Dowally, a village in the united parish of Dunkeld and Dowally, central Perthshire, 5 furlongs SSE of Guay station on the Highland railway, this being 5¾ miles NNW of Dunkeld station. It stands on the left bank of the Tay, which here is joined by Dowally Burn, and, ½ mile higher up, is spanned by Dalguise viaduct. Dowally Burn issues from Lochan Oisinneach Bheag (1¼ x ¾ furl.) in Logierait parish, and runs 7¼ miles south-south-westward, traversing Lochan Oisinneach Mhor (4 x 2½ furl.) and Loch Ordie (5 x 3½ furl.), whilst receiving a streamlet that runs ¼ mile north-westward from Dowally Loch (1¾ x ¾ furl.). At the village are a public school and an Established church (1818; 220 sittings), which retains the old jougs of the church of St Anne, built here by Bishop George Brown of Dunkeld in 1500, when Dowally, till then a chapelry of Caputh, was constituted a separate parish. It now is united to Dunkeld, but stands so far distinct, that it is a Gaelic, while Dunkeld is an English, district. Pop. of Dowally registration division (1861) 486, (1871) 461, (1881) 431.—Ord. Sur-, sh. 55,1869.

(F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4); © 2004 Gazetteer for Scotland)