is £9324, and in the Angus portion £591.
making a total of £9915. Keithick and Artburstone
are handsome residences. There were formerly populous
villages at Keithick and Caddam, but both have disappeared.
Ecclesiastically the parish is within the bounds
of the presbytery of Meigle, synod of Angus and Mearns:
the minister's stipend is about £'240, with a manse, and
a glebe valued at £"25 per annum; patron, the Crown.
Cupar church, a plain structure, was built in the year
1*80, and enlarged in 1S3'2, now containing SOO sittings.
There are places of worship for members of the Free
Church, the United Presbyterian Synod, Original Seceders,
and Episcopalians. The parochial school is well
attended; the master has a salary of £34, with a house
and garden, and the fees average above £"0. A savings'
bank was opened in 1839, and has deposits to the
amount of £2600; there are also two friendly societies,
and a ladies' society for visiting and assisting indigent
and aged women. To the east of the churchyard are
the remains of a Roman camp, supposed to have been
that of LoUius Urbicus, and within the area of which the
abbey was founded.