INSCH, a parish, in the district of Garioch, county
of Aberdeen, 3f miles (W.) from the village of Old
Rain; containing 1379 inhabitants. The name Insch is
thought to be of Celtic derivation, and to signify " an
island": the reason of its application is doubtful, but
the site of the village appears to have been formerly surrounded
by water. The parish is situated on the northern
bank of the small river Shevock, which separates it from
the parishes of Premnay and Kinnethmont, and running
eastward, falls at length into the Urie. The lands
measure six miles in length and three miles in breadth,
comprising 76I8 acres, of which 5410 are under cultivation,
108 in plantation, and the remainder waste. The
surface is varied by several interesting elevations. That
of the hill of Foudland is the most lofty, forming the
chief of a series of slate hills stretching into Gartly on
the west, and into Culsamond on the east; it rises 1 100
feet above the level of the sea, and commands extensive
and beautiful prospects, especially of the rich and fertile
vale of the Garioch. The hill of Dunnideer, however,
about a mile west of the village, though only half the
height of the former, is by far the most striking object
in the scenery, not only on account of its isolated situation,
and its ample base, measuring 3000 yards in circumference,
but especially from its abrupt and almost
perpendicular ascent, and its conical form. Its summit,
somewhat flattened, attracts the antiquary by the curious
ruins to be seen on it, and the tourist by its picturesque
beauty. Opposite to Dunnideer, on the west, is the
equally abrupt eminence of Christ-kirk, in the parish of
Kinnethmont, which is separated from Dunnideer only
by a narrow valley, watered by the Shevock.
The SOIL, in general is a light loam, upon a gravelly
or clayey subsoil: on the sides of the hill of Foudland
it is a clay, mixed with slaty earth; and in this
and various other parts are peat mosses, supplying fuel.
Most of these, however, have become nearly exhausted,
so that wood and coal are now much used, the latter
brought from Aberdeen by canal to Inverury. Much of
the arable land is of superior quality, and produces excellent
crops, chiefly of oats. The cattle are of the
Aberdeen or the Angus kind, which are frequently
crossed with the short-horned or Durham breed; and
the improvement in the stock has been considerable, in
consequence of the great encouragement offered by the
cattle-shows held by the Highland and the local agricultural
societies. A six years' rotation is prevalent; and
the general system of husbandry includes all the modern
improvements: bone-manure is liberally and successfully
applied to the turnip lands; and threshing machines,
generally driven by water, one of them by steam, are
every where in operation. The chief deficiency is the
want of inclosures and of good farm-buildings. The
annual value of real property in the parish is £5334.
J. M. Lesly, Esq., of Balquhain, holds the estates called
the Barony of Meikle-Wardhouse, Knockenbaird, and
others. The slate of the Foudland hill quarries, an excellent
material of blue colour, has long been highly
celebrated, and wrought to a great extent. About
900,000 slates used to be annually raised, a large portion
of which were sent to Aberdeen; but not more
than half this number are now produced, the demand
having diminished on account of the facility with which
the Easdale slates, from Argyllshire, can be conveyed by
sea. In the smaller hills the rock is principally gneiss,
with black or grey granite; and on the low grounds, near
the base of Duunideer, considerable quantities of bogiron
ore have been found. The only gentleman's seat is
Rothney, a handsome modern mansion in the cottage
style, finely situated on a gentle acclivity on the northern
bank of the Shevock; it is beautifully ornamented with
wood, and the approach to it from the village is particularly admired.
The inhabitants are chiefly engaged in agriculture, and
in trading in corn and cattle; a few are employed in
making stockings for the Aberdeen manufacturers. The
feuars of Insch are heritable proprietors of their houses
and small gardens; they also mostly rent about four
acres of ground each, under Sir Andrew Leith Hay,
superior of the ancient burgh of Insch, to which it is
supposed the power of "pot and gallows" was formerly
attached, there being a mound near the village called
the Gallow hill. Within the last thirty years, the
village has been almost entirely rebuilt; the houses are
generally of two stories, constructed of stone and lime,
and there are several good shops. It has been some
years supplied with gas. The Aberdeen mail-road passes
through the parish, and is of considerable service, the produce
of the district being conveyed along it to the canal
at Inverury, from which place the carts bring back
coal, lime, and bones for manure. Two fairs for cattle,
horses, and general wares, are held respectively on the
third Wednesday in May and third Tuesday in October
(both O. S.); and there are feeing-markets on the Fridays
before the 18th May and 18th November. The weekly
market, held on Friday, has been discontinued.
Ecclesiastically the parish is in the presbytery of
Garioch, synod of Aberdeen, and in the patronage of Sir
John Forbes, Bart. The minister's stipend is about £'200,
with a manse, a glebe of twelve acres, valued at £15 per
annum, and a right to fuel, which has been commuted
for an annual payment of £9. 8. 10. Insch church, a
plain building in the village, is supposed, from a date on
its fine old belfry, to have been built in the year 1613;
it was well roofed in 1*89, new-seated in 1793, and contains
460 sittings, of which si.xty are under the control
of the Kirk Session, and are let on very low terms for
the benefit of the poor. The members of the Free
Church have a place of worship. The parochial school
affords instruction in Greek and Latin, English grammar,
geography, mathematics, &c.: the master has a
salary of £27, with a house and garden, and about £15
fees; he also participates in the benefit of the Dick
bequest. There is likewise a school supported by the
General Assembly; the master receives a salary of £25,
with £14 fees, and has a house, garden, and three acres of
ground. The same branches are taught in this school
as in the parochial school; and its situation among the
glens of Foudland, convenient not only for part of Insch,
but for parts of the parishes of Forgue, Drumblade, and
Gartly, far removed from their respective parochial
schools, renders it a source of much advantage. A
savings' bank has also existed some years: the deposits
are upwards of £'2700. The relics of antiquity comprise
several Druidical remains on eminences, and stone
pillars, and obelisks; but the principal relic is the celebrated
vitrified fort on the hill of Dunnideer. It consists
of an outwork in the shape of a parallelogram, inclosing
an old ruin of a tower; and the stones, which
are of granite, have been cemented by that singular
process seen in similar antiquities in the country, but of
the precise character of which many opinions exist. The
castle in the interior, constructed apparently of the
materials of the vitrified fort, is supposed by some to
have been built by King Gregory.