A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
Kirkmichael, a village and a parish of NE Perthshire. The village stands upon Airdle Water, 705 feet above sea-level, and 14 miles NNW of Blairgowrie, under which it has a post office. A handsome bridge, built here across the Airdle in 1842, was greatly damaged by the flood of 1847, but afterwards repaired.
The parish, containing also Spittal of Glenshee, is bounded N by Crathie in Aberdeenshire, E by Glenisla and Alyth in Forfarshire, SE by detached sections of Rattray, Caputh, and Bendochy, S by Blairgowrie (detached) and Clunie, SW by Logierait and DunkeldDowally (detached), W by Moulin, and NW by Blair Athole. Its utmost length, from NNW to SSE, is 16 ¼ miles; it breadth varies between 4 1/8 and 10 3/8 miles; and its area is 57, 558 2/3 acres, of which 275 2/3 are water. Airdle Water, entering from Moulin, winds 7 ¼ miles south-south-eastward, till it passes off below Ballintuim House on its way to a confluence with the Shee or Black Water, which, gathering its head-streams at Spittal of Glenshee (1125 feet), has here a south-south-easterly course of 10 miles near to or along the eastern border. One of its head-streams issues from Loch nan Eun (3½ x 1¾ furl.; 2550 feet), lying close to the Aberdeenshire boundary; and one of its affluents is fed from Loch Shechernich (4 x 1¾ furl.; 1350 feet), close to the Forfarshire boundary. Along the Airdle the surface declines to 570, along the Black Water to 780, feet above sea-level; and thence it rises to *Knock of Balmyle (1458 feet), *Creag nam Mial (1843), Creag a' Mhadaidh (1474), *Creag Dhubh (2082), Lamh Dearg (1879), Meall Uaine (2600), *Meall a' Choire Bhuidhe (2846), Carn an Daimh (2449), *Monamenach (2649), Ben Ghulbhuinn (2641), *Creag Leacach (3238), Carn Mor (2846), *Cairnwell (3059), *Beinn Iutharn Bheag (3011), and *Glas Thulachan (3445), where asterisks mark those summits that culminate on or close to the confines of the parish. The Airdle's narrow vale, some patches along the Black Water, and a belt of territory extending from the Airdle at Kirkmichael village eastward to the Black Water, are low comparatively and mostly under cultivation; but nearly all the rest of the surface is lofty upland, chiefly mountainous, a portion of the Central Grampians. The rocks are mostly metamorphic, and one or two out of many copious springs are medicinal, believed to be anti-scorbutic. The soil of the low grounds along the streams is thin and dry, on a sandy bottom; that on the higher arable grounds is wet and spongy, requiring a dry warm season to render it productive. Little more than one-twelfth of the entire area is in tillage; about 750 acres are under wood; and the rest is either pastoral or waste. A rocking-stone, 3 ¼ miles SE of Kirkmichael village, is estimated to weigh 3 tons; and near it are four concentric stone circles. To the W are several standing stones, vestiges of eight or more other stone circles, and a cairn 270 feet in circumference and 25 high, surrounded at a little distance, and at different intervals, with a number of smaller cairns in groups of eight or ten. Ashintully, Kindrogan, and Woodhill, noticed separately, are the chief mansions. Including all Glenshee quoad sacra parish and a portion of Persie, Kirkmichael is in the presbytery of Dunkeld and synod of Perth and Stirling; the living is worth £188. The parish church, at Kirkmichael village, was built in 1791, and contains 596 sittings. There is also a Free church; and three public schools-Ballintuim, Glenshee, and Kirkmichael-with respective accommodation for 64, 47, and 130 children, had (1881) an average attendance of 28, 25, and 58, and grants of £37, 1s., £38, 7s. 6d., and £62, 17s. Valuation (1860) £12,588, (1883) £16,754, 4s. 11d. Pop. (1801) 1563, (1831) 1568, (1861) 1224, (1871) 965, (1881) 849, of whom 293 were Gaelic-speaking, and 568 belonged to Kirkmichael ecclesiastical parish.—Ord. Sur., shs. 56, 65, 55, 64, 1869-74.
(F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4); © 2004 Gazetteer for Scotland)
| Linked entities: | |
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| Feature Description: | "a village and a parish" (ADL Feature Type: "populated places") |
| Administrative units: | Kirkmichael ScoP Perthshire ScoCnty |
| Place: | Kirkmichael |
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