Inchture Perthshire Scotland

Inchture is village in the Carse of Gowrie, south-east Perthshire, Scotland. Inchture, Perthshire, Scotland. Tour Inchture, Perthshire, Scotland, on an Ancestry Tour of Scotland. Best Scottish Tours, Best Scottish Food, Best Scottish Hotels, Small Group Tours of Scotland. Rent a Cottage in Scotland. Inchture in 1846. Inchture, a parish, in the county of Perth; including the villages of Baledgarno and Ballindean, and containing 765 inhabitants, of whom 243 are in the village of Inchture, 13 miles (E. by N.) from Perth. The word Inchture is altogether of doubtful derivation, but is supposed by some Gaelic scholars to be formed from the terms innis, "an island," and ear, "the east," the eminence on which the church and village stand being the most eastern of a series of elevations that were formerly islands. The parish, which comprehends the ancient parish of Rossie, now extinct, though the ruin of the church still remains, is situated on the north-west of the estuary of the Tay, and measures in length four miles, from north to south, and three in breadth, comprising 3700 Scotch acres, of which about 3200 are in tillage and pasture, and the remainder under wood. Being mostly in the rich and fertile tract of the Carse of Gowrie, usually considered as the "garden of Scotland," the parish shares in all the superiority of scenery, soil, and produce for which that beautiful district is so justly celebrated. The surface is considerably diversified. On the south-east, where the lands are washed by the estuary, are extensive sand-banks, which, at ebb-tide, are seen stretching over several hundreds of acres, and which are bordered inland with a broad margin of sedge or reeds. This is succeeded by a rich alluvial plain, about twenty feet high, extending the whole breadth of the parish, and reaching north-westerly for two or three miles. At the extremity of this plain, again, is the eminence ornamented with the pleasing village of Inchture; and still further towards the north-west appear, in succession, the hills known by the names of Rossie, Baledgarno, and Ballindean, forming a portion of the district here called the "braes of the carse;" and the border of the Sidlaw range rising about 500 feet high. The parish is watered by two principal streams designated "pows," and which are augmented by numerous rivulets descending from the hills. The one flows for a considerable distance along the south-western boundary, into the Firth at Powgavie, where it forms the harbour of that name; and the other, towards the north, formed of the burns of Baledgarno and Rossie, partly separates the parish from Longforgan, where it reaches the Frith. The estuary is here about three miles wide; but at low water the tide recedes to a great distance from the shore, and the sands are marked by many deep fissures, called "water-runs," being channels for the streams. The water of the Tay is strongly impregnated with salt, in consequence of the rapidity of the tide, and the large influx from the sea.

The soil on the level grounds, which constitute by far the larger portion of the parish, is a rich alluvial clay of great depth; the undulations and hills comprise loam, gravel, and sand, with a little peat, resting generally on red sandstone or whinstone. The whole is highly cultivated, and presents one of the finest specimens to be met with of agricultural skill. All kinds of crops are raised: the rotation followed on about twothirds of the grounds is the seven-shift, and in the remainder the six-shift course is followed. A large part of the district in which the parish is situated being a corn country, the rearing of cattle has hitherto been a subordinate consideration; but much more attention is now paid to it than formerly; and Leicester sheep, and the Ayrshire and Teeswater stock of cattle, have been to some extent introduced, as well as an improved breed of horses. Most of the farms have been thoroughly drained; the reclaiming of land overflowed by the tide is going on with spirit; and many embankments have been raised. Though the enclosures at present are principally in the upper portion of the parish, numerous hedge-rows have been planted, and palings erected, on the lower grounds; and the farm-houses and buildings are, in general, in good condition. In 1838, a threshing-mill driven by steam, the only one of the kind in the parish, was erected on Lord Kinnaird's property at Powgavie. The substratum of the lower parts consists of red sandstone, and the hills of whinstone, of each of which several quarries are in operation. There is limestone, but not at present worked; and the locality contains several veins of copper, which, however, have never been wrought: valuable pebbles, also, and various minerals, have occasionally been found. The plantations, with the exception of the ornamental portions, are chiefly on the hills, and comprise oak, ash, elm, beech, birch, larch, and other kinds. The rateable annual value of the parish is £8011.

Rossie Priory, situated on the slope of Rossie hill, and commanding most extensive and beautiful views, was built chiefly by the late Lord Kinnaird, in 1807; it is a very superior mansion, erected with stone from the quarries on the estate, and has been much enlarged and improved by the present noble proprietor, whose ancestor, in the twelfth century, obtained a grant of the lands here from William the Lion. The only other mansion is a modern edifice, named Ballindean House, and situated near the foot of the hill of the same name. The village of Inchture is famed for its excellent beer; and from its brewery are sent, weekly, large supplies to Perth, Dundee, Cupar-Angus, and all parts of the surrounding district. The parish also contains, besides several hamlets, the villages of Baledgarno and Ballindean. The former is supposed to have been so called from Edgar, who came to the throne at the beginning of the eleventh century, and whose name is contained in the two middle syllables: his castle was on an adjoining hill, still called Castle hill, though no remains of the building are now visible. The manufacture of linen is carried on in the parish in private houses; the article produced is a very coarse fabric for sacks or packing. The population, however, are almost all agricultural, and have somewhat diminished in number within the last few years, in consequence of the consolidation of some of the smaller farms. There is a general post-office established at Inchture; and the high road between Edinburgh and Aberdeen by way of Perth and Dundee, passes through the parish. The harbour of Powgavie, or Polgavie, forms the chief point of traffic: a considerable number of vessels come laden with coal, lime, manure, seeds, and grain, and carry away farm produce, especially corn and potatoes, wood, fruits, &c. The parish is in the presbytery of Dundee and synod of Angus and Mearns, and in the patronage of the Crown: the minister's stipend is £200, with a manse, and a glebe of ten acres, valued at £30 per annum. The church, conveniently situated in the middle of the principal village, was built in 1835, of red sandstone from a quarry in the vicinity. The parochial school affords instruction in the usual branches; the master has a salary of £34, with a dwelling-house, and £27 fees. On the borders of the parish is a large stone, supposed by some to be that on which the falcon alighted when boundaries were assigned to the lands given to the gallant Hay and his two sons, after the celebrated battle of Luncarty. The other antiquities comprise chiefly the ruins of the castle of Moncur, the cross formerly surrounded by the village of Rossie, and the interesting remains of the old church of that name, now overgrown with ivy and ash.