Topographical dictionary of Scotland > Volume 2

KIRK
KIRK
ness Point ; on the west are, Crammag, Gounies, and
the Mull of Logan. Of the numerous bays that indent the
coast the most important are, Chapelrossan, Balgown,
New England, Tirally, Grennan, Curghie, Drumore, Culli-
ness, Maryport, and East Tarbet, on the bay of Luce ; and
West Tarbet, Barncorkrie, Clanyard, Portnessock, and
Port Gill, on the shore of the Irish Sea. The harbours
are, Port- Logan in the bay of Portnessock, and Drumore.
At both of these, commodious quays have been erected,
where vessels of any burthen may land and take in their
cargoes, and find safe anchorage in the bays ; but the
former cannot be entered at low water by vessels of
great size. Several of the other bays, also, are accessible
to small vessels in fine weather ; but they are not much
frequented. Fish of many kinds are found in abundance
off the coast ; the most general are, cod, whiting, mullet,
mackerel, skate, turbot, soles, oysters, lobsters, and
crabs, of which two last great numbers are taken by
fishermen from Ireland, for the supply of the Dublin
market. Herrings, after having for years abandoned
this part of the coast, are beginning to return, and pro-
mise to be abundant, in which case the fisheries, not now
conducted upon any regular plan, may become a source
of much profit to the inhabitants.
The soil, though various, is tolerably fertile, and the
lands are in profitable cultivation ; the crops are, wheat,
barley, oats, potatoes, and turnips, with the usual grasses.
The system of husbandry is in a great degree advanced,
but is still susceptible of improvement. Thorough-drain-
ing has been introduced to a moderate extent, with con-
siderable benefit, and due regard is had to the rotation
of crops ; the lands, also, have been mostly inclosed.
But the fences, which are partly of stone and partly of
thorn, are but indifferently constructed ; and though
the buildings on some of the larger farms are substantial,
many are still of very inferior order. The cattle reared
are of the Galloway breed, with the exception of the
cows for the dairy, which are of the Ayrshire ; and great
attention is paid to their improvement : the sheep reared
in the hill pastures are all of the black-faced, but such
as are kept on the farms for domestic use are of the
Leicestershire breed. The plantations, chiefly confined
to the vicinity of Logan House, consist of ash, mountain-
ash, sycamore, elm, beech, birch, and Huntingdon wil-
low, for all of which the soil is well adapted ; and in
places sheltered from the sea, pineaster, white-spruce,
Scotch fir, holly, and yew, are in a thriving state. The
rocks are generally composed of greywacke and argilla-
ceous schist, alternated with portions of granite and
gneiss. Slate of tolerable quality for roofing is found
in abundance, and in some places has been wrought to
a considerable extent ; but there are neither mines nor
quarries at present in operation. The rateable annual
value of the parish is £6396. Logan House, the seat of
the principal landed proprietor, is a handsome modern
mansion, situated in an extensive demesne richly em-
bellished. No manufactures are carried on ; but in the
villages of Drumore and Port-Logan, which are sepa-
rately described, a few of the inhabitants are employed
in the requisite handicraft trades. There is a post-
office established under that of Stranraer, from which
town the mail is conveyed daily to Port-Logan and
Drumore, three days in the week by a gig merely,
and on other days by a car carrying passengers. A
fair is held near the church on the Tuesday after the
21st of November : it was formerly frequented by dealers
114
from various parts of the country, but has recently de-
generated into a mere pleasure-fair. Facility of com-
munication is maintained by statute-labour roads, re-
cently much improved, and kept in good repair.
The ecclesiastical affairs are under the super-
intendence of the presbytery of Stranraer and synod of
Galloway. The minister's stipend is £150. 16. 5., of
which £5. 7- 8. are paid from the exchequer, with a
manse, and a glebe valued at £8 per annum ; patron,
the Earl of Stair. The church, situated nearly in the
centre of the parish, was erected in 1638; it is a very
plain structure, with 275 sittings. The parochial school
is attended by about ninety children ; the master
has a salary of £25. 15., with a house and garden, and
the fees average £18. A parochial library, containing a
collection of 600 volumes, is supported by subscription.
There are slight vestiges of ancient fortresses on the
hills, supposed to have been of Pictish origin : on the
isthmus connecting the Mull of Galloway with the main
land, are some traces of a double line of fortifications
extending from sea to sea. Upon the coast, near East
Tarbet, is a cave thought to have been the retreat of
St. Medan ; and near it, in the adjoining rock, is a
cylindrical well, about four feet in diameter and six
feet deep, naturally formed, and supplied with water by
the surf breaking over the rock at spring tides. There
are some remains of the ancient castles of Logan, Clan-
yard, and Drumore ; and the dinner-bell of the old
castle of Clanyard, which, according to an inscription,
appears to have been originally cast for the grandfather
of the first Earl of Dalhousie, in 1534, is now suspended
in the steeple of the parish church. Near Logan is a
natural cavity in the rocks, into which the tide enters at
every flood, and which is generally stored with various
kinds of fish. Andrew Mc Douall, Lord Bankton, author
of Institutes of Scottish Law, and Robert Mc Douall, ad-
miral both in the Portuguese and British service, were
natives of the parish.
KIRKMICHAEL, a parish, in the district of Carrick,
county of Ayr ; containing, with the village of Cross-
hill, 2933 inhabitants, of whom 499 are in the village
of Kirkmichael, 3 miles (E. by S.) from Maybole. This
place, which derives its name from the dedication of its
church, appears to have been at an early period part of
the possessions of the Kennedy family, to whose an-
cestor a grant of the lands was confirmed by charter of
David II., about the year 1360. By the marriage of Sir
James Kennedy with the daughter of Robert III., this
family obtained a considerable degree of rank and in-
fluence. Gilbert Kennedy, the second Earl of Cassilis,
was employed in many of the most important offices of
state ; he was assassinated at Prestwick by Hugh
Campbell, sheriff of Ayrshire. His son, Quintin Ken-
nedy, who became Abbot of Crossraguel, is distinguished
for having maintained the tenets of popery in a discus-
sion with the celebrated reformer, John Knox, and on
his decease was canonized for his zeal and profound
devotion to the Roman Catholic faith. Gilbert, the
third earl, was the friend and pupil of the historian,
George Buchanan ; and John, the sixth Earl of Cassilis,
was one of the ruling elders who attended the assembly
of divines at Westminster, in 1643. The parish is
about twelve miles in length, and rather more than five
miles and a half in extreme breadth ; it is bounded on
the north and north-east by the parish of Dalrymple, on
the east by that of Straiton, on the south by Dailly,