Moulin

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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Moulin, a village and parish of NE Perthshire. The village, in the S of the parish, stands 500 feet above sea-level, and 7 furlongs NNE of Pitlochry station on the Highland railway. It is a collection of small cottages, irregularly situated along the line of road, and contains the parish church, a public school, an inn, and a post office under Pitlochry. The former church, a Gothic structure with a low tower, built in 1831 to hold 650, was burned in March 1873. Moulin is the seat of a ploughing society, and has a horse fair on the first Tuesday in March.

The parish, containing also Pitlochry village, Killiecrankie station, and the hamlets of Kinnaird, Auldclune, and Enochdhu, is bounded NW by Blair Athole, NE and SE by Kirkmichael, S by the Dalcapon section of Dowally and by Logierait, and W by Dull. Its greatest length, from ENE to WSW, is 14 3/8 miles; its breadth varies between 1 7/8 and 8 ¼ miles; and its total area is 44,818 acres, of which 178 are water, and 435 ½ are in two small sections, slightly detached, to the S and W. The outline of the parish is exceedingly irregular. The general surface is a congeries of hills and mountains, intersected by the valleys and ravines of the various streams. The fields round the village form a level portion of arable land, 1 ½ mile long by ½ broad, known as the Howe of Moulin. This is one of the most fertile spots in Perthshire, and has been called the Garden of Athole. The rest of the arable land is on the slopes and margins of the rivers. The highest point in the parish is the summit of Ben Vrackie (2757 feet). The other hills, mostly heath-clad, though some are wooded, are not very lofty; those of Glenfearnach are beautifully verdant. The river Garry, coming from the NW, flows 3 miles south-south-eastward, through the Pass of Killiecrankie, and along the western boundary, till it falls, near Faskally House, into the Tummel, which itself winds 6 1/8 miles east-south-eastward - for 2 miles across the interior, but mainly along the confines, of the parish. Both streams abound in river-trout, salmon, sea-trout, and grilse; and the scenery on their banks within the parish is beautiful and grand, culminating in the Pass of Killiecrankie. The Allt Girnaig joins the Garry at the upper end of the Pass, while six or seven burns - the longest 4 miles long join the Garry and Tummel within the parish. A line of summits, running parallel to these two chief streams, about 4 ½ miles distant, separates the SW or Athole part of the parish from the NE, which belongs to the district of Strathairdle. The Airdle or Ardle, which is here the main stream, is formed by the confluence of the Allt Fearnach, the Brerachan, and the Allt Doire nan Euni, the separate courses of which also lie in the parish for some miles. Cascades occur on nearly all the running waters of the parish. Those at Edradour and Urrard are particularly admired, and have been celebrated in song, but the Falls of Tummel excel them both in beauty, size, and fame. Loch Broom (5 ½ x 2 furl.), a small lake frequented by anglers, lies in the hollow of a hill round the meeting-place of Moulin, Logierait, and Dowally parishes. The soil in the Athole district of Moulin is, on the whole, fertile; that in Strathairdle is shallower, and yields lighter crops. About 2800 acres are in tillage and 2000 under wood, the rest being pasture or waste. Mica-slate veined with quartz is the chief rock; limestone occurs in boulders of a fine marble texture, but is little worked; granite, quartz, and fluor-spar are found detached; and rock-crystal is found on Ben Vrackie. The parish is traversed by a good road up the Tummel and Garry, by another up the Airdle and Brerachan, and by a third connecting these. Mansions are Baledmund, Balnakeilly, Dirnanean, Faskally, Kindrogan, Strathgarry, and Urrard; and 7 proprietors hold each an annual value of £500 and upwards, 3 of between £100 and £500, 4 of from £50 to £100, and 14 of from £20 to £50. The main industry of the parish is agriculture; and what little manufacture or commerce there is centres in the rising village of Pitlochry. The parish contains two distilleries, one corn-mill, and three saw-mills. Giving off a portion to the quoad sacra parish of Tenandry, Moulin is in the presbytery of Dunkeld and the synod of Perth and Stirling; the living is worth £202. Places of worship, besides the parish church, are noticed under Pitlochry and Straloch. Three public schools - Moulin, Pitlochry, and Straloch - with respective accommodation for 135, 258, and 106 children, had (1883) an average attendance of 73, 165, and 21, and grants of £72, 10s. 6d., £153, 13s. 6d., and £37, 2s. Valuation (1860) £11,956, 7s. 5d., (1884) £21, 289, 17s. 10d. Pop. (1801) 1908, (1831) 2022, (1861) 1831, (1871) 1793, (1881) 2066, of whom 1048 were Gaelic-speaking.

The principal antiquity is a ruin near Moulin village, supposed to have been either a religious house or a castle of the Earls of Athole and Badenoch. It is generally referred to the 11th or 12th century, and seems to have measured 80 feet by 76, with a round turret at each corner. The remains, which consist of most of the walls on three sides and chief part of one turret, are surrounded and grown over with trees. The building is known in the district as the Black Castle. Caledonian standingstones, Druidical circles, Pictish forts, and sites of pre-Reformation burying-grounds are in different parts of the parish. The main events in the history of Moulin parish are the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689 and a remarkable religious revival in 1800. Among the men connected with this parish was the Rev. Dr Stewart, who died minister of the Canongate in Edinburgh, after being nineteen years minister of Moulin, and writing his Gaelic grammar there. Famous natives of Moulin are the Rev. Alexander Duff, D. D., LL.D. (1808-78), the first missionary of the Church of Scotland to India; Duncan Forbes (d. 1868), Professor of Oriental Literature at King's College, London; Donald M'Intosh (b. 1743), compiler of the Gaelic 'Proverbs;' and Captain Colin Campbell of Finnab, the gallant defender of the unfortunate Scottish colony of Darien (l700).—Ord. Sur., shs. 55, 56, 1869-70.

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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