STRATHDON, or Invernochty, a parish, in the
district of Alford, county of Aberdeen, 19 miles (W.
by S.) from Alford; containing 1563 inhabitants. This
parish, originally called Invernochty, derived that name
from the position of its church near the influx of the
river Nochty into the Don; and its present appellation,
from its extensive and beautiful strath, or valley, through
which the river Don takes a winding course, dividing the
parish into two nearly equal parts. The lands appear
to have been held by the Earls of Mar as superiors; and
it is said that the castle of Curgarff, in the parish, was
erected by one of them as a hunting-seat. In the feuds
between the Gordons and the Forbeses, the castle was
burned down in 15*1 by Adam Gordon; and Margaret
Campbell (daughter of Campbell of Calder), then big
with child, with her children and servants, to the number
of twenty-seven pursons, perished in the flames.
The castle was subsequently rebuilt. It was purchased
by government from Mr. Forbes of Skellater, in 1746,
and was for some years occupied as barracks, under the
garrison of Fort-George, by a detachment of twenty
men. From 1827 to 1831 a captain, with a subaltern
and sixty men, was stationed in it to support the civil
authorities in their determination to suppress the practice
of snmggling, which at that period was carried on
to a great extent; but it has not since been occupied by any military.
The parish, which constitutes the western extremity
of the county, is about twenty-three miles in length, and
varies from three to eight miles in breadth; comprising,
according to computation, an area of 70,000 acres,
of which nearly 5000 are arable, 4000 woodland and
plantations, and the remainder hill pasture and waste.
The form of the parish is extremely irregular, from the
portions of adjoining parishes with which it is in several
places indented. Its surface is strikingly diversified,
presenting in fine contrast a considerable extent of level
and fertile vale, and large tracts of mountainous elevation,
combining all the varieties of wild and rugged
Highland scenery. The valley of the Don, along which
that river flows from west to east, is intersected nearly
at right angles with several sequestered glens, watered
by rivulets descending from the mountains between
which they are inclosed. Some of the glens are finely
wooded with natural birch, whilst the mountains are
covered with heath to their very summits. The highest
mountains are, Morven, contiguous to the southern
boundary of the parish, and which has an elevation of
2880 feet above the level of the sea 5 Scroulach, 2700
feet iu height, resting towards the west on the Gfaschill,
over which passes the military road by Curgarff Castle
to Fort- George; Cairnmore and Ben-Newe, each 1800
feet high; and Lonach, which has an elevation of 1200
feet. On the summit of Cairnmore, which rests on Lonach,
is a cairn, erected by the tenantry in 1823 to the
late Sir Charles Forbes, in commemoration of his being
raised to the rank of baronet. The river Don has its
source in this parish, on the confines of the county of
Banff, and taking an eastern direction, receives in its
course numerous streams from the mountains; it runs between
banks exhibiting much romantic beauty, and falls
into the sea about two miles to the north of Aberdeen.
Among the tributaries of the Don are the Cunry, the
Ernan, the Carvy, the Nochty, the Deskry, and the
Kindy, all of which take their rise in the parish, and
flow through the several glens to which they respectively
give name. The Don and its tributaries abound with
trout, which, though small, are of fine flavour; and
salmon are occasionally found in the Don, but not in
any considerable number. There are springs of water
in various parts of the parish, some of which are more
or less chalybeate; but they have not been analysed,
and their properties are but little known.
On the arable lands the sou, is mostly a deep loam,
in some places alternated with gravel: the lower acclivities
of the hills are especially fertile. There are
large peat-mosses on the summits of the hills, and some
of them are of great depth: portions of the trunks of
fir-trees are dug out, which, when dried and split into
strips, are still occasionally used instead of candles. The
corn crops are oats, a small quantity of barley, and considerable
quantities of bear; turnips are cultivated to a
great extent, and potatoes are also grown, but owing to
the injury to which they are exposed from the early
frosts, the latter are raised for home consumption only.
Husbandry is improved: the lands have been well drained
and inclosed; and where requisite, embankments have
been formed to protect them from the inundations of
the river Don, to which they were much exposed. The
farm-houses are generally of a superior description,
built of stone, and roofed with slate; and the offices are
well arranged. On several of the farms are threshingmills
driven by water, and on one a mill driven by
horses. There are also three mills for grinding meal.
The cattle, about 2200 of which are kept in the
parish, are of the Aberdeenshire breed, with a few of
a mixed breed between the Ross-shire and the West
Highland; and the sheep, of which nearly 9000 are
pastured on the hills, are all of the black-faced breed.
No horses are reared, except for purposes of husbandry.
The agricultural produce beyond what is requisite for
the supply of the inhabitants, and also the fat-cattle,
are sent to Aberdeen; from which port, since the facilities
of steam navigation have been rendered available,
much live-stock is forwarded to London. The plantations
have been greatly extended within the last thirty
or forty years; they consist of Scotch fir and larch, for
which the soil seems peculiarly adapted, ash, elm, plane,
and other kinds of trees. Around the houses of the principal
proprietors are some good specimens of timber. The
prevailing rock is sienite, generally of a granitic appearance.
Limestone, which is abundant, is extensively
quarried, and is burnt into lime with peats and occasionally
a little coal; all the limestone rocks lie on the north
side of the Don, with the exception of one near Boilhandy,
and the quality of the lime is excellent. A quarry
of coarse slate was formerly wrought. The annual value
of real property in the parish is £4228.
Newe, the seat of Sir Charles Forbes, erected in 1831,
is a spacious mansion of Kildrummy freestone, in the
old manorial style; it is situated on the north bank of
the Don. and embellished with thriving plantations. The
present house, with which the old mansion was incorporated,
contains splendid suites of apartments, and is
ornamented with a noble portico of elegant design.
Candacraig House, the residence of Robert Anderson,
Esq., is a handsome mansion in the Elizabethan style,
built in 1834, of granite discovered in the immediate
vicinity; and is pleasantly situated in grounds richly
wooded. Inverernan, belonging to Mrs. Forbes, is a
villa partaking of the Italian style, near the confluence
of the Ernan and the Don. The house of Auchernach,
erected by General Forbes in 1809, is also a commodious
residence. Glen-Kindy, the property of Sir Alexander
Leith; Bellabeg, situated near the influx of the Nochty
into the Don; EdJTiglassie; and Skellater, are all mansions
of old date. There is no village in the parish,
unless a few cottages at Heugh-Head, not exceeding ten
in number, may be so called; nor is there any manufactory,
except at Glen-Kindy, where is a mill for spinning
woollen yarn. In the weaving of blankets and
plaidings, from six to eight persons are employed. A
post-oflice, under that of Aberdeen, has a daily delivery;
and fairs for cattle, one of which is also for the sale of
meal and fodder, are held five times a year, the principal
fair being on the third Friday in August. Facility of
communication is maintained by the turnpike-road from
Aberdeen, which passes for eighteen miles through the
parish, and terminates at Curgartf; by cross roads that
intersect it in various directions; and by three good
bridges over the Don, and bridges across the other
streams, one of which, over the Nochty, is of cast-iron.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs this place is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Alford and synod of Aberdeen.
The minister's stipend, including a commutation
of £17. 12. for peats, is about £210; with an excellent
manse, and a glebe valued at £2. 12. 6. per annum:
patron, the Crown. The church was rebuilt in 17.57,
and reseated and repaired in 1808; it is a substantial
structure containing 504 sittings. A missionary station
has been for more than a century supported at Curgarff
by the Royal Bounty, from which the minister receives
a stipend of £63 per annum: he has also a croft, a
right of pasture, and fuel. A church, with a manse and
offices, was erected for this district in 1834, by the late
Sir Charles Forbes, at a cost of £1100; the church is a
handsome structure, and affords ample accommodation
for the inhabitants. There is also a small Roman Catholic
chapel at Curgarff. The parochial school gives
instruction to nearly 100 children; the master has a
salary of £28, with a house, an allowance of £2 in lieu
of garden, and the fees. A new parochial school-house
on the approved modern plan, with a dwelling-house for
the master, was built in 1838 by the heritors. Three
schools are supported by the Society for the Propagation
of Christian Knowledge, who allow the masters salaries
of £15 each, with a dwelling-house, in addition to the
fees; and in 1832, the late Sir Charles Forbes built a
school-house and dwelling for the teacher at Curgarff.
The late John Forbes, Esq., of Newe, bequeathed £500,
and Miss Forbes, of Bellabeg, £100, for the benefit of the poor.
The ruins of several ancient castles are to be seen
within the parish. Near the confluence of the Nochty
within the Don, is an abruptly conical mound called the
Doune of Nochty, of elliptical form, 970 feet in circumference
at the base, and 560 at the summit, and about
sixty feet in height. This mound has been surrounded
with a ditch twenty-si.\ feet wide and sixteen deep; and
around the summit are still to be traced the foundations
of buildings. According to tradition, it was the site of
the ancient church. Numerous subterraneous buildings
occur in this part of the county, five of which have been
discovered in this parish; they are here called " Eirde
houses", are constructed of loose stones placed together
in irregularly circular form, and contract in diameter
towards the roof, which is of flat stones. In IS22, two
ancient rings and several hundred silver coins were
found in digging for a dyke. One of the rings was of
gold, with a sapphire stone of deep colour, and the
other of iron, gilt, and mounted with a pale sapphire.
Some of the coins were of the reign of Henry III. of
England, two of King John, and the others of William
the Lion of Scotland.