Keig

"KEIG, a parish, in the district of Alford, county of Aberdeen, 4½ miles (N. E. by E.) from the post-town of Alford; containing 662 inhabitants. This parish, which includes the north-eastern portion of the vale of Alford, is bounded on the north by the mountain range of Benachie, and on the east by the Menaway hills. . . The chief crops are oats and bear, with a small quantity of wheat occasionally, and crops of potatoes and turnips, of which, however, not more is raised than is sufficient for home consumption. . . Castle-Forbes, the seat of Lord Forbes, premier baron of Scotland, is a spacious and elegant mansion in the castellated style. . . There is no village; neither is there any trade, except the pork-trade to London, or any manufacture, except the knitting of worsted stockings for the Aberdeen houses, in which many of the poorer females are employed. . . For ECCLESIASTICAL purposes the parish is within the bounds of the presbytery of Alford, synod of Aberdeen. The minister's stipend is £158. 13. 6., of which one fourth is paid from the exchequer; with a manse, and a glebe valued at £11 per annum: patron, the Crown. Keig church, erected in 1835, is handsome structure in the later English style, crowned with pinnacles, and containing 500 sittings. The parochial school is conveniently situated: the master has a salary of £34, with a house and garden, and a portion of th Dick bequest; and his fees average upwards of £20 per annum. . . More"
[Fro Samuel Lewis A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland (1851) - copyright Mel Lockie 2016]