Lewis Grassic Gibbon, an author remembered for his novels about life in the Mearns, grew up at Bloomfield in the parish of Arbuthnott.[5] A small museum in the hamlet is dedicated to him, named the Lewis Grassic Gibbon Centre. This is built as an extension to the village hall, and contains an exhibition about the author and his work. The centre also contains a café, and post office facilities.
In 2004, CFA Archaeology conducted archaeological investigations next to the hamlet in advance of the construction of the Aberdeen to Lochside natural gas pipeline. There they discovered the remains of four Middle Bronze Age roundhouses, one Iron Age post-built roundhouse with a souterrain entered from the house, and two medieval/post-medieval corn-drying kilns. It is thought that more houses might exist but they were outside the area that would be impacted by the pipeline and so were not excavated.[6]
Arbuthnott House
The existing house incorporates sections of a 13th/14th century castle built by the Arbuthnott family, and was greatly expanded in the 15th century when a courtyard was created at its base. A range was built on the side of the courtyard in the 16th century. In the 1750s the entrance was adjusted and the overall composition remodelled to create a symmetrical arrangement. A fine plaster ceiling of 1685 is one of the more important internal features.[7]
Notable people
John Arbuthnot (1667–1735), often known simply as Dr Arbuthnot, Scottish physician, satirist and polymath
Stonehaven is a town in Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 11,602 at the 2011 Census. After the demise of the town of Kincardine, which was gradually abandoned after the destruction of its royal castle in the Wars of Independence, the Scottish Parliament made Stonehaven the successor county town of Kincardineshire. It is currently administered as part of the Aberdeenshire Council Area. Stonehaven had grown around an Iron Age fishing village, now the Auld Toon, and expanded inland from the seaside. As late as the 16th century, old maps indicate the town was called Stonehyve, Stonehive, Timothy Pont also adding the alternative Duniness. It is known informally to locals as Stoney.
Kincardineshire or the County of Kincardine, also known as the Mearns, is an historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of north-east Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north, and by Angus on the south-west.
James Leslie Mitchell, known by the pseudonym Lewis Grassic Gibbon, was a Scottish writer. He was best known for A Scots Quair, a trilogy set in the north-east of Scotland in the early 20th century, of which all three parts have been serialised on BBC television.
Clan Arbuthnott is a Lowland Scottish clan.
Laurencekirk, locally known as Lournie, is a small town in the historic county of Kincardineshire, Scotland, just off the A90 Dundee to Aberdeen main road. It is administered as part of Aberdeenshire. It is the largest settlement in the Howe o' the Mearns area and houses the local secondary school; Mearns Academy, which was established in 1895 and awarded the Charter Mark in 2003.
Inverbervie is a small town on the north-east coast of Scotland, south of Stonehaven.
Peterhead is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census. It is the largest fishing port in the United Kingdom for total landings by UK vessels, according to a 2019 survey.
Finzean is a rural community, electoral polling district, community council area and former ecclesiastical parish, which forms the southern part of the Parish of Birse, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Finzean was the subject of many well-known landscape paintings by the artist Joseph Farquharson, whose family have owned Finzean Estate since the 17th century. Finzean extends to approximately 8000 hectares in area and had a population of approximately 270 in 2002.
St Cyrus or Saint Cyrus, formerly Ecclesgreig is a village in the far south of Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Drumlithie is a village in the Howe of the Mearns in southern Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Situated seven miles south of Stonehaven in the parish of Glenbervie, it is affectionately known by locals as "Skite", although the origin of this name remains disputed. The name "Drumlithie" may incorporate the Gaelic word druim, meaning "ridge".
Gourdon nicknamed Gurdin by the population, is a coastal fishing village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, south of Inverbervie and north of Johnshaven, with a natural harbour. Its harbour was built in 1820. It was formerly in Kincardineshire. It is known for its close community and unique local dialect. It is a picturesque harbour village that boasts lovely views along the pathway to Inverbervie.
Kinneff is a roadside hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, just north of Inverbervie. To the north lies another hamlet, Catterline. Kinneff also has a primary school.
Auchenblae is a village in the Kincardine and Mearns area of Aberdeenshire, formerly in Kincardineshire, Scotland. The village was known for its weavers, a whisky distillery and the annual Paldie's Fair horse market.
Allardice Castle is a sixteenth-century manor house in Kincardineshire, Scotland.
Mill of Benholm in Kincardineshire, Scotland, is a restored and fully working water-powered meal mill. It is sited in ancient woodland near Johnshaven, by the farmlands of Sunset Song country – made famous by local author, Lewis Grassic Gibbon. It featured as Long Rob's Mill in the television serialisation of this novel. It is a category A listed building and is owned the Mill of Benholm Enterprise, and formally by Aberdeenshire Council.
Chapel of Garioch is a hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, located 4 miles (6 km) west of Inverurie. The Balquhain stone circle is nearby.
Glass is a parish about 8 miles west of Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is now wholly located in Aberdeenshire but before the reorganisation of Scottish county boundaries in 1891 it was partly in Banffshire. The name Glass may have come from the Gaelic word for "grey," "meadow" or "stream."
Tyrie is a hamlet and parish in the Banff and Buchan district of Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland. Tyrie is located on the A98 road, around 5.5 miles (8.9 km) south-west of Fraserburgh. Tyrie parish includes the larger settlement of New Pitsligo, 5 miles (8.0 km) to the south. There is a primary school in the village. Tyrie's St Andrew's Parish Church was built in 1800 and is a category B listed building. The church contains a Pictish symbol stone, known as the Raven Stone, which was discovered on the site of the old parish church. The ecclesiastical parish was united with Strichen parish in 2002.
Arbuthnott Parish Kirk is a church in Arbuthnott, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Now a Category A listed building, it was built in at least the 13th century, from which time the nave and chancel survive. A west front and bell turret were added later. It was restored in 1896 by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie.
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