Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland .. - National Library of Scotland

LOCHINVERthe theme of Latly Heron's song in Marmion, Young'Lochinvar. '—Ord. Sitr., sh. 9, 1S63.Lochinver. See Assynt.Lochlea. See Tarbolton.Lochlee (Gael, loch-lc, 'the smooth lake'), a parish inthe N of Forfarshire. The district is sometimes knoniias Gleuesk. It is hounded N by Aberdeenshire, NE fora mile by Kincardineshire, E by Edzell, S by Lethnotand by Cortachy, S\V by Clova, and W by Aberdeenshire.The boundary is entirely natural. Beginning atthe NE corner, at the top of Mount Battock, thelinepasses down the course of the Burn of Turret to the NorthEsk, up the North Esk, IJ mile, to the Burn of Eeeny,and up the Burn of Eeeny, and then up the Burn ofDeuchary to the highest point of the Hill of Wirren(2220 feet), and from that westward along the line ofwatershed between the basin of the North Esk and that ofthe Water of Saughs—the main stream of the "West Water—the principal summits being West Wirren (2060),West Knock (2273), two nameless tops to the W (2272)and (2246), Cruys (2424), East Caii-n (2518), MuckleCairn (2699), and White Hill (2787). From this pointonwards the line continues between the upper waters ofthe North Esk and the upper waters of the South Eskin Gleu Clova, the principal summits being Green Hill(2837 feet), Benty Roads (2753), Boustie Ley (2868), andLair of Aldararie (2726), on the borders of Forfarshireand Aberdeenshire. From this the line follows thewatershed between the basins of the North Esk on theS and the Dee on the N, first N by Black Hill of Mark(2497 feet) and Fasheilach (2362), and then E by a namelesssummit(2170). Hair Cairn (2203), Mount Keen(3077),with its W shoulder (2436 and 2500), Braid Cairn (2907),Cock Cairn (2387), and the ridge between (2478), Hillof Cat (2435), Mudlee Bracks (2259), and a summitbetween (2363), Hill of Cammie (2028), and MountBattock (2555). From Lair of Aldararie to midwaybetween Hill of Cammie and Mount Battock the linecoincides with the boundary between the counties ofAberdeen and Forfar, and from this on to the Burn ofTurret with the boundary between the counties ofKincardine and Forfar. The greatest length, from ENEat Mount Battock to WSW near the Lair of Aldararie, is151 miles ; the greatest breadth, from N near Cock Cairnto S near West Knock, is 8 J miles ; and the area is 58,382acres. The surface, as might be expected from thevicinity of the parish to the Grampians, is very rough,and the average elevation is over 800 feet above sea-level.Besides the heights already mentioned, there are, betweenthe Burn of Turret and the Burn of Tennet, Bennygray(1823 feet) and Craig Soales (1648) ; between Burn ofTennet and Water of Mark, Hill of Saughs (2141), HiU ofDonne (2342), Craig Brawlin (1643), Ba'dalair (1133), andHill of Migvie (1238) ; between Glen Mark and Glen Leeare Round Hill of Mark (2257), Wolf Craig (2343), andMonawee (2276) ; to the S of Glen Lee are East BaUoch(2731) and Craig Maskeldie (2224); between Loch Leeand Glen Effock is Cairn Caidloch (2117), and further tothe E is Cowie Hill (1439). The heights are steep androcky, or covered with heath and moss, and the heatherextends even to the lower elevations. Of the wholearea only about 2000 acres are arable, the rest issheep-pasture or waste, and the W and SW is anextensive deer forest. The soil of the arable portionis thin and light with a gravelly subsoil, and theunderlying rocks are primary, with beds of limestone.In the 16th century an iron mine at Dalbog wasworked, and later lead ore was mined near Invermark,but the quantities are unremunerative. They were,however, noted in early times, and the last effort towork them was made by the South Sea Company in1728 at Craig Soales. The drainage of the parish isetlected by all the head-waters of the North Esk. Thepart to the W of Lochlee church, which is very near thecentre of the parish, is drained by the Water of Mark(NW) and the Water of Lee (W). The former rises onthe extreme W of the parish, and flows N, NE, and SEto its junction with the Lee, near Lochlee church, andreceives on the N the burns of Fasheilach, Doune,LOCHLEELadder, Easter, and Branny. The glen through whicbthe Mark flows is in some places very wild and picturesque.The Water of Lee is joined by the Water ofUnich, which itself receives from the S the burns ofLongshank and Slidderies. To the NE of the church isthe Water of Tarf, which receives from the W the bumsof Adekimore, Ea.ster, and Kirny, and from the N andNE the burns of Cat, Kidloch, Clearach, and Tennet,with the burn of Crospit. The Tarf is noted for itssudden and dangerous freshets. Farther E, on theboundary-line, is the Burn of Turret. To the E ofthe church the North Esk is joined on the S by theWater of Effock with the Burn of Cochlie, the Burn ofDalbrack, and the Burns of Berryhill and Deuchary,which unite to form the Bum of Keeny, and besidesall these there are a very large number of smallerburns. The lochs in the parish are Carlochy and LochLee. The former lies in the bottom of a great basinshapedhollow on the SE flank of Craig Maskeldie,surrounded by precipices. It contains char, and thefishing is good. The latter, about IJ mile E by N,and 900 feet above sea-level, is on the course of theWater of Lee. It is IJ mile long, and 3 furlongswide at the widest part. The fish, which, when fullgro\vn, weigh from 1 to 3 lbs., are char and trout,and permission to fish is easily procured. The patronsaint of the parish is St Drostan, Abbot of Donegalin Ireland, and of Holywood in Wigtownshire, whoflourished in the end of the 16 th century. Wherehis cell was it is difficult to say, but probably the siteis now occupied by the present manse at Droustie.This seems a mere corruption of the saint's name, anda spring close at hand is known as Droustie's Well,while on Tarfside is Droustie's Meadow, and at Neudosin EdzeU is St Drostan's Well. The whole districtof Cairncross lying between the Tarf and the Turretbelonged to St Drostan's Monastery, which was probablyin this neighboirrhood, though Dr Joseph Robertsonmaintained that it was in Edzell. The old church,which is at the E end of the loch, is sometimes calledthe ' Kirk of Droustie ; ' and a deep pool in the Lee hasthe name of 'Monk's Pool,' derived, according to tradition,from the light possessed by the monks to catchsalmon in it during Lent. In 1384, the parish is mentionedas being a chaplainry of Lethnot, and in 1558mention is made of a curate, but it was not till 1723that it became a separate charge. Of the olde.st churchthat is noticed, nothing is known but that it was burnedin 1645 by the soldiers of the Marquis of Montrose.It probably was on the same site as the present oldkirk, at the E end of the loch, in a very picturesqueposition. This buildiug was originally thatched, butwas slated in 1784. The present parish church, which isa mile to the eastward, was built in 1803, and contains270 sittings. The Free church, built in 1843, is fartherto the E, "and | mile NE of the village of Tarfside. Itcontains 250 sittings, and in 1881 was adorned withtwo stained-glass windows by Messrs Ballantine, to thememory of Lord Dalhousie and Dr Guthrie, the formerof whom chiefly built the church, whilst the latterworshipped within its walls for upwards of twentysummers. The Episcopal church (St Drostane), atTarfside, was built in 1878-79 by Lord Forbes, inmemory of the late Rev. Alex. Forbes, Bishop ofBrechin (1817-75). The church, which is FirstPointed in style, was consecrated in 1880 ; it has 135sittings, and there are three stained-glass windows anda fine font. Tarfside, near the junction of the Tarfand N Esk, is now the only village in the parish, theolder Glenlee or Kirkton being gone. It has a subpostoffice under Brechin, the Episcopal church andparsonage, the public school, and a masonic lodge (StAndrew's). This body, on its institution in 1821,erected St Andrew's Tower on Modlach Hill, to afforda refuge to benighted travellers who might be caughtin snowstorms. The cairn on the top of Migvie orRowan Hill, to the W, was erected in 1866 by thelate Earl of Dalhousie (1805-80) as a family memorial,the names of himself, his wife, his brothers, and537