MOONZIE, a parish, in the district of Cupar,
county of Fife, 2 miles (N. W.) from Cupar; containing
174 inhabitants. This place, the name of which signifies
in the Gaelic language "the hill of the deer", was anciently
the seat of the Crawfurd family, of whom Alexander,
the third earl, is said to have built the castle of
Lordscairnie, situated here, in which he occasionally
resided, and of which there are still considerable remains.
Sir William Ramsay, also, who lived in the reign of David
II., and was taken prisoner at the battle of Durham
in 1346, when the Scottish army was completely defeated,
resided at CoUuthie, in the parish. The parish, which
is one of the smallest in Scotland, is situated on the
south side of the Grampian hills, and is less than two
miles in length, and not a mile and a half in breadth;
comprising an area of about 1260 acres, of which, with
the exception of a few acres of plantations, the whole is
arable. Its surface is diversified with hills and dales:
towards the west are several rising grounds of considerable
elevation, which, sloping gradually towards the east,
terminate in a valley of some extent. The highest
grounds are about 300 feet above the level of the sea;
the lower grounds are intersected by the Moonzie burn,
which has its source in Lordscairnie Myre, and falls into
the river Eden.
The soil is generally a black loam of great fertility,
resting on a substratum of trap-rock, but in some parts
is a strong coarse clay; with a few acres of moss. The
crops are wheat, oats, barley, peas, beans, and potatoes;
the lands have been well drained and inclosed, and are
in excellent cultivation under a highly-improved system
of husbandry. The farm-buildings are substantial and
commodious; and on several of the farms are threshingmills,
two of which are driven by steam. Sheep are
reared upon one farm, of a breed between the Cheviot
and the Leicestershire; the cattle are principally of the
Fifeshire kind, which is preferred to the Teeswater, for
some time the favourite breed. Great attention is paid
to the improvement of the live stock; and several of the
farmers breed a number of horses for agricultural purposes.
The plantations, chiefly on the summits of the
hills, are mostly Scotch firs. There are some small clusters
of houses in several parts, inhabited by agricultural
labourers; but none of them can properly be called a
village. Facility of communication is afforded by the
turnpike-road from Cupar to Newburgh, which passes
along the southern boundary of the parish, and by a
statute road in good repair. The annual value of real
property in Moonzie is £2215. Ecclesiastically the parish
is within the bounds of the presbytery of Cupar and
synod of Fife. The minister's stipend is £187. 17- 10.,
with a manse, and a glebe valued at £30 per annum;
patron, the Earl of Glasgow. Moonzie church, situated
on rising ground in the south-western part of the parish,
is an ancient structure without either tower or spire; it
has been repaired, and contains I71 sittings. The parochial
school is attended by about sixty children; the
master has a salary of £30, with a house and garden,
and the fees average £18 per annum. The remains of
Lordscairnie Castle stand on some gently-rising ground
nearly in the centre of what is called the Myre, previously
to the draining of which, the castle must have
been surrounded with water. They consist chiefly of the
walls, about six feet in thickness and forty feet in height,
and comprise four stories: of the wall that inclosed the
court, little is left except one of the several towers by
which it was defended. There are also some remains of
Colluthie House, now repaired, and converted into a private
residence. Stone coffins have been found at various
times in the parish.