Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland

CAIRNGORM
the foundations of the Bell Rock lighthouse ; and they
furnished the blocks for the foundations of the present
London Bridge, for the pier-walls of the new Houses of
Parliament, for the pillars in Covent Garden Market,
for the great polished monolithic pillars of St George's
Hall in Liverpool, and for the pedestals of several great
public statues.
Cairngorm, a mountain on the mutual border of Kirk-
michael parish, Banffshire, and Abernethy parish, In-
verness-shire, culminating 3 miles NE of the summit of
Ben Macdhui in Aberdeenshire. It has a conical out-
line, and rises to an altitude of 4084 feet above sea-level.
It is clothed, over much of its sides, with Scotch pine
forest, and covered on the top almost all the year round
with snow; and it stands grouped with a great knot of
the Grampians, occupying an area of about 140 square
miles, sending off the head-streams of the river Dee, and
of great affluents of the Spey, and often called from it
the Cairngorm group. The mountain-masses of the
group are broken and dissevered by intervening depres-
sions and intersecting glens ; their rocks are famous for
containing numerous specimens of the beautiful rock
crystals popularly called Cairngorm stones; the shoulders
of some of them break down in stupendous precipices ;
the shoulders and skirts of others are clothed with ver-
dure or with forest; and some of the glens display sublime
features of alpine scenery. — Ord. Sur., sh. 74, 1877. See
Hill Burton's Cairngorm Mountains.
Cairnharrow. See Anwoth.
Cairn Hill, an estate in Craigie parish, Ayrshire. The
mansion, on Cessnock Water, 5 miles SSE of Kilmar-
nock, is partly modern, partly a strong, old, well-pre-
served tower; its owner, Jn. W. Ferrier-Hamilton, Esq.
(b. 1863, sue. 1872), holds 1719 acres in the shire, valued
at £2687 per annum.
Cairnhill, an estate in New Monkland parish, NE Lan-
arkshire, 1 mile S by W of Airdrie, with a seat of Jn.
More Nisbett, Esq. (b. 1826, sue. 1843), owner of 1326
acres in the shire, valued at £4470 per annum, including
£2796 for minerals.
Cairnholy, a tumulus in Kirkmabreck parish, Kirk-
cudbrightshire, 1 mile N of the shore of Wigtown Bay,
and 6 miles SE of Creetown. One tradition calls it the
grave of the mythical king Galdus, who is fabled to have
given his name to Galloway; another makes it the grave
of a 12th century Bishop of Whithorn, who fell in battle
at the head of a Scottish army fighting against the Eng-
lish on a neighbouring moor ; but both are utterly idle.
It may, however, be of Druidical origin. History knows
nothing respecting it. An exploration, made in the
early part of last century, discovered in it a kistvaen
so large that the upper stone (6x3 feet) has lain unre-
moved till the present day. Six large sepulchral stones
still stand erect on the same grassy mound. See pp.
112, 113 of Harper'3 Rambles in Galloway.
Cairnie (Gael, carnan, 'small cairn'), a hamlet of
NW Aberdeenshire, and a parish formerly partly also in
Banffshire, but in 1891 restricted by the Boundary Com-
missioners to the Aberdeenshire portion, the Banffshire
portion having been transferred to the Banffshire parish
of Keith. Cairnie is also a registration district, with a
population in 1891 of 1473. The hamlet lies on the left
Dank of the Burn of Cairnie, a small affluent of the Isla,
4| miles NW of its post-town Huntly. The parish is
traversed, along the NE border, by the Great North of
Scotland railway, and contains there Rothiemay station.
The Deveron traces the eastern, and the Isla the north-
eastern boundary. Low grounds adjoin these streams,
and have a deep fr-rtile soil. The surface sinks at the
confluence of the Isla and Deveron to 296 feet above sea-
level, but rises southward to the Bin (1027 feet), west-
ward to the Little and Meikle Balloch (913 and 1199) on
the Banffshire border, and to the Hill of Shenwall (967).
In 1839-40 2258 acres, on and near the Bin, were planted
with larch, spruce, and pine. A lime-work is at Ardonald.
The entire parish formed part of the lordship of Strath-
bogie, taken from the Comyns by Robert Bruce, and given
to Sir Adam Gordon; it thence onward was the original
estate of the Gordon family; and, as now ecclesiastically
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CAIRNS
constituted, it comprises the ancient parishes of Botary
and Ruthven, and part of Drumdelgy. The portrait-
painter Wm. Aikman (1682-1731) was a native. The
Duke of Richmond and Gordon and Major Duff Gordon
Duff are the chief proprietors, 7 others holding a yearly
value of less than £100. Cairnie is in the presbytery of
Strathbogie and synod of Moray; the living is worth
£282. The parish church is an old but commodious
building, and there is also a Free church; whilst four
schools — Alehousehillock, Cairnie, Ruthven, and Windy-
raw — with respective accommodation for 68, 127, 80, and
67 children, had (1891) an average attendance of 30, 83,
55, and 51, and grants of £27, lis., £53, 8s. 4d., £47,
17s. 6d., and £54, 4s. 6d. Valuation of Aberdeenshire
portion £7700 17s. 6d. ; of Banffshire section £926, 9s. 6d.
Pop. (1801) 1561, (1821) 1854, (1841) 1638, (1861) 1490,
(1871) 1525, (1881) 1565, (1891) 1473, of whom 74 were
in Banffshire.— Ord. Sur., shs. 85, 86, 1876. See A
Stroll to Cairnie, and the Rev. Dr. J. F. Gordon's Book
of the Chronicles of Keith, Cairnie, etc.
Cairnie, an estate, with a mansion, in Cupar parish,
Fife.
Cairniehill. See Cairneyhill.
Cairniemount or Cairn-o'-Mount, a mountain on the
mutual border of Strachan and Fordoun parishes, Kin-
cardineshire. An offshoot of the Grampians, it culmi-
nates 6| miles ESE of Mount Battock at 1488 feet
above sea-level; and it is traversed, over its eastern
shoulder, by a public road leading from Forfarshire to
Deeside.
Cairnies, an estate, with a mansion and the Scottish
Episcopal College of Glenalmond, on the river Almond,
Perthshire, 10 miles WNW of Perth. It was transferred
from Monzie to Methven parish in 1891. The mansion
was the seat of the Right Hon. George Patton, Lord
Justice-Clerk (d. 1869), and, with the estate, is now
owned by Colonel Harris.
Cairnirenan, a place on the northern border of Kil-
learnan parish, Ross-shire, said to have been the bury-
ing-ground of an ancient Danish prince Irenan, and to
have given name to the parish of Killearnan.
Cairnish. See Carinish.
Cairnkinna, a summit in Penpont parish, NW Dum-
friesshire, 5 miles S by E of Sanquhar. Rising 1813
feet above sea-level, it commands an extensive view over
much of Dumfriesshire to parts of Ayrshire, Lanark-
shire, Kirkcudbrightshire, and Cumberland.
Cairnmonearn, a summit in Durris parish, Kincar-
dineshire, 6J miles NW of Stonehaven. An offshoot of
the Grampians, it rises 1245 feet above sea-level.
Cairnocuimhne, a large tumulus of small stones in
Crathie parish, Aberdeenshire, at a narrow pass between
the Dee and an overhanging hill, on the road from
Aberdeen to Castleton of Braemar and to Fort George.
It is said to have been formed, in the feudal times, oy
the practice of clans, when marching through the pass,
laying each man a stone upon it in order that the chief-
tains might know how many men were marching to
battle or had fallen on the battlefield.
Cairn-o'-Mount. See Cairniemount.
Cairnorrie. See Methlick.
Cairnpat or Cairnpiat, a hill in Portpatrick parish,
Wigtownshire, 3J miles SSW of Stranraer. Rising 593
feet above sea-level, it commands a fine view of the
Rhins of Galloway; and its top is engirt with remains
of two (formerly three) stone walls, evidently erected for
military purposes, separated from one another by ample
intervening spaces, and at one time defended Dy
entrenchments.
Cairnryan, a sea-port village in Inch parish, Wigtown-
shire, on the eastern shore of Loch Ryan, 54 miles N of
Stranraer. It has a post office under Stranraer, with
money order, savings bank, and telegraph departments,
an inn, a good harbour, an Established church, a Free
church, and a General Assembly's school. The harbour
is on a small sheltered bay, where vessels of any burden
may anchor in perfect safety. The Established church
(1841) is the church of Lochryan quoad sacra parish.
Cairns, a ruined ancient castle in Midcaldcr parish,