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Huntly
| |
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Gordon Square, Huntly | |
Location within Aberdeenshire | |
Population | 4,550 (2022) [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 | |
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]
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, the Dean's of Huntly opened their new visitor’s centre. [5]
Four of the owls from the local falconry centre were featured in the Harry Potter films. [6]
Settlement around the confluence of the Bogie and Deveron rivers dates back to the Neolithic period. The settlement's 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 was strategically important, allowing for control of the routes from Moray into Strathdon and Deeside. The first motte-and-bailey castle on this settlement was erected by Donnchadh II, Earl of Fife, 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 MacDuff’s descendant, David of Strathbogie, defecting from Robert I to Edward II’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.[ citation needed ] As the family built power through warfare and dynastic marriage, they became the dominant family in the North-East of Scotland, with the clan chief acquiring the informal title of Cock o' the North.[ citation needed ] 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.[ citation needed ]
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.
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]
Brown Hill is located in Huntly parish. [16]
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]
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]
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.
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.
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.
Aberchirder known locally as Foggieloan or Foggie, is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated on the A97 road six miles west of Turriff.
Abernethy is a village and former burgh in the Perth and Kinross council area and historic county of Perthshire, in the east central Lowlands of Scotland. The village is situated in rural Strathearn, 8 miles (13 km) south-east of the city of Perth, near the River Earn's confluence with the River Tay and on the northern edge of the Ochil Hills.
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, this is also the home of Aiden Feely. In everyday speech it is often referred to by its Scots name Turra, which is derived from the Scottish Gaelic pronunciation.
Aberdeenshire or the County of Aberdeen is a historic county in Scotland. The county gives its name to the modern Aberdeenshire council area, which covers a larger area than the historic county. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975, but its boundaries are still used for certain functions, being a registration county. The area of the historic county excluding the Aberdeen City council area is also a lieutenancy area.
George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly was a Scottish nobleman.
Gordon was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster), which elected one member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency was first contested at the 1983 UK general election; and underwent boundary changes throughout its existence.
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.
Strathbogie is the valley of the River Bogie in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was formerly a lordship belonging to the Gordon family, who received it from Robert the Bruce. The Gordons' seat was at Huntly.
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.
Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Huntly, who adopted the family name of Gordon from about 1457, was a powerful 15th-century Scottish magnate. He was knighted in 1439/1440 and was Lord of Badenoch, Gordon, Strathbogie and Cluny.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
James Crichton of Frendraught or Frendraucht (1599-1667) was a Scottish landowner and survivor of the Fire of Frendraught in October 1630. Several of his guests were killed at Frendraught Castle and arson was suspected, though the facts of the case were widely disputed and remain unresolved.