STRATHFILLAN, a quoad sacra parish (for a time),
partly in the parish of Glenorchy, district of Lorn,
county of Argyll, but chiefly in the parish of Killin,
county of Perth, 14 miles (W. by S.) from Killin;
containing, with the village of Clifton, 735 inhabitants,
of whom 247 are in the county of Argyll, and 488 in
the county of Perth. This place, for ecclesiastical purposes,
was separated from the parishes of Killin and
(ilcnortliy under act of the General Assembly, in 1836.
It a])pears to have derived its name from a priory
founded here by King Robert Bruce, and dedicated
to St. I'illan, in gratitude for his victory in the battle
of Bannockburn. The establishment was for canons
regular of the order of St. Augustine, and continued to
flourish under a regular succession of priors till the
Dissolution, when its revenues and site were granted to
the Campbells, ancestors of the Marquess of Breadalbane.
Of the building, which seems to have been 120
feet in length and twenty-two feet in breadth, there are
still some portions of the walls remaining; and near
the site is a deep pool called the Holy Pool, in which
it was the practice in ancient times to dip persons
afflicted with insanity. The patients on these occasions,
after immersion in the pool, were left bound during the
night in a part of the church designated St. Fillan's
chapel; and if they were found loose on the following
morning, the cure was deemed to be complete. A stone
called St. Fillan's Chair, and several small round stones,
each of which was supposed to have been consecrated
by the saint, and endowed with the power of curing
some particular disease, were long preserved at the mill
of Killin; and five of the stones are still kept there
for the inspection of the curious. The strath to which
the priory gave name forms an interesting portion of
the Highland district of Breadalbane, and is situated on
the north of Loch Dochart; it is rather a pastoral than
an agricultural district, and in its various features partakes
of the general character of the parish of Killin.
Glenure House, the summer residence of Thomas Herbert
Place, Esq., is a handsome modern mansion, situated
in grounds tastefully laid out, embellished with thriving
plantations, and comprehending much picturesque and
romantic scenery. The Marquess of Breadalbane has
lately built a handsome cottage on the banks of Loch
Tulla, in the vicinity of his deer-forest; the grounds
are laid out with much taste, and ornamented with
promising plantations. His lordship resides here generally
for two months in the year, during the hunting
season. The village of Clifton, near which is a mine of
lead-ore in operation, stands not far from the western
extremity of the strath. A church was endowed by Lady
Glenorchy with funds now producing an income of £60:
the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge
were patrons. This church, with the manse and other
accommodations, was claimed on legal grounds by Lord
Breadalbane, and placed in connexion with the Free
Church of Scotland, in consequence of the adherence of
nearly all the people to that Church.