Best Scottish Tours of Dunkeld

Dunkeld Cathedral, Perthshire, Scotland. Best Scottish Tours of Dunkeld. Dunkeld in 1846. Dunkeld, a parish, in the county of Perth, 15 miles (N. by W.) from Perth, and 55 (N. N. W.) from Edinburgh; comprising the ancient city of Dunkeld, partly within the parish of Caputh; for many years the seat of the primacy of the kingdom prior to its removal to St. Andrew's, and now the seat of a presbytery; and containing in the parish 2848 inhabitants, of whom 1096 are in the town. This place, which is of very remote origin, and is supposed to have been the capital of the ancient Caledonia, appears to have derived its name from the erection of a castle or stronghold, towards the close of the 5th century, on an eminence commanding the passes of the vale of Atholl, and still called the King's seat, from its having been the resort of some of the earlier monarchs for partaking the diversion of the chase. There are yet remains of this ancient fortress; and near the site, Mary, Queen of Scots, narrowly escaped a serious injury from one of the herd, while witnessing a chase for the celebration of which the Earl of Atholl had employed 2000 of his Highlanders to collect the deer of the central Highlands. A monastery was founded here about the year 570 for brethren of the order of St. Columba, subordinate to the abbey of Iona, over which that saint at the time presided; and Columba remained for some months at this place, for the instruction of the people of the surrounding district, who assembled in great numbers to hear him. The establishment was placed under the superintendence of an abbot, many of whose successors held the most distinguished offices in the state; and the brethren, who are identified with the ancient Culdees, employed themselves chiefly in teaching and transcribing the sacred Scriptures, but had no communion with the Church of Rome. The monastery, originally of rude construction, was rebuilt with stone about the year 729, and continued to advance in importance; numerous dwellings gradually arose in the immediate vicinity, and in 834 the town had so much increased in extent that Brudus, king of the Picts, with a numerous army, after crossing the Tay, found sufficient accommodation in the town and castle preparatory to his battle with Alpinus, king of the Scots, at Angus.

In 845, the Danes, on their march to plunder the monastery, were encountered near Dunkeld by Kenneth Mc Alpine, who defeated them with considerable loss; but, in 905, again advancing for the same purpose, they succeeded in plundering the monastery and laying waste the town. In the reign of Kenneth III., a numerous army of Danes, in a third attempt to commit the same depredations, were intercepted on their march by that monarch, who, in a severe conflict near Luncarty, defeated them with great slaughter. The buildings connected with the monastery still increased, and the relics of St. Columba were removed from Iona, and deposited in a church erected here, and dedicated to his memory by Kenneth Mc Alpine after he had united the Scots and Picts into one kingdom. The Culdees continued their establishment under a superior of their own nomination, and had, in the parish of Dowally and other places in the district, various smaller institutions, till they were superseded by canons regular in the reign of David I., who, in 1127, converted the monastery into a cathedral establishment, and made Dunkeld the seat of a diocese, which retained the primacy of the kingdom until the distinction was transferred to the see of St. Andrew's in the reign of James III. The prelates of Dunkeld were much exposed to the aggressions of the heads of the Highland clans in the vicinity of the diocese, with whom a constant state of warfare was maintained. The revenues of the see were frequently intercepted by armed bands who waylaid the bishops' officers, and carried them off by violence; and such of the lands belonging to the bishops as were contiguous to the estates of the Highland chiefs were either seized and appropriated to their own use, or plundered and laid waste. The bishops were assaulted even while officiating in the cathedral; and those who ventured to resist, or bring to punishment, the leaders by whom these outrages were perpetrated, were beset by parties against whose hostile attacks they were compelled to defend themselves by a numerous retinue of armed attendants.

In the reign of James II., the Earl of Atholl, nephew of that monarch, assembled the canons of the abbey, and requested them to appoint his brother, Andrew Stuart, though not in full orders, successor to the see, which had become vacant by the death of Bishop Brown. With this request they thought proper, through intimidation, to comply; but the election was afterwards abrogated by Pope Leo X., and Gavin Douglas, uncle of the Earl of Angus, was appointed, whose arrival to take possession of the see caused the servants of Stuart to fly to arms, and seize upon the palace and the tower of the cathedral, whence they discharged a volley of shot against the house of the dean, to which Douglas had retired to receive the homage of the clergy. On the following day, the city was filled with the armed adherents of both parties, and a dreadful scene of violence ensued; but at length, Stuart, finding it impossible to relieve his men in the palace, was compelled to abandon it, and, having no hope of retaining the prelacy, he retired on condition of being allowed to hold that portion of the bishop's rents which he had already received, and also the churches of Alyth and Cargill, on payment annually of a trifling acknowledgment. From this time the see remained undisturbed till the Reformation. The church erected by Kenneth Mc Alpine in 845 continued to be the cathedral till 1318, when the choir of a more spacious and elegant structure was completed by Bishop Sinclair, and appropriated to that purpose; in 1406 a nave was added to the building by Bishop Cardney, and the remainder of the church was completed in 1464 by Bishop Lauder, who also erected the lofty tower of the cathedral, and built the chapterhouse, in 1469. The episcopal palace, to the south-west of the cathedral church, was formerly defended by a castle, erected in 1408, but of which at present nothing remains except the site, still called the Castle Close; and in 1508, a wing was added to the palace, and a handsome chapel built immediately adjoining it. The bishops had palaces also at Cluny, Perth, and Edinburgh, with ample revenues; and at the time of the Reformation, the church of Dunkeld was valued at £1600 per annum. In 1560, a commission was issued by the Lords of Congregation for purifying the church, by removing the altars, images, and other idolatrous ornaments, and burning them in the churchyard; and in their zeal to fulfil this commission, the mob destroyed the whole of the interior of that beautiful and venerable structure of which the ruins display the stately magnificence, and left nothing entire but the walls. These, too, were subsequently stripped of their roof, and have since remained in a state of dreary ruin, with the exception only of the choir, which in 1600 was roofed with slate at the expense of the family of Stuart, of Ladywell, and has been appropriated as the parish church. By acts of the General Assembly in 1586 and 1593, the city was made the seat of a presbytery; but there is still a bishop of Dunkeld, though unconnected with the Church of Scotland, who presides over the episcopal churches of Dunkeld, Dunblane, and Fife.

After the battle of Killiecrankie in 1689, the Highland troops of Viscount Dundee, who had been killed in that conflict, advanced to the city, then garrisoned by the newly-raised Cameronian regiment; and after a severe struggle, the Highlanders obtained possession of many of the houses, from which they made frequent discharges of musketry upon the Cameronian soldiers, who, in order to dislodge them, set fire to the buildings where they had sought shelter. The whole of the town, with the exception of the cathedral and three houses, was totally burnt; and the inhabitants were compelled to take refuge in the church. In 1703, the Marquess of Atholl was elevated to the rank of duke by Queen Anne, who is said to have subsequently paid a visit to that nobleman, first at Blair-Atholl, and then at Dunkeld House, to confer with him on matters connected with the union of the two kingdoms; and in corroboration of the event a state room in the castle at the former place is still called Queen Anne's bedchamber. On the breaking out of the rebellion in 1745, the Marquess of Tullibardine, accompanied by the Pretender, whose cause he had embraced, took temporary possession of Blair Castle in the absence of his younger brother, the Duke of Atholl, and sent the lords Nairn and Lochiel to proclaim the prince at the market-cross of Dunkeld. Early in the following year, the Duke of Cumberland stationed part of his forces at Blair-Atholl and in the city, which posts, after his departure, were occupied by bodies of Hessian troops, between whom and the Atholl Highlanders frequent skirmishes took place in the neighbourhood. In September, 1842, Her Majesty the Queen, while visiting her Scottish dominions, made an excursion to Dunkeld House, attended by Prince Albert, and was met on the boundary of the estate by a numerous guard of the Atholl Highlanders, who escorted the royal visiters to the park. Here Lord Glenlyon, the heir of the family, at the head of his Highland regiment, received the Queen, and then conducted her to the tent which had been erected for her reception on the lawn to the north-west of the cathedral, a spot commanding a splendid view of the wildly romantic and beautifully picturesque scenery for which the place is so highly celebrated. Her Majesty reviewed the regiment, and passing along the line formed by the various local societies that had been assembled in the park, retired into the tent, where a sumptuous collation was served, after which the officers of the Atholl clan were severally introduced to the Queen, and had the honour of kissing hands. Having remained for a few hours at Dunkeld, Her Majesty took her departure for Breadalbane, escorted by the Hon. Capt. Murray, who rode by the side of the royal carriage to the boundary of the Atholl estate, a distance of thirteen miles, pointing out by name to the Queen the various objects of interest. In 1844, Her Majesty, on her second visit to Scotland, passed again through Dunkeld.

The town is beautifully situated on the north bank of the river Tay, over which is a noble bridge of five open arches, of which the central arch has a span of ninety feet, and the others of eighty-four and seventyfour each, with two dry arches of twenty-five feet span, the whole erected in 1809, by the late Duke of Atholl, at an expense of £30,000, of which £5000 were granted by government. From the centre of the bridge is a fine view of the city, which consists partly of a spacious street of handsome modern houses, extending from the bridge along the line of the great north road from Perth to Inverness; and a street of more ancient but well-built houses crosses the former at right angles, in the marketplace, from which the old cross was removed about the commencement of the present century. Near the cathedral is the deanery, the only house now remaining of the three saved from the conflagration in 1689. There is a public library, called the Mackintosh library, which originated in a gift to the town by the Rev. Donald Mackintosh, in 1811; it is under the direction of a committee of curators, and the collection at present consists of more than 2000 volumes. The manufacture of linen and the tanning of leather, formerly carried on to a considerable extent, have been discontinued, and the chief trade at present is the making of shoes. Many of the poorer class are employed during the spring and summer months in the peeling of oak, and at other times in agriculture and in the slate-quarries; there are also a distillery, a public brewery, and several malting establishments, and a saw-mill, affording occupation to a moderate number of persons. Since the erection of the bridge a very great increase has taken place in the general traffic of the town and neighbourhood. There are now two spacious hotels with posting establishments, for the reception of visiters whom the beauty of the scenery and the numerous objects of deep interest in the vicinity attract; and several lodging-houses are occupied by families and individuals who during the summer months make this their residence. The post-office has a good delivery; the Inverness mail through Atholl passes daily, a coach to Perth three times in the week, and during the summer there are coaches to Inverness, Dundee, Loch Lomond, and Perth. The market, which is amply supplied with provisions of every kind, is on Saturday; and fairs for cattle and horses, and for hiring farm-servants, are held on February 14th, March 25th, April 5th, June 9th, and the second Tuesday in November. The police is under the management of an officer appointed by the Duke of Atholl as hereditary lord of the barony. A court for the recovery of small debts is held quarterly, under the sheriff; and the county magistrates for the district hold their courts in the Masons' lodge, in which also public meetings are held, and the general business of the town transacted. The old prison was taken down in 1743, and one of the dry arches of the bridge was subsequently inclosed and fitted up for the temporary confinement of offenders.

The parish is situated on the north side of the vale of Atholl, and extends for more than six miles along the bank of the Tay, varying in breadth, and comprising about 12,000 acres, of which 1200 are arable, 300 pasture, 10,000 woodland and plantations, and the remainder covered with water. The surface is strikingly diversified with hills of precipitous elevation and fantastic form, of which the steep acclivities are indented with deep ravines, and which vary in height from 1000 to 2000 feet above the level of the sea, rising abruptly from a narrow tract of shelving low land apparently gained by embankment from the river. These hills were planted with larch-trees by the late Duke of Atholl, and form an extensive forest, nearly fourteen miles in length from Craig-y-barns, opposite the King's Seat, which has an elevation of 1000 feet above the sea, and varying from three to six miles in breadth. On the summit of the hill of Duchray, which rises to a height of 1900 feet, is a lake about half a mile in circumference, abounding with perch; on the hill of Ordie, at an elevation of 700 feet, is another, several miles in circumference, in which are trout of excellent quality; in the barony of Dulcapon is Loch Broom, also containing trout; and at Rotmel are two lakes, in which perch are found. The soil in the lower lands is thin and light, but on the acclivities of the hills richer, and slightly intermixed with clay, producing good crops of oats and barley, with turnips and potatoes. The state of husbandry has been greatly improved, and an agricultural society for the district established; the lands have been drained and inclosed; the farm-buildings and offices are of stone, roofed with slate, and are comfortable and well arranged. The rateable annual value of the parish is £6073. The substratum is principally clay-slate, of which the rocks are composed, and which is remarkable chiefly for the irregularity of its formation. On the eastern base of the hill of Craig-y-barns, a small vein of copper-ore was discovered, but has not been wrought; and in a bank of sand about twenty feet above the level of the river Tay, in the lands of Dowally, some grains of gold were found, of which ornaments were made; but the quantity obtained was so small, in comparison with the expense of extracting it, that all attempts have been abandoned. Pearls of good colour and form, though coarse, are found in the muscles of the Tay, and occasionally some of finer quality and of great value.

The present Dunkeld House, one of the seats of the Murray family, now in an unfinished state, was commenced by the late Duke of Atholl not long before his death in 1830, since which event the building has been discontinued. The mansion had been raised to the second story; an elegant family chapel, the grand staircase, and a gallery ninety-six feet in length had been nearly completed; and in this state, with a temporary roof to protect the walls from injury, the structure, which is in the later English style of architecture, still remains. It is situated in a park of no great extent, but pre-eminent for the unrivalled beauty of its scenery, and for the extensive views it commands over the rich vale of Athol and the river Tay on the one side, and the majestic forest and wildly mountainous district on the other. Within the park are the stately remains of the venerable abbey of Dunkeld, with which the style of the mansion is in pleasing harmony; the grounds are laid out with great taste and effect, and combine every possible variety of deeply-interesting features. Near the remains of the cathedral are two fine larch-trees, the first of that species introduced into Britain, having been brought from the Tyrol by Mr. Menzies, of Culdares, in 1738. They were reared in the greenhouse, and planted not far from the old mansion about the same time as those in the Monzie gardens, near Crieff; they have attained a height of about ninety feet, with proportionate girth, and are apparently in a state of progressive increase. The village of Dowally consists of a few houses near the church of that name, with one good inn; there is also the small village of Kindallachan, about a mile distant.

The parish of Dowally and the ancient city of Dunkeld both formed originally part of the extensive parish of Caputh, from which they were separated in 1500, and erected into a distinct parish. The minister's stipend is £161, with an allowance of £63 in lieu of manse and glebe; patron, the Duke of Atholl. The CHOIR of the CATHEDRAL was first repaired, and fitted up for public worship, at the expense of the Murray family, about the year 1691; and in 1820 it was thoroughly repaired, and restored, with some trifling exceptions, to its original state by the late duke, at a cost of £5400, towards which £1000 were granted by government. The interior contains 655 sittings, and is separated from the aisles by a range of seven circular arches, supported on low massive Norman columns, above which are a triforium of similar character, and a range of clerestory windows of the early English style. In the choir was formerly a recumbent figure of Alexander, son of Robert, King of Scotland, but better known as the Wolf of Badenoch; it is now placed in the vestibule, in which, also, is a tablet to the memory of the Rev. John Robb, minister of Dunkeld, who was wrecked in the Forfarshire steamer in 1838. In the north wall of the choir is a tablet to Thomas Bisset, commissary of Dunkeld; and in the south aisle is the monument of Bishop Cardney, on which is his effigy in a recumbent posture, under a crocketed canopy. The statue of Bishop Sinclair, of which the head has been broken off, is in one of the aisles; and within the walls are also tombstones of the Dean of Dunkeld in 1476, and the rector of Monedie in 1548. The other portions of the cathedral are roofless, and falling into decay; the walls of the aisles are strengthened with buttresses between the windows, terminating in crocketed pinnacles above the parapet, and at the west end of the nave is the lofty tower, ninety-six feet high, with an octagonal turret of great beauty. The Chapter-house, which has been appropriated as a sepulchral chapel for the Murray family, contains several stately monuments, among which are, a marble statue of John, fourth duke of Atholl, attired in his parliamentary robes, erected by his duchess in 1833; a monument to the Marquess of Atholl, on which the armorial bearings with their several quarterings are richly emblazoned; and a tablet inscribed to the memory of Lord Charles Murray, who died in Greece.

The church of Dowally was erected in 1820, on the site of the old church founded by Bishop Brown; it is a neat structure containing 210 sittings, all of which are free, and to which, by the erection of a gallery, eighty might be added. On the east wall of the building are the armorial bearings of Bishop Brown. Divine service is performed every Sunday, both in the English and Gaelic languages, by the assistant minister of Dunkeld. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church, Independents, and Glassites. The Royal Grammar School was founded in 1567, by James VI., who granted funds for its support, from which the rector derives a salary of £5. 13. 4., in addition to the fees and a house rent free; the presentation is vested in the Murray family, subject to the approval of the synod of Perth and Stirling, who have power of removal on sufficient cause. The buildings are maintained by the family; the course of study is similar to that of the High School of Edinburgh, and the number of scholars averages about eighty. A parochial school was established at Dowally in 1833, by the trustees of the Atholl estates, who erected a school-house, and pay the master a salary of £34, in addition to about £14 fees. A school for the instruction of girls in sewing, tambouring, and other branches of female industry, was instituted by Jane, Duchess of Atholl, in 1788, and since her decease has been maintained by Lady Glenlyon; the duchess also instituted a Sunday school in 1789, for which she erected an appropriate building. An hospital was erected in 1510, by Bishop Brown, for the maintenance of seven aged men, each of whom had a free house, with five bolls of meal, and an allowance of five merks annually. The building was destroyed in the conflagration of the city in 1689, and some good houses were erected on the site, of which several were afterwards sold; the rent of the remainder is distributed in meal among the bedesmen, under the patronage of the commissary. A chapel dedicated to St. Ninian was founded in 1420, by Bishop Cardney, who endowed it with the lands of Mucklarie, the rents of which are now paid to the rector of the royal school; there are no remains of the building, and the site is occupied by the houses in Atholl-street. On the summit of an eminence to the east of the town, not far from St. Ninian's, was a chapel dedicated to Jerome, and called the Red Chapel; the site is inclosed by a stone wall, but there are no remains of the edifice. The ruins of the ancient castle of Rotmel were removed about the beginning of the present century, when numerous coins were found in digging up the foundation. To the east of the city is an extensive tract called the Craigwood, in the centre of which is an eminence commanding a fine view of the town and the several passes of the vale of Atholl. On the side of Craig-y-barns are two caves overlooking the King's Pass, of which one was an ancient hermitage, and the other the abode of a noted robber who was shot on his return from the well of St. Columba; and on the east side is another, called the Duchess' Cave, which till lately was neatly fitted up. There are also several caves on the back hills of Dowally, which were inhabited for many months after the battle of Culloden. Tour Dunkeld Scotland, on an Ancestry Tour of Scotland. Best Scottish Tours, Best Scottish Food, Best Scottish Hotels, Small Group Tours of Scotland. Rent a Cottage in Scotland.

Best Scottish Tours of Dundee

Victoria Dock, Dundee, Scotland. Best Scottish Tours of Dundee. Dundee in 1846. Dundee, a royal burgh, sea-port town, and parish, in the county of Forfar; containing, with part of the village of Lochee, 62,794 inhabitants, of whom 60,553 are within the burgh, 14 miles (S. by W.) from Forfar, and 40½ (N. by E.) from Edinburgh. This place appears to have derived its name, in ancient records Dondie, and in a charter of Queen Mary Donum Dei, from the erection of the church in the twelfth century, by David, Earl of Huntingdon, brother of King William the Lion, on his landing here in safety after a severe storm, on his return from the Holy Land, whither, with 500 of his countrymen, he had accompanied Richard Cæur de Lion, King of England, in his third crusade. In fulfilment of his vow to grant to him the first ground on which he should land on his return, the Scottish monarch gave his brother the site now occupied by Dundee; and the earl, in gratitude for his preservation from shipwreck, erected a spacious church, around which subsequently arose the present town. There seems to have been a castle or fortress on the summit of a rock rising precipitously from the river, of which the origin is altogether unknown, and which, after the erection of the church, became a royal residence; but from the shelter it afforded to the enemy in the wars with England during the reign of Edward I., it was ultimately demolished by the Scots. In the war consequent on the disputed succession to the Scottish throne, the town was twice taken by the army of Edward I., by whom it was plundered and burnt; and in 1385, it was again nearly reduced to ashes by the English forces under the Duke of Lancaster. It suffered a similar devastation from the English army commanded by the protector, Somerset, in an attempt to compel the regency of Scotland to negotiate a contract of marriage between the infant princess, Mary, afterwards Queen of Scots, and the son of Henry VIII., Edward VI. of England. At the time of the Reformation, the inhabitants, who were zealous for the cause, proceeded to Edinburgh to assist in besieging the French troops stationed in Leith; but they were repulsed with considerable loss, and many of them were killed in endeavouring to effect their retreat into the city.

In 1645, the Marquess of Montrose, at the head of 150 cavalry and 600 infantry, sent a summons to the town to surrender, and on the imprisonment of his messenger by the inhabitants, attacked it simultaneously in three different quarters, and, after plundering and setting fire to it on the east and north sides, abandoned the people to military execution. In 1651, after the battle of Worcester, the town was besieged by General Monk, to whom it was compelled to yield, though not without a valiant resistance. The governor, Lumsden, retired with part of the garrison to the tower of the church, which for some time he maintained to the annoyance of the enemy; but being at length obliged to submit, he was, together with all his companions, inhumanly murdered in the churchyard, and his head placed on a spike on the battlements of the tower. On this occasion, the town was plundered of every thing of value, and sixty ships in the harbour were laden with the spoils, valued at £200,000 sterling, and sent off to England; but in passing the bar near the mouth of the river, every vessel was lost. The inhabitants were slaughtered without regard either to age or sex; and in the general carnage, which continued for three days, it is estimated that more than one-sixth of the inhabitants were put to death. In 1669, the town was so greatly reduced that an act of parliament was passed, recommending it to the benevolent consideration of the whole kingdom; and contributions were made for its assistance by all the principal burghs in the country. The various calamities which the town had experienced were, moreover, subsequently aggravated by a dearth that lasted for seven years, and it was not till after the rebellion in 1745 that it began to recover its former importance, since which time few events of historical interest have taken place. In 1841, three of the churches were destroyed by an accidental fire which originated from a stove in the passage between the south and the steeple churches, on the morning of the 3rd of January. The flames extended to the cathedral and the cross church, but the firemen prevented their communication to the steeple church, which was saved: the other three, however, about half-past six o'clock, were one mass of fire; the cathedral was completely destroyed, and the south and cross churches were almost reduced to ruins. In 1844, Her Majesty Queen Victoria, attended by Prince Albert, arrived in the bay of Dundee, on Wednesday, the 11th of September, on a visit to Lord Glenlyon, and landed under a triumphal arch erected on the occasion. After remaining a short time in the town, the royal visiters proceeded to Blair-Atholl, where they remained till Tuesday, the 1st of October, when they returned to Dundee, and embarked for London.

The town is advantageously situated on the north bank of the Tay, and consists of numerous streets, of which several retain the name of the ancient gates in the old walls, which have been long since removed. The principal street, called the High-street, in which is the market-place, is about 120 yards in length, and 100 feet wide; the houses are neatly built of stone, and four stories in height. To the east of this is the Seagate, one of the oldest streets of the town, a long narrow thoroughfare leading to the road to Broughty-Ferry. The Murraygate, containing many well-built houses, and the Cowgate, adjoining, are connected with the Seagate by numerous cross streets or lanes. King-street, of modern erection, contains handsome houses, and the Nethergate, in the most improved part of the town, is a spacious street of considerable length, containing many elegant detached houses. Castle-street, leading from the south-east angle of the High-street to the harbour, and Union-street, opening a direct communication between Craig Pier and the Nethergate, and in the formation of which many unsightly houses have been rebuilt in an excellent style, are each spacious and handsome. Among the many improvements that have been effected of recent years, is the construction of the splendid Reform-street. The streets are well paved, and the roads macadamized; the town is lighted with gas, from works established by a company, about a mile to the eastward of High-street, and the inhabitants are amply supplied with water. The public subscription library contains a collection of more than 6000 volumes; there are also district libraries connected with the several churches, each of which has nearly 1000 volumes. A spacious and elegant reading and news room has lately been opened near the harbour, called the Exchange Coffee Room, and is supported by above 400 subscribers; and an artizans' reading-room, well supplied with daily journals, has been founded by members of the Watt Institution, and has 200 subscribers. The Watt Institution was established in 1826 for the delivery of lectures on scientific subjects, and has now an extensive library, consisting chiefly of works of art; a reading-room has also been provided by Messrs. Brown, proprietors of the spinning-mills, for the use of their workmen. There is a theatre in Castle-street, a handsome and well-arranged edifice; and card and dancing assemblies are held in the town-hall, and other public buildings. A horticultural society was established in 1824, under the patronage of the neighbouring nobility and gentry; and a florists' society has also been formed. The old gardens of Chapelshade, in the vicinity of the town, have recently been converted into a cemetery, and tastefully laid out in walks, parterres, and shrubberies, with appropriate embellishments; and to the north, a public bleach-green, four acres in extent, and containing the requisite apparatus for family washing, has been inclosed, and planted with ornamental shrubs.

The principal trade pursued is the linen manufacture, which was introduced at an early period, and, till within the last forty years, was carried on entirely by hand, both in spinning the yarn and weaving the cloth, to a very considerable extent for the supply of the neighbourhood, and also for exportation. Since the introduction of machinery and the application of steam, however, it has increased to an amazing amount. In 1811 four spinning-mills had been erected, driven by steam-engines of the aggregate power of sixty-one horses, consuming 468 tons of flax annually, and producing 224,600 spindles of yarn; and the whole of the capital invested amounted to £22,000. At present there are more than thirty-six spinning-mills, driven by steamengines of the aggregate power of 600 horses, consuming a vast quantity of flax, and producing annually 7,500,000 spindles of yarn; and the capital invested is about £240,000. In these mills above 3000 persons are regularly employed, of whom a large proportion are women and children, and the amount of wages annually paid is £160,000. The flax is chiefly imported from Russia, Brabant, Holland, and Prussia, and the quantity landed at Dundee annually during the ten years ending 1844 averaged 28,992 tons; the goods manufactured are, Osnaburghs, sheetings, sailcloth, sacking, and bagging, and various other articles, of which large quantities are exported to the West Indies, North and South America, and to various ports on the continent. The tanning of leather, which was formerly carried on to a very considerable extent, has for some years been rapidly diminishing, and is now almost extinct; but the manufacture of ropes and cordage is in a flourishing state. The trade of the port consists chiefly in the exportation of grain and agricultural produce, and the different articles of the linen manufacture; and in the importation of flax, hemp, lime, coal, ashes, timber, iron, tar, whale-blubber, tallow, and other merchandise. The number of vessels registered as belonging to the port in 1844 was 326, of the aggregate burthen of 50,901 tons; the number of vessels that entered inwards from foreign ports in a late year was 307, of which 253 were British and 54 foreign; and the amount of duties paid at the customhouse in 1843 was £40,471. The coasting-trade is very extensive, and it appears that in one year 1858 vessels entered inwards, and 1017 cleared outwards.

The harbour, previously to the year 1815, was small; but in that year, an act for its improvement and for placing it under the management of commissioners was obtained, and before 1833 the sum of £242,000 was expended in the construction of two capacious wet-docks, of nearly eleven acres in extent, and commencing a third of much more ample dimensions. A large tide harbour was also formed, with extensive quays, as well as a graving-dock, capable of receiving three of the largest class of merchant ships, with commodious yards for building and repairing vessels. A substantial low-water pier has since been erected on the Craig, the usual landing-place from Newport, in Fifeshire, between which place and Dundee hourly intercourse by steamers is maintained. A stationary light, too, has been placed on the Craig pier, on the western side of the harbour, and also on the pier at Newport; there is likewise a light exhibited on the east pier, and another on the middle pier, at the entrance to the docks. A grant of £8000 was lately made by government for the erection of a new custom-house at the north-east angle of King William's dock; it is a handsome building in the Grecian style, and contains also accommodation for transacting the business of the harbour commissioners and of the excise-office. Prior to 1834, the Dundee, Perth, and London Shipping Company employed eight smacks in the London trade, having an aggregate burthen of 991 tons; also three vessels in the Glasgow trade, four in the Liverpool, and four in the Perth, the tonnage of these eleven amounting to 673. In that year, however, the company built two powerful steamers, the Dundee and Perth, of 300-horse power each, and subsequently added a third, the London, of 350-horse power. Besides these, they employ four schooners in the London trade, seven sloops in the Glasgow, four in the Leith, and three lighters and a steam-tug in the Perth trade; and the entire tonnage of the steamers and sailing-vessels belonging to the company now amounts to 2686. Two steamers, also, are employed by other parties, in the Dundee and Leith trade. There are likewise several joint-stock whalefishing companies, employing five ships, averaging 325 tons' burthen each.

The town was originally erected into a royal burgh by charter of William the Lion, and its privileges as such were confirmed by charter of Robert Bruce, and by one of Charles I. of England in 1641. In consequence of a dispute in the election of a dean of guild, the burgh was disfranchised in 1830, and seven members were appointed by the court of session to manage the interests of the town; but in 1831 the king, in answer to a petition, confirmed an election of the magistrates and council made by the burgesses and heritors; and in the 2nd of William IV. an act was passed, extending the royalty of the burgh and the jurisdiction of the magistrates. Under these regulations, the government is vested in a provost, four bailies, a dean of guild, a treasurer, and fourteen other councillors, elected under the regulations of the general Municipal act, with the exception of the dean of guild, who is chosen by the guild brethren. Of the councillors, seven retire from office annually. There are nine incorporated guilds, the bakers, shoemakers, glovers, tailors, bonnet-makers, butchers, hammermen, weavers, and dyers; and three united trades, the masons, wrights, and slaters. The magistrates have jurisdiction over the whole of the extended royalty, which is co-extensive with the parliamentary boundary, and hold courts weekly on Wednesday, for the recovery of debts to any amount, in which the bailies preside for one month each in rotation; the more important criminal cases, however, are tried by the sheriff-substitute, who is resident in the town, and those of less importance are disposed of in the police court. The sheriff-substitute also holds a court weekly, during the session, for the recovery of debts not exceeding £8. 6. 8.; and a court for the recovery of small debts is held by the magistrates every alternate week. There is a dean-of-guild court as occasion requires, in which the clerk of the guildry acts as assessor. Under the Police act the town is divided into eleven wards, to each of which are appointed two general and two resident commissioners; and there is also a harbour police. Previously to the Reform act the burgh was associated with those of Perth, Cupar of Fife, St. Andrew's, and Forfar, in returning a member to the imperial parliament; since that time it has elected a member of its own, and the number of qualified voters is about 2740.

The old Town-hall, erected in 1734, on the site of the ancient church of St. Clement, after a design by Mr. Adam, is a spacious and handsome structure with a tower and spire rising to the height of 100 feet; in front is a piazza, behind which are shops and public offices. On the first floor are two spacious halls, in one of which, embellished with a portrait of Lord Panmure, the corporation hold meetings for the transaction of public business, and in the other the several courts of the magistrates and sheriff are held, and the meetings of the guildry. There are also four arched rooms for the accommodation of the town-clerks and others connected with the courts, and for the preservation of the public records; and above these is the old town gaol, consisting of five apartments, each twenty-four feet in length and twelve feet wide, of which those in front were used for debtors, and the others for criminals. New public buildings, however, of very handsome construction, have been recently erected by the burgh, at a considerable expense, and containing ample accommodation for the confinement of prisoners. The Trades' Hall, situated at the east end of the marketplace, an elegant building of the Ionic order, with a lantern and cupola rising from the centre of the roof, was erected by the nine incorporated trades in 1770, and contains on the first floor a handsome hall, fifty feet in length and twenty-five feet wide, for holding the general meetings, and nine other apartments for the private meetings of each particular trade. The building appropriated as an Exchange is a handsome structure in the Grecian style, erected by a company of subscribers, at an expense of £10,000, and having on the ground-floor a range of offices and shops, and on the first floor an elegant hall, now used as a reading and news room, to which reference has been already made. There are several banking establishments, of which the principal are, the Dundee, the Union, and the Eastern banks, and four branches of the Edinburgh bank: the Forfarshire and Perthshire Insurance Company, the Marine Insurance Company, the Forfarshire Chamber of Commerce, and two associations of underwriters have been also established in the town. The markets are on Tuesday and Friday, and Dundee being the great mart for a large surrounding district, are numerously attended. On the Tuesday, manufactured goods and various kinds of merchandise and provisions are exposed to sale in great profusion; and on the Friday, in addition to these, there is an abundant supply of grain. Facilities of communication, besides those by sea, are afforded by excellent roads, of which the coast road to Aberdeen passes through the town: there are turnpike-roads to Cupar-Angus, Forfar, Brechin, and Glasgow, and by branch roads through Fifeshire to Edinburgh. The Dundee and Newtyle railway was commenced in 1826, and completed in 1832, at a cost of £50,000; it is about eleven miles in length. The line from the north of the town ascends an inclined plane of about 800 yards in length, from the summit of which it passes through a tunnel in the Law of Dundee, and beyond this are two more inclined planes before it reaches Newtyle; the summit level is 500 feet, and the carriages are drawn up the ascents by fixed, and on the other parts of the line by locomotive, engines. Branches have been opened to Cupar-Angus and Glammis, under acts of parliament passed in 1835, and the whole cost is estimated at £90,000. The Dundee and Arbroath railway was commenced in 1836, by a company empowered to raise a capital of £100,000, and completed in 1840: the line, which is almost seventeen miles in length, nearly level throughout, and passes close to the shore, is wrought by locomotive-engines.

The parish is nearly six miles in length, from east to west, and varies greatly in breadth, comprising an area of about 4200 acres, of which 254 are woodland and plantations, 135 waste, and the remainder arable and pasture. The surface is diversified, rising into hills of considerable elevation, of which the Law, and the hill of Balgay, are the most conspicuous; the soil to the west of the town is light and shallow, to the north and east of richer quality, and along the bank of the Tay luxuriantly fertile. The crops are, oats, barley, wheat, turnips, and potatoes, with the various grasses; the system of husbandry is advanced, and the lands are in a high state of cultivation. The farm-houses are generally of stone, and roofed with slate; the lands are inclosed partly with stone dykes, and partly with hedges of thorn. The only cattle pastured are milchcows on the several farms. The soil is well adapted for fruit of every kind, and considerable portions of the land near the town are laid down in gardens, and also in nursery-grounds. The plantations are, ash, plane, beech, a few elms, and larch and Scotch fir, which are in a thriving state, but are rather ornamental than profitable. The principal substrata are, sandstone, amygdaloid alternated with trap, and red porphyry. The rateable annual value of the parish is £118,326.

The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Dundee and synod of Angus and Mearns. The parish was in 1834 separated, by act of the presbytery, into the districts of St. Mary, St. Paul, the Grey Friars, St. John, St. Clement, St. David, St. Andrew, and Chapelshade, each of which was erected into a quoad sacra parish; and in 1836, by the same authority, part of the districts of St. John and St. David was formed into the additional quoad sacra parish of St. Peter. These arrangements, however, in common with similar arrangements in other parts of the country, were afterwards abrogated. The parish of St. Mary comprised, according to the plans just referred to, the rural district of the parish of Dundee, and part of the suburbs of the town; the minister's stipend is £313. 6., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £25 per annum; patrons, the Town Council. The Old and South churches, partly used by the inhabitants of St. Mary's, have since the fire been restored, and contain together about 2450 sittings, of which 1350 are in the latter. The parish of St. Paul, wholly within the town, comprised an extent of about half a mile square; the stipend is £274. 17.; patrons, the Town Council. The congregation assemble alternately in the Old and South churches. The parish of the Grey Friars comprised about one-eighth part of the town and suburbs; the minister's stipend is £275. 2.; patrons, the Town Council. Divine service is performed in the Old and South churches. Connected with the Established Church is a Gaelic chapel, erected within the last few years, at a cost of £2400, and containing 100 sittings: the minister has a stipend of £110, of which £10 are granted by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, and the remainder derived from seat-rents; patrons, the male communicants. The parish of St. John was about half a mile in length, and of nearly equal breadth; the stipend is £275; patrons, the Town Council. The church, called the Cross church, containing about 1037 sittings, was destroyed in 1841 by the fire, but has been restored. The parish of St. Clement was three-quarters of a mile in length, and one-quarter of a mile in breadth; the minister's stipend is £300; patrons, the Council. The church, called the Steeple church, was rebuilt in 1782, and contains 1463 sittings. The parish of St. David was about two miles in length, and three-quarters of a mile in breadth; the stipend is £275; patrons, the Council. The church was built in 1800, at a cost of £2220, and has 1608 sittings. The parish of St. Andrew was one mile and three-quarters in length, and three-quarters of a mile in breadth; the stipend is £180; patrons, the male communicants. The church was built in 1774, at a cost of £3000, raised by subscription, and contains 1486 sittings: an additional church has been recently erected, by subscription, at an expense of nearly £2000, for 1100 persons. The parish of Chapelshade comprised nearly two square miles; the stipend is £150, derived from seat-rents; patrons, the male communicants. The church, built originally as a Relief chapel in 1789, was united to the Established Church in 1791; it was enlarged in 1830, at an expense of £880, and contains 1280 sittings. The parish of St. Peter, comprising a portion of the parishes of St. John and St. David, separated by the presbytery in 1836, was about a mile and a half in length, and one-quarter of a mile in breadth; the minister's stipend is £220, with an allowance of £12 for communion elements; patrons, the male communicants. The church, which contains 1120 sittings, was erected in 1836, at a cost of £2400, of which £250 were granted by the General Assembly, and the remainder raised by subscription. There are also places of worship in Dundee for members of the Free Church, the United Associate Secession, Original Seceders, Baptists, Baptist-Bereans, and Pædobaptist-Bereans, Original Burghers, Episcopalians, the Society of Friends, Glassites, United Christians, "the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church," Old Scotch Independents, the New Jerusalem Church, Primitive and United Methodists, Reformed Presbyterians, the Relief Church, Wesleyans, Roman Catholics, and Unitarians.

The grammar school is under the care of two classical masters, who have each a salary of £50, and the fees annually produce to each about £60; it is well conducted and numerously attended. The English school has also two masters, one for reading and English grammar, who has a salary of £30, and one for writing and arithmetic, with a salary of £20, in addition to which each master derives about £70 from fees. The Sessional school, recently established, is attended by about 500 children, and conducted by a master who has a salary of £80 per annum; the building was erected on a site given by the town council. The Dundee Academy, for which a spacious and handsome building has been erected in the centre of the town, at a cost of £8000, raised chiefly by subscription, is under the patronage of fifteen directors, of whom five are appointed by the town council and ten by the subscribers. This institution is endowed with £6000, bequeathed by Messrs. Webster, of London, who were natives of the town. The course of studies is very complete, and is superintended by two classical masters; a master for the modern languages; one for moral philosophy, nautical astronomy, and logic; a master for natural philosophy, mathematics, and chemistry; one for drawing and painting; one for English reading, grammar, and geography, and a master for writing and arithmetic. There are numerous other schools in the town and neighbourhood, in which it is calculated that about 4000 children receive instruction. Among the many charitable institutions of the town are, the ancient Hospital, from the revenues of which £500 are annually distributed among poor citizens; the Royal Infirmary, established in 1798, and supported by subscription, which receives more than thirty in-patients, and affords medical attendance and medicines to the poor at their own dwellings; the Royal Lunatic Asylum, erected in 1812, and supported by subscription for the reception of 120 patients; the Royal Orphan Institution, established in 1815; the Indigent-Sick Society, distributing annually £160; the Medical and Surgical Dispensary; the Institutions for the Lame and Blind; the Seamen's Friend Society, dispensing yearly £1500; the Female Society, £190, and the Clothing Society, distributing £40. These and various other benevolent institutions collectively dispense, in aid of the distressed and indigent, nearly £4000 annually, exclusively of numerous bequests by charitable individuals for similar purposes.

There are still some remains of the ancient palace called Whitehall, the occasional residence of the Scottish monarchs previously to the reign of James VI., and subsequently of Charles II., who lodged in it for some time before the battle of Worcester. The site of the Franciscan convent founded by Devorgilla, mother of John Baliol, and which was destroyed at the Reformation, was, together with the adjacent lands, granted by Mary, Queen of Scots, to the town for a burial-place. In clearing some ground for the formation of a new street in 1831, the vestiges of an ancient mint, supposed to have been erected by Robert Bruce, were discovered; and the smelting furnace was found nearly entire. At the western extremity of High-street, is an ancient house in which Anne, Duchess of Buccleuch and Monmouth, was born, during the residence of her parents here, who had been driven from the castle of Dalkeith by the commissioners of Cromwell; it was also inhabited by General Monk after he had reduced the town. The castle of Dudhope, once the seat of the Scrimgeours, hereditary constables of Dundee, has been converted into barracks for infantry. There are no remains of the castle of Dundee, which occupied the summit of a steep rock still called Castle Hill. Among the distinguished characters connected with the town, have been, Alexander Scrimgeour, one of the valiant companions of Wallace, by whom he was made constable of Dundee Castle; Sir John Scrimgeour, afterwards Viscount Dudhope, a zealous adherent of Charles I., who fell in the battle of Marston-Moor, and whose son was created Earl of Dundee; the celebrated historian, Hector Boece; the late Admiral Duncan, who obtained the victory over the Dutch fleet off Camperdown in 1797, upon which he was created Viscount Camperdown; Sir James Ivory, one of the professors in the military college of Sandhurst; and the late Rev. Dr. Small, for many years minister of the parish, and author of a work on astronomy called Kepler's Discoveries. Tour Dundee Scotland, on an Ancestry Tour of Scotland. Best Scottish Tours, Best Scottish Food, Best Scottish Hotels, Small Group Tours of Scotland. Rent a Cottage in Scotland.

Best Scottish Tours of Dumfries

Dumfries, Scotland, was founded as a Royal Burgh in 1186 on the east side of the lowest crossing point of the River Nith. Best Scottish Tours of Dumfries. Dumfries in 1846. Dumfries, a royal burgh, county town, port, and the seat of a presbytery and synod, in the county of Dumfries; comprising the parishes of St. Michael and New-Church, with the villages of Georgetown, Locharbriggs, Lochthorn, and part of Kelton; and containing 11,409 inhabitants, of whom 10,069 are in the burgh; 71½ miles (S. by W.) from Edinburgh. This place is supposed to have derived its name from its situation on an eminence rising from a tract of sterile soil abounding in brushwood or furze. Little is recorded of its early history, though, from numerous relics of antiquity, it would appear to have been of some importance prior to the 8th century. The ancient castle of the Comyns family, of which the site, overlooking the river Nith, still retains the name of Castle-dykes, has long since disappeared; nor is the date of its erection known, though it is noticed as a place of formidable strength before the reign of Edward I. A monastery was founded by Dervorgilla, daughter of Allan, Lord of Galloway, and mother of John Baliol, King of Scotland, about the beginning of the 13th century, for Franciscan friars, on an eminence above the Nith, by which it is washed on the north and west; and a noble bridge, originally of thirteen arches, was erected by the founder over the river, for the accommodation of the brethren. In 1305, Robert Bruce, attended by Roger de Kirkpatrick and James Lindsay, held a conference in the chapel of this monastery with John Comyn, surnamed the Red, and in a dispute with that nobleman, whom he charged with treacherously revealing to Edward I. the designs he had formed for the emancipation of his country from the English yoke, stabbed him with his dagger. Upon this he hastily rejoined his attendants; but Kirkpatrick, resolving to make sure of Comyn's death, returned into the church, despatched the wounded chieftain, and also killed his brother who interposed for his defence. The church, being thus polluted with blood, was soon afterwards deserted, and the friars removed their establishment to the chapel of St. Michael, south-east of the town. There are no remains of the monastery, and the only memorial of it preserved is the name of the narrow street leading to it from the bridge, and which is still called the Friars' Vennel.

In 1307, Edward II. of England, after his coronation, advanced to Dumfries to receive the homage of several of the Scottish nobility; and the town was afterwards repeatedly attacked by the English, by whom it was burnt in 1448, and also in 1536. In retaliation of the latter injury, Lord Maxwell of Terregles, a powerful nobleman, with a body of his retainers, crossed the border, and, penetrating into England, assaulted the town of Penrith, which he reduced to ashes. The Maxwells, who had an ancient castle near the site of the monastery, supposed to have been built in the 12th century, erected a more spacious and magnificent structure, partly out of the ruins, and almost on the site of the deserted friary; and this castle, in 1563, was visited by Mary, Queen of Scots, who, attended by her privy council, came to Dumfries to ratify a treaty of peace with England. In 1565, the disaffected Lords Argyll, Murray, Rothes, and others having assembled a hostile force in the neighbourhood, the queen advanced to the town with an army of 18,000 men; the discontented nobles, on her approach, fled into England, and Lord Maxwell, having incurred her displeasure, conciliated her favour by surrendering his castle, of which, however, he was permitted to retain the government. In 1570, this castle was taken and plundered by the English forces under the command of the Earl of Essex and Lord Scrope, who also laid waste the town.

In 1617, James VI., after his accession to the crown of England, visited his ancient dominions, and, passing through Dumfries, remained for one night in the town. He was received with every demonstration of affectionate loyalty, and presented to the corporation a silver gun, to be periodically contested for as a prize for the successful competitor, among the several crafts, in shooting at a target. The house in which the king lodged was built by a poor labourer who, having found a large treasure while digging peat in the Lochar moss, took a journey to London, where, in a personal interview with the monarch, he was allowed to retain possession of it, and advised to build a house, in which the king promised to lodge when he visited his Scottish dominions. The inhabitants displayed a marked opposition to the union of the two kingdoms in 1706, and to testify their aversion to that measure, burnt a paper containing the articles of union and the names of the commissioners at the market-cross. At the time of the rebellion in 1715, however, they zealously asserted their allegiance to the reigning monarch; and on being apprised of the design of Lord Kenmuir to visit the town with a large body of insurgents, they so completely fortified it where it was most exposed to any attack, that the party were induced to abandon their intention. In 1745 the Pretender, on his return from England, advanced to Dumfries with a body too powerful to be resisted, and took up his quarters in the town. In resentment of the opposition which his troops had experienced on their march into England, he levied a fine of £2000 in money, and a supply of 1000 pairs of shoes; but, being intimidated by a report that the Duke of Cumberland was rapidly marching to attack him, he hastily withdrew, taking £1000 of the fine, and the provost and one of the bailies as hostages for payment of the remainder.

The town is pleasantly situated on the east bank of the river Nith, and is about a mile in length, and a quarter of a mile in breadth; the streets are regular and well formed, intersecting each other at right angles. The houses are uniformly built of red freestone, generally painted of a colour resembling Portland stone; those that are of ancient date are substantial and of handsome appearance, and those of more modern erection are conspicuous for elegance. There are also some handsome ranges of building, of which Queensberrysquare is embellished in the centre with a stately Doric column, erected in 1780 to the memory of the Duke of Queensberry. An elegant and commodious bridge was built over the Nith in 1794, a little above the ancient bridge of thirteen arches, reduced by frequent alterations to seven arches, and now solely appropriated to foot passengers. The streets are all well paved, and lighted with gas from works established in 1828; gas has also been introduced into the shops and most of the public buildings, and the inhabitants are amply supplied with excellent water from springs in the neighbourhood. A public subscription library was founded in 1792, and has a valuable collection on general literature; there are also several circulating libraries, a public newsroom, and four reading-rooms, all supplied with daily journals and periodical publications, besides a mechanics' institution which has a good collection of books. Card and dancing assemblies are held in a handsome suite of rooms recently erected for the purpose in George-street; and a theatre, a commodious and well-arranged building, in which Kean made his first appearance, is open for two or three months during the season. Races take place annually on the Tinwald Downs, and are well attended; a regatta is celebrated by a club established here; and the members of the Caledonian hunt hold their meetings by rotation in the town. The Dumfries and Galloway Horticultural Society, instituted in 1812 for the promotion of improvements in horticulture, also meet here periodically.

The cotton manufacture, consisting chiefly of checked cottons, formerly carried on to a very considerable extent, has been for some time nearly discontinued, and the few spinners of the town who remain are mostly employed by the Carlisle and Glasgow manufacturers. The principal manufactures now are those of hats and stockings; of the former there are three establishments, affording employment to about 200 persons in the aggregate, and in the latter 279 looms are constantly in operation. The tanning of leather is also pursued, and the hides are sent to Glasgow, London, and other parts of the United Kingdom, in large quantities. The manufacture of shoes is very extensive, giving occupation to about 300 persons; and a considerable number are engaged in the making of clogs, or shoes with wooden soles, a trade not now, as formerly, confined to the supply of the south of Scotland, and which has been introduced with great profit. There are also several public breweries, and a large basket-making establishment. A very lucrative trade is carried on in the sale of pork, of which, during the season, commencing about the close of December, and ending about the beginning of April, many thousand carcases are sent to the south to be cured; not less than 700 are sold weekly for this purpose, upon an average, and frequently sales to the amount of £4000 or £5000 have been effected in one day. The foreign trade of the port consists chiefly in the importation of timber from America, in which several large vessels are engaged; the traffic in tobacco, formerly extensive, has been for many years discontinued. The coasting trade is mainly with Liverpool, Whitehaven, Maryport, and other parts of the English and Irish shores. The imports are, timber to the amount of nearly £10,000 per annum, coal, slate, iron, tallow, hemp, and wine; and the exports, cattle, sheep, wool, freestone, oats, barley, wheat, and other agricultural produce. The number of vessels registered in 1843 was 220, of the aggregate burthen of 12,380 tons; the jurisdiction of the port, which includes the Creek of Annan, extends from Sark foot at the head of the Solway Frith, to Glenluce on the Galloway coast, and the amount of duties paid at the custom-house in the year 1843 was £8764.

Since the channel of the river has been made deeper, vessels of considerable burthen can approach the town, by which means the inhabitants obtain with great facility a supply of coal from Whitehaven; there are also a commodious quay near Castle-dykes, another for vessels of greater burthen about a mile below it, and one at the mouth of the river for vessels engaged in the foreign trade. The various improvements connected with the harbour were completed at a cost of £18,530. A steam-vessel plies weekly between Dumfries and Whitehaven, during the summer months, and great quantities of live stock, especially sheep, are thus sent to the English markets. The post-office has a good delivery; and branches of the Bank of Scotland, the National and Commercial banks, and of the bank of the British Linen Company, have been established in the town. The market, which is abundantly supplied and numerously attended, is on Wednesday, when a great amount of business is transacted by cattle-dealers, on an open area near the river, called the Sands; and the fairs, chiefly for cattle, are held at Whitsuntide and Martinmas, and for horses in February and October, at all of which extensive sales are made. At the fair in February, large numbers of hare-skins are sold, averaging generally about 30,000. A cattle-market is also held in September, about the time of the Broughillfair, in Cumberland, when, upon an average, about 4500 head are exposed for sale, mostly three-year-old Galloways, and others of the Highland breed; and on some occasions business to the amount of £30,000 has been transacted. The market for meal is still held in a building appropriated to that purpose; but the shambles for butchers' meat have been long deserted, the butchers finding it more profitable to open shops in different parts of the town.

The town was made a royal burgh by William the Lion, prior to the year 1214. In 1396, Robert III. conferred upon the inhabitants various valuable immunities, which were confirmed by James I., who by charter in 1415 granted additional privileges; and in 1469, James III. gave to the corporation all the lands and revenues which belonged to the monastery of the Grey friars. The corporation consists of a provost, three bailies, a dean of guild, treasurer, twelve merchant and seven trade councillors, these seven being the convener and six other deacons of the incorporated trades; and all the officers are elected under the provisions of the late Municipal Reform act. The incorporated trades are the hammermen, masons, weavers, tailors, shoemakers, skinners, and butchers; the fee for admission as a member is, for a stranger £10, and for the son or sonin-law of a freeman £1. 1. The jurisdiction of the burgh extends over the whole of the royalty; and the magistrates hold courts for the determination of civil pleas and the trial of petty offences, in which they are assisted by the town-clerk, who acts as assessor. The police is under the direction of a body of commissioners chosen by the £10 householders, and of whom the provost, the bailies, and the convener are members ex officio; the number of commissioners is twelve, two of whom have the superintendence of each of the six wards into which the burgh is divided. As the county town, the courts of assize and quarter sessions, the sheriff's courts, and those of the commissary are regularly held here, and the public business of the county transacted. In the centre of the High-street stands what is called the Mid Steeple, a handsome building erected by the celebrated Inigo Jones, and comprising a hall and other apartments for the meetings of the town-council; and opposite to it is the Trades-hall, a neat structure erected in 1804. The County hall, or court-house, is a spacious and elegant edifice, comprising an ample hall for the county meetings, rooms for holding the several courts, with apartments for the judges, and accommodation for witnesses and others connected with the business of the sessions. A building originally intended for a bridewell has been appropriated as a depôt for the county militia, and that which was at first designed for the court-house has been arranged as a bridewell; it is, however, small and ill adapted for classification. Behind the bridewell is the County gaol, erected in 1807, and inclosed with a high wall, in the area between which and the building prisoners for debt have the privilege of exercise: a subterranean passage leads from the prison to the court-room, and by this prisoners are led to trial. The burgh is associated with those of Annan, Kirkcudbright, Lochmaben, and Sanquhar, in returning a representative to the house of commons; the parliamentary boundary includes the whole of the royalty, with the exception of some lands to the south and east of the town, and also includes the suburb of Maxwelltown, a burgh of barony on the west side of the river. The right of election under the Reform act is vested in the £10 householders; the sheriff is the returning officer.

The parish is nearly seven miles in length, and from two to three in breadth, comprising about 9280 acres, of which 7930 are arable, 320 pasture, and the remainder, of which the far greater portion will probably be brought under profitable cultivation, moss and waste land. The surface, though generally level, is diversified by the elevated site of the town, and by a ridge of hills near the southern extremity, of no great height, sloping gradually towards the river on the south-west, and rising abruptly on the north-east. On this latter side, about a mile below the town, is a singular cavity in the face of the rock, named the Maiden Bower; and towards the south-east of the parish is an eminence called Trohaughton, supposed to have been the site of a Roman camp. The river Lochar, which rises in the adjoining parish of Tinwald, and falls into the Solway Frith, bounds Dumfries on the east, forming in the south an extensive tract of marsh called Lochar Moss, partly in this parish, and partly in Torthorwald and Mousewald. There are also several lakes, of which the principal are Black loch and Sand loch, both abounding with trout and perch. The soil in the north and north-east is generally a light reddish sandy loam, resting on a substratum of freestone; and in other parts, and especially near the river, a retentive clay, with a substratum of gravel. The crops are, oats, barley, wheat, turnips, and potatoes; the rotation system of husbandry is practised, and the state of agriculture is much improved. Considerable attention is paid to live stock: with the exception of Ayrshire cows on the dairy-farms, the cattle are usually of the pure Galloway breed. The farm-buildings, though inferior to many others, are still commodious; the lands are well inclosed, and portions of the Lochar moss were some years ago brought into cultivation, yielding abundant crops of oats, potatoes, and rye-grass. Upon this moss, ploughing by steam was first attempted in Scotland, and has proved quite successful; but, although many thousands of pounds have been spent in thus reclaiming the moss by the plough, it is the opinion of many practically acquainted with the subject, that a considerable quantity of sand, clay, or some other solid earthy substance must be laid upon it so as to consolidate it. Some idea of the weight and bulk of the ploughing machinery may be formed from the mention of the fact, that the expense of carting it from Glencaple-Quay, only three miles distant, was as much as £15. There are several quarries of red sandstone in the parish, of which four are extensively wrought; and also some salmon and trout fisheries, the rents of which yield about £500 per annum. The rateable annual value of the parish is £24,743.

For ecclesiastical purposes the parish was divided, in 1727, by authority of the presbytery, with the concurrence of the magistrates of the burgh, into two districts, and an additional church was erected, which still retains the appellation of the New Church, and has a minister appointed by the Crown as patron of both. The minister of the old parish, now the district of St. Michael, has a stipend of £332, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £25 per annum. The church, situated at the south-east end of the town, was built on the site of the ancient structure in 1745; it is a neat edifice with a lofty graceful spire, and contains 1250 sittings. The churchyard, which is spacious, contains a large number of monuments, including many of deeply interesting character. The remains of the poet Burns were originally interred in the northern angle of the burying-ground, under a plain slab placed by his widow; but in 1815 his ashes were removed into a handsome mausoleum erected by his countrymen, at an expense of £1450, and above the entrance of which is a representation of the Genius of Scotland throwing her mantle over the poet while at the plough, finely sculptured in marble by Turnerelli. It has been calculated that the vast number of monuments in this churchyard must have cost more than £100,000. The minister of the New Church district has a stipend of £281. 13., of which £151. 13., including an allowance of £50 in lieu of manse and glebe, are paid by the exchequer. The church, situated at the north-west end of the town, was erected on the site, and partly with the materials, of the ancient castle, at the expense of the town-council, in 1727; it is a neat structure containing 1185 sittings. The subordinate church of St. Mary, fronting the road to England, was erected in 1838, at a cost of £3000, by subscription; it is an elegant structure after a design by Mr. Henderson, of Edinburgh, in the later English style of architecture, with an embattled tower surmounted by a lofty spire strengthened with flying buttresses. An episcopal chapel was erected in 1817, at a cost of £2200; and there are places of worship for members of the Free Church, the United Secession, the Relief Church, Reformed Presbyterians, Independents, and Wesleyans, and a Roman Catholic chapel.

The Dumfries Academy, for which a spacious building was erected by subscription in 1800, is under the superintendence of a rector and four masters, appointed by the corporation. The rector, in addition to the fees, which are moderate, has the interest of £660. 6. 3., and each of the four masters the interest of £204. 8. 10., arising from endowments; and there are also a French and a drawing master, who are paid exclusively by the fees. The course of instruction comprises the Greek, Latin, French, and English languages, the mathematics, geography, arithmetic, book-keeping, writing, and drawing. Two schools, one for the instruction of children of both sexes in reading, writing, arithmetic, and the principles of religion, and the other for teaching girls to sew, and to read the Bible, are supported by the Highland Education Society and some benevolent societies established in the parish; the teachers have each a house rent-free, and the former a salary of £60, and the latter of £20 per annum. There are also two schools for adults, supported by contributions, and an infant school. The Crichton Royal Institution or asylum originated with the late Dr. Crichton, of Friars' Carse, who bequeathed £100,000 to his widow to be appropriated to charitable purposes in Scotland in any mode she might think proper. This establishment, which enjoys the reputation of being the best lunatic asylum in Scotland, is situated on an eminence about three-quarters of a mile from the south-eastern extremity of the town: the building was erected in 1839, after a design by Mr. Burn, in the Grecian style, and is of handsome appearance, and surrounded by ample grounds, very tastefully laid out. A house for poor orphans and aged persons was erected in 1733, with funds bequeathed for that purpose by William Muirhead, merchant, of Carlisle, and his cousin James Muirhead, of Castle-dykes. The establishment, which is further supported by annual subscriptions and donations, is under the direction of a committee chosen from the Kirk Session, the town-council, and others, who meet weekly. The building contains accommodation for twenty children and thirty aged persons, under the care of a master and mistress, who reside in the house. The children are taught writing, reading, arithmetic, and the principles of religion, and when of proper age are apprenticed to trades, or placed out to service; and connected with the establishment are forty-two widows, who receive pensions at their own dwellings. The expenses of the establishment average about £500 per annum.

The Infirmary, with which was once connected a lunatic asylum, was founded in 1776, and is superintended by a committee of subscribers; the medical department is under the inspection of two visiting physicians and surgeons, and a resident house surgeon; and a licentiate of the Established Church officiates as chaplain. The average number of patients in the house is 30, and from 700 to 800 receive advice and medicines at the institution annually. The expenditure is about £1300 per annum, defrayed by bequests, donations, and subscriptions, and liberal contributions from the counties of Dumfries and Wigton, and the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, to all of which it is open. The Dispensary, situated at the western extremity of the town, is supported by public subscription, and administers extensive relief to the indigent poor. On an eminence near the entrance into the town from the English road, might lately be traced the foundations of St. Christopher's chapel, erected by the Bruce in memory of his fatherin-law, Sir Christopher Seton, who was hanged on that spot by order of Edward I. On the left bank of the river, just above the town, is Moat Brae, supposed to have been, during the Saxon era, a place for administering justice. A Roman sandal was found in the eastern part of the parish many years since, and in the river a gold coin, about the size of a sixpenny piece, but much thicker, bearing a Roman head, with the inscription Augustus. Among some scraps of old iron, also, was lately found an ancient seal about two inches in diameter, bearing a lion rampant in a shield bordered with fleurs de lis, with the legend Jacobus Dei. Gra. Rex. Scotorum in characters reversed; it is supposed to have been the privy seal of one of the Scottish kings. Tour Dumfries Scotland, on an Ancestry Tour of Scotland. Best Scottish Tours, Best Scottish Food, Best Scottish Hotels, Small Group Tours of Scotland. Rent a Cottage in Scotland.

Best Scottish Tours of Dollar

Castle Campbell stands on a green promontory between the two streams. Best Scottish Tours of Dollar. Dollar in 1846. Dollar, a town and parish, in the county of Clackmannan; containing 1562 inhabitants, of whom 1131 are in the town, 7 miles (N. E.) from Alloa. This place, of which the name, in the Gaelic language, is descriptive either of a vale at the base of a hill, or of a secluded plain, belonged in the 15th century to the Campbell family, of whose baronial residence, Castle-Campbell, there are still considerable remains. By whom or at what period this ancient fortress, which is of formidable strength, was first erected, is not distinctly known; the style of the buildings indicates different dates, and evidently shows that the original structure received various subsequent additions. The later portions are in a state of ruin; but the keep, the oldest part, is in rather good preservation. This tower, of which the walls are of vast thickness, is of quadrilateral form, and the spiral staircase forming an ascent to the roof is still tolerably entire. To the south of the keep are extensive vaults, continued far beyond the walls of the castle, which, from the rugged and precipitous acclivities of the height whereon it is built, is almost inaccessible. In the year 1556, Archibald, the fourth earl of Argyll, resided in the castle, where he was frequently visited by the reformer, John Knox, who administered the sacrament of the Lord's Supper here previously to his departure for Geneva. The castle was burnt in 1644, by the Marquess of Montrose, after his victories at Auldearne and Alford, on his route to the south, on which occasion his troops burnt every house in the parishes of Dollar and Muckart belonging to the vassals of the Earl of Argyll. The lands are at present divided among various proprietors, of whom the principal are the Globe Insurance Company.

The parish is bounded on the north by the Ochil range, and is about three miles in length, from north to south, and about a mile and a half in breadth, comprising nearly 4500 acres, of which 1740 are arable, 250 woodland and plantations, 2500 hill pasture, and the remainder moss and waste. The surface, sloping gradually from the base of the hills towards the south, forms a gently inclined plane to the river Devon, by which the parish is intersected from east to west, and beyond which the ground rises gradually to a ridge of table land of considerable breadth. The principal of the Ochils are, King's Seat, Dollar Hill, and the Wisp, none of which, however, exceed 1900 feet in elevation. At the western extremity of the range is Damiett, commanding an interesting view of the surrounding country, including Stirling, Alloa, Linlithgow, and Falkirk, and reaching to the centre of Lanarkshire, with the range of mountains from Perth on the east, to Loch Katrine and Loch Lomond on the west. The river Devon flows through the vale of Dollar, in a beautifully winding stream, between banks richly wooded, and, after a course in which it forms many picturesque cascades, falls into the Forth at Cambus; it abounds with trout and par, and in the numerous burns that flow into it from the Ochils trout are also found. The bridge over the river connecting this parish with that of Fossaway, was built by Thomas Forrest, vicar of Dollar, who suffered martyrdom in 1538, and hence it is called Vicar's Bridge.

The soil, though various, is generally fertile; the crops are, oats, wheat, barley, turnips, and potatoes. The system of agriculture is advancing, and the lands have been greatly improved by draining; the farmbuildings are substantial and commodious, and most of the fences are kept in good order. The hills afford excellent pasture for sheep, of which considerable numbers are reared. The plantations, which are interspersed throughout the parish, are, oak, ash, elm, beech, plane, and the various kinds of fir; birch and alder appear to be indigenous, and recently American oak, chesnut, and walnut, with various other trees, have been introduced, and appear to thrive. The rateable annual value of the parish is £4313. The rocks are chiefly of porphyry and whinstone, and in the hills are found some veins of copper and lead; the principal substrata are, sandstone of various colours, ironstone, limestone, and coal. Some unsuccessful attempts to work the copper were made a few years since. There is a quarry in operation, producing excellent stone for building; and the coal has been extensively wrought at Dollar, near the Ochils, and at Sheardale, on the table land to the south of the Devon. In both these coalfields are found splint and main coal, in seams of three and five feet in thickness, at depths respectively of nine and eleven fathoms from the surface. The works at Dollar have been for the few last years discontinued; but those at Sheardale are in full operation, producing annually about 6000 tons for the supply of the neighbourhood.

The village or town, which has greatly increased since the establishment of the Dollar Institution, is pleasantly situated on the sloping plain in the centre of the parish, and contains several handsome houses, the residences of families connected with that establishment, in addition to those inhabited by persons employed in the works in the neighbourhood. There is a bleachfield here, belonging to Mr. Haig. In 1787, it comprised only about four acres; but the concern has been much extended, and at present not less than thirty acres are appropriated to the bleaching of linen goods, in which more than sixty persons are employed, of whom nearly one-half are women. The woollen manufacture, for which a mill has been erected, is carried on to a small extent; and a manufactory of bricks and tiles has been established, in which about twenty persons are engaged. A branch office under the post-office at Alloa has been established here; fairs, chiefly for cattle, are held annually, in May and October; and facility of communication is afforded by the turnpike-road from Kinross to Stirling, which passes through the parish. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Stirling and synod of Perth and Stirling. The minister's stipend is £158. 10., of which a small part is paid from the exchequer, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £18 per annum; patrons, the Globe Insurance Company. The church, built in 1775, being insufficient for the increased population, and also in a dilapidated condition, a new church was erected in 1842, at a cost exceeding £2500, defrayed by heritors and feuars; it is a handsome structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower, after a design by Mr. Tite, of London, and contains 600 sittings. There is a place of worship for members of the United Original Secession. The parochial schoolmaster has a salary of £25. 17., with a house and garden, and the fees average about £12 annually.

The Dollar Institution was founded in 1825, from the proceeds of a legacy by Mr. John Macnab, a merchant of London, who, in 1802, bequeathed £90,000 three per cents, for the erection and endowment of a school, or some other charitable institution, for the benefit of the poor of his native parish. The trustees, who are the minister and elders of the parish, appropriated the funds to the establishment of a general seminary of instruction in all the various branches of learning, and have appointed six masters, to each of whom they give a minimum salary of £140 per annum, with a large house and garden, and the privilege of taking boarders. The branches taught, each by a separate master, are, the English language, writing and arithmetic, the Latin, Greek, and Oriental languages, the modern languages, mathematics, drawing, and geography. The number of scholars is about 300; and the school fees, averaging £120 per annum, are paid to the treasurer of the funds, which produce £2000 per annum. The buildings of the institution were erected after a design by Mr. Playfair, of Edinburgh, at an expense of about £10,000, and form a spacious structure in the Grecian style, 186 feet in length, and 63 feet in breadth. In the centre of the principal front is a stately portico of six columns, supporting a cornice and pediment; and the upper portion of the walls is crowned with a handsome parapet. The building contains a hall and library forty-five feet square, lighted by a cupola forty-five feet in height, supported on fluted columns; a museum, spacious class-rooms for the different masters, and other apartments. Around the institution is a spacious lawn, and in the rear is a park of seven acres, which has been formed into gardens and nurseries, for the instruction of the pupils in horticulture and botany. Connected with the institution is also an extensive infant school. The poor of Dollar have the interest of other charitable bequests, in the aggregate amounting to £319. Tour Dollar Scotland, on an Ancestry Tour of Scotland. Best Scottish Tours, Best Scottish Food, Best Scottish Hotels, Small Group Tours of Scotland. Rent a Cottage in Scotland.

Best Scottish Tours of Culross

Best Scottish Tours of Culross. Culross is an attractive example of an old Scottish burgh in West Fife, Scotland. Culross in 1846. Culross, a royal burgh and a parish, in the county of Perth, 7 miles (W.) from Dunfermline, and 21 (W. N. W.) from Edinburgh; containing, with the villages of Blairburn and Lowvalley-field, 1444 inhabitants, of whom 603 are in the burgh. This place, which is of remote antiquity, derives its name from its situation in a detached portion of the county, forming part of the peninsula of Fifeshire. It was anciently the property of the Macduffs, of whose baronial residence, Dunnemarl Castle, there are still some remains on Castle Hill, on the banks of the Forth, to the west of the town. Here, according to tradition, was perpetrated the murder of Lady Macduff and her children by the usurper Macbeth. A monastery was founded in 1278, by Malcolm, Thane of Fife, for brethren of the Cistercian order, and dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St. Serf or Servanus. It continued to flourish till the Reformation, at which time Alexander, son of Sir James Colville, was abbot; and to his brother, Sir James, the revenues, amounting to £768. 16. 7¼ in money, besides considerable payments in kind, were, in 1604, granted by James VI., who also raised him to the peerage by the title of Lord Colville of Culross. The abbey and lands attached to it subsequently became the property of the Earl of Dundonald, from whom they were purchased by Sir Robert Preston, Bart., whose representative is the present proprietor.

The town, which is situated on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, consists of one principal street, extending from the Firth by a precipitous acclivity towards the north, and of several detached portions along the coast. The houses are generally of ancient character, and to most of them is attached a portion of garden ground, presenting, as seen from the Firth, a picturesque and interesting appearance, which is heightened by numerous handsome seats and pleasing villas in the immediate vicinity. A very considerable trade was formerly carried on in the export of coal, of which a mine had been excavated, extending for some distance under the waters of the Frith, and also in the manufacture of salt. The produce of the mine was chiefly sent to Holland, whence various kinds of merchandise were imported, and distributed from this town to different parts of the country; but the mine was long since exhausted, and the trade has been discontinued. The manufacture of girdles for baking oatmeal cakes, for which the town had patents from James VI. and Charles II., was also pursued for some time; but since the establishment of the Carron iron-works, where they are made at a very reduced price, that manufacture has ceased. The only trade now carried on is the weaving of linen for the manufacturers of Dunfermline, and of cotton-cloths for those of Glasgow, in which about seventy persons are employed. Fairs are held on the 2nd of July and the third Wednesday in November; and there are two good inns.

Culross was erected into a royal Burgh in 1588, by charter of James VI., under which it is governed by a chief magistrate and nineteen councillors. There are seven incorporated trades, the weavers, wrights, shoemakers, bakers, smiths, tailors, and butchers, into which only burgesses are admissible; the fees for admission vary, for sons of freemen from 13s. 6d. to £1. 1., and for strangers from £2. 5. to £3. The magistrates have the usual civil and criminal jurisdiction, but no cases have come under their notice since the year 1828. The burgh is associated with those of Dunfermline, Inverkeithing, Queensferry, and Stirling, in returning a member to the imperial parliament; the number of qualified voters is twenty-two. The town-house is an ancient building, to which is attached a small prison containing two apartments, one for debtors, and the other for criminal offenders, chiefly against the police. Facility of communication is afforded by good roads, of which a turnpike-road, recently constructed, passes through the centre of the parish to Dunfermline; and a pier has been constructed at the old harbour, from which there is a ferry to Borrowstounness, on the opposite shore of the Firth.

The parish formerly included the barony of Kincardine, which was separated from it in 1672, and added to the parish of Tulliallan. It is about four miles in length, and nearly of equal breadth, comprising about 10,000 acres, of which nearly 4000 are arable, 2000 woodland and plantations, and the remainder pasture, garden ground, and waste. The surface rises in bold undulations from the shore of the Frith, for some distance towards the north and north-west, forming a ridge of low hills, beyond which it subsides into a fertile valley watered by a rivulet called the Bluther. The soil along the shore is a deep black loam of great fertility; towards the middle of the parish, of a clayey nature, but under good management producing favourable crops; and towards the north and north-west, of poorer quality. The crops are, wheat, oats, barley, peas, beans, potatoes, and turnips; the system of husbandary is in a very advanced state. The rateable annual value of the parish is £5600. The plantations, which are very extensive, and in a thriving condition, contain every variety of firs and hard-wood trees, of which latter oak and beech seem best adapted to the soil. The principal substrata are clay-slate and sandstone. Clay of good quality for pottery and for fire-bricks may be procured in abundance; limestone and ironstone are also found, but not in sufficient quantities to remunerate the labour of working. The mansion houses are, Culross Abbey, formerly the seat of the Bruce family, and afterwards of the Earl of Dundonald, beautifully situated on the shore; Valleyfield, lately the seat of Sir Robert Preston, an elegant mansion in a demesne tastefully laid out, and embellished with plantations; Castle Hill, a handsome modern seat, near the site of the castle of the Macduffs; and Blair Castle, built on the site of an ancient seat erected by Hamilton, Archbishop of St. Andrew's.

The Ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Dunfermline and synod of Fife. The living is collegiate; the minister of the first charge has a stipend of £156, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £20, and the minister of the second charge £116, with an allowance in money in lieu of manse, and a glebe valued at £25. Lady Keith and Lady Baird Preston are alternate patrons. The church is a portion of the ancient abbey, originally a venerable cruciform structure, with a lofty tower rising from the centre, which, with the choir now appropriated as the parish church, and containing 700 sittings, are the only parts remaining. On the north side is the burying-place of the Bruce family, containing a monument on which are recumbent figures of Sir George Bruce and his lady, and, beneath, of their seven children in a kneeling posture, beautifully sculptured in white marble. On one side of this aisle is a projecting piece of masonry containing, in a silver case, the heart of Edward, second Lord Bruce of Kinross, who fell in a duel near Bergen-op-Zoom, in 1614. The parochial school is well attended; the master has a salary of £34, with a house and garden, and the fees average £30, in addition to which he receives £10 from a bequest. There is also an endowed school for boys and girls, of which the master receives a salary of £36, with a house and garden, for gratuitously teaching twenty children, and superintending a Sunday school.

Dr. Bill, a native of the parish, who died in London in 1738, bequeathed £1000 for the payment of small sums quarterly to four decayed tradesmen and two tradesmen's widows, for apprenticing young persons, and for the foundation of a bursary in one of the universities. Sir George Bruce of Carnock, in 1639, founded an hospital, which he endowed for the maintenance of six aged widows of the parish; the building has long since fallen into decay, but the income from the endowment is distributed among eight widows. The late Sir Robert Preston and his lady bequeathed an endowment for the distribution of meal and money, weekly, to six aged men and six aged women, who have lived for ten years in the parish. Connected with this charity is a building in which soup is given, two days in the week, during the winter, to families in this and the adjoining parish of Torryburn. Miss Halkerston, of Carskerdo, in the county of Fife, lately left a sum of money to be invested in land, for the relief of industrious persons not receiving parochial aid. At the east end of the town are the remains of St. Mungo's chapel, near which, according to tradition, that saint was born, and educated by Serf, the patron saint of the parish; and to the west of the abbey are some remains of the ancient parish church. Tour Culross Scotland, on an Ancestry Tour of Scotland. Best Scottish Tours, Best Scottish Food, Best Scottish Hotels, Small Group Tours of Scotland. Rent a Cottage in Scotland.

Scottish Luck

" If I pick up the horseshoe - she gets all the luck ! "

Scottish Doctor

" I can't find anything wrong with you MacDonald, it must be the drink."
" Okay, Dr Finlay, I'll come back when your sober."

Scottish Taxi

" Well, if you can't stop the taxi, you could at least stop the meter !"

Oldest Scottish Pub

Tour Guide: " We are now passing the oldest pub in Scotland."
Scotsman: " Why ????????????? "

Scottish Graveyard Humor

" Well, I'm here right enough, but I just can't remember dying !"