Keig, a parish of central Aberdeenshire, whose church stands near the left bank of the river Don, 3 miles NNW of Whitehouse station, this being 2¾ E by S of Alford and 26¼ WNW of Aberdeen, under which there is a post office of Keig. The parish, containing Whitehouse station in the extreme S, is bounded N by Leslie and Premnay, E by Oyne and Monymusk, S by Monymusk and Tough, SW by Alford, and W by Tullynessle. Its utmost length, from N to S, is 4½ miles; its breadth, from E to W, varies between 1¾ and 31/8 miles; and its area is 8119¼ acres, of which 60½ are water. The Don winds 53/8 miles east-north-eastward here-5 furlongs along the boundary with Alford, 35/8 miles through the interior, and 9 furlongs along the Monymusk border; and here it is fed by several little burns. Along it the surface declines to 335 feet above sea-level, thence rising northward and north-westward to 1619 feet on Bennochie and 929 at the Barmkin, southward to 1250 on the western slope of Cairn William. Granite is the prevailing rock; gneiss, greenstone, and clay-slate appear in a f w places; mica slate lies profusely scattered on much of the surface; and masses of porphyry and some tolerable specimens of rock crystal are found. The soil of the haugh along the Don is mostly sandy or gravelly alluvium, combined with clay; of the plain, is partly a good mould; and of the arable acclivities, is mostly reclaimed moor. Rather less than half of the entire area is arable, nearly one-third is under wood, and the rest of the land is either pasture or moor. Two Caledonian stone circles, and a ruinous circular enclosure of loose stones, called the Barmkin, are the chief antiquities. Castle-Forbes, noticed separately, is the only mansion; and Lord Forbes is the chief proprietor, but two others hold each an annual value of between £100 and £500. Keig is in the presbytery of Alford and synod of Aberdeen; the living is worth £216. The parish church is a neat Gothic structure of 1835, containing 450 sittings. There is also a Free church; and a public school, with accommodation for 100 children, had (1883) an average attendance of 103, and a grant of £102, 7s. 6d. Valuation (1860) £3230, (1882) £4492, plus £179 for railway. Pop. (1801) 379, (1831) 592, (1861) 811, (1871) 886, (1881) 776.Ord. Sur., sh. 76, 1874.
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