KINNEFF, a parish, in the county of Kincardine,
3 miles (N. E. by N.) from Bervie; containing, with the
village of Catterline, 1029 inhabitants. This place is
supposed to have derived its name from its castle,
founded, according to tradition, by Kenneth, one of the
kings of Scotland, and of which there are still some
vestiges near the church. In 1341, King David Bruce,
returning from France with his queen and retinue, in
order to avoid the English fleet, by which he was closely
pursued, effected a landing on the shore of this parish.
In gratitude for his escape, he afterwards built a chapel
on the spot, of which, till within the last thirty or forty
years, there were considerable remains; and in commemoration
of the event, the cliff under which he landed
is still called Craig-David. During the siege of Dunnottar
Castle by the forces of Cromwell under General
Lambert, the regalia, which had been for security deposited
in that fortress, were, on the prospect of its
inability to hold out much longer against its assailants,
de-xterously removed from it by Mrs. Grainger, wife of
the minister of this parish, in conjunction with the lady
of the lieutenant-governor, and concealed under the
pulpit of the church here till the Restoration. In 1/09
the parish of Catterline, which had previously formed
part of this parish, was reannexed to Kinneff. The
parish is of nearly triangular form, and extends more
than five miles along the coast of the German Ocean.
It comprises an area of 6408 acres; 4798 are arable,
about fifty in woods and plantations, and the remainder
meadow, pasture, and waste. The surface is intersected
by several ridges of elevated ground, and diversified
with hills, of which the hill of Bruxie, towards the
north-western boundary, has an elevation of 650 feet
above the level of the sea. The coast is precipitously
rocky along its entire extent, presenting a rampart of
cliffs rising abruptly to the height of 180 feet, and in
some parts indented with small bays, whose shores are
covered with verdure almost to the margin of the sea,
the whole forming a bold line of beautifully romantic scenery.
Near the coast the soil is a rich deep loam, celebrated
for its abundant produce of grain; in the interior
it is of inferior quality, and in some parts, but for the
improvement it has received from persevering efforts, it
would be absolutely sterile. The crops are wheat, oats,
barley, potatoes, and turnips. The system of agriculture
is in an advanced state; the lands have been partially
drained, and inclosed chiefly with fences of stone; the
farm-houses are substantially built and well arranged.
Considerable portions of waste have been brought into
profitable cultivation. The moorlands afford good pasture
for the cattle, which are chiefly of the polled Angus
breed; and on many of the farms much attention is
paid to the improvement of the stock. There are some
quarries of freestone, from which stone of good quality
is raised in cjuantities sufficient for the buildings within
the parish; and along the coast, the rocks furnish excellent
material for millstones. The annual value of
real property in the parish is £6l'^2. Fawside is a
handsome modern cottage, pleasantly situated: there
are also several ancient mansions, formerly the residences
of proprietors, but now occupied merely as farmhouses.
The village of Catterline is situated on the
coast, and chiefly inhabited by fishermen, who employ
two boats; the smaller village of Shieldhill employs only
one boat. The fish taken consist of cod, ling, skate,
haddock, and various kinds of shell-fish. A small harbour
has been constructed at Catterline, which see.
There are also some salmon-fisheries in the parish, of
which, however, the aggregate rents do not exceed £15
per annum; and several of the inhabitants are employed
in hand-loom weaving for the linen manufacturers in the
neighbourhood. Facility of communication is afforded
by good roads: the coast road from Edinburgh to
Aberdeen, and the great Strathmore road, pass here.
For ecclesiastical purposes the parish is within
the bounds of the presbytery of Fordoun, synod of
Angus and Mearns. The minister's stipend is £232. 3. 6.,
with a manse; and the glebes of Catterline and Kinneff
are valued together at £28 per annum: patron, the
Crown. Kinneff church, situated on the sea-shore, was
built in 1738, and repaired in 1831; it is a neat structure,
containing 424 sittings. There are some remains of
the ancient church in which the regalia were preserved
during the interregnum. The members of the Free
Church have a place of worship; and there is a temporary
place of worship at Catterline for Episcopalians.
The parochial school is well attended; the master has
a salary of £34, with a good house and garden, and the
fees average about £25 per annum. A parochial library
was established in 1838, under the direction of the Kirk
Session. In 1841, Sir Joseph Straton bequeathed £100
for promoting education, and £100 for encouraging
industry among the poor. There are remains of a
house called the Temple, and at the base of St. John's
Hill is a farm named the Chapel of Barras; from which
is inferred the probability of there having been an establishment
of the Knights Templars here. Of the castle
of Kinneff, little more than the foundations are left. On
the summit of a peninsular rock, not far from it, are
the remains of an ancient work called the Castle of
Cadden; on another rock are the remains of some
buildings styled the Castle of Whistleberry; and at a
small distance are other remains, designated Adam's
Castle. In digging a grave in the church for Lady Ogilvie
of Barras, an earthen pot was found, containing a
great number of small coins of silver, bearing inscriptions
of Edward of England and Alexander of Scotland,
and supposed to have been buried during the possession
of Kinneff Castle by an English garrison. 'Within a
tumulus on St. John's Hill, which was opened about
five-and-thirty years since, was found a tomb of flat
stones, containing rich black earth, with a mixture of
half-burnt bones and charcoal, but no sepulchral urn.
In 1831, near the site of the castle, some workmen employed
by the late Rev. A. Stewart found a vase containing
a number of brass rings of various dimensions, two
of which were entire, and a spear-head of bronze; the
vase was filled with strongly compacted black earth, in
which the rings were embedded. Dr. John Arbuthnott,
the intimate friend of Pope and Swift, and physician to
Queen Anue, lived for some time in this parish, at Kingorny,
the property of his father, who, on being deprived
of the living of Arbuthnott, of which he was minister
at the time of the Revolution, retired to this his patrimonial
estate.