FORDOUN, a parish, in the county of Kincardine,
11 miles (\V. S. W.) from Stonehaven; containing, with
the village of Auchinblae, 2342 inhabitants, of whom
34 are in the Kirktown. This place, which is of remote
antiquity, is svipposed to have derived its name, signifying
in the Gaelic language the " front hill", from the
situation of the church on the brow of the hill of
Fenella, in front of the Grampian range. The parish,
or part of it, had also the appellation of Paldy, from
the dedication of an ancient chapel to St. Palladius,
who was sent from Rome in the fifth century to oppose
the Pelagian heresy, and who, upon very doubtful authority,
is said to have fixed his residence here. Of this
chapel, on a pilgrimage to which, to visit the shrine of
the saint, Kenneth III. was murdered by Dame Fenella,
as related in the article on Fettercairn, some memorials
are still preserved in the name of a well in the manse
garden, called the well of St. Palladius. A sculptured
stone, commemorative of the murder, appears to have
been erected in the chapel, but at the Reformation it
was removed, and for greater security concealed under
the pulpit of the old parish church, where it was afterwards
discovered on the rebuilding of that structure.
The PARISH, which is situated on the south side of
the Grampian mountains, is about eight miles in length,
and five and a half in average breadth, comprising an
area of 27,800 acres, whereof 11,500 are arable, 2160
woodland and plantations, and the remainder moorland
pasture and waste. Its surface is strikingly varied,
rising from the south-east by bold undulations towards
the Grampian range on the north-west, and broken
into deep glens and pleasing vales by numerous streams
descending from the mountains, and by the prominent
hill of Fenella, nearly in the centre of the parish. This
hill, which is one mass of sandstone, is about four miles
in length and a mile and a quarter in breadth, rising
in a gracefully curvilinear form to the height of 1200
feet above the level of the sea, and separated by the
picturesque vale of Strath-Fenella from the Grampians,
which in this parish do not attain an elevation of more
than 1500 feet. The rivers are the Luther and the
Bervie. Of these, the Luther has its source in the hills
behind Drumtochty, and flowing to the village of
Auchinblae, where it receives a stream from Glenfarquhar,
takes a southeastern direction to Fordoun
House, beyond which it changes its course to the west,
and flows through the parish of Laurencekirk into the
North Esk. The Bervie has its source in the hills of
Glenfarquhar, and running to the south-east, by Glenbervie
House, winds round the base of the hill of Knock,
and after a devious course flows through the parish of
Bervie into the sea. Among the small streams that
descend from the Grampians, the principal are the burn
of Craigniston, which for some distance separates the
parish from Fettercairn; and the Ferdun, formed by two
burns which unite at Clattering Briggs, and, after washing
the western base of the hill of Fenella, fall into the Luther.
The Luther and the Bervie both abound with small
trout, and salmon are occasionally found in the latter.
In the lower grounds the soil is a tenacious clay, of
moderate fertility; along the bases of the hills, a deep
rich loam; and on the higher grounds, a brown gravelly
loam: the crops consist of barley, oats, wheat,
beans, peas, potatoes, and turnips, with the various
grasses. The system of husbandry has been greatly
bettered under the auspices of the Fettercairn Club,
which includes also this parish and the parishes of
Laurencekirk and Marykirk. The lands have been
drained and partly inclosed; the farm-buildings are
substantial and commodious, and all the more recent improvements
in the construction and use of agricultural
implements have been adopted. Much attention is
paid to the management of the dairy-farms, and to
live stock. The cattle are of the pure Angus or the
Aberdeen polled breed; the best are sent to the London
market, where they obtain a high price, and the remainder
to Edinburgh and Glasgow. The sheep, which
are reared solely on the hills, are of the black-faced or
mountain breed, with a few of the Cheviot recently
introduced; and the horses, reared chiefly for agriculture,
approach very nearly to the Clydesdale breed.
In this parish the wood is of modern growth, with the
exception of some natural birch and coppice on the lands
of Drumtochty Castle; the plantations consist of larch,
spruce, and Scotch firs, interspersed with oak, ash, elm,
beech, birch, and sycamore. The chief substrata are red
sandstone, greenstone, in which occasionally amethysts
are embedded, clay-slate, limestone, and freestone, of
which there are several quarries. The annual value of
real property in the parish is £12,96".
Drumtochtij Castle is a spacious castellated mansion
in the early English style, erected by George Harley
Drummond, Esq., at a cost of £30,000, and seated on
an eminence rising from the bank of the Luther, in a
richly-wooded demesne, tastefully laid out in walks
commanding much picturesque and finely- varied scenery.
Phesdo, an elegant mansion of Aberdeen granite, in the
Grecian style, with a handsome portico of the Doric
order, built by the late Alexander Crombie, Esq., of Aberdeen,
is beautifully situated in grounds embellished with
plantations, and near the base of Fenella hill, embracing
a fine view of the vale of Strathmore and the Grampians.
Monboddo, the birthplace of Lord Monboddo, is an ancient
mansion, greatly improved by the late Mrs. Burnett,
his daughter. Fordoun House, together with the
farm, is in the occupation of a tenant; as is also Castleton.
The Kirktown merely contains the church, the
manse, and school-house, with a few cottages and an
inn. Kincardine, once the county town, and the residence
of the sheriff, who held his courts here till the
reign of James VI., when they were removed to Stonehaven,
has dwindled into an insignificant hamlet: the
ancient cross that stood in the market-place has been
removed, and placed in the village of Fettercairn. The
castle of Kincardine, the ruins of which are situated on
the adjacent lands of Castleton, was a celebrated palace
of several of the Scottish monarchs, of whom Kenneth
III., while here, was murdered by Dame Fenella; and
John Baliol is said to have been residing in this castle
when he abdicated the crown in favour of Edward I. of
England. From the ruins it appears to have been a
spacious quadrangular structure of great solidity, but
only the foundations of some of the walls are now remaining.
The village of Auchinblae, situated to the east
of Strath-Fenella, contains several inns: the inhabitants
are partly employed in the spinning of flax and the
weaving of coarse linen; and the place, which has a
thriving appearance, has been erected into a burgh of
barony, and is governed by a baron-bailie appointed by
the Earl of Kintore. Fairs are annually held in the parish,
of which the most considerable is Paldy fair, for
horses, sheep, and cattle, which takes place in July on a
moor near the foot of the Grampians. Another fair for
horses and cattle is also held in July, at Lammas muir,
in the western portion of the parish; and at Auchinblae,
besides two annual fairs, are weekly markets during the
winter for grain and cattle. Facility of communication
is maintained by the Aberdeen railway, by the turnpikeroad
from Aberdeen to Edinburgh through Strath more,
and by statute roads kept in excellent repair.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs the parish is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Fordoun, which holds its
sittings here, and the synod of Angus and Mearns. The
minister's stipend is £'249, with a manse, and a glebe
valued at £12 per annum; patron, the Crown. Fordoun
church, erected in 1S29 at a cost of £3000, is a handsome
structure in the later English style of architecture,
with a tower at the west end, ninety-three feet in height;
the interior is well arranged, and contains 1230 sittings.
The burying-ground is inclosed by a wall of masonry, in
which is an elegant gateway. There is a place of worship
for members of the Free Church. The parochial
school, for which an appropriate building has been
erected, is attended by about seventy children: the master
has a salary of £35. 12., with a house and garden,
and the fees average £1.5 per annum. A parochial
library was established in 1827, which now contains
nearly 700 volumes; and there is also a small library
belonging to the Sunday school. Alexander Crombie,
Esq., bequeathed £100, Mrs. Bogendollo £50, and the
late Mrs. Burnett of Monboddo £50, for the benefit of
the poor. Close to Fordoun House are the remains of
a Roman camp, of which the praetorium is in a tolerably
perfect state; near it have been found urns containing
ashes and half-burnt bones, a gold ring, and other relics
of Roman antiquity. In a secluded glen, not far from
Drumtochty, are some remains of a small friary; and
on the hill above Newlands, and near Castleton, are
Druidical ruins. John of Fordun, author of the Scotochronicon,
appears to have been connected with the parish
by birth or residence: George Wishart, the martyr, was
a younger son of Wishart of Pittarrow in the parish;
and Professor Beattie, brother of the author of The Minstrel,
was a native of the parish, where the poet himself
was for several years schoolmaster. Pittarrow House
was pulled down in 1S02.