Gazetteer of Scotland

C U L 66
the ruins of a house are still shown, where,
It is said, Elizabeth, Queen of King Robert
Bruce, died. Population 1C70.
CULLF.N, (BURGH OF) liesS miles and
ft half W. of Portsoy, and 08 and a half N.
W. of Aberdeen. The Earl of Findlateris
hereditary preses or provost, and the go-
vernment of the town is vested under him
in 3 bailies, a treasurer, dean of guild, and
13 councillors, and joins with Elgin, Banff,
Kin tore, and Inverury, in sending a mem-
ber to Parliament. With a small excep-
tion, Lord Findlater is proprietor of the
■whole town. The houses are in general
mean and ill built, and the streets have an
irregular and dirty appearance. Notwith-
standing its situation on the sea coast, no
■vessels can venture to take in or deliver a
cargo for want of a harbour. The -want of
•water is also a great disadvantage to the
place, there being only one good spring in
the parish. There is a considerable manu-
facture of linen and damask, established
about 60 years ago. There are two fishing
Tillages in the neighbourhood, viz. Cullen
and Portnockies, which employ about 14
or 15 boats.- -By these the town and coun-
try around are amply supplied with fish ;
and, besides what is sold daily, the fishers
cure and dry a considerable quantity, which
they carry to Montrose, Arbroath, Dundee,
and Leith.
CULLODEN, a moor situated about 3
miles E. of Inverness, memorable for the
total defeat of Prince Charles' army, on the
16th April, 1746, by the Duke of Cumber-
land, which put an end to the attempts of
the Stuart family to regain the British
throne. The country people often find, in
the field of battle, bullets and pieces of ar-
mour, which are anxiously sought after by
the virtuosi as curiosities, and preserved as
relics.
CULROSS, a parish in Perthshire, lying
on the N. side of the frith of Forth, forming
nearly a square of 4 miles, containing 8145
acres. It abounds with freestone, iron-
stone, ochre, and a species of clay, highly
valued by potters and glass manufacturers.
Coal was wrought here at a very remote
period by the monks of the abbey, to whom
It belonged.— Colville, commendator of the
abbey, let the coal to Sir George Bruce of
Blair-hall in 1575, who resumed the work-
ing of it at that period. This gentleman
was the first in the island who drained coal
pits by machinery. Below the house of Cas-
tlehill, about a quarter of a mile W. from
Culrots, are some remains of the masonry
where mi Egyptian wheel, commonly called
chain and bucket, was erected for draining
the pits. A pit was sunk, which entered
by the land, and was carried nearly a mile
out into the sea. At this sea pit vessels
loaded their cargoes, which was 40fathoms
below high watermark; this pit was rec-
koned one of the greatest wonders in the
island, by an English traveller who saw it
in the beginning of the 17th century. This
great pit was destroyed by a violent storm
in 1625, which washed away the stone bul-
wark, and drowned the coal. This pit was
nearly opposite the house of Casttehill.
The Culi-oss coal consists of no less than 27
different strata, some of which are 9 feet
thick. Thehou5eof Castlehillis built on
the site of an ancient castle of the Mac-
dufFs, where it is said Macbeth murdered
the wife and two children of that noble-
man — There are also the vestiges of two
Danish camps in the parisli. Population
1611.— The BURGH of CULROSS lies 4
miles E. of Kincardine, and 23 W.by N. of
Edinburgh. It is a place of considerable
antiquity, having been erected into a royal
burgh hy James VI. in 15S8. It is govern-
ed by 5 bailies, a dean of guild, treasurer,
and 15 councillors, and has six incorporat-
ed trades. It joins with Dunfermline, In-
veikeithing, Queensferry, and Stirling, in
returning a member to parliament. Part
ofthetownis built on the acclivity of a
hill, the principal street running N. from
the shore. It formerly carried on a great
trade in salt and coal ; at present its trade
is wholly annihilated. At one period there
were above 50 salt-pans going here, which
made about 100 tons weekly. Before the
Union there have been 170 foreign vessels
in the roads at a time, loading coal and
salt.--- About 35 years ago, the Earl of Dun-
donald erected very extensive work3 for
the extraction of tar, naphtha, and volatile
salt, from coal ; but, being an unproduc-
tive concern, it was given up, and the works
are now in ruins. Culross enjojed the ex-
clusive privilege of making girdles, by vir-
tue of two royal grants from James IV. and
Charles II. At the N. end of the town is
the parish church, which was formerly the
cha|iel of the monastery; the chancel and
tower are still entire, but the transept and
body of the church are in ruins. Adjoining
to the N. wall of the church is an aisle, the
burial-place of the Bruce family, in which
is a fine monument of Sir George Bruce, his
lady, and eight children, all cut out of white
marble. In this aisle was lately found, en-
closed in a silver box, the heart of Lord
Kinloss, who was killed in a duel in Flan»