DYKE-AND-MOY, a parish, in the county of Elgin,
3 miles (W.) from Forres; containing, with the villages
of Kintessack and Whitemyre, 1366 inhabitants, of
whom 166 are resident in the village of Dyke. These
two ancient parishes, whose names are descriptive of
the former as a channel for waters, and of the latter
as a level and fertile plain, were united in the year 16 IS.
The whole is bounded on the north by the Moray Firth,
and on the west by the county of Nairn, and comprises
about 17,300 acres, of which 32'20 are arable, 2800 woodland
and plantations, 1300 meadow and pasture, and the
remainder waste. The surface is generally undulated
within the district of Dyke, which contains the forest of
Darnaway towards the south, and the woods of Dalvy
and Brodie towards the north. In the district of Moy
is a fine extent of level plain, stretching northward to
Kincorth, on the western shore of Findhorn loch, towards
the lands of Culbin, which at a very early period
were overwhelmed with drifts of sand, and are now
covered with sand-hills, some of them having an elevation
of 100 feet. The river Findliorn, which, in its
course to the sea at the village of Findhorn, forms the
eastern boundary of the parish, in 18'29 rose to an unusual
height, and carried into the bay an immense
quantity of sand, which for three square miles diminished
its depth by nearly two feet. Several rivulets intersect
the parish, and flow into the Findhorn, of which the
largest is the Muckleburn; they all abound with tront,
affording good sport to the angler, and the salmonfishery
in the Findhorn is of considerable value. The
coast, throughout the entire extent of the parish for
about six miles, is shallow and sandy: there are numerous
beds of cockles, which not only afford an abundant
supply of sustenance to the poor, but are sold by the
women through the adjoining district, making an average
return of more than £100 per annum.
On the level lands the soil is a rich brown and black
loam, generally light and easily cultivated: in other
parts of the parish are alternations of sand and gravel.
The crops are wheat, barley, oats, turnips, and potatoes,
with the usual grasses. The system of agriculture is in
an improved state, and furrow-draining has been tried
with success upon one or more of the farms: lime, marl,
and bone-dust have been extensively used. The farmbuildings,
though more commodious than formerly, are
susceptible of still further improvement. There are sixteen
threshing-mills, the greater number of them worked
by horses. The annual value of real property in the
parish is £.594'2. The wood consists of oak, ash, beech,
elm, Scotch fir, larch, spruce, birch, horse-chesnut, sycamore,
and alder; and timber is regularly sold for shipbuilding
and other purposes. In this parish the substrata
are principally old red sandstone, with gneiss and
granite: there is coarse limestone, containing schist and
pyrites of iron; and occasionally some lead-ore is found,
but not in sufficient quantity to encourage the working
of it. Darnaway Castle, one of the seats of the Earl of
Moray, situated on a gentle eminence, and surrounded
by an extensive and richly-wooded park, has been lately
enlarged and improved. One of the wings, forming the
more ancient part of the building, consists of a noble
liall eighty-nine feet in length, and thirty-five feet wide,
with a lofty roof of timber frame-work, built by Thomas
Randolph, Earl of Moray, regent of Scotland during the
minority of David Bruce, and in which are still preserved
his hospitable table and chair of old carved oak.
In this splendid hall the then earl gave a sumptuous
entertainment to his tenantry in 1S39. Brodie House is
an ancient castellated mansion, to which extensive additions
in a corresponding style of architecture have
been made by the present proprietor, and is situated in
grounds that have been tastefully embellished; the ceiling
of the drawing-room is laid out in compartments
ornamented with grotesque figures of stucco in high
relief, and in the various rooms is a valuable collection
of paintings. Dalvey House, situated on a knoll overlooking
the Muckleburn, and nearly occupying the site
of the castle of Dalvey, is a handsome modern mansion;
the gardens are extensive, and kept in fine order. The
houses of Moy and Kincorth are also good residences.
The village of Dyke is beautifully situated in a secluded
spot embosomed in trees. Facility of communication
is afforded by the great post-road from Aberdeen
to Inverness, which passes through the parish, and by
other good roads that intersect it in all directions; by
bridges over the several burns, and by an elegant suspension-
bridge over the Findhorn, which connects the
parish with Forres, the nearest post-town. Ecclesiastically
the parish is within the bounds of the presbytery
of Forres, synod of Moray. The minister's stipend is
£244. 11., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £16. 13.;
patrons, the Crown, and James M. Grant, Esq., of Moy.
The church, conveniently situated in the village, is a
neat structure erected in 1781, in good repair, and containing
900 sittings. The members of the Free Church
have a place of worship. The parochial school is well
attended; the master has a salary of £34, with a house
and garden, and the fees average £30 per annum, besides
which he receives £44 from the Dick bequest. There is
also a female school in the village, under a teacher who
has a house and garden, with a small endowment in
money. In the park of Brodie House is a stone on one
side of which is sculptured a cross, and on the other
several fabulous animals; it was discovered in digging
the foundation for the church, and was erected in the
village in commemoration of Rodney's victory, and
thence called Rodney's Cross, but was removed to its
present situation within the last few years. In sinking
the same foundations, a labourer, who contrived to keep
the discovery a secret from his companions, found in an
earthen pot a large number of silver coins of the reign of
William the Lion of Scotland, many of which had been
struck at Stirling, and some of Henry II. of England,
all which he sold by weight for £46. About the year
1822 there was dug out of a steep bank on the Findhorn
a large stone coffin containing a human skeleton. Among
the eminent persons connected with the parish may be
mentioned James Stewart, known as the Good Regent,
who was Earl of Moray in the reign of his sister, the
unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots. Alexander Brodie
of Brodie, who lived in the time of Cromwell, was twice
chosen a lord of session.