FORTEVIOT, a parish, in the county of Perth,
5 miles (W. by S.) from Bridge-of-Earn; containing
636 inhabitants, of whom 69 are in the village. This
was the .seat of many of the Pictish kings, who had a
palace at Haly Hill, near the site of the present church;
and this palace, after the extinction of the Pictish monarchy,
and the union of the two kingdoms by Kenneth
Mc Alpine, became the favourite summer residence of
several of the Scottish sovereigns. Kenneth resided
for many years at the place, where he ended his days;
it was afterwards the summer residence of Malcolm
Canmore, and several of his successors' charters were
dated hence. Previously to the battle of Dupplin,
which occurred on the 31st of July, 1332, Edward
Baliol encamped his forces in a field in this parish,
called the Miller's Acre; and the ancient mill from
which it took its name, and the ford of Coblehaugh,
where his army crossed the river, are yet remaining.
The eminence of Haly Hill has been considerably undermined
by the river May, and many portions of the
buildings of the palace have been destroyed; but there
are still some vestiges, and in several houses in the
parish that were built with the ruins, may be traced
numerous stones sculptured with antique figures, which
once formed part of the royal residence.
The PARISH, which is about eight miles in length and
two in breadth, is divided into three detached and unequal
portions by the intervening parishes of Aberdalgie
and Forgandenny. Of these portions the central division,
in which is the village, is the largest, and is situated
on the south of the river Earn: another extends
into the Ochils, comprising some of the most conspicuous
hills of that range; and the third, lying to the
east of Aberdalgie, and the smallest, is bounded on the
south by the Earn. The surface is beautifully diversified
with hill and dale; and the scenery, enriched with
wood, and enlivened by the windings of the rivers, is
in many places strikingly picturesque. The Earn
crosses the whole breadth of the parish from east to
west, and, frequently overflowing its banks, does considerable
damage to the lower lands. The May, which
rises in the Ochils, after a course of eight miles joins
the Earn. In its progress, it forces for itself a passage
through a deep fissure in a rock, which, from the
rumbling noise of the waters, has obtained the appellation
of the " Humble Bumble "; and a little above this
is the inn of Muckarsie, where the river is precipitated
from a height of thirty feet, and after heavy rains forms
a picturesque cascade. The soil is various, and the
lands are under excellent cultivation, producing favourable
crops: the farms are generally of large extent,
and the occupiers men of capital; the farm-buildings
are consequently of superior order, and all the recent
improvements in husbandry, and in the construction of
agricultural implements, have been adopted to their full
extent. The annual value of real property in the parish
is £6301.
Invermay House, the seat of Alexander H. M. Belshes,
Esq., and for many generations the residence of that
family, is now a handsome modern mansion: it is beautifully
situated on an eminence overhanging the river
May, and commanding an extensive view of the vale of
Strathearu, with the windings of its river, and the roroantically-
diversified scenery of the adjacent country.
All that remains of the old structure is apparently a ruin,
though containing several apartments still entire, and in
good preservation, and forming a pleasing contrast with
the modern mansion. The grounds are tastefully laid
out, and embellished with plantations, and with the
graceful course of the river May, which flows through
the demesne. About a mile from the house is the sepulchral
chapel of Muckarsie, the church of that parish
before it was united to Forteviot, and now the burialplace
of the family; the approach to the chapel is by a
beautiful avenue of lime-trees. The whole of the grounds
are kept in the finest order, and are open to the public
for one day in the week, affording a favourite excursion
to invalids frequenting the neighbouring wells of Pit-
caithly. The village of Foiteviot is pleasantly situated
on the right bank of the May, a short distance from its
influx into the Earn; and has a station of the Scottish
Central railway. Ecclesiastically the parish is within
the bounds of the presbytery of Perth, synod of Perth
and Stirling: the minister's stipend is £244, with a
manse, and a glebe valued at £6. 15. per annum. Forteviot
church, before the Reformation, was attached to
the abbey of Cambuskenneth, and subsequently to the
college of St. Andrew's, in which, and in the family of
Belshes of Invermay, the patronage of the living is jointly
vested. The present edifice was built about seventy or
eighty years since, and is a plain structure in good repair.
There is (or was) a place of worship for dissenters
in the Ochil district of the parish. The parochial
school of Forteviot is attended by about fifty children;
the master has a salary of £34, with a house, and an
allowance of £2. 2. 9. in lieu of garden, the fees averaging
£l6 per annum.