Topographical dictionary of Scotland > Volume 2

KIRK
KIRK
the walls of which are about 150 feet square, twenty feet
high, and fifteen feet thick. Traces are still visible of
the Roman road leading from the great camp at Burns-
wark, in the parish of Middlebie, to a small rectangular
encampment in this parish called Tatius-Holm. There
are also numerous cairns and circular inclosures upon
the hills. The parish contains several strong chalybeate
springs.
KIRKTON, a village, in the parish of Balmerino,
district of Cupar, county of Fife; containing 111 in-
habitants. This is a small village, or hamlet, lying
north of the ruins of the celebrated abbey of Balmerino,
which occupy a beautiful situation in the neighbourhood
of the Tay, and form the chief object of attraction as
respects the antiquities of the parish.
KIRKTON, a village, in the parish of Largo, dis-
trict of St. Andrew's, county of Fife, 1 mile (N. E. by
E.) from Largo ; containing 395 inhabitants. It lies in
the south-eastern part of the parish, on the road from
Kilconquhar to Largo ; and derives its name from the
situation of the parish church within its limits. The
population is chiefly agricultural.
KIRKTON, a village, in the parish of Kirkma-
hoe, county of Dumfries ; containing 221 inhabitants.
KIRKTON, a village, in the parish of Auchter-
house, county of Forfar, 8 miles (E. by S.) from
Cupar- Angus ; containing 134 inhabitants. The village
is seated in the centre of the parish, east of the high
road from Dundee to Meigle, and on an elevated site
about a hundred feet above the level of the sea. From
it, on the west, through an opening of the Sidlaw hills,
called the Glack of Newtile, is a fine view of part of
Strathmore, the district of Stormont, and the Grampians;
and on the south and east are seen the Lomond hills,
Largo Law, the city and bay of St. Andrew's, the Frith
of Tay, and the German Ocean, which last terminates
the prospect. The church is situated in the village.
KIRKTON, a hamlet, in the parish of Glenisla,
county of Forfar, 8 miles (N. by W.) from Alyth ;
containing 44 inhabitants. This is a very small place,
only distinguished as containing the church. It is in
the southern part of the parish, and on the north bank
of the Isla, which here flows in a devious course, and
in nearly a south-eastern direction, until it joins the
river Melgum behind Airlie Castle. The road from
Lentrathen to Fergus, in the parish, passes close to the
hamlet.
KIRKTON, a village, in the parish of Stkathmar-
tine, county of Forfar, 4 miles (N. N. W.) from
Dundee ; containing 96 inhabitants. It is nearly in the
centre of the parish, on the road to Dundee, and on the
banks of the Dighty water. In the village, as its name
imports, is situated the kirk, and also the manse.
KIRKTON, a hamlet, in the parish of Tealing,
county of Forfar, 6 miles (N.) from Dundee ; contain-
ing 48 inhabitants. It lies in the central part of the
parish, a short distance eastward of the road from
Dundee to Kirriemuir. The church is in the hamlet.
KIRKTON of KINNETTLES, a hamlet, in the
parish of Kinnettles, county of Forfar, 9\ miles
(S. W. by W.) from Forfar ; containing 49 inhabitants.
This place is situated in the south-western part of the
parish, a short distance eastward from Douglaston ; and
is a pleasing hamlet, built in 1813, and having a chain-
bridge across the Kerbit rivulet, by which the parish is
126
intersected. Though the population is so small, it com-
prehends persons in various trades.
KIRKTON of WEEM, a village, in the parish of
Weem, county of Perth, 1 mile (N. W. by W.) from
Aberfeldy ; containing 50 inhabitants. It is situated in
one of the detached portions of the parish, and is sepa-
rated by the waters of the Tay, over which is Tay bridge,
from the town of Aberfeldy. The bridge is a fine build-
ing of five arches, and was finished in 1733, under the
direction of General Wade, then commander of the
forces in Scotland. In the village is a good inn ; and
the church, in its vicinity, is conveniently situated for
a large part of the population of the district.
KIRKTOUN, a village, in the parish of Burnt-
island, district of Kirkcaldy, county of Fife, 4 miles
(S. by W.) from Kirkcaldy ; containing 251 inhabitants.
The village is pleasantly situated, and, from the favour-
able state of the climate, and the pleasantness of the
surrounding district, is much resorted to during the
season for sea-bathing, fur which this part of the coast
is celebrated. It is well supplied with provisions of
every kind from the market-town of Kirkcaldy, with
which it has facility of intercourse by good turnpike-
roads ; and there is intercourse with Newhaven and
other towns by steam-boats, which regularly sail from
the port of Burntisland.
KIRKTOUN, a parish, in the district of Hawick,
county of Roxburgh, 4 miles (E. by S.) from Hawick ;
containing 313 inhabitants. This parish is about eight
miles in length, from east to west, and two miles in
breadth, from north to south ; and is bounded on the
north-east by the parish of Hobkirk ; on the west,
partly by the parish of Cavers, and partly by that of
Hawick ; and in all other directions, by the parish of
Cavers. The surface is undulated, rising in many parts
into green hills of moderate elevation and of great
variety of form ; and is intersected by the river Slitrig,
on the western bank of which the ground rises by a
gradual and continued acclivity to the boundary of the
parish. The scenery is generally pleasing ; but the
want of wood renders it comparatively barren of pic-
turesque beauty. The soil is mostly fertile, and the pas-
tures rich ; the whole number of acres in the parish is
estimated at 10,200, comprising arable, pasture, and
uncultivated land, with a very small portion in wood
and plantations. The system of agriculture is in an im-
proved state ; the lands have been well drained, and
inclosed partly with stone dykes, and partly with hedges,
kept in good order; a few farm- buildings are substan-
tial and commodious, and the various improvements in
the construction of implements have been adopted. A
quarry of very excellent whinstone has been opened,
which provides abundant materials for the roads and
for other purposes. Facility of communication with the
neighbouring market-towns is afforded by the roads
from Hawick to Liddesdale and Newcastle, which pass
through the parish ; and there are various good roads
kept in repair by statute labour. The rateable an-
nual value of Kirktoun is £3599. The ecclesiastical
affairs are under the superintendence of the pres-
bytery of Jedburgh and synod of Merse and Teviot-
dale. The stipend of the incumbent is £174; the
manse, with offices, was built in the summer of 1840,
and the glebe is valued at £11 per annum. The
church is a neat plain edifice, also built in the sum-