Topographical, statistical, and historical gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 2

LON
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LON
the estate, by charter of Charles II., in 1672, was
erected into a lordship, called the Lordship of Lyon.
Li 1777 it was purchased and renovated, both in itself
and in its ground, by the son-in-law of John, Lord
Gray, whose ancestor had built it, and the father of
its present proprietor George Paterson, Esq. ; and
from him it had a restoration of its original name,
and the addition of wings, embattled walls, round
tower and corner turrets, which, while it was mo-
dernized within, enhanced in the exterior its grandly
castellated appearance Drimmie-house, the resi-
dence of Lord Kinnaird, whose proprietorship, and
Mr. Paterson's jointly, extend over nine-tenths of the
parish, was, a few years ago, razed to the ground.
Rossie Priory, his present seat, stands within the
limits of Inchture, but sends a large part of its fine
demesne into Longforgan. Mylnefield-house stands
f of a mile north of Kingoodie, on a rising ground
amid tastefully arranged grounds. Lochtovvn-house
is situated in the north-east. The village of Bal-
bunnoeh, neat, modern, and small, stands in the
south-east corner. The village of Kingoodie is
separately noticed. Lochtown, in the north, is a
mere hamlet The village of Longforgan, covering
about 30 acres, and straggling along the turnpike be-
tween Perth and Dundee on the crest of the tine
bank which overlooks the Carse, stands 6 miles from
Dundee, 16 from Perth, and 1£ from the nearest
point of the frith of Tay. It consists of a principal
street and several lanes. The place probably ori-
ginated in the erection of accommodation for the re-
tainers of the Baron of Huntly-castle ; but it has
long been stationary or retrogressive. In 1672 it
was erected into a free burgh-of-barony by charter of
Charles II., in favour of Patrick, Earl of Strathmore,
and endowed with a pomp and array of privilege
which, when viewed in connexion with its present
condition, look like the trappings of a court-dress
upon a ploughman. Three fairs, on the first Wed-
nesday of June, and the first Wednesday of October,
and the last Monday of April, are still held, chiefly
lor the sale of cattle, and that in June also for the
hiring of servants ; but they decline in importance
and require stimulating aids. The village has a sav-
ings' bank and a library, and, jointly with the parish,
about 150 looms subordinate to the manufacture of
Dundee. Population of the village 450. — Besides
the Perth and Dundee turnpike, the parish has abun-
dant roads ; and it enjoys facilities from its own port
of Kingoodie, and from the vicinity of the rich and
varied communications of Dundee. Population, in
1801, 1,569; in 1831, 1,638. Houses 338. As-
sessed property, in 1815, £26,315. In 1615 an
estate in the parish of Longforgan, Perthshire, was
purchased by Lord Strathmore for £2,222; in 1777
it was resold at £40,000 ; and now the present ren-
tal'is more than the purchase-money in 1615. — Long-
forgan is in the presbytery of Dundee, and synod of
Angus and Mearns. Patron, the Crown. Stipend
£268 3s. 4d. ; glebe £13. Unappropriated tenuis
£207 13s. lid. The church is a handsome, modern,
and very spacious structure, erected by Mr. Paterson
of Castle-Huntly. The parish-school was attended,
in 1834, by 62 scholars ; and three other schools, by
113. Parish schoolmaster's salary £34 4s. 4d., with
about £16 fees, and £14 other emoluments In a
dell on the high grounds of Dron are the ruins of a
chapel which belonged to the monks of Cupar-
Angus, and of its attendant cemetery. Only the
gables remain, one of them perforated with a large
window, whose top is a pointed arch springing from
pilasters. On the grounds of Monorgan are vestiges
of a cemetery which also had, most probably, its
presiding chapel. On the eastern boundary, but now
in the parish of Benvie united to Liif, are vestiges of
a Roman camp ; and on the summit of the hill of
Dron are faint traces of an oval fortification two
Scottish acres in area. In the midst of a plantation
of firs, on what was anciently the moor of Forgan, is
a tumulus 15 or 18 feet high, and 84 feet in diameter,
called the Market-knowe, from having been the scene
of ancient traffic, but proved to have been originally
a barrow, by its yielding up to research coffins and
human skeletons. In various parts of the parish
many ancient coins, chiefly Scottish and English,
have been found.
LONGFORMACUS, a parish consisting of two
slender oblongs transversely attached to each other,
and of a small isolated section in the Lammermoor
district of Berwickshire. The larger oblong stretches
from north to south, in extreme length 8\ miles, and
in mean breadth a fraction more than 24 ; and is
bounded on the north by Haddingtonshire ; on the
east by Abbey St. Bathans, Dunse, and Langton ;
on the south by Greenlaw ; and on the west by
Westruther, by the two parts of Cranshaws, and by
the connecting line between it and the other part of
its own parish. The smaller oblong stretches from
east to west, goes off from the former oblong about
third way from its northern boundary, tapers to a
point at its west end, measures 7^ miles in extreme
length, and 1£ in mean breadth; and is bounded on
the north-west and north by Haddingtonshire and
the upper section of Cranshaws ; on the south by
the lower section of Cranshaws and by Lauder ; and
on the south-west by Lauder. The isolated section
lies 2 miles east of the nearest point of the main body,
measures 1 J mile by 1^, and is bounded on the south-
east by Buncle; on the south by Dunse; and on all
other sides by Abbey St. Bathans. The area of the
parish is about 33 square miles. The whole district
lies among the Lammermoor hills, and partakes, for
the most part, of their dreariest properties. Meikle-
Cess-law, on the boundary with Haddingtonshire,
and near the western extremity, is one of the highest
of the Lammermoors. Dorrington-Great-lavv and
Dorrington-Little-law, the former 1,145 feet high,
are fine conical hills, visible at a great distance.
The statist in the New Account calls attention
to the fact that a farm in the parish bears the
name of Otterburn, and hints the possibility of
this, and not the .famous locality in Northumber-
land, having been the scene of the noted fight
between Douglas and Hotspur. The small village
of Longformacus, provided with an inn, stands on
the Dye, where it runs across the parish, 6.J miles
west of Dunse, and 7J- north of Greenlaw. A road
between Haddington and Coldstream passes through
the parish, but is badly kept ; and other roads are of
meagre extent and in miserable plight. Population,
in 1801, 406; in 1831, 425. Houses 72. Assessed
property, in 1815, £3,039 Longformacus is in the
presbytery of Dunse, and synod of Merse and Teviot-
dale. Patron, Home of Longformacus. Stipend
£221 19s. Id. ; glebe £33. Unappropriated teiuds
£75 6s. lOd. The church is more than a century
old, and has about 200 sittings.. — The present parish
comprehends the ancient parishes of Longformacus
and Ellim, which were united before the year 1750.
The barony of Longformacus belonged, in old times,
successively to the Earls of Moray, the Earls of Dun-
bar, and the Sinclairs of Roslin, and seems always to
have had attached to it the advowson of the church.
Ellim also belonged to the Earls of Dunbar ; and
after their forfeiture was given, by Robert HI., to
Thomas Erskine. The ruins of the ancient church
and hamlet are traceable on the north bank of the
i Whitadder, near the passage which is still called
| Ellim-ford. Schoolmaster's salary £34 4s. 4d., with
l £10 fees, and a house and small piece of ground.