A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland (1851), Samuel Lewis

GLASS, a parish, partly in the county of BANFF, but chiefly in the district of STRATHBOGIE, county of ABERDEEN, 5 miles (W.) from Huntly; containing 886 inhabitants, of whom 321 are in the county of Banff. The name of this place, in the Gaelic language signifying "grey", is descriptive of the uncultivated portion of the surface. The parish is about eight miles in extreme length, and five miles in extreme breadth, comprising an area of nearly 19,000 acres, of which 4500 are arable, and the remainder meadow, pasture, and waste. Its surface is diversified with hills, which towards the west increase in elevation, forming the boundary in that direction: on the south the parish is bounded by a range of hills which separate it from Gartly and Rhynie. There are several fertile straths between the hills, of which the vale of the Doveron is the most important: it is inclosed by hills on each side, varying from 1200 to 2000 feet in height above the level of the sea. The river Doveron, which has its source in the hills of Cabrach, flows in a serpentine course through the vale, and leaving the parish, runs for twenty-five miles in an eastern direction, and falls into the Moray Firth at Banff. From the hills issue numerous springs, of which those near the summit are frequently dry during the summer, while those at the base flow without interruption through the lower grounds. In general the soil is a light loam, yielding chiefly oats and bear, with potatoes and turnips: wheat has been sown, but remunerating crops of it have not been produced. The system of husbandry is improved: the farms are of moderate extent, few of them exceeding 150 acres; and the farm-buildings, usually of stone, with thatched roofs, are substantial and commodious. Considerable numbers of sheep were formerly reared in the pastures; but great losses having been frequently sustained during severe seasons, a few hundreds only, of the Highland black-faced breed, are now kept; and the pastures are more profitably stocked with cuttle. There are a few acres of natural wood, and some lands have recently been planted with pine, larch, and forest trees. The annual value of real property in the parish is £1877. Ecclesiastically the parish is withi the bounds of the presbytery of Strathbogie, synod of Moray. The minister's stipend is about £198, with manse, and a glebe valued at £20 per annum; patron the Duke of Richmond. Glass church, situated in a green, near the river, is a neat plain structure containing 550 sittings; it was built in 1782, and is in good repair. The members of the Free Church have a place of worship. The parochial school is well attended; the master has a salary of £34, with a house, an allowance in money in lieu of garden, and fees averaging about £28 annually

[From Samuel Lewis A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland (1851) - copyright Mel Lockie 2016]