MONZIE, a parish, in the county of Perth; containing,
with the vdlages of Chapelhill and Ilerriotfield,
about 1260 inhabitants, of whom about 118 are in the
village of Monzie, 3 miles (N. N. E.) from Crieff. The
name Monzie is derived from the Gaelic Moighidh, signifying
"a level tract." There are few events of importance
connected with the place: some relics of antiquity,
both of Druidical and of Roman origin, are still visible,
but all historical memorials identifying them with any
particular transactions are lost. The parish is twelve
miles long and about seven in extreme breadth, and
contains about 50,000 acres. It is bounded on the
north by the parishes of Dull, Weem, and Kenmore; on
the south by Crieff; on the east by Fowlis; and on the
west by Monivaird and Comrie. This is a mountainous
district lying on the south side of the Grampian hills,
the only habitable portions being two narrow valleys
called the Back and the Fore part, separated from each
other by a ridge of lofty hills four miles broad. Only
about one-third of the land is arable; the remainder is
covered with heath, coarse grass, and moss, appropriated
to the pasturage of vast flocks of sheep. The lands are
watered by the Almond, the Shaggie, the Keltic, and the
Barvick, the first of which, a considerable river, running
for about twelve miles along the boundary of the parish
from east to west, falls into the Tay two miles above
Perth. All the streams are stocked with trout, and in
the Almond is a plentiful supply of sea-trout. Like
most Highland districts, the parish is famed for its
cascades, which are numerous on all the streams, and
of which the Barvick especially exhibits an almost uninterrupted
succession throughout its whole course, the
effect being greatly increased by the abrupt, lofty, and,
in many places, well-wooded banks of rock between which
the stream passes.
In this parish the soil is light and dry, and tolerably
fertile, though in general rather shallow: the usual white
and green crops are raised. The sheep are the Highland
or black-faced, and great attention is paid to their improvement;
the cattle are mostly a cross between the
Highland and the Lowland, but a few Ayrshire cows are
kept for the dairy. The character of the husbandry is
good, and considerable advances have been made in
draining and trenching; but the expense of procuring
lime, which is brought from a distance, is a serious
obstacle to agricultural improvement. Many of the
farm-steadings have lately been rebuilt on a better plan;
but much remains yet to be done in this respect, especially
on the estate of Monzie. The parish being to a great
extent pastoral, there is much land uninclosed; where
fences have been erected, however, they are in general
in good condition. The prevailing rocks are slate, sandstone,
and limestone: there are two slate-quarries, and
a quarry of superior sandstone of a red colour, and of
great durability; but the limestone, on account of its
inferior quality and its distance from coal, is not wrought.
The mansion-houses are, Monzie Castle, the residence
of Campbell of Monzie, a massive square building with
a circular turret at each corner, erected in 1806, and
containing a superior collection of paintings, ancient
armour, &c.; Cultoquhey House, the seat of the Maxtones,
an elegant edifice from a design by Smirke, erected
about five-and-twenty years since; and Glen-Almond
Cottage, the occasional residence of the Patton family,
also a modern and comfortable house. Monzie and
Gilmerton are the chief villages: that of Monzie, often
called the Kirkton, consists of a cluster of cottages, nestling
in a sunny corner round the church; the other, the
larger of the two, has sprung up within these few years.
There are a few hand-loom weavers. A fair for sheep
and for general traffic is held at Monzie on the 22nd
of August: a fair on the 'JSrd, formerly held here, has
been transferred to the neighbouring parish of Crieff,
and now makes one of its eight fairs. Oats and barley
are sent hence to Crieff, and potatoes to London by way
of Perth. The Glen-Almond road, one of the grand
passes into the Higlilands, runs through the parish;
besides which there are several roads for local convenience.
The annual value of real property in Monzie is
£4300.
"The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity,"
in Glen-Almond, occupies a site acquired from
George Patton, Esq., consisting of a portion of his estate
of Cairnies, in the parish of Monzie. In the year 1841,
certain lay members of the Scottish Episcopal Church,
deeply interested in her welfare, associated themselves
together for the purpose of founding an institution in a
central part of Scotland, to remedy the serious wants
that existed in regard to the education of persons designed
for holy orders in that Church, and of the children
of the middle and upper classes in communion
with the Church. Having submitted their views to the
Scottish bishops, the latter formally approved of the
design by a synodal or pastoral letter, dated September
2nd, 1841; and agreeably with the terms of this synodal
letter, contributions in aid of the work were solicited
through the instrumentality of a committee. In the month
of September, 1845, a general meeting of the bishops, the
committee, holders of rights of nomination, and subscribers
to the institution, was held in the Hopetoun
Rooms, Edinburgh, at which a council was appointed
for the college, and arrangements were made for drawing
up a deed of constitution, which was accordingly completed
in the ensuing month of December. The college
was brought into partial operation in 1847, forming a
place of general education, and of preparation of candidates
for holy orders. A considerable sum, probably
not less than £20,000, is still required to complete the
erection according to the original design, and thereby
secure to the members of the Scottish Episcopal Church
the full benefits which the institution is calculated to
convey. The college unites, with all the necessary internal
accommodation, those external features of stability
and elegance which suitably represent its important object.
The site is well chosen, within ten miles of the city
of Perth, at the foot of the Grampians, and on the banks of
the river Almond; it cannot be surpassed for healthiness,
and the surrounding scenery is remarkable for its l)eauty
and grandeur. Tlie buildings at present finished consist
of two sides, north and west, of a large (piadrangle 190
feet square; compreliending the warden's house, apartments
for the sub- warden and five assistants, complete
accommodation for 130 boys, and rooms for thirteen
divinity students. The east side of the quadrangle,
which is to comprehend the large schoolroom and the
hall, with accommodation for domestics in the upper story
of the former, remains yet to be built; as also does the
south side, which is to consist of a cloister connecting
the warden's house in the south-west angle with the
chapel, which stands out from the south-east angle. The
grounds comprise a space of twenty acres, laid out in
kitchen-garden, walks, and playground for the boys.
With respect to the expenditure on the college, it may
be stated that the works already completed, including
stabling and outhouses, have required little less than
£42,000, of which about £36,000 have been raised by
subscriptions, the greater part collected in England: Sir
John Gladstone, Bart., of Fasque, presented the munificent
sum of £5000, the Rev. Charles Wordsworth, A.M.,
warden of the college, an equal amount, the Duke of
Buccleuch £2000, and the Society for Propagating Christian
Knowledge £1000. The remaining £6000 of the
above-mentioned outlay of £42,000 were recently advanced
on loan by members of the council and other
friends of the college, in order to meet an offer made by
the warden, who, in addition to his large contribution
already noticed, proposed to take upon himself the
erection of the chapel, at the cost of between £5000 and
£6000, provided others were willing to advance a similar
sum for other portions of the work, and provided also
that both parties should be gradually reimbursed, in
equal shares, out of the first available surplus of the
college funds. To repay these parties, and to complete
the quadrangle by the erection of the schoolroom and
hall on the east side, and the cloisters on the south, it
is estimated that a sum little short of £20,000 will be
needed. The warden's offer having been liberally met
by the Duke of Buccleuch, Sir John Gladstone, Bart.,
Mr. Smythe of Methven, Mr. Walker of Bowland, and
others, the chapel was immediately proceeded with, and
is now in rapid progress. Efforts are being made to
enlist the support of new contributors to the undertaking
generally. The number of boys in the junior
department, at present, is forty-seven; of students in
the senior department, seven; to which numbers no
large addition can be received before the completion of
the chapel and schoolroom. Of the forty-seven boys,
ten, who are mostly sons of clergy, are receiving exhibitions
from the college, and if the institution continues
to succeed and flourish, it is intended that the number
of these exhibitioners shall be proportionally increased.
Almost all the students of the senior department, also,
are largely assisted by bursaries.
The parish of Monzie is ecclesiastically in the presbytery
of Auchterarder and synod of Perth and Stirling;
patron, the Crown. The stipend of the minister is £150,
of which a tenth is paid by the exchequer; and there is
a manse, with a glebe of nearly twelve acres of superior
land. Monzie church, a neat but unpretending edifice,
was built in 1830-1, and contains sittings for 512 persons.
The members of the Free Church have a place of
worship in the village of Gilmerton. There is a parochial
school, in which the classics, French, and geometry are
taught, with the usual branches of education; the master
lias a house, a salary of £34, and about £30 in fees.
There is also a preparatory school in the village of Gilmerton,
under the control of the Kirk-Session of the
parish. At a small distance from the village of Monzie,
upon an eminence called Knock-Durroch, " the oaken
knoll", is an intrenchment of an oval form; and on the
estate of Cultoquhey is another of the same kind, but
considerably larger. The principal relic of antiquity,
however, is the camp at Fendoch, thought to have been
constructed by the soldiers under Agricola or one of his
successors. It is situated upon table-land, near the
mountain pass called the Small Glen, and not far from
the fort of Dunmore, which had the complete command
of the passage. The camp covers forty-five acres of
ground, and is said to have been capable of containing
12,000 men. Adjacent to it are several large cairns, and
other relics pointing it out as the arena, in ancient times,
of important military transactions. In the vicinity of
Glen-Almond is a cave called the "Thief's Cave", from
its having been the retreat of a noted sheepstealer called
Alaster Baine, who at last was executed at Perth. Near
this cave is a very curious natural pile of large stones,
called "the Kirk of the Grove", in the vicinity of which
stands a solitary aged pine, marking out the reputed
sepulchre of Fingal's father. Towards the upper extremity
of the pass before named is a stone of cubical form,
eight feet high, said to point out the grave of the farfamed
Ossian, the Caledonian bard.