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 In
1196 the Abbots and Monks of Kinloss were given a charter by William the
Lion, King of Scotland, granting them the Barony of Strathisla, from the
Knock to the Balloch.
An abbey dedicated to the Blessed Virgin was built by the monks on a small hillock called Castle Hill which was surrounded by a ditch. Mary Queen of Scots and her entourage stayed at the Abbey when she passed through in 1560. Robert Reid, who died in 1589, was the last Abbot to reside in the Abbey. The only remaining church in use in Grange now was built on the site of the Abbey. |
 The
Monks of Kinloss encouraged the cultivation of their poor lands,
increasing their value, and protected their tenants from the ravages of
the clan wars. The
Monks were rich and powerful, and they built two mills on the Isla,
Nethermills and the New Mill. Their tenants were bound to bring
their crops to these mills, where the tithe of the corn was levied.
A heritable right of judging in all criminal and civil matters also belonged to the Abbots. Those found guilty were not allowed to appeal, and were hanged on the nearby hill, now known as Gallowhill. |
 The
Abbots' land was divided up into small lairdships during the reformation
of 1534 and there were many landowners in Grange.
Alexander Duff of Braco, an ancestor of the Duke and Earls of Fife, is said to have once remarked, whilst viewing the many smoking chimneys of Grange, that he would make all the smoke of these houses go through one vent by and by. He eventually acquired four-fifths of Grange, with the remaining fifth being Edingight, owned by the Innes family. |
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