MONIKIE, a parish, containing the villages of Craigton, Newbigging, Guildie (Guildy), Bankhead, and Camustown, in the south of the maritime district of Forfarshire.  Its post-town is Dundee, 9 miles to the south-west.  It is bounded by Murroes, Inverarity, Guthrie, Carmyllie, Panbride, Barry, and Monifieth.  Its length southward is 7 miles; and its greatest breadth is 5 miles.  The surface is diversified by several hills.  A small tract in the extreme south corner consists of sandy downs.  The land for 2¾ miles, thence northward, is distinguished for fertility, has a southern exposure, and presents a warm and wealthy appearance.  A large elongated hill or hilly ridge, called Downie, now interposes from east to west, and sections-off a colder climate and an inferior soil lying to the north.  The district behind it, comprising about two-thirds of the whole area, is at first comparatively cold and moist, yet not unproductive, and eventually becomes an extensive tract of moorland, with an elevation of about 400 feet above sea-level, - now partially reclaimed and under tillage, but chiefly covered with heath and coarse grass, and occupied as pasture ground.  A deep winding ravine, traversed by a streamlet, and called Denfiend or the Fiend's den, bisects the central hilly ridge, and, at a place where its sides are precipitous, is spanned by a single arch of a strong massive bridge.  On Downie-hill, surmounting a summit which commands a view of large portions of seven counties, stands the ‘Live and let live testimonial', an erection raised, in 1839, by the tenantry of the late Lord Panmure, “to perpetuate the memory of a nobleman who, through a long life, made the interests and comforts of his tenantry his sole and unwearied object.”  The testimonial is situated 1 mile north of the Dundee and Arbroath road, 2 miles south-west of Panmure-house, and 5½ miles north-west of Buddon-ness, and is now one of the most conspicuous landmarks, over a great expanse of ocean (the German Ocean, now the North Sea) and estuary, on the east coast of Scotland.  It was constructed from a design by John Henderson, Esq., of Edinburgh.  It rises to the height of 105 feet from the ground; and consists of a broad lower basement of rustic-work, containing one or two small rooms, - a quadrangular upper basement, the angles of which are flanked with heavy open buttresses, - and a colossal cylindrical column rising up into a balustrade, and surmounted by an ornamental vase.  A stone-pillar stands in the centre of the cylinder, and carries up to the top a lightning-conductor in its interior, and a spiral stair on its exterior.  Both this object, and extensive works for supplying the town of Dundee with water, and situated about ¾ of a mile from the parish church, are attractive to visitors.  Downie-hill consists chiefly of a fine trap, well-suited for both building and road-making, and containing beautiful specimens of agate, jasper, and spar; but at its west end is a quarry of excellent sandstone, which supplies an extensive district to the south.  About 4,448 acres in the parish are under regular cultivation; and about 500 are under wood.  The land owners are Lord Panmure, Lord Douglas, Fyff of Smithfield, Mitchell of Affleck, and Kerr of Newbigging.  The real rental in 1855 was £8,101.  Newbigging-house is the principal mansion.  Affleck Castle is a fine specimen of the old feudal fortalice; and though now for a long time uninhabited, yet it is seemingly almost entire.  Hynd Castle is now but a vestige of another old keep, of smaller size, crowning an artificial mound, which must, at one time have been surrounded by water and a morass.  A tumulus called the Hair-cairn or Heir-cairn on the western border of the parish, is the only one left of several cairns which appear to have been raised there as monuments of some ancient battle.  An ornamental stone pillar in the form of a cross, at Camustown, is believed to mark the spot where Camus, the Danish general, was slain and buried after the defeat of his army by Malcolm II at Barry.  The southern part of the parish is traversed by the road from Dundee to Arbroath, and by the Dundee to Arbroath railway; and has near access to the Monifieth and Barry stations of the railway.  Population of the parish in 1831 was 1,322; in 1851, 1,317, houses 294.

This parish is in the presbytery of Dundee and synod of Angus and Mearns.  Patron, the Crown.  Stipend, £280 11s. 4d.; glebe, £12.  Unappropriated teinds, £144 1s 6d.  Schoolmaster's salary, £34 4s. 4½d., with about £22 fees, and £5 other emoluments. The parish church was built in 1812, and contains 921 sittings.  There is a Free Church at (Craigton of) Monikie, with an attendance of about 100; and the amount of its receipts in 1856 was £154 6s. 0½d.  There is a United Presbyterian church at Newbigging, in the south-west corner of the parish.  There are four non-parochial schools (the current Monikie P.S.; Newbigging P.S.; the former Bankhead School and nearby to Craigton, on the Carnoustie road, is what is believed to have been a girls' school).

CAMUSTOWN (or Camustoun), a small village in the parish of Monikie, about ¼ of a mile south of the church of that parish, in Forfarshire.  Camus Cross, a large upright stone, is said to point out the place where Camus, a Danish general, was slain and buried after the battle of Barrie (Barry), in 1010.

MONIFIETH, a parish containing the villages of Drumsturdy-moor and Barnhill, the post-office village of Monifieth, and the greater part of the post-town of Broughty Ferry, on the southern border of Forfarshire.  It is bounded by the frith (or Firth) of Tay, and by the parishes of Dundee, Murroes, Monikie, and Barry.  Its length southward is 5 miles; and its breadth varies from 3½ miles to I½ mile.  (The) Dighty-water, coming in from Dundee, runs 21 miles westward, and half-a-mile southward to the frith at Milton, making several fine descents for yielding water-power to machinery.  Murroes-burn traces the western boundary for a mile, and joins the Dighty at the place where that stream enters the parish.  Buddon-burn comes down upon the extreme north, traces for 1¼ mile the western boundary, runs 1¾ mile south-eastward across the interior, and afterwards, just before falling into the frith, runs 3 furlongs along the eastern boundary.  The coast is low and sandy, with a considerable extent of light downs, of the kind called links; and the sea is, year by year, making inroads upon it, owing to the double effect of the winds blowing away the sand and raising the tide.  Behind the links, east of the Dighty, extends for a mile an almost level plain, the soil of which is at first light and sandy, but extremely fertile, and afterwards becomes a rich black loam.  Behind the links, west of the mouth of the Dighty, the ground forms an elongated swell or low ridge, bold on the south, and gently sloping on the north, running westward between that stream and the frith.  The rest of the parish has in general a southern exposure, and is diversified with gentle swells, and with the species of hills called laws.  The soil is in general an excellent black loam, but deteriorates in quality toward the north, and eventually becomes, over a small tract, tilly and moorish.  The highest ground is Drumsturdy-moor-law (now part of the Laws Farm), 2¼ miles from the shore, and supposed to rise 530 feet above sea-level.  The hill (still) is of a beautiful oval form, green over all its sides and summit, a very fine feature in the landscape, and measuring 133 yards by 66 on the superficies of its top.  A charming view is obtained from it of Forfarshire to Arbroath, - the German Ocean (North Sea) till lost in the horizon, - the frith of Tay, the bay of St. Andrews, the rich expanse of Fife, and the hills of Lothian (possibly 50 miles away), - the level and pleasant tract west­ward along the Tay, the tower and crowded harbour and picturesque landscape of ‘Bonny Dundee’, part of the Carse of Gowrie, and the fine long hill-screen of the far-ranging Sidlaws.  Around the summit of the hill are the broad foundations of an ancient (possibly Roman) fortress, with several large vitrified masses of sandstone and whinstone firmly compacted by fusion.  A little south-west of this hill is the Gallow-hill of Ethiebeaton, said to have been the scene of summary feudal justice under the barons, who owned the grounds of Ethiebeaton, Laws, and Ornochie (Omachie).  About 4,574 imperial acres in the parish are under cultivation; about 926 are in pasture, chiefly links; and about 554 are under plantation.  The principal landowners are Lord Panmure; Sir J. Ramsay, Bart.; and Mr. Erskine of Linlathen; and there are nine others.  The estimated value of raw produce in 1842 was £34,440.  The value of assessed property in 1843 was £4,641.13s. ld.  The real rental in 1855 was £18,315.  Grange-house, the ancient seat of the Durhams, now of Largo (Fife), occupied a pleasant site half-a-mile from the shore, and was famous for an escape of Erskine of Dun in the times of the Reformation, and for a nearly successful attempt at escape by the Marquis of Montrose when in custody on his way from Assynt to Edinburgh; but the old mansion was recently replaced by a comfortable new one.  Linlathen-house is a large mansion on the banks of the Dighty; and Laws-house (now mostly demolished) is a recently constructed edifice, in a florid style of architecture on a very commanding site, near the vitrification on Drumsturdy-moor-law.  At the mouth of the Dighty is a large spinning mill, driven partly by steam; half a mile up that rivulet is an extensive bleaching work; in Broughty-Ferry is a variety of manufactories; and in the village of Monifieth are a foundry and machine work, and a cart and plough manufactory.  A considerable number of the parishioners are employed in various ways, but principally in weaving, for the manufacturers of Dundee.  The parish is traversed by the road from Dundee to Arbroath, and by the Dundee and Arbroath railway; and it has stations on the latter at Broughty-Ferry, and Monifieth, and enjoys also all the advantages of the water communications at Broughty-Ferry. The village of Monifieth stands in the south-east corner of the parish, 3 miles north-east of Broughty-Ferry, and 7 east by north of Dundee.  It stands on face of a rising-ground, ½ a-mile from the nearest part of the frith, and has a thriving appearance.  A half yearly fair for cattle and horses used to be held in it, but has fallen away.  The parish church, in its vicinity, is a plain but conspicuous building, erected in 1813; and in the burying-ground are some beautifully carved antique tombstones, more tasteful and ornate than usually occur in a rural cemetery.  Population of the village,  308.   Houses, 68.   Population of the parish in 1831 - 2,635; in 1851 - 4,267.  Houses, 731. 

This parish is in the presbytery of Dundee, and synod of Angus and Mearns.  Patron, Lord Panmure.  Stipend, £264 12s. 8d.; glebe, £12 10s.  Unappropriated teinds, £393 1s. 4d.  Schoolmaster’s salary, £25 13s. 3½d., with £35 fees, and some other emoluments.  The parish church contains 1,000 sittings.  There is a chapel of ease at Broughty Ferry, built in 1826, containing 720 sittings, and under the patronage of the male communicants.  There is a Free Church at Monifieth, with an attendance of 400; and the amount of its receipts in 1856 was £288 3s. 10d.  There is also a Free Church at Broughty Ferry, with an attendance of 440; and the amount of its receipts in 1856 was £464 5s 3d.  There are likewise in Broughty Ferry a United Presbyterian church and an Episcopalian chapel.  There are 7 non-parochial schools, - several of them supported by endowment or extrinsic aid; and there are two parochial libraries, besides some other institutions.  The ancient parish of Monifieth was a free parsonage, in the diocese of St. Andrews; and it had before the Reformation four chapels; one at Broughty Ferry, where there is still a burying ground, - one on the banks of the Dighty at Balmossie-mill, the foundation-stones of which, were dug up near the end of last century, - one on that spot in the land of Ethiebeaton which is still called Chalpel-Dokie, - and one at the village of Monifieth.  Dr. David Doig, rector of the grammar school of Stirling and a writer in the Encyclopædia Britannica, was a native of Monifieth.