KINNELL, a parish, in the county of Forfar, 5| miles (E. by N.) from Letham; containing 853 inhabitants. This place, whose name, in the Gaelic language, is descriptive of the situation of its church upon a gentle eminence, is of unknown antiquity: the church appears in the list of churches in the bishopric of St. Andrew's in 1'24'2. The barony of Kinnell was granted by King Robert Bruce to his steady adherent. Sir Simon Fraser, in acknowledgment of his gallant conduct at the battle of Bannockburn; and Fraser, during the lifetime of his uncle, was styled the Knight of Kinnell. The lands are now divided into four portions, of which Bolshan is the property of Sir James Carnegie, Bart., Wester Braky of Lord Panmure, Easter Braky of the heirs of Colin Alison, Esq., and Rinmure of the representatives of the late John Laing, Esq. The parish comprises an area of 5000 acres, exclusive of a large portion of the ancient forest of Monthrewniont, and part of Rossy moor, an undivided common; 4400 acres are arable, about sixty woodland and plantations, and the remainder moorland pasture and waste. Its surface is gently undulated, and towards the east rises to a considerable elevation, forming the hill of Bolshan, and beyond it, the Wuddy-law, the highest point in the parish. The lower grounds are enlivened with the windings of the river Lunan, which flows for nearly two miles through the southern part of the parish, dividing it into two very unequal portions. The Gighty burn forms its eastern boundary, separating it from the ])arish of Inverkeillor; and afterwards runs into the Lunan. The SOIL, though various, is not unfertile, and has been improved by judicious management; the crops are wheat, barley, oats, peas, turnips, and potatoes. The rotation system of husbandry is prevalent, and all the different improvements in agriculture have been adopted; considerable portions of moor have been brought under cultivation, and the lands have been drained and partially inclosed. The farm houses and offices, most of which have been rebuilt, are substantial and well arranged; and on the several farms are thirteen threshingmills, one of which is driven by a steam-engine of eighthorse power. In this parish the timber is chiefly oak, ash, elm, plane, and birch; tlie jjlaiitations arc Scotch firs, which seem to thrive best in the soil, with some larch and spruce firs. The cattle are of a good breed, to the iniprovoment of which much attention is paid; and considcraljle numbers of sheep and swiiie are reared. The annual value of real property in the parish is £.'iH7S. There are no villages properly so called; but about eighty houses, scattered over a considerable piece of ground, are called the Muirside of Kinnell. The population is chiefly agricultural; but many persons are employed in the weaving of linen-sheeting and Osnaburghs, for which 116 looms are in operation. There are also several mills for the spinning of flax, which are usually driven by water, but have steam-engines for use when the supply of water is deficient. Communication with the neighbouring towns is afforded by the Aberdeen railway, which intersects the parish from north or northeast to south-west; and also by good roads, of which that from Montrose to Forfar passes for nearly four miles through the northern part of the parish. Markets are held at Glesterlaw, on the lands of Bolshan, on the last Wednesday in April, the fourth Wednesday in June, the third Wednesday in August, and the first Wednesday after the 12th of October; they are chiefly for the sale of cattle, and are well attended. The Eastern Forfarshire Agricultural Association hold their meetings at the same place, at Lammas, when there is a show of cattle and horses, as well as an exhibition of improvements in the construction of implements. Ecclesiastically the parish is within the bounds of the presbytery of Arbroath, synod of Angus and Mearns. The minister's stipend is £229. 10. 10., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £14 per annum; patron, the Crown. Kinnell church, almost entirely rebuilt in 1766, and repaired in 1S36, is a plain and sombre structure, containing about 400 sittings. The parochial school is well attended; the master has a salary of £31, with a house and garden, and the fees average £15 per annum. There is also a school erected in the Muirside of Kinnell, by Sir James Carnegie, for the instruction of girls in reading, sewing, and knitting. A little to the southwest of the hill of Bolshan was the well-known castle of that name, long the residence of the Ogilvys, progenitors of the Earls of Airlie; and on the summit of the Wuddy-law was a large cairn or tumulus, forty-five yards in diameter, and four or five in height, in which, when the stones were removed for the filling of drains, small urns were found, containing a fat, blackish earth. Besides this great cairn, others have been discovered in the parish; and frequently, also, earthen vessels containing bones and other memorials of the dead, where no cairns have been formed over them. In 1842, a large earthen vessel was exposed to view by the plough, on the top of a small hillock, in the North Muirside. Its depth was about sixteen inches, and its diameter at the mouth about twelve; it was inverted, and the mouth rested upon a slate, or flat stone. The contents of the vessels were bones of a whitish colour, some of them five inches long; but they speedily crumbled into dust. A considerable number of silver pennies was found some time ago on the bank of the Lunan, between Ilatton and Hatton-mill, together with a halfpenny of John Baliol; several of the coins were of the time of Edward I. of England.