Parish of Kilmadock

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: Kilmadock
1834-45: Kilmadock

Kilmadock, a parish of S Perthshire, containing the post-town and station of Doune, with the villages of Buchany, Deanston, and Drumvaich. It is bounded N by a detached section of Monzievaird and Strowan, E by Dunblane, SE by Lecropt and Kincardine, S by Gargunnock and Kippen in Stirlingshire, SW by Kincardine (detached) and Port of Monteith, and W and NW by Callander. Its utmost length, from N by E to S by W, is 103/8 miles; its breadth varies between 17/8 and 8 miles; and its area is 24,783 acres, of which 262½ are water. The Forth, in serpentine folds, flows 6¼ miles eastward along all the Stirlingshire border; Goodie Water, its affluent, runs 4½ miles east-south-eastward across the southern interior. The arrowy Teith flows 8¾ miles east-south-eastward, partly along the Callander and Kincardine boundaries, but chiefly across the middle of the parish; Keltie Water runs 2½ miles southward to it along the western border; and Ardoch Burn, issuing from Loch Mahaick or Maghaig (¾ x ¼ mile; 750 feet), runs 1¼ mile eastward, and, after a detour into Dunblane, 2¼ miles west-by-southward, till it falls near Doune town into the Teith, another of whose tributaries, Annet Burn, has a southerly course of 6½ miles, and forms a number of pretty waterfalls. The Teith itself, with the frequent rapids of its rocky channel, the configuration and embellishment of its banks, and its artificial cascades in connection with Deanston Works, exhibits a wealth of loveliness. Springs are numerous and good; and one in the side of Uamh Mhor, on the northern border, leaps out from the solid rock like a jet or spout. Along the Forth the surface declines to 40, along the Teith to 46, feet above sea-level; and the highest point in Kilmadock between the two rivers is the Brae of Boquhapple (422 feet), near the western border. The northern district is far more hilly, its heathery Braes of Doune rising up and up till they attain 500 feet at 1½ mile from the Teith, 1000 at 3½ miles, and 2179 at Uamh Bheag on the northern boundary, whose neighbour Uamh Mhor or 'Uamvar' (Gael. 'great cave') commands a magnificent view, and is pierced on the Kilmadock side with a large rocky cavern, the haunt of robbers down to the middle of last century. Eruptive rocks predominate in the hills, Devonian rocks in the valleys; and the soil is extremely various, ranging from rich alluvium to barren moor. The low tracts are nearly all in high cultivation, and the uplands are mostly pastoral or waste. The parish has been rendered famous in the annals of agriculture through James Smith of Deanston (1789-1850), who here in 1823 introduced his system of thorough draining and deep ploughing. Under Doune are noticed the chief antiquities, its castle and the Bridge of Teith. Mansions are Lanrick Castle, Doune Lodge, Cambusmore, Inverardoch, Deanston House, Argaty, Coldoch, and Gartincaber, of which the four first have separate articles. The last, Gartincaber, 2¼ miles E of Thornhill, is partly modern, the seat of John Burn-Murdoch, Esq. (b. 1821; suc. 1871), who owns 1540 acres in the shire, valued at £1791 per annum. The Earl of Moray and 11 lesser proprietors hold each an annual value of £500 and upwards, 4 of between £100 and £500, 3 of from £50 to £100, and 35 of from £20 to £50. Giving off since 1877 a portion to Norriston quoad sacra parish, Kilmadock is in the presbytery of Dunblane and synod of Perth and Stirling; the living is worth £391. The ancient parish church, St Modoc's, stood till 1744 at the old hamlet of Kilmadock; and, whilst itself belonging to Inchmahome Priory, had six dependent chapels. The present parish church and four other places of worship are noticed under Doune. Three public schools - Kilmadock, Deanston, and Drumvaich-with respective accommodation for 361, 216, and 40 children, had (1882) an average attendance of 165, 137, and 30, and grants of £161, 10s., £132, 10s., and £35, 1s. Valuation (1860) £21,009, 9s. 3d., (1883) £23,194, 11s. 3d., plus £3750 for railway. Pop. (1801) 3044, (1841) 4055, (1861) 3312, (1871) 3170, (1881) 3012, of whom 2742 were in the ecclesiastical parish.—Ord. Sur., sh. 39, 1869.

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

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