Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 5

LOCHINVER
LOCHLEE
the theme of Latly Heron's song in Marmion, ' Young
Lochinvar. '—Ord. Sitr., sh. 9, 1S63.
Lochinver. See Assynt.
Lochlea. See Tarbolton.
Lochlee (Gael, loch-lc, 'the smooth lake'), a parish in
the N of Forfarshire. The district is sometimes knonii
as Gleuesk. It is hounded N by Aberdeenshire, NE for
a mile by Kincardineshire, E by Edzell, S by Lethnot
and by Cortachy, S\V by Clova, and W by Aberdeen-
shire. The boundary is entirely natural. Beginning at
the NE corner, at the top of Mount Battock, the line
passes down the course of the Burn of Turret to the North
Esk, up the North Esk, IJ mile, to the Burn of Eeeny,
and up the Burn of Eeeny, and then up the Burn of
Deuchary to the highest point of the Hill of Wirren
(2220 feet), and from that westward along the line of
watershed between the basin of the North Esk and that of
the Water of Saughs — the main stream of the "West Water
— the principal summits being West Wirren (2060),
West Knock (2273), two nameless tops to the W (2272)
and (2246), Cruys (2424), East Caii-n (2518), Muckle
Cairn (2699), and White Hill (2787). From this point
onwards the line continues between the upper waters of
the North Esk and the upper waters of the South Esk
in Gleu Clova, the principal summits being Green Hill
(2837 feet), Benty Roads (2753), Boustie Ley (2868), and
Lair of Aldararie (2726), on the borders of Forfarshire
and Aberdeenshire. From this the line follows the
watershed between the basins of the North Esk on the
S and the Dee on the N, first N by Black Hill of Mark
(2497 feet) and Fasheilach (2362), and then E by a name-
less summit(2170). Hair Cairn (2203), Mount Keen(3077),
with its W shoulder (2436 and 2500), Braid Cairn (2907),
Cock Cairn (2387), and the ridge between (2478), Hill
of Cat (2435), Mudlee Bracks (2259), and a summit
between (2363), Hill of Cammie (2028), and Mount
Battock (2555). From Lair of Aldararie to midway
between Hill of Cammie and Mount Battock the line
coincides with the boundary between the counties of
Aberdeen and Forfar, and from this on to the Burn of
Turret with the boundary between the counties of
Kincardine and Forfar. The greatest length, from ENE
at Mount Battock to WSW near the Lair of Aldararie, is
151 miles ; the greatest breadth, from N near Cock Cairn
to S near West Knock, is 8 J miles ; and the area is 58,382
acres. The surface, as might be expected from the
vicinity of the parish to the Grampians, is very rough,
and the average elevation is over 800 feet above sea-level.
Besides the heights already mentioned, there are, between
the Burn of Turret and the Burn of Tennet, Bennygray
(1823 feet) and Craig Soales (1648) ; between Burn of
Tennet and Water of Mark, Hill of Saughs (2141), HiU of
Donne (2342), Craig Brawlin (1643), Ba'dalair (1133), and
Hill of Migvie (1238) ; between Glen Mark and Glen Lee
are Round Hill of Mark (2257), Wolf Craig (2343), and
Monawee (2276) ; to the S of Glen Lee are East BaUoch
(2731) and Craig Maskeldie (2224); between Loch Lee
and Glen Effock is Cairn Caidloch (2117), and further to
the E is Cowie Hill (1439). The heights are steep and
rocky, or covered with heath and moss, and the heather
extends even to the lower elevations. Of the whole
area only about 2000 acres are arable, the rest is
sheep-pasture or waste, and the W and SW is an
extensive deer forest. The soil of the arable portion
is thin and light with a gravelly subsoil, and the
underlying rocks are primary, with beds of lime-
stone. In the 16th century an iron mine at Dalbog was
worked, and later lead ore was mined near Invermark,
but the quantities are unremunerative. They were,
however, noted in early times, and the last effort to
work them was made by the South Sea Company in
1728 at Craig Soales. The drainage of the parish is
etlected by all the head-waters of the North Esk. The
part to the W of Lochlee church, which is very near the
centre of the parish, is drained by the Water of Mark
(NW) and the Water of Lee (W). The former rises on
the extreme W of the parish, and flows N, NE, and SE
to its junction with the Lee, near Lochlee church, and
receives on the N the burns of Fasheilach, Doune,
Ladder, Easter, and Branny. The glen through whicb
the Mark flows is in some places very wild and pictur-
esque. The Water of Lee is joined by the Water of
Unich, which itself receives from the S the burns of
Longshank and Slidderies. To the NE of the church is
the Water of Tarf, which receives from the W the bums
of Adekimore, Ea.ster, and Kirny, and from the N and
NE the burns of Cat, Kidloch, Clearach, and Tennet,
with the burn of Crospit. The Tarf is noted for its
sudden and dangerous freshets. Farther E, on the
boundary-line, is the Burn of Turret. To the E of
the church the North Esk is joined on the S by the
Water of Effock with the Burn of Cochlie, the Burn of
Dalbrack, and the Burns of Berryhill and Deuchary,
which unite to form the Bum of Keeny, and besides
all these there are a very large number of smaller
burns. The lochs in the parish are Carlochy and Loch
Lee. The former lies in the bottom of a great basin-
shaped hollow on the SE flank of Craig Maskeldie,
surrounded by precipices. It contains char, and the
fishing is good. The latter, about IJ mile E by N,
and 900 feet above sea-level, is on the course of the
Water of Lee. It is IJ mile long, and 3 furlongs
wide at the widest part. The fish, which, when full
gro\vn, weigh from 1 to 3 lbs., are char and trout,
and permission to fish is easily procured. The patron
saint of the parish is St Drostan, Abbot of Donegal
in Ireland, and of Holywood in Wigtownshire, who
flourished in the end of the 16 th century. Where
his cell was it is difficult to say, but probably the site
is now occupied by the present manse at Droustie.
This seems a mere corruption of the saint's name, and
a spring close at hand is known as Droustie's Well,
while on Tarfside is Droustie's Meadow, and at Neudos
in EdzeU is St Drostan's Well. The whole district
of Cairncross lying between the Tarf and the Turret
belonged to St Drostan's Monastery, which was probably
in this neighboirrhood, though Dr Joseph Robertson
maintained that it was in Edzell. The old church,
which is at the E end of the loch, is sometimes called
the ' Kirk of Droustie ; ' and a deep pool in the Lee has
the name of 'Monk's Pool,' derived, according to tradi-
tion, from the light possessed by the monks to catch
salmon in it during Lent. In 1384, the parish is men-
tioned as being a chaplainry of Lethnot, and in 1558
mention is made of a curate, but it was not till 1723
that it became a separate charge. Of the olde.st church
that is noticed, nothing is known but that it was burned
in 1645 by the soldiers of the Marquis of Montrose.
It probably was on the same site as the present old
kirk, at the E end of the loch, in a very picturesque
position. This buildiug was originally thatched, but
was slated in 1784. The present parish church, which is
a mile to the eastward, was built in 1803, and contains
270 sittings. The Free church, built in 1843, is farther
to the E, "and | mile NE of the village of Tarfside. It
contains 250 sittings, and in 1881 was adorned with
two stained-glass windows by Messrs Ballantine, to the
memory of Lord Dalhousie and Dr Guthrie, the former
of whom chiefly built the church, whilst the latter
worshipped within its walls for upwards of twenty
summers. The Episcopal church (St Drostane), at
Tarfside, was built in 1878-79 by Lord Forbes, in
memory of the late Rev. Alex. Forbes, Bishop of
Brechin (1817-75). The church, which is First
Pointed in style, was consecrated in 1880 ; it has 135
sittings, and there are three stained-glass windows and
a fine font. Tarfside, near the junction of the Tarf
and N Esk, is now the only village in the parish, the
older Glenlee or Kirkton being gone. It has a sub-
post office under Brechin, the Episcopal church and
parsonage, the public school, and a masonic lodge (St
Andrew's). This body, on its institution in 1821,
erected St Andrew's Tower on Modlach Hill, to afford
a refuge to benighted travellers who might be caught
in snowstorms. The cairn on the top of Migvie or
Rowan Hill, to the W, was erected in 1866 by the
late Earl of Dalhousie (1805-80) as a family memo-
rial, the names of himself, his wife, his brothers, and
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