NIGG, a parish, in the county of Kincardine,
2^^ miles (S. S. E.) from Aberdeen; containing, with the
villages of Burnbanks, Cove, andTorry, 1642 inhabitants,
of whom S66 are in the rural districts. This place, anciently
called St. Fittick's from the name of the saint to
whom its church was dedicated, derives its present
appellation, signifying in the Gaelic language " a promontory
or headland", from the projection of its northeastern
extremity, (iirdleness, into the German Ocean
near the harbour of Aberdeen. Previously to the Reformation
the lands were part of the possessions of Arbroath
Abbey; subsequently, one-half became the property
of a predecessor of the late proprietor, John
Menzies, Esq., of Pitfoddels, and the other half was
ac(|uircd by the corporation of Aberdeen. In 17f>6, the
j)arish was by arbitration divided into two parts, of
which that extending along the coast and the harbour
of Al)erdeen was assigned to the town council, and the
remainder, and more inland portion, to the family of Menzies.
The I'AUisii occupies the north-eastern extremity of
the county, and is about five miles in length and three
miles in breadth; comprising an area of 3537 acres, of
which 1885 are arable, about sixty woodland and plantations,
and the remainder moss, moor, and waste. By
the sea on the east, and the river Dee on the north and
north-west, the parish is formed into a peninsula. Its
surface rises gradually from the east by a range of hills
covered with heath, which at the western boundary
attain an elevation of 200 feet above the level of the sea,
and are crowned with two cairns, visible at the distance
of several leagues, and on the higher of which, during
the late war, a flag-staff was sometimes erected to announce
the approach of hostile vessels. These hills
form part of the Grampian range, which terminates in
this parish, near the coast, in the hill of TuUos, an eminence
partly covered with thriving plantations. The
coast is bold and elevated, rising in a chain of rugged
rocks varying from sixty to eighty feet in height. It is
indented with several small bays forming natural harbours
for fishing-boats, and in many places is perforated
with caverns of considerable extent, the roofs of which,
by the action of the water, have been worn into arches
of graceful form. The chief headlands are, Gregness,
on the south of the bay of Nigg; and Girdleness, on
which a lighthouse was erected in 1833 by the Commissioners
of Northern Lights, under the superintendence
of their engineer. The tower rises to a height of 131
feet above the basement, and exhibits towards the east
two polygonal lanterns; the lower has an elevation of 96
feet, and the upper, which is perpendicularly above it,
an elevation of 166 feet, above the level of the sea, displaying
fixed lights visible at a distance of sixteen miles.
This lighthouse is under the management of an inspector
and two resident keepers. The lands are watered by
numerous springs, and some of them, near the centre of
the parish, are chalybeate, though not medicinally used.
Not far from the south-west boundary is the loch of
Loirston, about twenty-seven acres in extent, from which
issues a stream that gives motion to several mills.
In this parish the soil is generally a black loam varying
in depth, but in some parts clay; the crops are oats,
barley, potatoes, and turnips. The system of husbandry
is improved, and considerable portions of waste ground
have been reclaimed by draining; the farm-buildings are
substantial and commodious, and the lands inclosed
chiefly with stone dykes. Few sheep or cattle are reared
here; but great numbers of cows are kept for supplying
the city of Aberdeen with milk, which is sent there
daily in the morning and evening. The plantations consist
of oak, beech, elm, plane, alder, pine, larch, and
Scotch fir. Granite of good quality for paving abounds
in the parish, and was formerly wrought to a very great
extent, affording employment to more than 600 men in
quarrying and dressing paving-stones, which were sent
to Aberdeen, whence they were shipped to London; but
since the introduction of wood pavement, the demand is
greatly diminished, and comparatively few men are now
engaged in the quarries. The annual value of real property
in the parish is £6419. The village of Charleston,
of recent erection on the lands of Mr. Menzies, who portioned
out a barren hill in allotments for building, has
considerably increased of late, and at present contains
nearly "200 inhabitants. Facility of communication is
afforded by good roads, and by bridges connecting the
parish with the city of Aberdeen on the opposite bank
of the Dee: the elegant suspension-bridge, called the
Wellington bridge, was erected in 1833, at the northern
extremity of a road constructed at the same time through
the centre of the parish. The Aberdeen railway enters
the parish from the south, and passing along the romantic
coast, afterwards curves round towards the Dee, where
it leaves the parish for Aberdeen, crossing the channel
of the river by a majestic viaduct. The villages or fishing-
hamlets of Burnbanks, Cove, and Torry are noticed
under their respective heads. For ecclesiastical purposes
the parish is within the bounds of the presbytery
and synod of Aberdeen. The minister's stipend is
£160. '2., of which more than one-third is paid from the
exchequer; with a manse, and a glebe valued at £60
per annum: patron, the Crown. The old church, situated
at the north-eastern extremity of the parish, having
fallen into decay, the present church was erected in a
more central situation, by the heritors, at a cost of
£1800, in IS^29; it is a handsome structure, with a
square tower, and contains 900 sittings. Nigg parochial
school is attended by about sixty children; the master
has a salary of £30, with a house and garden, and the
fees average £'20. There are also a school in the village
of Cove, the master of which has from the heritors of
the parish a house and garden, £7 per annum from an
endowment, and £15 fees; and a school in the village of
Charleston, the master of which has a house and garden,
with £12 fees, besides a donation of £5 from the trustees
of the late Mr. Donaldson. James Calder, Esq., of
Aberdeen, some years since bequeathed £500 to the poor
of the parish. In the parish are numerous large cairns,
supposed to have been raised over the bodies of persons
killed in battle in former times; also some remains of
an ancient house, a summer residence of the abbots
of Arbroath. When cutting through some low ground,
in order to form a drain to the sea, in 1804, the workmen
met with the timbers of a vessel of considerable
burthen, embedded in the soil.