ARDOCH, Perthshire - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer (1868)]

"ARDOCH, a quoad sacra parish in the parishes of Blackford, Dunblane, and Muthill in Strathallan, county of Perth, Scotland. It contains the villages of Ardoch, Balhaddie, Brace, Buttergask, Greenloaning, and Rottearn. The village of Ardoch is situated on the banks of Knaick Water, a feeder of the Allan, 4 miles to the S.W. of Muthill, and 12 miles N.E. of Stirling. The living is in the presbytery of Auchterarder, and in the gift of the heads of families. The place derives its interest from the important remains of antiquity it contains. Here is one of the most perfect examples of a Roman station or permanent camp to be found in Great Britain: and near it are remains of three temporary camps. The station is on the east bank of the Knaick, 50 or 60 feet above the level of the water. The bank here is very steep, and formed a strong defence on the western side of the works. The form of the camp is a rectangle, and its dimensions within the lines 500 by 430 feet. On the northern and eastern sides, which have been little injured, it is fortified by five ditches and six walls; three of its gates remain. The praetorium, or general's quarter, occupies nearly the central part of tile quadrangle, and is itself very nearly a square. Its sides, however, are not parallel with the outer walls. This part of the camp has been named Chapel Hill for centuries, and from some foundations discovered in it, it is thought probable that a place of worship may have been erected on the spot. The station is believed to have been constructed by the Roman general Agricola. The works on the south side have been laid in ruins by the diligent hand of the modern cultivator, and those on the west by the rude touch of the military road-maker. A stone wall now surrounds and preserves from further destruction the whole station. The three temporary camps lie north of this permanent one-the first measures 2,800 by 1,950 feet; the second, the ramparts of which cross those of the first, 1,910 by 1,340 feet; and the third, 1,060 by 900 feet. At Strathgeath, and West Dealgin, Ross, are vestiges of two other camps. At the distance of a mile from the village of Ardoch, there was formerly a huge cairn, but it bas been carried off piecemeal and applied to profane modern uses. Its length was 182 feet, breadth 45, and height along the slope 30 feet. Ardoch Park is the seat of Major Stirling."

"BALHADDIE, a village in the quoad sacra parish of Ardoch, in the county of Perth, Scotland, not far from Dumblane."

Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003