DUNNING, a parish, in the county of Perth; including the
village of Newtown of Pitcairns, and containing
2128 inhabitants, of whom 1068 are in the
village of Dunning, 9 miles (W. S. W.) from Perth. This
parish is supposed to take its name from the Gaelic term
dun, signifying a hill or fort. It contains the remains
of three military stations called Ardargie, Rossie Law,
and Ternavie, which are thought to have belonged to a
line of forts constructed by Agricola along the northern
base of the Ochil hills, where the parish lies, and stretching
to Ardoch, and thence to the wall of Antoninus. This
supposition is corroborated by the circumstance of Roman
armour and numerous human bones having been
dug up in the locality: and the proximity of the Pictish
station Forteviot, and the traces of many fortifications,
lead to the conclusion that this was subsequently the
arena of several sanguinary conflicts. The family of
Rollo, descended from Eric de Rollo, who came over
with William the Conqueror as secretary, were first
located in this place, where they have since remained,
in the time of David I., who gave considerable possessions
to Richard de Rollo, a son or grandson of Eric.
In 1512 the estate was erected into a free barony,
and in 1651 Sir Andrew Rollo, Knt., was created by
Charles II. Baron Rollo, of Duncruib, the name of the
property belonging to this ancient family. The village
of Dunning was burnt to the ground, with many others,
by the Earl of Mar, in the rebellion of 1715 and 1716,
in order to arrest the progress of the royal troops; and
to perpetuate the remembrance of this a thorn-tree was
planted, which is still in a flourishing condition, and an
object of curiosity and veneration.
The PARISH extends in length about seven miles from
north to south, and four miles in breadth, comprehending
an extensive tract of cultivated land, and 200 acres
of plantations. One-third of the whole lies among the
Ochil hills, in which range rises the Dunning, a lively
stream that pursues a somewhat rapid course over a
gravelly bed, and falls into the river Earn. A lake
called the White Moss, situated in the western portion,
containing a variety of small fish, and frequented by
large flocks of wild ducks, covers about eleven acres of
ground, and forms a pleasing and interesting object in
the scenery; while the lofty Ochils, depastured by
numerous flocks of sheep, and stretching along the
south-eastern boundary of the county, exhibit a bold
and striking outline, and are replete with romantic features
which can scarcely fail to captivate the admirer of
the beauties of nature. The soil along the banks of the
Earn is light and sandy, but in the other parts generally
clayey or gravelly, and the crops are raised under the
rotation system. The farm-houses are commodious, and
roofed with slate. Among the various improvements
carried on, the draining of marshy grounds has been extensively
practised; and several tracts, especially one
called the White Bog, have been converted into good
arable land. The annual value of real property in the
parish is £9000. Quarries of common stone of firm
texture are open in several parts, and a bed of white
freestone has been lately discovered 5 whinstone is
abundant in the Ochils, and fragments of quartz are
carried along the streams. The plantations are detached
and of small extent, and consist of oak, fir, ash, elm, and
poplar: the garden belonging to the mansion of Duncruib,
the seat of Lord Rollo, is ornamented with a fine
spruce-tree, planted in I7O7, of great bulk, elevation, and
beauty. The modern residences are the houses of Pitcairns
and Garvock. The village of Dunning is held in
from Lord Rollo, and is governed by a baron-bailie;
it has many good houses, a public reading-room, a postoffice,
and, in place of a gaol, an instrument of punishment
called the jotigs. There is also a gas-work. A
large proportion of the population of the parish are
cotton-weavers, and obtain work from Glasgow; a woolmill
employs many hands, and there are three corn- mills,
a flour-mill, a saw-mill, two malt-mills, a distillery, and
a brewery. Three fairs are annually held. To the northnorth-
west of the village is a station of the Scottish Central
railway. Ecclesiastically the parish is in the presbytery
of Auchterarder, synod of Perth and Stirling, and
in the patronage of the Earl of Kinnoull; the minister's
stipend is about £'240, with a manse, and a glebe of eight
acres and a quarter, valued at £'20 per annum. Dunning
church, which was rebuilt in 1810, is conveniently
situated in the village, and contains 1000 sittings. The
members of the Free Church have a place of worship,
and there are meeting-houses belonging to the United
Presbyterian Synod and Original Seceders. The parochial
school affords instruction in Latin and the ordinary
branches; the master has the raa.ximum salary, with
about £50 fees.