Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland .. - National Library of Scotland

;MABLEE LOCHinterest, of an ecclesiastical nature, is attaclied to tliechurch of Markinch. In the 10th century it was conveyedby Maldrumus, Bishop of St Andrews, to theCuldees of Lochleven. The men of Markinch, it hasbeen shown from the Kirk Session Records, were warmlyattached to the Covenanting cause, in defence of whichthey spent ' lives, land, and gear.' Seven public schools,with total accommodation for 1061 children, had (1883)an average attendance of 856, and grants amountingto £736, 3s. 7d. Valuation (1860) £23,047, (1884)£30,206, 5s. 5d. Pop. (1801) 3130, (1831) 4967, (1861)5375, (1871) 5413, (1881)5863.— Ort?. Sur., sh. 40, 1867.Majlee Loch. See Deumellie.Marlefield. See Eckfoed.Mar Lodge, a deer-stalking lodge of the Earl of Fife,in Crathie and Braemar parish, SW Aberdeenshire,near the S bank of the Dee, 3 miles WSW of Castleton.It is picturesquely seated on the steep wooded side ofthe Eagle's Craig, 1250 feet above sea-level, and is thehighest inhabited gentleman's seat in Great Britain. Arambling sti'ucture, between a Swiss chalet and anIndian bungalow, it once was simply a keeper's lodge,but has been added to from time to time, till now theseries of buildings can hold above 100 visitors andretainers. In Sept. 1881 the princely hospitality of theEarl entertained that number to do honour to thePrince of Wales ; and on 10 Sept. 1852 the Queen andPi'ince Albert were present here at an open-air torchlightball. See Duff House.— Ord. Sur., sh. 65, 1870.Mamoch, a parish of NE Banffshire, with a postoffice (Bridge of Marnoch), 8 J miles NNE of its posttown,Huntly, and 2 SSW of Aeerohikdee. Containingalso that thriving village, it is bounded N byBoyndie and Banff, NE by Alvah, E by Forglen, SE byTurriff in Aberdeenshire, S by Inverkeithny and Rothiemay,W by Rothiemay and Grange, and NW by Ordiquhill.Its utmost length, from E to W, is 6J miles ;its utmost breadth, from N to S, is 5J miles ; and itsarea is 14,954 acres. The Deveeox, here spanned bythe two-arch Bridge of Marnoch (1806), winds 9g mileseastward along all the southern and south-easternboundary, though the point where it first touches andthat where it quits the parish are only 5J miles distantand Crombie, Auchintoul, and other burns rise in theN, and flow to it southward across the interior. Alongthe Deveron the surface declines to 190 feet above sealevel; and thence it rises to 600 feet at Clunie Hill, 851at Catstone Hill, 767 at *MeikIe Brown Hill, 890 at*Wether Hill, and 740 at Gallow Hill, where asterisksmark those summits that culminate on the western andnorth-western confines of the parish. Granite is thepredominant I'ock, and has been largely quarried. Limestonealso occurs, and was at one time worked. Thesoil is variously alluvium, rich loam, clay, moss, andhumid moor. Kinairdt and Crombie Castles have beennoticed separately. Mansions are Ardmellie, Auchintoul,Cluny, Culvie, and Netherdale ; and 8 proprietorshold each an annual value of £500 and upwards, 7 ofbetween £100 and £500. Giving off a portion to Ordquoad sacra parish, Marnoch is in the presbytery ofStrathbogie and the synod of Moray ; the living isworth £351. The parish church, on a rising-groundnear the left bank of the Deveron, a little NW of theBridge of Marnoch, was built in 1792, and is a plainbarn-like edifice, containing 837 sittings. It stood inthe midst of a Caledonian stone-circle, two large stonesonly of which remain ; and in the churchyard are a portionof its ancient predecessor and the finely-sculpturedmonument of George Meldrum of Crombie (1616-92),Episcopal minister of Glass. The successive presentationof Mr J. Edwards in 1837 and of Mr D. Henry in183S gave rise to one of the stiffest Disruption contestsunder the Veto Act ; and led to the erection at Aberchirderof New Marnoch Free church, which, costingover £2000, contains 1000 sittings. Other places ofworship are noticed under Abeechirder ;and AberchirderEpiscopal and four public schools—Aberchirder,Blacklaw, Marnoch, and Netherdale—with respectiveaccommodation for 75, 400, 78, 120, and 60 children,8——MARYCULTERhad (1883) an average attendance of 75, 210, 73, 124,and 42, and grants of £59, 8s., £183, 15s., £67, 17s. 6d.,£110, 19s., and £39, 19s. Valuation (1865) £10,101,(1882) £18,350. Pop. (1801) 1687, (1831) 2426, (1861)3289, (1871) 3294, (1881) 3230, of whom 3141 were inthe ecclesiastical parish. Ord. Sur., sh. 86, 1876.Marnook. See Ixohiiarnook.Maronnan. See Kilmaronook.Marr. See Mar.Marr or Mar Bum, Dumfriesshire. See Maar.Marrel. See Helmsdale.Marshadder, a village in the NW of the Isle of Skye,Inverness - shire. Its post - town is Kilmuir, underPortree.Mar's Hill. See Alloa.Martin. See Isle-Martik,Martnaham, Loch, a lake on the mutual border ofCoylton and Dalrymple parishes, Ayrshire, 4| mUes SEof Ayr. Lying 290 feet above sea-level, it has anutmost length and breadth of 1^^ and J mile ; containsa wooded islet, with ivy-clad ruins of an ancient manorhouse; abounds in pike and perch, with a few troutis frequented by wild geese, wild ducks, teals, andwidgeons ; receives two streamlets, one of them fromLochs Fergus and Snipe to the NW ; and sends off athird 3 miles south-westward to the river Doon nearDabymple church. Ord. Sur., sh. 14, 1863.Marwick Head. See Birsay.Maryburgh, a small village in Cleish parish, Kinrossshire,4 miles S by E of Kinross.Maryburgh, a village on the mutual border of Foddertyand Dingwall parishes, Ross-shire, on the left bankof the river Conon, where it opens into the CromartyFirth, IJ mile S by W of Dingwall town, and IJ N ofConon station.It is a modern place, inhabited chieflyby crofters and mechanics ; and has a post ofiice underDingwall, a Free church, and a public school. Pop.(1841) 403, (1861) 503, (18S1) 420, of whom 7 were inDingwall parish.— 0;t?. Sur., sh. 83, 1881.Maryburgh. See AVilliam, Fort.Maryculter, a parish, with a hamlet of the same name,in the NW of Kincardineshire, bordering on the Dee.It is bounded E by Banchory-Devenick parish, S byFetteresso parish, SW by Durris parish, and NW byAberdeenshire. Except for ^ mile upward from the mouth,of the Crynoch Burn, where the parish of Petercultercrosses to the S bank of the river, and for g mile belowthe mouth of the burn, where Maryculter crosses to theN side—the line in both eases following an old channel—the boundary along the whole of the NW side isformed by the Dee, which has here a course, inclusiveof these portions, of 6 miles. Elsewhere the line isartificial. The greatest length of the parish, from the Deeat Ardo House (Bauchory-Devenick) on the extreme NE,to the SW corner, 5 furlongs beyond Muirskie, is 5|miles ; the average width about 2J miles, and the area7923-356 acres, of which 142-603 are water. Thesurface slopes upwards from the Dee, reaching a heightof 545 feet near the SE corner, and 558 at Berry Top,near the centre of the S side. Some small haughs liealong the banks of the river, but the rest of the surfaceis uneven and rocky. The soil on the side of the riveris naturally thin and sandy, but in the central districtsit becomes deeper, and is in many cases a good blackloam on a clay bottom. On the S and SE there is muchdamp pasture and moss lying on a subsoil of clay. Theimderlying rocks are granite and gneiss. Of the landarea about half is under tillage, and some 900 acres areunder wood, while the rest is pasture land or waste.The drainage of the parish is effected by three burns, inthe E, centre, and AV of the parish, all flowing to theDee ; the chief is Crynoch or Maryculter Burn, in thecentre. The Dee did great damage during a flood in1768, and again in the more famous one of 1829, whenthe river rose from 13 to 16 feet above its ordinarylevel. The parish takes its name from its having beena chapelry in the lands of Culter (Gael. Oul-tir, ' theback-lying land ') dedicated to St Mary, and dependenton the church of St Peter Culter, now Peterculter. The;