ORDIQUHILL, a parish, in the county of Banff,
1 1 miles (E. N. E.) from Keith; containing, with the
village of Corncairn, 637 inhabitants. This place, which
is situated within seven miles of the North Sea, derives
its name, signifying in the Gaelic language " a hollow
near an eminence ", from the nature of its surface, and
its position with respect to the mountainous elevation of
Knockhill, which rises on its western border to the
height of more than 1600 feet above the level of the
sea. It is not connected with any event of historical
importance; and the only document of antiquity in
which notice of it occurs, is a charter of Alexander II.
in 1242, setting forth the boundaries of the estate called
Park, now the property of Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon,
sole proprietor of the parish. The parish is about three
miles and a half in length and two and a half in breadth,
and comprises 5500 acres, of which 2200 are under
tillage, about the same number in pasture, and about
1000 woodland. The system of agriculture is improved;
the chief crop is oats, and great attention is paid to the
rearing of cattle. Draining has been extensively carried
on under the encouragement, and by the assistance, of
Col. Gordon, who generally divides the expense with the
tenant. Cattle-fairs take place in the village, where
shows of cattle have also been held for several years;
and ten markets are held annually near the village of
Corncairn, but in an adjoining parish, for the sale of
grain. The surface is intersected by numerous rivulets,
over which are four good bridges. In this parish the
plantations consist of larch, Scotch fir, ash, beech, elm,
and birch, and are mostly in a flourishing state. The
substratum varies in different parts, but is usually a
coarse mica-slate passing into gneiss, and resting on a
bed of granite. In the eastern portion is an extensive
bed of thick moss, under which is coarse clay. Masses
of whinstone and trap rock, and also blocks of granite,
are scattered in various places; and garnets and tourmaline,
some of large dimensions, are frequently found embedded
in them. Across the eastern base of Knockhill
passes the serpentine rock of Portsoy, which may be
distinctly traced; and specimens occur of asbestos and
rock-cork. The summit of Knockhill is a bed of moss
from fifteen to twenty feet in depth, in some parts continued
down the declivity to the mosses around the base.
The farm-buildings are comfortable and substantial; the
inclosures are few in number, and in very inditferent
condition. Considerable facilities of communication with
the neighbouring markets are afforded by good turnpike-
roads, which intersect the parish in various directions.
The mansion-house of Park, the seat of Colonel
Gordon, is a handsome building, enlarged in 1829, and
situated in the midst of thriving plantations. The annual
value of real property in Ordiquhiil is £2246.
It is in the presbytery of Fordyte, synod of Aberdeen,
and in the patronage of the Earl of Seafield: the minister's
stipend is £185. 6. 7., with a manse, and a glebe
valued at £6. 10. per annum. Ordiquhiil church, erected
in 1805, at the extremity of the parish, affords accommodation
to a congregation of 500. The parochial school
is well attended; the master has a salary of £21. 9. 6.,
with £10 fees, and a portion of the proceeds of the Dick
bequest. A parochial library has been some years established;
it forms a collection of about .'100 volumes, and
has been productive of much benefit. There is also a
Sunday-school library, and a i)arochial association has
been tormed for promoting religious objects at home
and abroad. Mr. Walter Goodall, author of a defence of
Mary, Queen of Scots, was a native of this place.