TULLIALLAN, a parish, in the county of Perth,
i a mile (N. by E.) from Kincardine; containing, with
the sea-port town of Kincardine, 3196 inhabitants, of
whom 321 are in the rural districts. This place derives
its name, signifying in the Gaelic language the " beautiful
hill ", from its situation on a gently sloping eminence
at the south-western extremity of the county.
It was anciently the property of the Blackadder family,
of whose baronial residence of Tulliallan Castle there
are still some portions remaining. Previously to the
Reformation, and for some time after, the parish consisted
only of the barony of Tulliallan; but in 1673, the
barony of Kincardine, with the lands of Lurg, Sands,
and Kellywood, was separated from the parish of Culross,
and annexed to this parish, by the Earl of Kincardine,
at the recommendation of the presbytery. The
parish is bounded on the south by the river Forth, and
is about three miles and a half in extreme length and
nearly two miles and a half in breadth, comprising 3HhO
acres, of which about 3000 are arable, 500 woodland
and plantations, and the remainder rough pasture and
waste. Its surface Is varied, rising by a gradual ascent
from the shore of the Forth towards the nortli, and
commanding some fine views of the river and the country
adjacent; the scenery is enriched with wood, and cmbraces
many interesting features.
In this parish the soil is various; in some parts
clayey, -n others a deep rich loam alternated with sand;
and on the lands recently reclaimed from the Forth
estuary, an alluvial deposit of great fertilty. The crops
are wheat, barley, oats, beans, peas, potatoes, and turnips,
with the usual grasses. Husbandry has been greatly
improved, and considerable quantities of land have been
reclaimed from the sea by embankments on the east and
west of the town of Kincardine, one of which was commenced
by the late Viscount Keith in 1821, and completed
in 1823, at an expense of £6000; the other was
commenced in 1829 by his trustees, and completed in
1838, at a cost of nearly £14,000. In general the farmbuildings
are substantial and well arranged. The lands
have been Inclosed partly with stone dykes, and partly
with hedges of thorn, which are kept in excellent order.
The facility of obtaining manure from Kincardine in
some degree counterbalances the expense of bringing
lime from distant quarries; and the farms are all under
excellent cultivation, producing abundant crops. The
plantations, which are in a thriving state, consist of firs,
interspersed with other kinds of trees; and in the
hedge-rows on the public roads are fine specimens of
oak, ash, beech, elm, plane, and hornbeam. There are
strata of freestone, coal, and ironstone. Of these the
freestone is excellent for building, of very compact texture,
and of a beautiful white colour. The quarry at
Longannat, in the eastern part of the parish, has been
long in operation, and the produce in high repute. This
quarry was formerly wrought by a company from Holland,
who raised from it the materials for the erection
of the Stadt House; and in addition to the Royal Exchange,
the Infirmary, and the Register Office, of Edinburgh,
and one of the churches in Aberdeen, it has siipphed
materials for most of the principal mansion-houses
in the neighbourhood. The annual value of real property
in the parish is £4880. Tulliallan House, a seat
of Lady Keith's, is a handsome modern mansion, beautifully
situated on rising ground about half a mile from
the Forth, in a richly-planted and tastefully-embellished
demesne. The town of Kincardine is described under
its own bead. At Longannat is a small hamlet Inhabited
by persons employed in the quarry, and where are
some slight remains of a pier which is said to have been
constructed by the Dutch company who rented the
quarry. The Stirling and Dunfermline railway skirts the
northern boundary of the parish.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs this place is within the
limits of the presbytery of Dumblane and synod of
Perth and Stirling. The minister's stipend is about
£256, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £44. 10. per
annum; patron, Lady Keith. The church is a substantial
structure, erected In 1833 by the heritors, at an
expense of £3500, and contains 1176 sittings. There
are also places of worship for members of the Free
Church and the United Presbyterian Church. The parochial
school affords instruction to 180 children; the
master has a salary of £34. 4. 4., with a house and
garden, and the fees average about £60 per annum,
out of which he pays £40 to an assistant. A schoolroom
has been built by aid of government; and the
school is attended by about 100 scholars, who pay the
usual fees. The remains of Tulliallan Castle, situated
on a rising ground to the west of the town, consist of a
portion of the walls, of great thickness, and three rooms
on the lower story, whose groined roofs are sustained
on a pillar in the centre; the castle appears to have been
originally a place of much strength, and was surrounded
with a moat communicating with the Forth. There are
also vestiges of the ancient church at Overtown, formerly
the burying-place of the Keith family, and in
which are several tombstones of great antiquity. Near
the site of this church have been found gold, silver, and
copper coins of Edward I. of England; and on the farm
of Damend, in the north of the parish, Roman urns
partly filled with ashes were dug up in 1830.