Imperial gazeteer of Scotland, or, Dictionary of Scottish topography > Volume 1

AUCHTERTYRE.
98
AULDEARN.
surface is undulating, but has a general declination
to the east. The ground about the church and
manse is elevated and commanding, and takes in a
fine view of the sea to the east, as far as the eye can
reach, comprehending in it the isle of May, the
Bass, North-Berwick law, and a point of the Lothian
coast which stretches a considerable way into the
sea. There is one small lake in the parish called
Camilla Loch, in which are some perch. It takes
its name from the old house of Camilla adjacent to
it; which was so called after one of the countesses
of Moray, a Campbell. The ancient name of the
house was Hallyards, when it belonged to the family
of the Skenes. It is said to have been the rendez-
vous of the Fife lairds at the rebellion in 1715.
When James V. was on his road to the palace of
Falkland, after the defeat of bis army on the English
border, under the command of Oliver Sinclair, he
lodged all night in the house of Hallyards, where
he was courteously received by the Lady of Grange,
" ane ancient and goalie matron," as Knox calls her.
It seems then to have belonged to the Kirkcaldies
of Grange, a family of considerable note in the
history of Scotland. It is now a rain. Limestone,
whinstone, and sandstone are quarried; but the last
is of poor quality. The total yearly value of all the
raw produce of the parish was estimated in 1836, at
£9,262. Assessed property in 1865, £4,204. The
chief landowners are the Earl of Moray and the
family of Wemyss. The real rent in 1836 was
£2,165. The village of Auchtertool stands in the
south-eastern part of the parish, about 4J miles
west of Kirkcaldy. It contains a large brewery, a
parochial library, and a savings' bank. Population
of the village in 1851, 239. There is another vil-
lage, but a very small one, of the name of New-
biggiug- Population of the parish in 1831, 527; in
1861, 609. Houses, 121.
This parish is in the presbytery of Kirkcaldy,
and synod of Fife. Patron, the Earl of Moray.
Stipend, £157 18s. 10d.; glebe, £20. Schoolmaster's
salary now is £50, with about £30 fees. The
church stands a mile distant from the villages,
and was repaired in 1833, and contains 280 sit-
tings. There are a subscription school, an infant
school, and a parochial library. The Lochgelly
station of the Dunfermline branch of the North
British railway is in the vicinity,
AUCHTERTYEE, a small village in the parish
of Newtyle, Forfarshire. Near it are traces of an
old camp. See Newtyle.
AUCKINGILL, a village in the parish of Canis-
bay, Caithness shire.
AUGUSTUS (Foet), a fort and a village on a
small triangular plain, at the south-western ex-
tremity of Loch Ness, in the parish of Boleskine,
Inverness-shire ; 18 miles north of Garviemore-inn ;
32 J south-west of Inverness; 29 north-east of Fort-
William ; f>\ miles from the north-east end of Loch
Oich; and 144 from Edinburgh. The fort was
erected on a part of the forfeited estate of Lord
Lovat in 1729, and is a regular fortification, with
four bastions defended by a ditch, covert-way, and
glacis, and barracks capable of accommodating 300
soldiers. It was until late years garrisoned by a
company of soldiers, and supplied with provisions
from Inverness; but the guns have been removed
to Fort-George, and there are only a few soldiers
stationed here. The fortifications are in good re-
pair; but as the whole is commanded from the
neighbouring hills on every side, it is by no means
capable of long resistance. It is a neat-looking
place. The surrounding plantations, and the rivers
Tarffe and Oich which run by it, give it very much
the appearance of an English country-seat. " Look-
ing down from the glacis," says Miss Spence, " the
eye commands the whole length of the lake, 24
miles. On the south side, bordered by lofty and
precipitous rooks as far as the eye reaches, without
any interruption except the hanging gardens of
Glendoe. On the north, a softer and more varied
prospect forms a happy contrast to the rude gran-
deur of Suidh Chuiman, and the dark heights of
Stratherrick. Verdant bays retire from the view;
wooded heights gently rising, and peopled glens of
the most pastoral description, intervene, — each
divided by its blue narrow stream pouring in to
augment the abundance of the lake. This last, in
calm weather, holds a most beautiful and clear
mirror to its lofty and varied borders. In wintry
storms its agitations ' resemble Ocean into tempest
wrought.' The eddying winds which rush with in-
conceivable fury down the narrow openings in the
hills, make navigation dangerous from their violence
and uncertainty. The east wind — which sometimes
prevails in winter for more than a montn — raises
tremendous waves, yet it is not so dangerous as the
impetuous blasts which descend from the apertures
between the mountains." Fort Augustus was taken
by the rebels in 1745, who deserted it after de-
molishing what they could. The Duke of Cumber-
land established his head-quarters here after the
battle of Culloden.
The village of Fort Augustus stands immediately
behind the fort, and bears also the name of Killie-
cuming, or Cill Chuiman. It has a post-office under
Inverness, a hotel, an established church, a Free
church, a Roman Catholic chapel, an Established
school, and a Free church school. A missionary
clergyman of the Royal Bounty serves the Estab-
lished church ; and the sum raised in 1865 in con-
nexion with the Free church was £77 15s. 5d. Sheriff
small debt courts are held in January, May, and
September. Fairs are held on the Monday before the
second Wednesday of June, on the second Thursday
of August, and on the Monday before the 29th of
September. There are also occasional trysts for
black cattle in spring and autumn. The Cale-
donian canal here passes through a series of five
locks ; and the place is enlivened by the transit oi
the Glasgow and Inverness steam-boats. Popula-
tion of the village, 213.
AULDBAR, an estate and a railway station, in
the parish of Aberlemno, Forfarshire. The estate
belongs to the family of Chalmers, who reside on it
in Auldbar castle, a modernized old stronghold.
See Aberlemno. The railway station is on the part
of the Aberdeen railway which originally formed
the Arbroath and Forfar railway, and is situated on
the southern border of Aberlemno parish, at a point
whence a road was made to communicate between
the latter railway and Brechin. See Aeeeoath and
Foefar Railway.
AULDCAMBUS. See Cockbuenspath.
AULDCATHIE. See Dalmexy.
AULD- DAVIE, a rivulet in Aberdeenshire, a
head-tributary to the Ythan, into which it falls near
Glenmailen. Near the confluence of the two stream s,
in the parish of Auchterless, are some relics of Ro-
man antiquities, called the Rae or Ri dykes, sup-
posed by many to point out the Statio ad Itunam of
Tacitus. See ' Caledonia,' vol. i. p. 127 ; and Roy's
' Military Antiquities,' Plate LI. See Auchterless.
AULDEARN, a parish, containing a post-office
village of its own name, in the north-east corner of
Nairnshire. It is bounded on the north by the
Moray frith; on the east, by Morayshire; on the
south, by the parish of Ardelach; and on the west,
by the parish of Nairn. It extends 4 miles along
the front; and is in length about 6 J miles, and in