FORGAN, or St-Phyllan's, a parish, in the district
of St-Andrew's, county of Fife, 9 miles (N. E. by E.)
from Cupar; containing, with the villages of East and
West Newport, and Woodhaven, 1219 inhabitants. This
place is said to have derived its name, anciently written
Forgound or Forgrund, and supposed to mean " foreground
", from the elevated and conspicuous situation
which it occupies on the bank of the river Tay. For
many generations it was the property of the Nairnes,
who held distinguished offices in the state, and one of
whom was elevated to the peerage of Scotland in the
time of Charles I. The estate of St. Fort, with other
lands in the parish belonging to that aucient family, was
sold at the beginning of the last century. The title,
which became forfeited during the rebellion of 1745,
was restored in the reign of George IV. The St. Fort
estate is now in the hands of Henry Stewart, Esq.; and
the only portion of the original possessions which is still
the property of the Nairne family, is the small estate of
Morton. Forgan parish is about six miles in length and
two and a half in breadth. It is bounded on the north
by the river Tay, and comprises about 5000 acres, of
which 4000 are arable and in profitable cultivation, 600
pasture and meadow, and 400 woodland and plantations.
The surface is in some parts pleasingly undulated, and
in others agreeably diversified with level plains. Of the
rising grounds the loftiest are the eminences of St. Fort
and Newton, which are about 300 feet above the level
of the sea. The scenery is richly varied, and from the
higher lauds are fine views over the river, which skirts
the parish for nearly four miles. The shore is bold and
rocky, and indented with several bays, the chief of which
are Woodhaven and Newport, where convenient harbours
have been constructed, and Wormit bay, which bounds
the western extremity of the parish.
The soil is generally fertile, consisting of black loam
interspersed with clayey mould, and in some parts of a
light gravelly kind, in which are found occasionally
large boulders of trapstone. In this parish, as in the
county generally, the system of agriculture is in a very
advanced condition; the rotation plan of husbandry is
practised, and every improvement in the management of
the lands is speedily adopted. The crops are barley,
oats, wheat, potatoes, and turnips, which are usually
favourable and abundant; and the surplus produce of
grain finds a ready sale in the markets of St. Andrew's,
Cupar, and Dundee. The cattle are principally of the
Fifeshire breed, with a slight mixture of the Angus, the
Ayrshire, and the Teeswater, which last, however, are by
no means suited to the soil; the sheep are of the Cheviot
and Leicestershire breeds. Of late years the plantations
have been much extended, especially on the lands of St.
Fort and Tayfield; they consist chiefly of fir, though
the soil is well adapted for oak, ash, chesuut, and beech:
there are few trees of remarkable growth, except some
yew-trees at Kirkton, which are unrivalled specimens of
the kind. The farm-houses and offices are mostly superior;
and several of them, of more recent erection, are
handsome and exceedingly convenient. Considerable
progress has been made in inclosing the lands, but much
yet remains to be done in this respect; the fences are
principally of stone, with a few of hedges, and are generally
well kept. The substrata are sandstone, whinstone,
and greenstone, the last of which is extensively quarried
for building and for other purposes. There is neither
freestone nor limestone in the parish, but lime for agricultural
uses is brought by sea from various places, and
freestone from the quarries in Angus. The greenstone
is fine grained, compact, and of deep colour; and on the
banks of the river are rocks of amygdaloidal greenstone,
in which are found metals, and quartz resembhng agate.
The annual value of real property is £"914.
St. Fort, the residence of Mr. Stewart, is a spacious
and handsome mansion in the Elizabethan style of
architecture, recently erected, and pleasantly situated
in a demesne enriched with flourishing plantations.
Tayfield, the seat of Mr. Berry, is also a handsome
mansion, lately enlarged and emhellished, and beautifully
seated on the bank of the Tay, of which it commands
an extensive view, with the varied and romantic
scenery of the adjacent lands, thickly interspersed with
pleasing cottages. A salmon-fishery is still carried on;
but since the prohibition of stake-nets, it is neither so
abundant nor so profitable as formerly, and at present
scarcely returns to the proprietor a rental of £1.50 per
annum: the fish, which are of very superior flavour,
and in great demand, are sent to Dundee, where they
are packed in ice and forwarded by steam-boats to
London. A very large shoal of herrings was formerly
found in the Tay, near Newport; but none have appeared
within the last fifty years. The weaving of linen is
carried on upon a limited scale, affording employment to
about twenty or thirty persons, who work at their own
homes for the manufacturers of Dundee. Facility of
intercourse with the. neighbouring market-towns is
afforded by the Newport line of the " Edinburgh, Perth,
and Dundee railway ", and by excellent roads, of which
the road to Edinburgh extends for nearly three miles
through the parish, commencing, like the railway, at the
ferry at Newport, from which place communication with
Dundee is maintained by steam-boats. A ferry from
Woodhaven to Dundee was also once kept up; but
being attended with great inconvenience, an act of parliament
was obtained some years since for its discontinuance,
and for the establishment of that of Newport
as the only ferry.
Ecclesiastically the parish is in the presbytery of St.
Andrew's, synod of Fife, and in the patronage of the
Crown: the minister's stipend is about £'230, with a
manse, and a glebe of about nine acres. The old church,
situated in a pleasing and sequestered spot, at the southern
extremity of the parish, at one time belonged to the
priory of St. Andrew's, and is said to have been built on
that site for the accotnmodation of a family residing in
the neighbouring mansion-house of Kirkton, and who
contributed largely towards the expense of its erection.
This edifice is now a ruin, a new church having been
erected in 1841 in a more central part of the parish.
There is a place of worship near Newport for a congregation
of Independents. Forgan parochial school affords
instruction to about I'iO children; the master has a
salary of £34, with the fees, and a good dwelling-house
and large garden: an excellent school-house was recently
erected in a convenient situation, upon the completion
of which the number of scholars considerably increased.
There are numerous cairns and tumuli, though
none of them have been fully explored; and in forming
the road to Newport, several urns of rude workmanship
were discovered.