DULL, Perthshire - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

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

"DULL, a parish in the county of Perth, Scotland. It contains the villages of Dull and Amulree, and part of the town of Aberfeldy. It is situated under the Grampians, between the rivers Tay and Tummel, and extends 30 miles from N. to S., with an extreme breadth of 12 miles, which is, however, much intersected by other parishes It is bounded by Blair Athol, Moulin, Logierait, Little Dunkeld, Fowlis Wester, Crieff, Monzie, Kenmore, Weem, and Fortingall. It comprises the five districts of Appin, Grandtully on the S.E., Amulree on the S., Foss on the N.W., and Fincastle on the N.E. The surface is very various, consisting of a range of hills extending from S.W. to N.E., with their intervening valleys, the sides of which are cultivated and wooded, or are intersected by romantic ravines. The scenery is in some places very beautiful. The summit of Farragon, between the districts of Appin and Foss, attains an altitude of 2,500 feet, and the mountain of Schihallion, is on the western boundary. The principal lochs are Loch Tummel, Loch Fraochy, and Loch Ceannard; and the chief rivers are the Tay, the Lyon, the Quaich, the Tummel, and the Garry. The principal landowners are Sir Robert Menzies, Bart., Sir W. D. Stewart, Bart., and the Marquis of Breadalbane. The principal mansions are Grandtully, Foss, Cluny, Moness, and Derculich. The village of Dull stands in the vale of Appin, 19 miles from Dunkeld and 26 from Crieff. This parish is in the presbytery of Weem, and synod of Perth and Stirling, and in the patronage of the crown. The minister has a stipend of £258. The parish church is at the village of Dull, and Foss forms a quoad sacra parish, with its own parish. There are chapels of the royal bounty at Amulree and Grandtully. There are a Free church, an Independent chapel, and a Baptist chapel at Aberfeldy. There is also a Free church at Tummel Bridge."

"ABERFELDIE, a village in the parishes of Dull and Logierait, in the county of Perth, Scotland, 6 miles from Kenmore. It stands in the mist of the finest scenery on the river Tay, at the foot of the Grampians, near the falls of Moness. The "birks of Aberfeldy" are the theme of one of the most graceful songs of Burns. A bridge, built by General Wade, crosses the river here. The Marquis of Breadalbane has his seat here, and there are a few Druidical remains."

"AMULRIE, a village in the parish of Dull, in the county of Perth, Scotland, 10 miles S.W. of Dunkeld, and 11½ to the N.E. of Crieff. The river Bran runs through it. It contains an inn, a government church, and a Free church. It has a cattle fair on the first Wednesday in May, and on the Friday before the first Wednesday of November."

"APPIN, a charming valley in the parish of Dull, in the county of Perth, Scotland, which see."

"FINCASTLE, a district in the parish of Dull, county Perth, Scotland. It is situated on the river Trummell, 3 miles S. of Blair Atholl. The earls of Dunmore take title of viscount from this district."

"FOSS, a district, or quoad sacra parish, in the parish of Dull and Fortingal, county Perth, Scotland. It is situated near the village of Fortingal, on the river Tumnell. Pitlochry is its post town. It is in the presbytery of Weem, and in the patronage of the crown. A fair is held on the first Tuesday in March (old style)."

"SCHIHALLION, an isolated mountain in the parishes of Fortingall and Dull, county Perth, Scotland, about 4 miles S.E. of Kinloch-Rannoch, and 7 N.W. of Weem. It rises 3,564 feet above sea-level, and is traditionally asserted to be the resort of the fairy-queen. It is distinguished in history as the retreat of Robert Bruce, and was the summit from which the Astronomer Royal, Dr. Maskelyne, made his observations with the plumb line in 1772, from which Hutton calculated that the density of the earth was five times greater than that of water. It has been subsequently visited for scientific objects by Drs. Playfair and Macculloch."

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