Huntly

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Huntly
Gordon Square, Huntly.jpg
Gordon Square, Huntly
Aberdeenshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Huntly
Location within Aberdeenshire
Population4,550 (mid-2020 est.) [1]
OS grid reference NJ5353
Council area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town HUNTLY
Postcode district AB54
Dialling code 01466
Police Scotland
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
57°26′46″N2°47′17″W / 57.446°N 2.788°W / 57.446; -2.788

Huntly (Scottish Gaelic : Srath Bhalgaidh or Hunndaidh) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 [2] in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlements include Keith and Rothiemay. Both Huntly and the surrounding district of Gordon are named for a town and family that originated in the Border country. [3]

Contents

Huntly is the historic home of the Gordon Highlanders regiment, which traditionally recruited throughout the North-East of Scotland. [4] Huntly has a primary school (Gordon Primary) and a secondary school (The Gordon Schools) beside Huntly Castle.

Huntly is the home of the Dean's bakers, producers of shortbread biscuits. In November 2007, Dean's of Huntly opened their new visitor’s centre. [5]

Four of the owls from the local falconry centre starred in the Harry Potter films. [6]

History

Huntly Castle Huntly Castle.jpg
Huntly Castle
Stewart's Hall, formerly known as Huntly Town Hall Stewart's Hall, Gordon Street, Huntly (geograph 5636190).jpg
Stewart's Hall, formerly known as Huntly Town Hall

Settlement around the confluence of the Bogie and Deveron rivers dates back to the Neolithic period. Settlement remains and the remains of an Iron Age hillfort have been excavated on Battlehill on the outskirts of the town. During the first millennium CE the area was dominated by the Pictish culture. A very large Pictish settlement and vitrified hillfort was situated locally at Tap o' Noth in Strathbogie.

The site represented an important strategic site controlling routes from Moray into Strathdon and Deeside. The first motte-and-bailey castle on this settlement was erected by Donchaid McDuff, the Gaelic speaking 2nd Mormaer of Fife, c.1180. The lands were transferred to the Berwickshire Anglo-Norman family, the Gordons, in 1352 in retaliation for McDuff’s descendant, David of Strathbogie, defecting from Robert I to Edward I’s cause on the eve of the Battle of Bannockburn.

The settlement at the confluence of the Bogie and the Deveron was known as Milton of Strathbogie or The Raws of Strathbogie until 1508.

Despite the boggy lands in the vicinity at that time, the castle at Strathbogie became a key centre for the Gordons of Moray over the following centuries as the family built power through warfare and dynastic marriage, rising to be the dominant family in the North-East of Scotland – the clan chief acquiring the informal title of Cock o' the North. As a result, a thriving settlement serving the evolving palace complex developed. The settlement became a burgh of barony in 1472. In 1508 the Gordons received a royal charter enabling them to rename Milton of Strathbogie & the castle to Huntly – the name of their ancestral seat in Berwickshire.

During the Scottish Reformation, the Gordons were among the leading Catholic families in the country and heavily embroiled in Mary, Queen of Scots’ conflict with the reformed church and the protestant magnates. Huntly castle was bombarded and sacked in 1562 (by Mary) and in 1594 by James VI.

After the restoration of Gordon titles, the town continued to develop during the 17th and 18th centuries both as a market town and an adjunct to the Gordons’ palace with a wide range of merchants and artisans serving the surrounding countryside – in the mid-17th century the town hosted 4 separate glovers.

The adjacent parishes of Dunbennan and Kinnoir were consolidated into a single parish of Huntly in 1727, though each of these livings had been in the gift of the Marquess of Huntly for centuries. During this century, the Duke of Gordon also commenced redeveloping the town as a planned-town with grid-iron streets.

The 18th centuries saw the development of the flax industry and associated cottage industries in heckling, spinning, bleaching and weaving, though the trade was inhibited in the longer term by poor transport infrastructure to Banff and Aberdeen. Smuggling whisky was also an important trade at this period until the industry was licensed in 1823.

In the 19th century, following the post-Napoleonic slump in the linen trade, the town experienced another period of growth with the establishment of rail transport in 1845 coupled with a shift from peasant farming to capitalist agriculture. Huntly became an important market and shipping centre whilst its surrounding parishes depopulated.

In 1836 the town and the Gordon estates passed to the Sussex-based 5th Duke of Richmond by inheritance. Ownership of the feu and much of the land and property remained in the ownership of the Dukes of Richmond and Gordon until August 1936 when all the property and feus in the town along with much surrounding farmland was sold at auction at Huntly Town Hall in order to pay death duties on the ducal estates. [7]

Though the town’s population has varied slightly over the 20th century – with a net outward migration after the 2nd World War – the town in 2018 had a population of 4,650. This compares with 4,229 in 1911. Significant demographic growth was over the course of the 19th century from 1000 in 1800 to 3,600 in 1861.

Arts

Huntly is home to Deveron Projects, an arts organisation that invites artists from all over the world to come and live and work in the town. [8] [9] Since 1995 it has worked with a 'town is the venue' methodology, connecting artists, communities and places. [9] [10] It hosts artists and projects that explore local, regional and global topics, such as forestry, geology, botany, foraging, anthropology, history, politics and art. Over 100 renowned artists have spent time in the town, including Roman Signer [11] and Hamish Fulton. [12]

Walking is often used as a medium to bring people together for these projects, and Deveron Projects has a Walking Institute that commissions artists to make walks. [8] Their annual Slow Marathon started in 2012 in collaboration with Ethiopian artist Mihret Kebede. [13] Deveron Projects also runs a community kitchen and gardening projects. [14] In 2013 Deveron Projects won Huntly the Creative Place Award, which recognises 'creativity across Scotland’s smaller communities'. [15]

Geography

Brown Hill is located in Huntly parish. [16]

Sports

There is salmon and trout fishing on the Rivers Deveron and Bogie, which are administered by the River Deveron Salmon Fisheries Board. Its other principal outdoor activities include golf, Nordic Skiing in Clashindarroch Forest, walking, mountain biking and Rugby. The local football team is Huntly F.C., the local rugby union side is Huntly RFC. [17]

Transport

Huntly railway station is a railway station serving the town. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line. The station opened on 20 September 1854. [18]

Notable people

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly</span>

George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly, styled Earl of Enzie from 1599 to 1636, eldest son of George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly by Lady Henrietta Stewart, daughter of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, born at Huntly Castle, Huntly, Aberdeenshire, in Scotland was brought up in England as a Protestant, and later created Viscount Aboyne by Charles I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntly Castle</span> Ruined castle in Scotland

Huntly Castle is a ruined castle north of Huntly in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where the rivers Deveron and Bogie meet. It was the ancestral home of the chief of Clan Gordon, Earl of Huntly. There have been four castles built on the site that have been referred to as Huntly Castle, Strathbogie Castle or Peel of Strathbogie.

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

Aboyne is a village on the edge of the Highlands in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the River Dee, approximately 30 miles (48 km) west of Aberdeen. It has a swimming pool at Aboyne Academy, all-weather tennis courts, a bowling green and is home to the oldest 18 hole golf course on Royal Deeside. Aboyne Castle and the Loch of Aboyne are nearby.

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

Aberchirder known locally as Foggieloan or Foggie, is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated on the A97 road six miles west of Turriff.

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

Turriff is a town and civil parish in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It lies on the River Deveron, about 166 feet (51 m) above sea level, and has a population of 5,708. In everyday speech it is often referred to by its Scots name Turra, which is derived from the Scottish Gaelic pronunciation.

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

Keith is a small town in the Moray council area in north east Scotland. It has a population of 4,734.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberdeenshire (historic)</span> Historic county in Scotland

Aberdeenshire or the County of Aberdeen is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. The area of the county, excluding the Aberdeen City council area itself, is also a lieutenancy area. The county borders Kincardineshire, Angus and Perthshire to the south, Inverness-shire and Banffshire to the west, and the North Sea to the north and east. It has a coast-line of 65 miles (105 km). The county gives its name to the modern Aberdeenshire council area, which covers a larger area than the historic county.

George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly was a Scottish nobleman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

Gordon is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster), which elects one member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency first returned a member in the 1983 general election, but has undergone boundary changes since that date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Gordon</span> Scottish clan

Clan Gordon is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the most powerful Scottish clans. The Gordon lands once spanned a large territory across the Highlands. Presently, Gordon is seated at Aboyne Castle, Aberdeenshire. The Chief of the clan is the Earl of Huntly, later the Marquess of Huntly.

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

Insch is a village in the Garioch, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located approximately 28 miles (45 km) from the city of Aberdeen.

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

Garioch is one of six committee areas in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It has a population of 46,254, which gives it the largest population of Aberdeenshire's six committee areas. The Garioch consists primarily of the district drained by the River Ury and its tributaries the Shevock and the Gadie Burn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Corrichie</span> Battle fought near Meikle Tap, near Aberdeen, Scotland, on 28 October 1562

The Battle of Corrichie was fought on the slopes of the Hill of Fare in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on 28 October 1562. It was fought between the forces of George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly, chief of Clan Gordon, and the forces of Mary, Queen of Scots, under James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray.

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

Gartly is an inland hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is several miles south of the town of Huntly, and sits on the River Bogie, a tributary of the River Deveron. The parish in which it is located also takes its name.

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

Corgarff is a hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in the Grampian Mountains. The nearby Corgarff Castle was used as a military barracks in the 18th century. The hamlet's primary school closed in 1998.

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

The River Bogie, also known as the Water of Bogie, is a river in north-west Aberdeenshire in the north east of Scotland. It is noted for its brown trout fishing.

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."

Deveron Projects, formerly Deveron Arts, is a United Kingdom arts organisation based in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland that hosts international artists from a variety of disciplines to collaborate with the town community. Deveron Projects follows a '50/50' approach, which gives equal attention to impact on the local community and impact on the international art scene. Residencies have been provided to artists from China, the Americas, India, Africa and mainland Europe as well as North East Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunnicaer</span> Sea stack and remains of Pictish hill fort in Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Dunnicaer, or Dun-na-caer, is a precipitous sea stack just off the coast of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, between Dunnottar Castle and Stonehaven. Despite the unusual difficulty of access, in 1832 Pictish symbol stones were found on the summit and 21st-century archaeology has discovered evidence of a Pictish hill fort which may have incorporated the stones in its structure. The stones may have been incised in the third or fourth centuries AD but this goes against the general archaeological view that the simplest and earliest symbol stones date from the fifth or even seventh century AD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Crichton of Frendraught</span> Scottish landowner

James Crichton of Frendraught or Frendraucht was a Scottish landowner involved in a fire on 18 October 1630. Eight guests were killed at Frendraught Castle and arson was suspected. The facts of the case were widely disputed.

References

  1. "Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  2. "Table 1: Settlements in alphabetical order" (PDF). General Register Office for Scotland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  3. Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-5)
  4. Gordon Highlanders Museum website Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Dean's of Huntly Shortbread". Scotland on TV. Retrieved 5 December 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. Team, The Sunday Post Features. "The North East: 13 Things to visit, see and do". The Sunday Post. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  7. Huntly Estate, Aberdeenshire: Auction Sale at the Town Hall, Huntly, on Monday, 3rd August 1936. Fox & Sons. 1936.
  8. 1 2 Morris, Blake. (2019). Walking Networks : the Development of an Artistic Medium. London: Rowman & Littlefield International. ISBN   978-1-78661-022-5. OCLC   1126214150.
  9. 1 2 Sacramento, Nuno. (2010). ARTocracy : art, informal space, and social consequence : a curatorial handbook in collaborative practice. Zeiske, Claudia. Berlin: Jovis. ISBN   978-3-86859-064-7. OCLC   679932663.
  10. Hristova, Svetlana; Šešić, Milena Dragićević; Duxbury, Nancy (21 April 2015). Culture and Sustainability in European Cities: Imagining Europolis. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-317-67715-4.
  11. "Roman Signer transmits from the river". MAP. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  12. Fulton, Hamish. (2010). Mountain time, human time. Milano: Charta. ISBN   978-88-8158-791-9. OCLC   696737211.
  13. Morris, Blake (1 January 2018). "The Walking Institute: a reflexive approach to tourism". International Journal of Tourism Cities. 4 (3): 316–329. doi:10.1108/IJTC-11-2017-0060. ISSN   2056-5607. S2CID   158172657.
  14. Beattie, Kieran. "Deveron Projects in Huntly receives £270,000 from Scottish Land Fund". Press and Journal. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  15. "Media Release: 2013 Creative Place award winners announced!". allmediascotland.com. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  16. p.2, The Place Names of the Parish of Huntly, Patrick W. Scott
  17. Drysdale, Neil (22 May 2019). "Huntly RFC welcomes £34,000 investment in ground and facilities from Scottish Rugby". Press and Journal . Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  18. Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. p. 125. ISBN   978-0-9549866-9-8.
  19. Scots paralympian Jo Pitt dies after lung condition by Natalie Walker, 4 May 2013, accessed 5 May 2013
  20. "Biography – CHRISTIE, WILLIAM MELLIS – Volume XII (1891-1900) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography".