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.
Mains and Strathmartine, a parish of S Forfarshire. The two ancient parishes of which it consists were united in 1799, but still are separate registration districts. Mains, the eastern portion, is said to be so called from the Mains of Fintry, now belonging to the proprietor of Linlathen. The largest village is Downfield, 2 miles N by W of the post-town, Dundee; and large populations are also concentrated at Dundee Bleachworks (Parkhead), Claverhouse, Trottich, Baldovan, Strathmartine, Rosemill, and Fallows. There are two stations on the Dundee and Newtyle railway within the parish -Baldovan (at Downfield) and Baldragon. The parish is bounded N by Tealing, NE by Murroes, E, SE, and S by Dundee, SW by Liff and Benvie, and W by Auchterhouse. Its greatest length, from WNW to ESE, is 5½ miles; its breadth varies between ½ mile and 3¼ miles; and its area is 6321 acres, of which 20 are water. Fithie Water, for a distance of 3 miles, traces the northern boundary; and Dichty Water, running east-south-eastward, goes from end to end of the interior. In the SE the surface sinks to 120 feet above sea-level; and thence it rises to 536 near Hilltown of Balmuir, 526 near Strathmartine Castle, and 533 at Clatto Moor. A beautiful strath extends along the course of the Dichty, on the sides of which extensive woods pleasantly alternate with cultivated fields. The bogs and marshes, which formerly occupied some hollows. have all been drained. A very copious spring of excellent water, called Sinavey, rises perennially from a crevice in a perpendicular rock at Fintry Castle. Trap and Old Red sandstone are the prevailing rocks; and the latter has been largely quarried. The soil in some parts adjacent to the Dichty is alluvial, and on numerous ridges near the stream is gravel or sand; almost everywhere else it is a black loam, incumbent on clay, gravel, or rock. Nearly 400 acres are under wood; about 130 are moorland or rocky hillock; and all the rest of the land is in tillage. Baldovan Imbecile Asylum and Orphanage was founded by Sir John Ogilvy, Bart., in 1854; and the Baldovan Institution, or Boys' Industrial School of Dundee, was opened in 1878. Two obelisks and some vestiges of a Roman camp are the only extant antiquities. Fintry Castle and Claverhouse are noticed separately, as also is the present mansion of Baldovan. Eight proprietors hold each an annual value of £500 and upwards, 7 of between £100 and £500, 3 of from £50 to £100, and 8 of from £20 to £50. Mains and Strathmartine is in the presbytery of Dundee and the synod of Angus and Mearns; the living is worth £325. The parish church was built in 1800, and contains 800 sittings. There is also a Free church; and three public schools-Downfield, Mains, and Strathmartine-with respective accommodation for 148, 109, and 150 children, had (1883) an average attendance of 107, 87, and 93, and grants of £89, 16s. 6d., £72, 18s. 6d., and £74, 3s. Valuation (1857) £13,982, (1884) £25,730, 9s., plus £1787 for railway. Pop. (1801) 1442, (1831) 2011, (1861) 2181, (1871) 2749, (1881) 3490.—Ord. Sur., shs. 48, 49, 1868-65.
(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: | Mains and Strathmartine ScoP Angus ScoCnty |
| Place: | Mains |
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