A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
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A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
Kilmaronock, a parish of E Dumbartonshire, whose church stands 2 miles WNW of Drymen station on the Forth and Clyde Junction section of the North British, this being 3 miles NE of Caldarvan or Kilmaronock station and 6¾ ENE of Balloch. Including the islands of Inchmurrin, Creinch, Torrinch, and Aber, it is bounded W and NW by Loch Lomond, NE and E by Buchanan and Drymen in Stirlingshire, S by Dumbarton, and SW by Bonhill. Its utmost length, from E to W, is 53/8 miles; its utmost breadth, from N to S, is 5¼ miles; and its area is 14,561½ acres, of which 4236¾ are water. Loch Lomond is on the boundary from a point 5 furlongs N of Balloch pier all round to the mouth of Endrick Water; Endrick Water winds 8 miles west-north-westward along all the north-eastern border; and Gallangad or Catter Burn, entering from Dumbarton, flows 3¼ miles northward through the southern interior, then 2¾ miles north-eastward along the boundary with Drymen, till it falls into Endrick Water near Drymen station. From Loch Lomond the surface rises south-eastward to 284 feet near Baturich Castle, 576 at Mount Misery, 462 at conical Duncryne, and 800 at the Dumbarton boundary, the southern district, beyond the Forth and Clyde railway, being mainly a moorish upland tract, projected from Dumbarton Muir. The north eastern district, along Endrick Water, to a breadth of from 1 furlong to ¾ mile, is a low, level, alluvial tract of high fertility, richly embellished with culture and wood; and the rest of the land, with exception of Duncryne and the ridge of Mount Misery, is all champaign, diversified with heights of from 100 to 300 feet above sea level, and richly adorned with corn fields, woods, and parks. The rocks are partly eruptive, partly Devonian; and the soil is various, ranging from deep alluvium to shallow moor, but most of it very fertile. About 850 acres are under wood; fully as much upland is pastoral; and the rest of the land is nearly all arable. Kilmaronock Castle, on the Mains estate, near the church, would seem to have been a massive and imposing pile. Mansions are Baturich Castle, Caldarvan House, Catter House, and Ross Priory; and, besides the Duke of Montrose, 3 other proprietors hold each an annual value of £500 and upwards, 12 of between £100 and £500, 4 of from £50 to £100, and 4 of from £20 to £50. The original church of Kilmaronock (Gael. church of my little Ronan') was dedicated to St Ronan, a bishop of Kingarth in Bute, who died in 737; but a neighbouring spring bears the name of St Maronock's Well,' and Scott in the Lady of the Lake calls Ellen a 'votaress of Maronnan's cell.' In 1325 it was given by Robert I. to the monks of Cambuskenneth, and theirs it continued down to the Reformation. Kilmaronock is in the presbytery of Dumbarton and synod of Glasgow and Ayr; the living is worth £353. The present church was built in 1813, and contains 340 sittings. A U.P. church was rebuilt about 1852; and two public schools, Ardoch Bridge and Kilmaronock, with respective accommodation for 80 and 82 children, had (1881) an average attendance of 33 and 52, and grants of £28, 16s. and £56, 11s. Valuation (1860) £7232, (1883) £11,309, 11s. 3d. Pop. (1801) 879, (1831) 999, (1861) 1085, (1871) 978, (1881) 927.—Ord. Sur., shs. 38, 30, 1871 66.
(F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4); © 2004 Gazetteer for Scotland)
| Linked entities: | |
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| Feature Description: | "a parish" (ADL Feature Type: "countries, 4th order divisions") |
| Administrative units: | Kilmaronock ScoP Dunbartonshire ScoCnty |
| Place: | Kilmaronock |
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