SKENE, a parish, in the district of Aberdeen and county of
Aberdeen, 9 miles (W. by N.) from the city of Aberdeen;
containmg 1S46 inhabitants. This place was
originally part of the royal forests of the kings of Scotland,
and was granted to the ancestor of the ancient
family of Skene by Malcolm Canmore, as an acknowledgment
of his having saved the life of that monarch
by killing with his dirk a wild boar by which the king
was attacked while hunting in the forest. In commemoration
of that event, the intrepid defender of his
sovereign assumed for his family name the Gaelic term
Skiati, signifying " a dagger or dirk ", which eventually
was extended to the estate, and from which the present
name of the parish is obviously derived. The lands continued
to descend from the ancestor of the family, by
direct succession, to his heirs, till the year IS'JT, when
the family became extinct; they are now the property
of the Earl of Fife, as heir of entail. The parish is
bounded on the west and on the south by the Leuchar,
separating it from the parishes of Echt and Peterculter
respectively. It is about six miles in length and four
miles in extreme breadth, comprising 9-100 acres, of
which 6350 are arable, 1300 woodland and plantations,
and the remainder moorland, moss, and waste. The
surface is diversified with numerous small hills of moderate
height, whose summits are mostly planted with
fir, adding much to the pleasing character of the scenery.
There are also interspersed, fertile valleys in a high state
of cultivation, contrasting with several large tracts of
moor and moss. On the south-west boundary is the
Loch of Skene, a fine sheet of water of elliptic form,
about three miles in circumference, and twelve feet in
its greatest depth; it abounds with pike and eels, and,
receiving numerous small rivulets, forms a natural reservoir
for supplying water-power to several mills and
other works. The Leuchar bum issues from the Loch
of Skene, and after passing southward along the western
boundary of the parish, takes an eastern course along
part of its southern limit, and flows through the parish
of Peterculter into the Dee.
In general the soil is light and gravelly, of different
degrees of fertility in different parts, but most productive
on the old infield lands: the chief crojis are oats
and barley, potatoes, turnips, and the usual grasses.
The system of husbandry is greatly improved. The
lands have been mostly drained; and where the common
mode has not been found sufficiently effectual, furrow-
draining has been adopted. Considerable tracts of
waste have been reclaimed and brought under profitable
cultivation. The lands have been inclosed, chiefly with
fences of stone, for the erection of which materials are
found in abundance; and the farm-buihlings, of late
years much ini[)rove(l, are generally substantial. (Jn
the hills and moorlands is good j)asturc for sheep and
cattle; and m\ich attention is paid to live-stock. Few
sheep are reared, many of the sheep-walks having within
the last few years been converted into plantations. The
cattle, of which about '2.500 are kept, are usually of the
native breed, and considerable numbers are sent from
Aberdeen to the London market. A few horses for
agricultural purposes are also bred on the farms, and
these are for the most part hardy and robust. With
the exception of some wood on the lands of Skene, the
plantations are generally of recent formation: they consist
of ash, pine, plane, willow, and the various kinds
of fir; they are well managed, and regularly thinned.
There is nothing peculiar in the geology; the principal
subsoils are sand, gravel, and clay, and the rocks afford
stone of good cjuality for the construction of fences.
The annual value of real property is £"397.
Skene House, one of the seats of the Earl of Fife, is
situated in the western part of the parish, and has been
enlarged. It was for many generations the residence of
the family of Skene. The walls of the mansion are of
great thickness; the interior, which has been lately
fitted up anew, contains many stately apartments, a fine
collection of pictures, and a library of more than 6000
volumes. The demesne is embellished with timber of
venerable growth, among which are a stately chesnuttree
on the lawn, and some beautiful silver-firs in the
avenue; the plantations of more recent date are also
extensive. Easter-Skene, a mansion in the Elizabethan
style, erected by the present proprietor, and situated in
a well-planted demesne commanding a view of the Loch
of Skene and the lower range of the Grampians; and
Kirkville House, a handsome residence in the cottage
style, are the other principal houses.
There is no village properly so called. A factory for
spinning woollen yarn, the machinery of which is driven
by the water of Loch Skene, and, on the failure of that
power, by steam, has been established at Garlogie by
Messrs. Hadden and Sous, of Aberdeen; and about I'^IO
persons are constantly employed here, in connexion
with their carpet-manufactory in that city. The factory
is conducted with the most scrupulous regard to
the comfort of the work-people, for whose accommodation
there are neat cottages, and a schoolroom for
the instruction of their children under a master and
assistants maintained by the company. Several of the
inhabitants of the parish are employed in the handicraft
trades requisite for the wants of the neighbourhood;
there are shops in various parts for the sale of different
wares, and some inns. Facility of communication is
afforded by the turnpike-roads to Alford and Strathd<m,
and to Kincardine and Tarland, which branch as forks
from the Aberdeen road near the eastern boundary, and
on the former of which there is an office under the postoffice
of Aberdeen, whence letters are regularly delivered.
There are also roads kept in repair by statute labour.
Ecclesiastically this place is within the bomids of the
presbytery and synod of Aberdeen. The minister's stipend
is £1.58. 6. 8., of which one-third is paid from the
exchequer; with a manse, and a glebe valued at £'20
l)er annum: patron, the Earl of Fife. Skene church,
which is situated nearly in the centre of the parish, was
built in 1801, and has been repaired; it is a neat substantial
structure, and contains "00 sittings. There are
])laces of worship for niemliers of the Free Church and
Independents. The parochial schoolmaster has a salary
of £30, with a house, an allowance of £'2 in lieu of garden,
and the fees; he also participates in the Dick bequest,
and receives £'20 from a bequest by Dr. Milne, of
Bombay, for the gratuitous instruction of twenty-five
poor children. There are several Sabbath schools, nuS
merously attended; and a parochial library, forming a
collection of upwards of 600 volumes, is supported by
subscription. The principal relics of antiquity are some
remains of Druidical circles, and vestiges of a Roman
road leading from the river Dee to the Don, which may
still be traced in its progress through tlie parish, and
near which were lately found two Roman urns, a sword,
and some spear heads. In Si<ene House are preserved
some manuscripts of a date prior to the invention of
printing, and a charter of Robert Bruce confirming the
original grant of the lands by iVIalcolm Canmore. The
identical "skian" with which the wild boar was killed,
is said to be in the possession of a distant relative of
the family.