INVERARITY, a parish, in the county of Forfar,
4^ miles (S.) from Forfar; containing 997 inhabitants.
This place derived its name from a Celtic term descriptive
of the locality of its church, which, till the year
1754, was situated near the spot where the river Arity is
joined, almost at right angles, by the Corbie burn, at a
small distance from the present house of Fothringham.
The parish comprehends the ancient parish of Meathie;
it measures three miles square, and contains about 6000
acres. On the north it is bounded by the parish of
Forfar, on the south by the parishes of Monikie and
Murroes, on the east by Guthrie and Dunnichen, and
on the west by Kinnettles, Tealing, and Glammis. The
surface is uneven, consisting of a valley, well cultivated
and fenced, surrounded by rising grounds and hills of
various elevation, some of which are richly wooded.
The soil on the higher lands is a dark loam; in several
places it is alluvial; its ordinary character, however, is
that of clay. About 4000 acres are cultivated; 1000
are waste, consisting of coarse pasture and moor; and
the remainder are occupied by plantations, composed of
oak, beech, plane, and all the firs usually grown in the
country. The value of the produce is considerable; grain
of every kind forms a prominent article, and all the
various green crops are also raised, of good quality.
The common breed of cattle is the Angus or native
black, to which great attention is paid. The best system
of agriculture is followed; and extensive drainage,
the inclosing with hedges or stone-dykes, and marl-manuring,
with various other improvements in husbandry,
have been carried on to such an extent that very little
remains to be done. In this parish the prevailing rocks
are sandstone and grey slate, several quarries of which
are extensively wrought. The mansions are those of
Fothringham, the seat of the ancient family of that
name, and the House of Kincaldrum. Four miles of the
turnpike-road from Forfar to Dundee pass through the
parish; and before the introduction of railways a coach
from Aberdeen to Edinburgh, and another from Brechin
to Dundee, used to travel daily upon it. The annual value
of the real property in the parish is £5593.
Ecclesiastically the parish is in the presbytery of
Forfar and synod of Angus and Mearns; patrons, the
family of Fothringham, of Powrie. The stipend of the
minister is about £300, with a good manse, and a glebe
of twelve acres. Inverarity church, in the centre of the
parish, was built in 1754, is in good repair, and will accommodate
600 persons with sittings. There is a parochial
school, in which Latin is taught, with the usual
branches of education; the master has the maximum
salary, and fees to the annual amount of about £27.
The chief relic of antiquity is the Roman camp called
" Haer Faads", part of which lies in the parish of Guthrie;
it is nearly a parallelogram, measuring about 300
yards by 700. At the Kirk Brae, near the dene of
Fothringham, is the last vestige of the old church.
James Webster, the traveller in Egypt, &c., whose posthumous
works have been published; Drummond, the
botanist, who died some time since; and the mother of
the distinguished Professor Playfair, were natives of the
parish.