KEIG, a parish, in the district of Alford, county
of Aberdeen, 4i miles (N. E. byE.) from the post-town
of Alford; containing 662 inhabitants. This parish,
which includes the north-eastern portion of the vale of
Alford, is bounded on the north by the mountain range
of Benachie, and on the east by the Menaway hills. It
is about five miles and a half in length, of irregular form,
and nearly two miles and a half in average breadth,
comprising an area of 7900 acres, of which 3100 are
arable, 2300 woodland and plantations, and the remainder
moorland pasture and waste. The surface in the
central part of the parish is generally flat; and even
the acclivities of the hills are under tillage, to a height
of 700 feet above the level of the sea. The river Don
flows in a winding course through the parish (dividing
it into two nearly equal portions), and, after receiving
numerous tributary streams, falls into the German
Ocean at Aberdeen, in the south-eastern extremity of
the county: it abounds with trout and salmon. For
the most part the scenery is of interesting character,
being enriched with wood, and in some places beautifully
picturesque; and it derives much additional interest
from the extensive and finely-planted demesne of
Castle-Forbes, which is within the parish.
In this parish the soil is mostly a gravelly sand combined
with clay, with the exception of the grounds along
the banks of the river, which have a rich alluvial mould;
there are also some tracts of peat-moss in the hills,
furnishing but very indifferent fuel. The chief crops
are oats and bear, with a small quantity of wheat occasionally,
and crops of potatoes and turnips, of which,
however, not more is raised than is sufficient for home
consumption. The system of husbandry is greatly improved,
and a due rotation of crops regularly observed;
much of the waste has been drained and brought into
cultivation, and the lands are well inclosed, chiefly with
dykes of stone. In general the cattle are of the native
Aberdeenshire breed, with a few crosses of the Galloway
and the short-horned; but not more than 1100 or 1200
are reared, and of these a considerable number are fed
for a few years for the market, and many of them sent
by steamers to London. The sheep, of which about 600
are fed on the pastures, are principally of the blackfaced
Highland breed, with some of the Leicestershire;
the latter are kept principally for their wool, which is
used for domestic purposes. The plantations, chiefly on
the lands of Castle-Forbes, consist of oak, ash, white and
black poplar, birch, weeping-birch, aspen, beech, laburnum,
elm, lime, plane, cork, horse-chesnut, maple, Weymouth
pine, and larch, silver, spruce, and Scotch firs.
The prevailing rocks in the parish are granite, with
gneiss, greenstone, and clay-slate; some masses of porphvry,
also, are to be found, and fine specimens of rockcrystal.
The rateable annual value of Keig is £"2563.
Castle-Forbes, the seat of Lord Forbes, premier baron
of Scotland, is a spacious and elegant mansion in the
castellated style, beautifully situated on the north bank
of the Don, and on the acclivity of the mountain of
Benachie, commanding a fine view of the river. The
demesne, which is very extensive, is tastefully laid out
in walks and rides, and richly embellished with timber
and thriving plantations. There is no village; neither
is there any trade, except the pork-trade to London, or
any manufacture, except the knitting of worsted stockings
for the Aberdeen houses, in which many of the
poorer females are employed. At Whitehouse, on the
borders of the parish, is a post-office, by which a mailcoach
runs daily to Aberdeen. Facility of communication
is maintained by the Aberdeen and Alford turnpike-road;
by statute roads kept in good repair; and by a handsome
bridge of one arch, 101 feet in span, erected over
the Don in 1S17, at a cost of £2300, one-half defrayed by government.
For ECCLESi.\STic.\L purposcs the parish is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Alford, synod of Aberdeen.
The minister's stipend is £15S. 13. 6., of which onefourth
is paid from the exchequer; with a manse, and a
glebe valued at £11 per annum: patron, the Crown.
Keig church, erected in 1835, is a handsome structure
in the later English style, crowned with pinnacles, and
containing 500 sittings. The parochial school is conveniently
situated: the master has a salary of £34, with
a house and garden, and a portion of the Dick bequest;
and his fees average upwards of £20 per annum. There
are two Druidical circles in the parish, one of which,
more entire than the other, is within the grounds of
Castle-Forbes, al)out half a mile from the house, in a
wood on the Cothiemuir hill; it appears to have consisted
of eleven upright stones, and is twenty-five yards
in diameter. The other, situated near the farm of Old
Keig, is about twenty-two yards in diameter; and within
the area are two upright stones, nine feet high, between
which is an immense slab, apparently used as an altar:
this slab bears a striking resemblance to the rockingstone,
which was poised in such a way as to vibrate
with a touch of the hand, and yet to be scarcely moveable
by the greatest force. On the summit of a hill on
the north-west of the parish, is a circular wall of loose
stones, inclosing an area nearly eighty yards in diameter,
called the Barmekin; but nothing of its history is known.
The place anciently gave the title of Baron to the Bishop
of St. Andrew'.s, who sat in the Scottish parliament as
Lord Keig and Monymusk.