ROTHES, a parish, partly in the county of Banff,
but chiefly in that of Elgin; containing 1S43 inhabitants,
of whom 946 are in the village of Rothes, 85 miles
(S. W. by S.) from Fochabers. This place in 1782 received
a considerable augmentation by the annexation of
a part of the suppressed parish of Dundurcus, the remaining
portion being united to the parish of Boharm,
on the east side of the river Spey. It extends in length
about nine or ten miles along the river, which has
several picturesque windings; and measures about three
miles in average breadth; comprising an area of 13,440
acres. The surface is highly diversified, consisting of
level and well cultivated tracts adjacent to the river, and
a series of irregular elevations of various height. These
latter form throughout the district a kind of barrier
inclosing the lower grounds on all sides; they present
large tracts of moor and moss, affording abundance of
good fuel, and natural pasturage for cattle and numerous
flocks of sheep. The lands near the river are intersected
by the terminations of several hills, separating
them into the four distinct haughs or detached plains of
Dandaleith, Rothes, Dundurcus, and Orton. These have
a rich and fertile soil of alluvial earth, and deposits of
clay, gravel, and sand, or deep loam, and produce fine
crops of oats, barley, and wheat. Along the base of the
hills, the soil is sharp and gravelly; and in the more
elevated parts, much intermixed with moss. At the
northern extremity of the parish, the Duke of Richmond
possesses the district of Inchberry, comprising 835 acres;
two-thirds are moor, and the soil altogether of inferior
quality. On the east side of the river, in the county of
Banff, projecting from the hill of Beneagen, is the estate
of Aikenway, of peninsular form, and divided into two
farms and a small croft. Besides the cultivated tracts
adjacent to the Spey, portions of the hills have been
brought under profitable tillage; and the Glen of Rothes,
a defile skirted on each side by lofty mountains, and
along which passes the road from Elgin, distant ten
miles, contains several farms producing heavy crops of grain.
The agricultural improvements introduced here chiefly
comprise the rotation system of cropping, and the extensive
use of lime; many tracts of waste ground have
been reclaimed, and the harvests are in general early,
being favoured on one side by the shelter of the lofty
hills of the parish, and on the other by that of the
mountain of Beneagen. The substrata consist mainly of
granite, of which blocks varying in size are scattered
over the surface. In the neighbourhood of the mountain
streams are found hard sandstone, and mica-slate embedded
in granite. At the southern extremity of the
parish is the celebrated rock of Lower Craigellachie,
consisting of immense masses of quartz; and between
this and the village of Rothes is the eminence of Conerock,
composed of the same material, and exhibiting,
when broken, beautiful specimens of rock-crystal. The
annual value of real property in Rothes is £3824. The
wood consists chiefly of Scotch fir and larch, of which
there are large plantations on the slopes of the hills.
Around Orton House, the principal residence in the parish,
situated on an eminence nearly a mile from the
river, are many thriving trees of these and other kinds;
and the vicinity of the house of Auchinroath is also
ornamented with Scotch fir and larch. The village occupies
a pleasant site, surrounded by lofty hills, and is the
property of the Earl of Seafield, chief proprietor of the
parish. It was commenced in 1/66, the land being let
out on leases of two-nineteen years, and the life-rent,
thereafter, of the possessor. Each tenement stands on
the eighth part of an acre; the annual rent is ten shillings,
and attached to each is an acre or two of land
separately rented, which, being of good quality, assists
the occupant in obtaining a comfortable livelihood.
The inhabitants are chiefly agricultural labourers and
mechanics, no business being carried on in the parish
in the form of manufacture, except the production of
rough blanketing to a small extent: a few persons,
also, are engaged during the season in a salmon-fishery
carried on in the river Spey; and others in a large distillery,
in which between 30,000 and 40,000 gallons of
whisky are annually made. The Elgin road runs through
the district; and a road branches off at the village,
leading to Garmouth, distant twelve miles, at the mouth
of the Spey. Three fairs are held annually for the sale
of black-cattle and for general business, on the third
Thursday in April, the third Wednesday in July, and
the third Wednesday in October. Ecclesiastically the
parish is in the presbytery of Aberlour, synod of Moray;
and the patronage belongs to the Crown and the Earl
of Seafield. The minister's stipend is £159, of which
nearly a fourth is paid by the exchequer; with a manse,
and a glebe of nearly twenty acres, the glebe of Dundurcus
having been annexed. The church is a plain
structure, situated in the centre of the village. The
members of the Free Church have a place of worship.
Rothes parochial school affords instruction in the ordinary
branches: the master has a salary of £34. 4., augmented
by an allowance from the Dick bequest, with
the fees, the interest of £500 left by Dr. James Simpson,
a native of the parish; and a house. A savings' bank
was established about the year 1840. Near the village
are the remains of the wall belonging to an ancient
fortified castle, once the seat of the Earls of Rothes;
and on the south side, at a short distance, are vestiges
of a burying-ground formerly attached to the chapel, of
which latter nothing exists. A little further is the Chapel
well, highly celebrated in former times for its supposed
efficacy in the removal of disease: on the first Sunday
in the month of May, which was the special period when
the waters, through the miraculous interposition of the
Virgin Mary, were said to possess their full medicinal
virtues, the well was the resort of multitudes from various
parts, under real or imaginary suffering. About
two miles from the village of Rothes is the ruin of the
old church of Dundurcus, with its burying-ground, inclosed
with a substantial wall built some years since at
the cost of Dr. Simpson.