Midmar, a parish of S Aberdeenshire, whose church stands 615 feet above sea-level, 5 miles S by E of Monymusk station, 3 W by N of Echt, and 15 W of Aberdeen, under which there is a post office of Midmar. It is bounded N by Cluny, E and SE by Echt, S by BanchoryTernan, and W by Kincardine O'Neil and Cluny (detached). Its utmost length, from E to W, is 7¼ miles; its utmost breadth is 45/8 miles; and its area is 10,8722/3 acres, of which 4½ are water. Streams there are none of any size; but the drainage is carried partly to the Dee and partly to the Don. In the SE the surface declines to 303, in the N to 333, feet above sea-level; and thence it rises to 1607 at Green Hill on the Cluny boundary in the NW, to 773 a little way N of the church, and to 1332 at Craigour near the southern boundary, this last being one of the summits of the broad-based Hill of Fare, whose highest point (1545 feet) is just 3 furlongs beyond the SW corner of the parish. Granite and trap are the predominant rocks, the former of beautiful texture and capable of taking a fine polish. The soil on the slopes of the hills is sandy loamy, or clayey, in much of the hollows is reclaimed peat-earth. Rather less than one-half of the entire area is in tillage; nearly one-twelfth is under plantation; and the rest is either pastoral or waste. On Sunhoney farm is a large stone circle, quite entire; and a smaller one stands close to the E of the church; whilst near the old church is the 'Coningar,' an entrenched artificial mound 30 feet high. Midmar Castle stands on the N side of the Hill of Fare, 1 mile SSE of the parish church; is said by tradition to have been founded by Sir William Wallace; and seems indeed to date from times comparatively remote. It was inhabited till the middle of the present century, and is the seat of the most extensive estate in the parish; and commands an extensive and very beautiful view to the N and the NE. Dalherrick Muir is said to have been the scene of a battle between Sir William Wallace and the Comyns; and Douglas Burn, which traverses the Muir, is said to have got its name in commemoration of a hero who fell in the battle. William Meston (1688-1745), the burlesque poet, was a native, the son of a Midmar blacksmith. The property is mostly divided between two. Midmar is in the presbytery of Kincardine O'Neil and the synod of Aberdeen; the living is worth £281. The parish church was built in 1787, and contains 428 sittings. Its ancient predecessor was dedicated to St Nidan, a dedication that must have proceeded from a Welsh source. A Free church stands close to the western, a U.P. church to the north-eastern, boundary; and Midmar public school, with accommodation for 173 children, had (1883) an average attendance of 103, and a grant of £96, 5s. 6d. Valuation (1860) £5716, (1884) £7063. Pop. (1801) 803, (1831) 1056, (1851) 1166, (1871) 1127, (1881) 1041.—Ord. Sur., sh. 76, 1874.
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
