Dunnichen is a parish a little south-east of the centre of Forfarshire. It is bounded by Rescobie, Kirkden, Carmyllie, Guthrie, Inverarity, and Forfar. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Bowriefauld, Cotton of Lownie, Craichie, Drumnetermont or Drummietermon, Dumbarrow, Dunnichen, Letham
The parish of Dunnichen had a detached part situated at Dumbarrow, and almost surrounded by the parish of Kirkden. The parish of Guthrie had a detached part situated at Kirkbuddo, and bounded by the parishes of Carmyllie, Dunnichen, Inverarity, and Monikie. The parish of Kirkden had a detached part situated at Middleton-moor, and bounded on the west and south by the parish of Guthrie, and elsewhere by the parish of Kinnell and a small detached part of the parish of Farnell. The detached part of Dunnichen was transferred to Kirkden, the detached part of Kirkden to Guthrie, and the detached part of Guthrie to Inverarity.
See affected properties and landholders. (1892: Boundary of counties and parishes in Scotland as settled by the Boundary Commissioners under the Local Government Act, 1889, by Hay Shennan)
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
The church of Dunnichen was dedicated to St Constantine. It belonged to the Abbey of Arbroath. St Constantine's Well was in the parish and a fair of St Constantine was held here. At Letham there is a church, acquired in 1850, where service is also conducted.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.
| OPR and RD Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Range | Name | Number | Type |
| 1683-1854 | Dunnichen | 283 | OPR |
| 1855-1968 | Dunnichen | 283 | RD |
| 2009 | Angus, Forfar | 364 | RD |
| 2026 | Angus Council; Royal Burgh of Forfar Community Council | ||
(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)
Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)
Statistics from informal and official censuses
Anderson, Barrie, Dorward, Fyfe, Gray, Smith, Stewart, Taylor, Wyllie, Young
Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.
"It appears, from a survey made last year, that the number of inhabitants amounts to 872, whereof 75 belong to the Anti-burgher meetings of Forfar and Dumbarrow.
Many weavers, principally of coarse linen, inhabit this parish. An attempt is now making to introduce the manufacture of coarse cottons. Dunnichen is itself a very small village, consisting of the houses of the proprietor, the manse, a public house, and the houses of a few mechanics and labourers, not exceeding 14 in all. To the eastward is the village of Drimmitormont, a very old village, inhabited by weavers, each of whom occupy six or eight acres of land. In the year 1788, a farm of 66 acres, called Letham has been laid out for a village. It contains already about 20 families, and new houses are rising on it daily."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)
Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 1, p. 419
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 11, Section I, p. 142
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
