MARKINCH, a parish, in the district of Kirkcaldy,
county of Fife; containing, with the villages of Coal-
town of Balgonie, Dubbieside, Balcurvie, Burns, Haugh-
Mill, IMilton, Thornton, and Windygates, and part of Star
quoad sacra and Woodside, ."596.5 inhabitants, of whom
1315 are in the village of Markinch, 7 miles (N.) from
Kirkcaldy. This place is supposed to have derived its
name, signifying in the Celtic language "the island of
the forest", from the site having been at a remote period
surrounded by water, of which there are still evident
traces, notwithstanding that the land has been drained,
and partly covered with buildings. The parish is about
six miles in length, and varies from two to five miles in
breadth, comprising an area of sixteen square miles, or
10,200 acres, of which nearly 8500 are arable, 800 woodland
and plantations, and the remainder meadow, pasture,
and waste. The surface is pleasingly diversified,
sloping gradually towards the south and east from the
Lomond hills, by which the parish is skirted on the
north. It is divided into four distinct valleys, inclosed
by ranges of low hills, and watered by as many streams,
which unite towards the east; the principal rivers are
the Leven and the Orr.
The soil is various. On the north bank of the Leven
is a gravelly and clayey loam, dry and fertile; but a wet
loam, sand, and clay prevail in the district between the
Leven and the Orr, and also in the southern and eastern
portions of the parish. The crops are wheat, oats, barley,
potatoes, and turnips, with a small portion of peas, beans,
and flax. The system of agriculture is in an improved
state; the lands are well drained, chiefly by means of
furrow drains; and the farm-buildings are generally substantial
and commodiously arranged. Bone-dust has
been introduced for manure, and lime is used upon most
of the lands. The hills afford good pasture for the cattle,
usually of the Fifeshire breed. In this parish the plantations
are chiefly around the seats of the several proprietors,
and are of the more ornamental character; they are
in a thriving state, and add greatly to the beauty of the
scenery. The substrata are mainly sandstone of every
variety, abounding with organic remains. Ironstone is
found in different parts, but though containing eighty
per cent of ore, the working of it has long been discontinued.
Coal is abundant on the lands of Balbirnie and
Balgonie, and is extensively wrought at both places.
The coal in the former lies at a depth of twenty-five
fathoms, and occurs in three seams, of which the uppermost
is eighteen inches in thickness, the middle seam
fifty-four, and the lowest twenty-four inches; the coal
on the lands of Balgonie occurs in two seams, at a depth
varying from twenty-five to thirty-five fathoms, the upper
seam nine feet six inches, and the lower seven feet, in
thickness. The mines at the village of Thornton were
discontinued in 1743, but re-commenced in 1785, when
powerful steain-cngincs were erected; they are still in
extensive operation. The annual value of real property
in the parish is £16,081. lialfoiir Castle, once the family
seat of the Balfours, situated near the confluence of the
Orr and the Leven, has been the property of the Bethunes
for nearly five centuries. To the west of it is the
ancient castle of Baliiotite, now falling to decay. The
oldest portion is the keep, a square tower eighty feet in
height, crowned with battlements, and having circular
projecting turrets at the angles; and connnunicating
with it is a house of three stories, erected by the first
Karl of Leven, to which a wing was added by one of his
successors. The estate was purchased in 1823, for the
sum of £104,000, by the late James Balfour, Esq.,
brother of the late General Balfour of Balbirnie; and the
former gentleman's second son, to whom the property
has been bequeathed, purposes to restore the castle.
Balbirnie House, about a mile westward of the church, is
a handsome modern structure, erected by General Balfour;
it is ornamented in the principal front with a
noble Ionic portico, and situated in a park of 200 acres,
richly wooded. Kirkfurthar, the seat of George Johnstone
Lindsay, Esq., is an ancient mansion. There were
formerly other resident proprietors of note in the parish,
of whose houses scarcely any traces are now left.
f-'J/v ' The village of Markinch is built partly on the southern
acclivity of the hill of that name, which has a height of
about 100 feet, extending in a ridge from east to west for
300 yards. On the northern side, the precipitous ascent
is cut into terraces twenty feet in breadth, rising above
each other to an elevation of ten or twelve feet, and supposed
to have been formed by the Romans under Agricola.
The water-power afforded by the Leveu and the Orr, the
abundance of coal and freestone in the neighbourhood,
and the facilities of communication, have greatly encouraged
the establishment of manufactures in the parish.
Among these are the Rothes paper-mills, erected
in 1806 by Mr. William Keith, and now the property of
Messrs. Tullis and Company: the chief articles manufactured
here are brown and grey wrapping-papers, and
twenty men and ten women are engaged. The Auchmuty
mills, belonging to the same firm, for the making of cartridge,
coloured, printing, and writing papers, afford occupation
to about 100 persons, one-half women, and
produce about 500 tons of paper annually. The Balbirnie
mills, established in 1816 by Messrs. J. Grieve and
Company, for coarse and fine wrapping-papers, give employment
to thirty persons, of whom fourteen are women;
and the quantity annually produced averages 250 tons.
The woollen-manufactory at Balbirnie-Bridge was erected
in 1835, by Mr. Drysdale, for the weaving of plaidings,
blankets, and shawls, principally for the Glasgow merchants:
in this factory are ten power-looms employing
twenty-seven persons, and four hand-looms employing
ten persons, of whom a considerable proportion are
females. The linen-manufacture (of silesias, and holland
for window-blinds) was till 1810 confined to about fifty
persons, who sold their webs to the merchants of Auchtermuchty
and Kettle; but since that time the weaving
of dowlas, sheetings, and towellings has been introduced
by Mr. Robert Inglis, and the number of persons employed
has increased to nearly 900, who work in their
own houses, and of whom many live in the adjoining parishes.
The spinning of flax and tow is extensively carried
on at Milton of Balgonie, and in the village of Haugh,
which see. There are also bleachfields at Rothes and
Lochty; the former affording occupation to 1 10 persons,
of whom eighty are women and children; and the latter
employing about 100 persons. At Cameron-Bridge is a
very extensive distillery; and at Thornton are some
vitriol-works, connected with a similar establishment at
Glasgow. There are stations at Markinch and Thornton
of the Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee railway; and an
act was passed in 1846 for the construction of a railway
from Markinch to Anstruther Easter, to be called the
East of Fife railway.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs the parish is within the
limits of the presbytery of Kirkcaldy, synod of Fife.
The minister's stipend is £267. 17-, with a manse, and
a glebe valued at £30 per annum; patron, the Crown.
Markinch church, a very ancient structure with a lofty
tower and spire, situated on an eminence in the village,
was partly rebuilt, and enlarged, in 1806, and contains
1360 sittings. Churches have been built at Milton and
Thornton, and there are places of worship for members
of the Free Church and the United Presbyterian Church.
The parochial school is numerously attended; the master
has a salary of £34, with a good house and garden, and
the fees average about £70 per annum. There are nine
other schools, two of which, on the Balgonie estate, have
endowments, one of £10 per annum, with a house and
garden, and the other of £5 only; a school at Balbirnie
has simply a house and garden for the master, and a
female school in the village is supported chiefly by a subscription
of some ladies. About two miles from the
mouth of the Leven are the remains of some ancient
fortifications, the origin of which is not distinctly known;
and in the westward portion of the parish have been
found, at various times, Roman relics consisting of
military weapons and other antiquities. On the highest
point of the ridge near the village, at an elevation of
eighty feet, are the remains of Maiden Castle, a quadrilateral
intrenchment, supposed to have been one of the
strongholds of Macduff, Thane of Fife; and to the east
of the village is Dalginch, another of his castles, from
which there is said to have been a subterraneous communication
with the former. The latter, now called
Barnslee, is the residence of Mrs. Paston.