Parish of Inverarity

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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1791-99: Inverarity 1834-45: Inverarity

Inverarity, a parish in the Sidlaw district of Forfar. shire. It comprehends the ancient parishes of Inverarity and Meathie, and contains the post office of Kincaldrum, 4¼ miles SSW of the post-town, Forfar. It is bounded N by Forfar, NE by Dunnichen, E by the detached section of Guthrie, SE by Monikie, S by Murroes, SW by Tealing, W by Glamis and a detached section of Caputh, and NW by Kinnettles. Its length, from E to W, varies between 3³/₈ and 5 miles; its utmost breadth, from N to S, is 4½ miles; and its area is 9596¾ acres, of which 14 are water. Arity Water comes in from the E, goes west-north-westward through the interior, and midway is joined on the left by Corbie Burn. A valley or small strath extends along the greater part of the Arity's course, and, sinking to less than 300 feet above sea-level, is encinctured by an amphitheatre of wooded hills-Kincaldrum Hill (911 feet) to the W, Carrot Hill (851) to the S, and Fothringham Hill (800) to the N. Sandstone and greyslate abound, and have been worked. The soil is mostly a heavy loam, black and free in some parts, and rather stiff in others, resting closely on the boulder clay. A good deal of the land lies, therefore, on a damp stiff subsoil, and would be much improved by draining and liming. About two-thirds of the entire area are under cultivation, one-sixth is under wood, and the rest is either pastoral, waste, or water. Antiquities are several tumuli and a very large Roman camp at Haerfaulds on the Guthrie border, for the most part in very fine preservation, though at one end a portion of it has been ploughed over. The mansions are Fothringham and Kincaldrum; and 4 proprietors hold each an annual value of more, 1 of less, than £500. Inverarity is in the presbytery of Forfar and synod of Angus and Mearns; the living is worth £278. The church, near the right bank of Arity Water, 4½ miles S of Forfar and 2¾ W by N of Kirkbuddo station, is a building of 1754, repaired in 1854, and containing 600 sittings. The public school, with accommodation for 197 children, had (1881) an average attendance of 75, and a grant of £57, 1s. Valuation (1857) £6310, (1883) £11, 488, 15s. 10d., plus £371 for railway. Pop. (1801) 820, (1841) 997, (1861) 961, (1871) 888, (1881) 862.—Ord. Sur., shs. 57, 49, 1868-65.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer