Drumlithie

Last updated
Drumlithie High Street, with the steeple High Street - geograph.org.uk - 3505994.jpg
Drumlithie High Street, with the steeple

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", [1] although the origin of this name remains disputed. The name "Drumlithie" may incorporate the Gaelic word druim, meaning "ridge". [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Previously a weaving village and dating back at least to the beginning of the 17th century, [5] Drumlithie has a small steeple at its heart. This unique structure was built in 1777 [6] and was rung to for the regulation of the meal hours of the weavers. The story goes that when it was first built, the locals were so proud of it that they would take it indoors when it rained. [3]

Drumlithie is noted for its appearance in the classic Lewis Grassic Gibbon novel Sunset Song , while neighbouring Glenbervie is the final resting place of the great-grandparents of famous Scottish poet Robert Burns. Drumlithie is also twinned with Couture-d'Argenson in France.

The village school is called Glenbervie Primary, and is attended by around 70 local children from the village and surrounding area.

Transportation

Drumlithie lies close to the East Coast Main Line and was served by a railway station from 1849 to 1956. The number 26 bus service runs north to Stonehaven and south via Auchenblae to either Laurencekirk or Luthermuir.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stonehaven</span> Town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kincardineshire</span> Historic county in Scotland

Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns, is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and west, and by Angus on the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grampian Mountains</span> Mountain range in Scotland

The Grampian Mountains is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. The Grampian range extends southwest to northeast between the Highland Boundary Fault and the Great Glen. The range includes many of the highest mountains in the British Isles, including Ben Nevis and Ben Macdui.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurencekirk</span> Human settlement in Scotland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kincardine and Mearns</span>

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inverbervie</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Inverbervie is a small town on the north-east coast of Scotland, south of Stonehaven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catterline</span>

Catterline is a coastal village on the North Sea in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is situated about 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Stonehaven; nearby to the north are Dunnottar Castle and Fowlsheugh Nature Reserve. Other noted architectural or historic features in the general area include Fetteresso Castle, Fiddes Castle, Chapel of St. Mary and St. Nathalan and Muchalls Castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Cyrus</span> Human settlement in Scotland

St Cyrus or Saint Cyrus, formerly Ecclesgreig is a village in the far south of Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenbervie</span>

Glenbervie is located in the north east of Scotland in the Howe o' the Mearns, one mile from the village of Drumlithie and eight miles south of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire. The river Bervie runs through the village. The rural area is the location of Glenbervie House and estate. The parish was formerly named Overbervie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kinneff</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auchenblae</span> Human settlement in Scotland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chapel of St Mary and St Nathalan</span>

The Chapel of St. Mary and St. Nathalan is a ruined chapel overlooking the North Sea immediately north of Stonehaven, in the Mearns of Scotland, along the northern shoreline of Stonehaven Bay. The founding of this Christian place of worship is associated with St. Nathalan. who lived circa 650 AD. The structure is alternatively known as Cowie Chapel. The chapel is at the point where the Highland Boundary Fault meets the sea and so is on the dividing line between the highlands and lowlands of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirktown of Fetteresso</span>

The Kirktown of Fetteresso is a well-preserved village near Stonehaven, Scotland. In the planning area of Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire, this village contains many very old stone residential structures as well as the Church of St. Ciarans and its associated graveyard. The Carron Water winds through the Kirktown of Fetteresso, and Fetteresso Castle, a listed building, lies at the northwestern verge. Some of the earliest area prehistory has been found nearby on the Fetteresso Estate grounds, where there have been archaeological finds from the Bronze Age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marykirk</span> Village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK

Marykirk is a village in the Kincardine and Mearns area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, next to the border with Angus at the River North Esk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Droop Hill</span>

Droop Hill is a mountain landform in the Kincardine and Mearns region of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The locale had been featured in a windfarm proposal submitted to the Aberdeenshire Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mearns FM</span> Radio station in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK

Mearns FM is a community run radio station based in the North East of Scotland. There are transmitters in Laurencekirk, Inverbervie, Stonehaven and Portlethen leading to a coverage area stretching from St Cyrus to Aberdeen. The studio is located in Stonehaven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colmeallie stone circle</span>

The Colmeallie stone circle is a recumbent stone circle in Glen Esk, Angus, Scotland. It is located 8 km north of Edzell at Colmeallie Farm, adjacent to the unclassified road leading from the B966 to Tarfside and Loch Lee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luthermuir</span>

Luthermuir is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lathallan School</span> Scottish independent school

Lathallan School is a co-educational all-through independent school at Brotherton Castle in Scotland, UK. It also offers outdoor learning programs on its 60-acre campus and an on-site farm.

References

  1. "Skite". Dictionaries of the Scots Language. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  2. "The Gaelic Origins of Place Names in Britain". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  3. 1 2 "The History of the Howe - Glenbervie and Drumlithie". Mearns Community Web. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  4. Kinnear 1895, p. 13.
  5. Kinnear 1895, p. 12.
  6. Kinnear 1895, p. 16.

56°55′N2°21′W / 56.917°N 2.350°W / 56.917; -2.350