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Strathmore Past and Present
Glamis


This widely-known parish—especially on account of its venerable and princely Castle—derives its name (according to Dr. Lyon) from glamm, “noise or sound,” and iss, an affix signifying an obstruction ; on account of the murmuring sound caused by the waterfall of the Bum, in a deep and rocky gorge above the village; but Jervise thinks it is a corruption of the Gaelic glamhus, “a wide, open country.” Strange, however, in the earliest charter extant it is spelled Glampnes. In a very old map we find it marked Glamms C.; but in Edward’s map Glams C. It is pronounced as one syllable.

The parish lies in the southern side of Strathmore, and is bounded on the west by Eassie and Nevay; on the north by Airlie and Kirriemuir; on the east by Forfar and Kinnettles; and on the south by Tealing, Auchterhouse, and Newtyle. It is of an elliptical shape, being miles from north to south, and 5| miles from east to west. The northern part is a gentle undulated surface, all whose softly featured knolls are of nearly equal height. The Dean Water divides this from the central portion, which gradually rises southward till it heaves up in the lower ridge of the Sidlaws, to about 700 feet above the level of the sea. South of this, three parallel ranges of hill stretch away to the Denoon Glen and Glen Ogilvie ; and terminate about 1500 feet above sea-level. In the northern division the soil is of light gravelly and sandy loams, with a few portions of clay and a considerable area of moss; on the whole unexpectedly poor for the situation. The central portion is of a deep alluvial brown loam of very productive quality. A good sharp gravelly loam is in the dens of the south portion ; but the hills are moorish and covered with heath. The climate is now much healthier since the swamps and mosses have been elaborately drained ; the prevailing ague and consumption, on account of the moist air, being now little known.

The western end of the Loch of Forfar is within the parish; but by drainage, it has been reduced to an inconsiderable strip of water, forming the head of the Dean, the principal stream in this quarter. The Dean is joined in the parish by the Ball and Burn from Kirriemuir, the Kerbet Water from Kinnettles, and the Glamis Burn from the Sidlaws; and below the parish by the Denoon Burn. The united waters form a deep sluggish stream, with much serpentine winding, confined to twenty or thirty feet in width by embankments.

Sandstone of close granulation is the prevailing mineral. There is a quarry close upon the village of Glamis, famous for its millstones, which are fire-proof. The slate-beds in the Sidlaws were formerly wrought for the roofing of houses: but now, under the name of Arbroath pavement, they are extensively wrought for flooring and paving purposes. A century ago, an attempt was made to find out a lead mine near the village ; but the ore obtained was not worth tho expense. The mosses contain marl; and large quantities were taken from the drained part of the Loch for agricultural purposes. Among the grey sandstone beds, impressions of plants and scales of fish have been frequently discovered. In I831, a block taken from a quarry at Thornton, from a depth of 30 feet of solid rock, was split up; and a complete vertical section of a fish along the backbone was exposed in the two fragments. Two years afterwards, an entire fossil fish, was found in the breaking of a block in the Millstone

Quarry. Mr. Lyell of Kinnordy sent this specimen to the famous geologist, M. Agassiz, who gave it the name “Cephalaspis Lyelli.” In the moss very large antlers of the red deer and tusks of the wild boar were at times found, as well as shells of the pearl mussel.

The streams and dens afford plenty of interesting study for the botanist. In the Den of Glamis may be found the rather rare Marjoram (with its aromatic purple flowers, distinguished by the long bracts); the Wood Bitter-Vetch, very rare in Strathmore, though more plentiful at the Reeky Linn on the Isla; the rare variety of Herb-Bennet (with the semi-double flowers); the rare specimen of Speedwell (with white instead of blue flowers) ; the rare white Stone-crop (without the ordinary red spots on the flowers); the well-marked Bugle (with its solitary tapering stalk of blue flowers); the bitter Wood-Sage (with greenish-yellow flowers); the Broad-leaved Garlic (easily distinguished from the Lily of the Valley by its intolerable stench); and the favourite Woodruff, whose beautiful star-like leaves are pressed between the pages of a book for the sweet perfume. The Dog’s Mercury should be better known b}r herds and cattlemen; for in the village of Arneyfoul several cows had their milk coagulated in the udder, without any apparent cause; but on visiting the Den, where the cattle had been browsing, it was found that they had cropped much of this plant, concealed among the herbage in the early spring, when they were especially anxious for a “bite;” and this had contracted the disease. On the banks of the Dean may be seen the yellow Water-Lily (nearly globose and smelling like brandy) ; but most conspicuously the attractive Myrrh, often taken home by the labourer and planted at his door, or under his window, suggesting to us the beautiful lines:—

“Oft by the peasant’s cot, the humble myrrh,
His meet companion, cloth unfold its wives
Of pleasant green, and umbels of fair flowers
That through his casement, and around his door,
Shed richest fragrance, sweetening those few hours
That toil allows him home born joys to share.”

The present incumbent of Glamis (the Reverend John Stevenson) has gathered 1265 specimens of Fungi in the parish, out of 2256 in Scotland and 4000 in Great Britain.

Ecclesiastically we can trace the parish back to the time of William the Lion. From the liegistrum vetus de Aberhrothec we find that in 1178, this King (at Dunfermline), granted the Church of Glampnes, with its chapels and lands and tithes, to the Abbey of Arbroath. This charter was continued, in 1178, by Hugh, Bishop of St. Andrews, and in 1182, by Pope Lueius. The confirmation of Bishop Roger, in 1198, was homologated, in 1200, by Pope Innocent. It was also confirmed by the successive bishops, William in 1202, and David, in 1233; and by the Chapter of St. Andrews, in 1204. In 1249, Bishop David gave orders that tho viear of Glamnes would require to plant the Chapel in Cloveth (Clova), and give to the monks of Arbroath annually the sum ot one hundred shillings. Two years afterwards, the Bishop allowed the viear twenty shillings for the sacramental and other expenses at Clova; because it is so far distant from the Mother Church. In the Taxatio of 1275, the parish is assessed at 56 merks. In 1322, King Robert the Bruce confirmed by charter (at Forfar) the gift of Glammes to the Abbey of Arbroath; and, in 1375, John, Abbot of Arbroath, drew out a charter of the locality of Glammes. In 1486, David, Abbot of Arbroath, let the lands of the Chapel of Clowa (annexed to our Church at Glannnys), to James Rivok, burgess of Dundee, and his heirs, for 9 years; and, in tho following year, let the lands of the Church to Lord John Lyoun of Glammes, for 5 years, at £90 Scots annually for the first three years and £83 6s. 8d. Scots for the last two years. In 1501, James, Archbishop of St. Andrews, presented William Preston to the perpetual vicarage of Glammys. In 1518, James, Commendator of Arbroath Abbey, let the tithes of Glammes to the Marquis of Huntly (then Lord Gordon) for 5 years, at £100 Scots. In 1528, the Abbot let for 19 years to Mr. Alex. Lyon, Chanter of Murray, brother and executor of the deceased John, Lord Glammys, the teind sheaves and fruits of the parsonage of the Kirk of Glammys, for £100 Scots yearly. In 1560, a reader was appointed for Clova, under the vicar of Glammes, at 50 merks yearly. The teinds belonged to the first Marquis of Hamilton, as Commendator of the Abbey of Arbroath ; and subsequently to the Earl of Panmure, down to their forfeiture in 1716—the Laird of Clova being tacksman of the whole vicarage, which (being thirds) amounted to £40 Scots. In 1542, according to the rental of the Monastery of St. Marie of Cupar, property formerly belonging to Lord Glammes paid 33s. 4d. annually. According to the rental of the lands belonging to the Priory of Rostinoth, the lands of Glamys contributed 40 shillings annually. The first minister after the Reformation (Robert Boyd) had only £5 11s. 1d. for stipend. In 1685, George Middleton became Principal of King’s College Aberdeen. His widow lived to 100 years of age. In 1780, Dr. James Lyon was ordained minister of Glamis ; in 1790, he wrote the “Old Statistical Account” of the parish; and in 1836, he wrote the “New Statistical Account ”—a most remarkable, and, as far as we know, unique instance of one minister writing both Accounts. In 1838, Dr. Crawford became minister; but six years afterwards, he was translated to St. Andrew’s Church, Edinburgh; from which he was appointed Professor of Divinity in the University of Edinburgh and Moderator of the General Assembly. The Parish Church was built in 1793—a plain, commodious building, with a spire. The walls of the original part of the present Manse were built in 1788. The earliest Parochial register bears the date of the year 1634. Glamis Castle still pays a feu of 19s. 2d. to the College of St Andrews. According to the Parliamentary Return of last year, the unexhausted teind amounts to £20.

The ancient Castle of Glamis is acknowledged to be one of the noblest and most interesting baronial residences of feudal times that have lasted to our day. The time when, and the person by whom, it was erected are alike unknown. It is situated upon an extensive plain, instead of a rocky eminence, which Nature suggested. But, according to a legend, when the builder attempted to begin his work upon the northern slope of one of the Sidlaws, lie was horror-stricken to find that what lie built by day was demolished by night Watching one night, lie heard a scpulclnal voice thus warn him:—

“Build the castle in a bog,
Where ’twill neither shak’ nor shog.”

Accordingly, he abandoned the hilly site and chose that in the plain. It is truly an imposing and romantic building. Surrounded by dusky woods, and approached by mile avenues, this ancient pile rears its tall gaunt form with stately dignity. The central part of the Castle, which is the oldest, rises to the height of 100 feet. Two wings extend at right angles to each other, and a quarter-circle tower contains the staircase which affords access to these divisions. The door-way at the base of this tower is flanked by pilasters with richly carved floral capitals. The building conveys no distinct impression of any particular age; but has assimilated the successive styles of Scottish baronial architecture. The massive round roofed vaults and thick walls, with narrow light-slits, speak of the castellated masonry of the Norman period; the upper apartments bear traces of the fifteenth century; and the clusters of turrets and round tower stair-case belong to the French School of the seventeenth century. The building is still in excellent preservation.

There was a royal residence at Glamis from a very remote date—a dwelling “whose birth tradition notes not". That keen antiquarian, Sir James Dalrymple. speaking of the laws of Malcolm II. (1003-1033), says:—“Albeit, it be said that the King gave all away, yet it is not to be thought but that he retained, with his royal dignity, his castles and other places of residence, as at Fort-teviot, Glames, and Kincardin.” Fordun tells us, that in the neighbourhood, on one of his royal visits, Malcolm was attacked and mortally wounded in the winter of 1033; and that his assassins perished in attempting to cross the Loch of Forfar, only half-frozen. Tradition says, that he was murdered in the Castle, and even in a room, which is still pointed out, in the centre of the old tower, as “King Malcolm s Room.” According to Skene, in his “Celtic Scotland" we have no authentic history of Glamis before the year 1264. In this year the return of rent received from the royal manor for Alexander III. was 13 (sic) cows, and 74 bolls of barley meal for feeding seven whelps and their dam for purposes of the chase; besides cheese, butter, hens, and malt. In the same year, a payment of 16 merks to the Thane of Glamiswas made from the lands of Clofer and Cossenys. In 1038, after the followers of The Bruce had to destroy the “Castell off Forfayr," which, according to Barbour, was “stuffit all with Inglismen,” the Court made Glamis their principal residence when visiting the district. In 1363, John de Logy (probably the father of Margaret Logy, queen of David II.) had the reversion of the thanedom of Glamis from his son-in-law, the reddendo being a red falcon to be delivered yearly at the feast of Pentecost. Thanes were originally stewards over kings lands, but ultimately became hereditary tenants of the king, and the title and lands descended accordingly, after the premium of one hundred cows was duly paid to the king.

In 1372, King Robert II. created it into a Barony; and by charter gave “our lands of the Thainage of Glammis!’ to Sir John Lyon, who married the King’s daughter, Princess Jane, and was allowed to carry the double treasure of the royal arms on his shield. From being secretary to the King, Lyon became Great Chamberlain; and in his success forgot Sir James Lindsay, Chief Justice of Scotland, who had once recommended him to the royal notice; and treating his former patron too cavalierly, he had to accept a challenge for a duel on horseback, in which he was killed in the year 1382. Lyon’s body was buried at Scone among the ancient kings; and his son, then a boy of thirteen years of age, was educated under his Majesty’s especial care. In 1445, his grandson was created Lord Glammiss. In 1463, his successor received the castle of Kinghorn from Queen Mary, mother of James III. In 1537, Lady Glammiss was barbarously burned on the Castle Hill, Edinburgh, for the alleged crime of witchcraft, in so far as she used spells and incantations against the life of James V.; and the estates were confiscated, though afterwards restored. Her son, “the bold Baron,” used the famous expression, referring to James VI., when, on account of his youth, the king wept during his detention at Ruthven House in 1582 :—“Better that bairns should weep than bearded men.” The Lord Treasurer made a payment of £40, for the “reipar of the Glammys and Baky,” as the residences of the King and Court.

In 1577, David, Earl of Crawford, “ane princely man but a sad spendthrift/’ son of the “ wicked master,” murdered Lord Glamis at Stirling; and by way of reprisal for this murder, the tutor of Glamis killed the Earl's man, for which he had to pay blood-money. About 1603, Lord Spynie married Jean Lyon of the noble house of Glamis —her third marriage. James VI., when in Denmark, thus jocularly wrote to Spynie about her considerable fortune and widowhood :—“ Sandie, we are going on here in the auld way, and very merry. I’ll not forget you when I come home—you shall be a lord. But mind Jean Lyon, for her auld tout will make you a new horn.”

In 1606, Patrick was created Earl of Kinghorn. In honour of this, there is a tradition that a lofty building was erected on an eminence near the centre of the town of Kinghorn called the tower of Glamis, at the close of last century. Grose states that it had been in use as a land mark; but, becoming ruinous, a pillar was put instead with this inscription—“Here stood Glamis Tower.” He seems to have been the first of the family who attempted to extend the Castle ; for he built the side staircase which now leads to the oldest part, and added the wings, under the direction of Inigo Jones. He also bought Castle Huntly (in Longforgan) for a summer residence. On his death, in 1615, his son set about repairing the newer domicile and borrowed money on Glamis for that purpose; he also completed the ceiling of the drawing-room in 1621. Quite recently, while some alterations were being executed in this apartment, the workmen came upon a complete fireplace with chimney; the existence of which was unknown for nearly three centuries.

In 1653, part of the army of the Commonwealth were for a time located about the Castle; on which occasion the Forfar bakers had to provide the soldiers with “fower dussen of wheate breade” daily, and the butchers “beefe, mutton or lambe each Monday and Wednesday,” under pain of the same being forcibly exacted. In the same year, the Earl of Pan mu re acquired by purchase the whole lands of the estate of t he Earl of Kinghom, on the condition that the Earl of Kinghom or his heirs should receive back the lands “how soon the whole shall be redeemed by him or them;” which was accomplished ten years afterwards. In 1654, the Earl was fined £1000, because his father had refused to give up King Charles to the English. In 1677, Patrick, his son, was created Earl of Strathmore, to whom the task of completing the restoration of the Castle fell. When the Stuarts were driven into exile, he retired from public life in semi-political despondency, to improve his estates and encourage the fine arts. In a most interesting MS., the “Book of Record,” he has described with minuteness his life work there. When he succeeded to the estates, they were very much impoverished—“nothing remaining but the bare walls.” The whole plantation round the Castle, consisting of old shattered and decayed trees, was about five acres in extent, bounded by a low dry-stone dyke. The one entrance was from the south-east, with an outer gate —recessed erection—and inner gate with low wall at the court, “where there was a bridge with a pend over a mightie broad and deep ditch which surrounded the house, upon the inner brink whereof there was a high wall, a gate forenent the bridge, and over the gate a little lodge for the porter.” No remains of these are visible, except the two circular towers, standing at a short distance from the entrance. How different are his views from those of Sir Walter Seott! Soured at the disgrace of the Stuarts, Patrick declared “that there is no man more against these fashions of tours and castles than I am;” and to carry out his convictions ho transformed the feudal keep into a residential palace. But hear Sir Walter’s comment after visiting the Castle in 1794, as given in his “Essay on Landscape Gardening:”—“The huge old tower once showed its lordly head above seven circles of defensive boundaries, through which the friendly guest was admitted, and at each of which a suspicious person was unquestionably put to his answer. A disciple of Kent had the cruelty to render this splendid old mansion more parkish; to raze all those exterior defences, and to bring his mean and paltry gravel walk up to the very door from which, deluded by the name, we might have imagined Lady Macbeth issuing forth to receive King Duncan!”

In his “Record,” Earl Patrick has this entry:—“There is in the gardin a fine dyal erected, and there is a designe for a fountain in the boulin-green. Another of the gates is adorned with two gladiators.” The fountain has disappeared ; the gladiators are now well marked with the missiles of school-boys; but the Lyon dial still presents its eighty faces to the sun. According to Grose, in “The Antiquities of Scotland” (1797), there were in the court four brazen statues, bigger than life, on pedestals, viz., James VI. in his stole, Charles I. in his spurs and sword, Charles II. in a Roman dress, and James II. as at Whitehall! He also built the Chapel at the Castle, the most interesting apartment in that ancient structure. It is 80 feet by 18; and the panels of the walls and roof were filled with paintings of Biblical subjects by the artist, J. de Witt, who is noted for giving all the Kings in Holyrood Gallery the nose of the same model. It was dedicated to St. Michael in 1688. The windows have lately been filled with some exquisitely painted panels of stained glass from the studio of Mr. Kempe, London. He put up the fine iron railing round the top of the centre tower in 1682, from which Billings gives a fine description of the Strath in his “Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Scotland.” The Rev. Mr. Edward of Murroes, his contemporary, thus speaks of him:—"As he is of royal descent, so he adorns that high pedigree by a noble genius and generous disposition.”

A story is told of this Earl which must be cautiously interpreted, though it recounts a strange coincidence. One day, in presence of his four sons, when speaking to an old tenant, he said, “Are not these four pretty boys?” “Yes,” said the old man; “but they will all be Earls, my Lord, and God help the poor when the youngest of the four will be Earl.” This was literally verified, and during the life of the last, in 1740, the poor perished in thousands from the want of the commonest necessaries of life, on account of a famine produced by intense frost.

In 1715, the first Pretender slept a night in the Castle previous to his mock coronation at Scone; on which occasion no fewer than 88 beds were made up for his retinue. On the 9th of May, Charles, Earl of Strathmore, was endeavouring to reconcile his kinsman of Brigton and Carnegy of Finhaven in a drunken brawl at Forfar, when Carnegy, who had been hurled by Brigton into the common kennel, recovering himself, made a thrust at Brigton with a drawn sword, which accidentally passed through the Earl and killed him. In 1746, the Duke of Cumberland’s army rested at Glamis, when the Forfarians displayed their favour for the exiled Stuarts by cutting the girths of the horses under night, so that the Duke’s progress northward to Culloden might be retarded as much as possible. The present Earl, Claude Bowes Lyon, who succeeded his brother in 1865, is a Representative Peer and the Lord Lieutenant of Forfarshire. The eulogium of Sir Walter Scott in “Don Roderick” is not inapplicable to the family of Lyons—

“A race renown’d of old,
Whose war-cry oft hath waked the battle-swell.”

Great alterations have been made on the Castle and grounds since Patrick, the first Earl of Strathmore, spent his life on what he considered improvements. Though in a great measure dismantled, a few relics of the possessions of its lordly owners still possess historical interest. From the notes to Waverley we find that Sir Walter Scott got the idea for the drinking-cup of the valiant Baron of Bradwardine—the Blessed Bear—from the Lion at Glamis. This is a massive beaker of silver, doublegilt, moulded into the shape of a lion (alluding to the family name). When exhibited, this cup must be emptied to the Earl’s health. Among the other relics—rich memorials of ancient times—which Sir Walter took notice of, was the clothes-chest (now in the billiard-room), containing some Court dresses of the seventeenth century, along with the motley raiment of the family fool, very handsome and ornamented with many bells, which suggested the “Innocent” of Waverley, whom David Gellatley thought to be “more rogue than fool.” In the Great Hall are several valuable portraits. Some specimens of old armour (both chain and plate, less or more entire), and several other warlike remains, including swords, battle-axes, and bronze celts, as also a bronze cabinet ornament, which were found at various times in the drained parts of the Loch and the mosses, are there also arranged. About forty years ago, when the workmen were repairing the floor of one of the rooms of the Castle, a stone spiral staircase was discovered cut out of the solid walls, which vary from eleven feet to six feet in thickness. This was examined with more than ordinary interest, as it was considered to be the mode of entrance to the secret chamber, said by well-known tradition to be only known to three persons at one time —the Earl, the heir-apparent, and the factor on the estate —although it is only a myth that “Beardie,” the fourth Earl of Crawford, was confined in it, in 1454, to play dice till the day of judgment; for he “wis buried with great triumph in the Greyfriars of Dundee.” On one side of the servants’ corridor a concealed well was discovered a few years ago, apparently intended as a secret water-supply for refugees in the upper chambers.

DeFoe,in his “Tour through Scotland in l726,” remarked that “Glammis was one of the finest old built palaces in Scotland, and by far the largest; that, when seen at a distance, the piles of turrets and lofty buildings, spires and towers, make it look like a town.” In 1765, the poet Gray, in a letter to Wharton, remarked that “from its height, the greatness of its mass, the many towers a-top, the spread of its wings, the Castle has really a very singular and striking appearance—like nothing I ever saw.” But when Sir Walter Scott slept a night in the Castle, in 1794, he was strangely entranced by the weird associations, the legendary stories of the Thane of Glamis pressing hard on his historical conclusions ; for he wrote, in his “Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft:”—“In spite of the truth of history, the whole night-scene in Macbeth’s Castle rushed at once upon me, and struck my mind more forcibly than ever, when I have seen its terrors represented by John Kemble and his inimitable sister (Mrs. Siddons).”

There are also some stones which tradition clothes with a mystic spell. Within a few yards of the Manse stands an obelisk of rude design, which is supposed to be in memory of Malcolm’s murder. On one side are the figures of two men, who seem to be making up the bloody plot, which is represented by a lion and a centaur right above there. On the reverse side appear fish of various kinds, as a symbolical representation of the Loch of Forfar, in which the assassins were drowned. The same facts are represented on a similar obelisk, of smaller size, in a neighbouring field. At a mile’s distance from the Castle, at a place called Cossans, is a third obelisk, commonly called Sir Orland’s Stone, even more curious than the others. One side bears the marks of a rudely-flowered and chequered cross. The reverse side represents four men on horseback at full speed, the horse of one trampling on a wild boar; and below an animal like a dragon. These also have been conjectured to be in keeping with the current tradition of the officers of justice in pursuit of the King’s murderers.

Besides Glamis Castle, there were at one time three other castles within the parish, but they are now entirely demolished. One was at Cossans, another in the Glen of Ogilvy, and the third in the Glen of Denoon, on the summit of an isolated hill, two miles from Glamis village. A circular wall, supposed to have been 27 feet high, 30 feet broad, and 1020 feet in circumference, encloses faint, though evident, traces of buildings in the intermediate space. This was considered to be a safe retreat in time of danger. On the top of Hayston Hill, an arm of the Sidlaws on the east side of the parish, are remains very like the circular moat of a Roman observing station.

In the Glen of Ogilvy the earliest legends fix the dwelling-place of the nine virgin daughters of St. Donewalde, at the beginning of the eighth century. These were remarkable for their industry and humility, having laboured the ground with their own hands, and partaken only once a day of the humble fare of barley-bread and water. Their father died when they were in this glen, on which they retired to Abemethy, the Pictish capital.

Where they were visited by King Eugen VII. of Scotland; and when buried under a large oak’s shade, pilgrims, till the Reformation, made their yearly visit on the 15th of June. A century ago, the rental of the Glen was £200 ; but by draining and fencing the value has very materially increased to £2954. It was anciently the property of the Ogilvies of Powrie; it then fell to Graham of Claver-liouse, and at the battle of Killiecrankie (1G89), it was forfeited, and reverted to the Douglas family, the superiors; and it is now in the possession of the Earl of Strathmore. The Den of Ogilvy is now traversed by the public road from Glamis to Dundee, and forms a very romantic five miles’ drive. With the exception of the feus off the Glamis estate and the farm of Brigton (which belongs to the trustees of William Charles Douglas), the whole parish belongs to the Earl of Strathmore, the assessed property being close on £14,000, whereas in 183G it was £92G2.

Markets are held at Glamis on the first Wednesday of April and May, the first Wednesday after the 26th of May, the second Saturday of October, and the fourth Wednesday of November. Formerly these were more frequent, as in the quaint notice of Ochterlony two and a-half centuries ago:—“Glammis is a burgh of Barronie, hath two great fairs in it yearly, and a weekly mercat. There is a Cunnigare within the parks and dovecoat at the bum—Mr. Lyon, minister thereof.” (Sic !)

The population of tho parish in 1755 was 1780; in 1790, 2040; in 1836, 2150; and now, 1631. It contains the villages of Charleston, Newton, Milton, Thornton, Grasshouses of Thornton, Druingley, and Arneyfoul. About 1730, the people wero sunk in sloth and apathy; but towards the end of the century things were very much improved; though Dr. Lyon remarked that the six alehouses and one inn—even then much reduced in number—“have always been found to have a very bad effect on the morals of the people.” In 1806, a mill—16 horse-power—Tor spinning flax was built on the Glamis Burn. In 1820, a steam-engine of 10 H.P. was added, which produced 4000 pieces of brown linen annually for the Dundee market. At the same time 7500 pieces of Osnaburgs were annually manufactured by private individuals in the parish, which accounts for the difference of the population. The tenants are now most industrious, and the progress of improvement has been much encouraged by the liberality of the Earls. For a very considerable time Glamis has been noted for the high class of fat cattle it sends to the English markets. The Earl is a keen breeder of the Angus cattle and Shropshire Down sheep, as shown by the Herd-Books, and prizes taken at County-Shows. There is a very excellent public school in the village. In several parishes the “New Statistical Account” bears the name of Mr. Blackadder, civil engineer, Glamis, as contributing the geological sections. The Caledonian Railway crosses the northern part of the parish, and has a station on it, near which is a natural encamping ground occasionally used for a week by the Volunteers of Dundee.

The name will be known so long as the world reverences Shakespeare’s master-mind in his famous historic notice of it as the thanedom of the usurper Macbeth—

“All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!”


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