Parish of Kilmaronock

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: Kilmaronock
1834-45: Kilmaronock

Kilmaronock, a parish of E Dumbartonshire, whose church stands 2 miles WNW of Drymen station on the Forth and Clyde Junction section of the North British, this being 3 miles NE of Caldarvan or Kilmaronock station and 6¾ ENE of Balloch. Including the islands of Inchmurrin, Creinch, Torrinch, and Aber, it is bounded W and NW by Loch Lomond, NE and E by Buchanan and Drymen in Stirlingshire, S by Dumbarton, and SW by Bonhill. Its utmost length, from E to W, is 53/8 miles; its utmost breadth, from N to S, is 5¼ miles; and its area is 14,561½ acres, of which 4236¾ are water. Loch Lomond is on the boundary from a point 5 furlongs N of Balloch pier all round to the mouth of Endrick Water; Endrick Water winds 8 miles west-north-westward along all the north-eastern border; and Gallangad or Catter Burn, entering from Dumbarton, flows 3¼ miles northward through the southern interior, then 2¾ miles north-eastward along the boundary with Drymen, till it falls into Endrick Water near Drymen station. From Loch Lomond the surface rises south-eastward to 284 feet near Baturich Castle, 576 at Mount Misery, 462 at conical Duncryne, and 800 at the Dumbarton boundary, the southern district, beyond the Forth and Clyde railway, being mainly a moorish upland tract, projected from Dumbarton Muir. The north eastern district, along Endrick Water, to a breadth of from 1 furlong to ¾ mile, is a low, level, alluvial tract of high fertility, richly embellished with culture and wood; and the rest of the land, with exception of Duncryne and the ridge of Mount Misery, is all champaign, diversified with heights of from 100 to 300 feet above sea level, and richly adorned with corn fields, woods, and parks. The rocks are partly eruptive, partly Devonian; and the soil is various, ranging from deep alluvium to shallow moor, but most of it very fertile. About 850 acres are under wood; fully as much upland is pastoral; and the rest of the land is nearly all arable. Kilmaronock Castle, on the Mains estate, near the church, would seem to have been a massive and imposing pile. Mansions are Baturich Castle, Caldarvan House, Catter House, and Ross Priory; and, besides the Duke of Montrose, 3 other proprietors hold each an annual value of £500 and upwards, 12 of between £100 and £500, 4 of from £50 to £100, and 4 of from £20 to £50. The original church of Kilmaronock (Gael. church of my little Ronan') was dedicated to St Ronan, a bishop of Kingarth in Bute, who died in 737; but a neighbouring spring bears the name of St Maronock's Well,' a d Scott in the Lady of the Lake calls Ellen a 'votaress of Maronnan's cell.' In 1325 it was given by Robert I. to the monks of Cambuskenneth, and theirs it continued down to the Reformation. Kilmaronock is in the presbytery of Dumbarton and synod of Glasgow and Ayr; the living is worth £353. The present church was built in 1813, and contains 340 sittings. A U.P. church was rebuilt about 1852; and two public schools, Ardoch Bridge and Kilmaronock, with respective accommodation for 80 and 82 children, had (1881) an average attendance of 33 and 52, and grants of £28, 16s. and £56, 11s. Valuation (1860) £7232, (1883) £11,309, 11s. 3d. Pop. (1801) 879, (1831) 999, (1861) 1085, (1871) 978, (1881) 927.—Ord. Sur., shs. 38, 30, 1871 66.

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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