Kinnaird

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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Kinnaird (Gael. æann-ard, ` high head '), a village and a parish in Gowrie district, SE Perthshire. The village, standing 2½ miles W of its post office, Inchture, and 3½ NW of Inchture station, occupies such a situation 1mong the braes overlooking the Carse of Gowrie as may have given rise to its name.

The parish, containing also the village of Pitmiddle, is bounded N by Abernyte, E by Abernyte and Inchture, S by Errol, SW and W by Kilspindie, and NW by Caputh (detached) and Collace. Its utmost length, from E to W, is 3¼ miles; its utmost breadth, from N to S, is 2½ miles; and its area is 3501 acres, of which 2¾ are water. The south-eastern border is part of the Carse of Gowrie, sinking to less than 50 feet above sea-level; and the central and northern districts, consisting chiefly of what are called the Carse Braes, rise gradually north-westward to the watershed of the Sidlaw Hills, and attain 547 feet near Woodwell, 917 near Woodburnhead, 994 near Franklyden, and 969 near Blacklaw. Sandstone is the predominant rock. The soil, on the SE border, is of the rich character common to the Carse; in the central districts, is a mixture of black earth and so-called ` mortar,' inferior to the Carse soil, yet of no little fertility; in the northern district is light and shallow, with such mixed covering of grass, bent, and heath, as renders it fit only for sheep pasturage. Wood covers a fair proportion; and the arable area is a little larger than the pastoral. Kinnaird Castle, a little NW of the village, commands extensive views of the Carse and the Fife hills. Built by the Crown in the 12th century to serve as a local fortalice, it was tenanted for some days in 1617 by James VI., and in 1674 was acquired by the Threiplands of Fingask. A strong square tower of smoothed freestone, dating probably from the 15th ccntury, it was externally renovated in 1855, and is figured in Dr R. Chambers' Threiplands 0f Fingask (Edinb. 1880). The parish is divided between two proprietors. It is in the presbytery of Dundee and synod of Angus and Mearns; the living is worth £265. The church, erected in 1815, contains 300 sittings; and a public school, with accommodation for 122 children, had (1881) an average attendance of 70, and a grant of £70, 1s. Valuation (1883) £3174, 18s. 11d. Pop. (1801) 455, (1831) 461, (186lv) 318, (1871) 299, (1881) 260.—Ord. Sur., sh. 48, 1868.

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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