This website currently focuses on providing a record of discussions and announcements from the Community Council and is in the process of expanding to cover other aspects of community life in Fossoway.
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Fossoway is located within Perth & Kinross and includes the settlements of Blairingone, Powmill, Crook of Devon & Drum, Rumbling Bridge and Carnbo. Read on for some interesting facts about the villages.
Blairingone is a tiny village which is first and foremost known for its mines. It sits on a rich seam of coal and mining has a long history there.
The name is probably derived from Blàr-na-gobhainn, and the literal translation is "Smithfield" or Field of the Smith. Other local derivations of the Gaelic name are, "Field of Arrows or Field of Spears". All of these are based on the fact that in the middle ages and onwards the smiddy in Blairingone was a base for the serious manufacture of weapons of war. The twin forges being maintained by the easily obtained surface coal even then.
The field behind the smiddy (which is the site for the recent Lambhill open-cast mine) was the probable source of the coal which fed the forges that sustained this weapons industry. Other minerals were also found here: Limestone, Alum, Iron-ore, Whinstone & Sulphur. The village also was a stop on the Drovers’ routes.
Blairingone has church, which featured in the Channel 5’s programme: ‘How to be a Property developer. It also had a small primary school until it recently closed.
The name of this second largest settlement is thought to derive from the Low-land Scots word ‘pow’ which means a slow-moving stream.
Powmill has a shop and the famous Milk Bar. Sadly, the prominently visible Gartwhinzean Hotel is now closed and dilapidated. The Village Hall, called Moubray Hall, recently celebrated its centenary.
Drum is the smallest settlement. There are many place names in Scotland that have ‘drum’ or a similar word in them. ‘Drum’ means ‘ridge’, or ‘spine’.
Just outside Drum is the Castle of Tullibole, belonging to the Moncrieff family. ‘Tulli’ is derived from the word ‘tullach’, meaning ‘hill’. Tullibole is said to mean ‘the hill of danger’. The castle is an early 17th century’s laird’s house, but there was probably an earlier house on the same site or close by. The Parish of Tullibole, one of the oldest in Scotland, was granted in 1217.
In 1614 the Parish of Fossoway was combined with the Parish of Tullibole, and the church was demolished. The remains of the church (only earthen banks are left) are still visible in the churchyard on the Gelvan Road. Lord and Lady Moncrieff planted a ‘Witches Maze’, commemorating one of Scotland’s darker eras. In 1662 11 women from the immediate area were tried and found guilty of witchcraft, during one of Scotland’s witch crazes. They were all strangled just outside Crook of Devon. The Maze is intended to be a monument for those women. The churchyard and the maze are accessible to the public.
Crook of Devon is the next village on the A977. It is so called because the River Devon makes a series of sharp bends to form the shape of a shepherd’s crook. Crook of Devon is the largest settlement of Fossoway and boasts a well-attended Primary School, a church and a post office/ shop.
In the 17th century this was a place where cattle fairs were held. Crook of Devon was one of the main places on the route of the drovers. The river Devon was instrumental for the establishment of several mills. A watermill can still be seen in the fabric shop on the right when coming in from Kinross. The Church in the centre of the village was built in 1729 and is situated on elevated ground. The churchyard around the church contains one of the few ‘Hearse Houses’ left in Scotland.
Crook of Devon used to have a railway station on the Devon Valley Line, running from Kinross to Alloa. It was closed in 1964.
Rumbling Bridge was once a famous beauty spot in Scotland. The Rumbling Bridge House, now a nursing home used to be a hotel and the Devon Valley Railway used to have a stop in the small village too.
It is here that the river Devon flows through a deep gorge. In 1713 the original Rumbling Bridge over the river Devon was built by William Gray, a mason from Saline. The span, 22 feet long and 11 feet wide, is 86 feet above the water. The bridge had no parapets. The upper arch was built in 1816 to give greater width and, by raising the level of the road, removed the steep gradients down to the old bridge.
The new bridge is 120 feet above the water. There is a path around the gorge (and all along the river back to Crook of Devon) and several viewing points.
Carnbo is a small settlement on the A91. The name comes from the Gaelic: ‘carn’ comes from ‘cairn’, hill or heap of stones and ‘bo’ means cow.
Carnbo is on the former Drovers’ Route. Carnbo used to have a school, which is now a village hall.