The general character of the people is induftrious and fober, little difpofed to change of place or employment. Hence the population has been so stationary.

Ecclefiaftical State.—With respect to the ecclefiaftical state of the parish: The Vifcount of Arbuthnot is patron of the church. The clergyman has a living of 64 bolls of meal and bear, and about 421. Sterling, befides a small glebe of little value. The present incumbent was fettled in the year 1780. The church is a very antient fabric of athlar work, but now in very bad repair. The manfe is almost ruinous, but is about to be repaired. To the church is adjoining an ayle of beautiful antique workmanship, which was built by an Alexander Arbuthnot, (defigned, in the appendix to Spotifwood's Hiftory), brother to the Baron of Arbuthnot, and parfon of Arbuthnot and Logie Buchan. He was elected the first Proteftant Principal of the King's College, Aberdeen, in the year 1569. The lower part of this ayle was intended, and has been used as a burial place for the family of Arbuthnot. And in the upper part was a well finished apartment, filled with books chiefly in divinity, many of which remained there till of late. This was Mr Arbuthnot's library, which he bequeathed for the ufe of the clergy of the Mearns. There are 42 Epifcopalians in the parish, and no other diffenters.

Poor. The number of poor in the parish is about 20. The provifion for them confifts of the collections at the church, amounting annually to about 161. and the intereft of fome mortifications and feat rents, amounting to 11. 10s. making in whole about 271. 10s.

School. The parish schoolmafter has an endowment of 51. 17. 8d. Sterling, together with 10 bolls 3 firlots of

meal,

meal. This fchool was formerly noted as a much frequented feminary for boys from all the country round, who were here boarded with the fchoolmafter. At prefent both school and school-houfe, like all the rest of the public buildings here, are in fo bad repair as to be unfit for the reception of any person.

Antiquities.-Under the article of antiquities and antient records, it is generally believed that feveral interesting particulars might be had from the old writings of the family of Arbuthnot, if accefs could be got to them. There is in general circulation, in the neighbourhood, a paper, of which the original remains with that family, bearing to be a judicial proof led by an ecclefiaftical fynod in the year 1206, with refpect to part of the property now belonging to them, in which feveral circumftances are deferving of attention; particularly, therein mention is made of water corn-mills having been of a date prior to that period, which is contrary to the opinion of fome of our late hiftorians.

There is no vifible remain of antiquity within this parish, except fome lines of a rampart thrown up in a regular manner upon a projecting point near to Bervy river, which is faid to have been the refidence of a family of the name of Gellendris, who bequeathed the property to the Archbishop of St Andrews, to whofe fucceffors a feu-duty is ftill payable by the prefent proprietor. But this fortification has as much the appearance of being Roman, and bears the general name of the Caftledykes to this day.

Eminent Men.-In former times this parifh was not deficient in producing men eminent in public life. The family of Sibbalds of Keir was one of the moti antient ty, poffeffed of very extenfive property there.

in the coun

Among the

laft

laft of them was Dr David Sibbald, who having been preceptor to the Duke of Gloucefter, ion to King Charles I. fuffered much on account of his loyalty in the civil wars, was imprifoned in London, and had his eftate forfeited. However, he lived to fee the restoration of King Charles II. and died in his own houfe of Kair, in the year 1661.

It alfo deferves to be mentioned, that the celebrated Dr Arbuthnot, phyfician to Queen Anne, and one of the triumvirate with Mr Pope and Dr Swift, derived his birth and early education from this parish. He was fon to Alexander Arbuthnot minifter here, who was deprived for non-conformity in the year 1689. Dr Arbuthnot received the first part of his education at the parifh fchool of Arbuthnot, from whence he and his elder brother Robert (afterwards a banker at Paris) removed to the Marifchal College of Aberdeen, about the year 1680.

-

Language. As the names of the different farms in this pa rifh are, for the moft part, of Gaelic original, it would feem that, in former times, the Gaelic langu ge had generally prevailed here. To perfons acquainted with that language, these names all appear to be defcriptive of the fituation and circumftances which diftinguish the feveral places. Much information might poffibly be derived from this fource, joined to the written evidence connected with the diftri&t, where property has been more fixed than in most parts of the county.

VOL. XVII.

3 D

NUM.

NUMBER XXVII.

PARISH OF TURREFF.

(PRESBYTERY OF TURREFF.-SYNOD AND COUNTY OF ABERDEEN.)

By ALEXANDER SIMPSON, Schoolmafter, King-Edward, Now one of the Minifters of Old Aberdeen.

A

Situation.

FTER a course of many miles from weft to eaft, the

Doveron, by altering its direction to the north-west, forms an acute angle; and, winding through a beautiful and fertile vale, continues to flow in that direction, till it falls into the fea at Banff, which is about 10 English miles diftant from this place. On the fouth and eaft fides of this angle, lies the parish of Turreff, that of Forglen of Old Townan being contained within it, on the oppofite bank of the river. Near the angular point, where the Burn of Turreff falls into the Doveron, stand the town and kirk of Turreff, from whence to the extremities of the parish, the distance on all fides, except weftward, is nearly the fame, and no where exceeds 4 English miles; fo that a circle, of which the town of Turreff is the center, and the radius 4 miles, will include both this parish, and a great part of that of Forglen. The other neighbouring parishes are Alvah, King. Edward, Monquhiter, Auchterlift, and Inverkeithing.

Name,

Name, Antiquities, &c.-According to fome, Turreff, in the Gaelic language, fignifies towers. According to others, it fignifies a mount or height. The fituation of the town, and the vulgar pronunciation, Torra, an old law term fignifying a mount, favour the last fuppofition. But the former is no lefs probable, because near the church-yard gate, and on the fouth fide of the ftreet betwixt it and the cross, part of the vaults of an ancient tower is to be feen, from which, or fome building of that kind, the weft end of the town is ftill called the Caftlehill.

It is highly probable that Lathmon, the Pictish prince, whom Offian celebrates, had his feat in this perifh. Not only do Lathers and Durlathers bear a ftrong resemblance to Lathmon and Dunlathmon, but the landfcape drawn by nature exactly correfponds with the defcription of the poet. We may obferve on the bank of the river," the green "dwelling of Lathmon." We may wander, with "the blue"ey'd Cutha in the vales of Dunlathmon ;" and the halls of Nuath are only wanting to realife the defcription of the dy. ing Oithfna. "High walls rife on the bank of Durranna, and fee their mofly towers in the ftream." A rock afcends behind them with its bending firs." On a farm adjoining to Lathers are the remains of a Druid temple.

A fpot of ground on the fouth fide of the town called Temple-brae, and a houfe called Temple feu give reafon to fuppofe, that the Knights-templars once had a footing in this place. This is the more probable, as fome of the old proprietors of this houfe, held their charters from the Lords. Torphichan, to whom a confiderable part of their lands had been given by the Crown, after the order of Knights-templars was diffolved in the beginning of the 14th century. -Some houfes' called Abbey-land, Maifon-Dieu, or house of refuge, point out the fituation of an hofpital or alms-house,

founded