Rothes

"ROTHES, a parish in the counties Banff and Elgin, Scotland. It contains a village of its own name, and part of the ancient parish of Dundurcos. It extends in length along the course of the river Spey, about 9½ miles from N.E. to S.W., with a breadth averaging 3 miles. It is bounded by the parishes of Speymouth, Boharm, Aberlour, Knockando, Dallas, Birnie, Elgin, and St. Andrew's, Llanbryd. The surface is tolerably level in the valley of the Spey, but is intersected by hills which form four haughs designated Dandaleith, Rothes, Dundurcos, and Orton. From these haughs the surface rises into numerous eminences of considerable altitude, covered with heath or richly wooded. The other parts of the parish are lofty upland of a moory and mossy character, and wear a bleak aspect. At the base of Ben Aigan Hill, on the right bank of the Spey, lies a small detached district of this parish, extending a little over one mile. The soil is in general dry and sandy, but in the higher grounds it is a mossy earth, while at the base of the hills it is a sharp gravelly mould. The village of Rothes is about 11 miles S.E. of Elgin, 8½ S.W. of Fochabers, and 3 N. of Aberlour. It is situated in the valley of the Spey, under Ben Aigan, and is a station on the Great North of Scotland railway. In the vicinity are the ruins of the old castle of the Leslies, who took from hence the title of earl. An extensive distillery was established here in 1840. The valley of the Spey was flooded in 1829. This parish is in the presbytery of Aberlour and synod of Moray, and in the patronage of the crown and the Earl of Seafield, who are the principal landowners. The stipend of the minister is £159. The church stands near the centre of the parish on a small brook, which falls into the Spey. There is a Free church, also a parochial school, and five non-parochial. About 2 miles distant from the village of Rothes stands the ruins of old Doncuras church. Fairs are held on the third Thursday in April, second Thursday prior to the 26th May, third Wednesday in July, third Wednesday in October, and the Thursday in November prior to Martinmas."

Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)