Inverbervie
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King Street, Inverbervie | |
Location within Aberdeenshire | |
Population | 2,300 (2022) [2] |
OS grid reference | NO830726 |
Council area | |
Lieutenancy area | |
Country | Scotland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | MONTROSE |
Postcode district | DD10 |
Dialling code | 01561 |
Police | Scotland |
Fire | Scottish |
Ambulance | Scottish |
UK Parliament | |
Scottish Parliament | |
Inverbervie (from Scottish Gaelic : Inbhir Biorbhaidh or Biorbhaigh, "mouth of the River Bervie") [3] is a small town on the north-east coast of Scotland, south of Stonehaven.
The name Inverbervie involves the Gaelic Inbhir Biorbhaigh, meaning "mouth of Bervie Water". [3] Historic forms, such as Haberberui from 1290, [3] [4] demonstrate that Gaelic inbhir, "estuary", has succeeded the original Brittonic element aber, with the same meaning (c.f. Welsh aber). [3] [4]
Inverbervie appears in written history at least as far back as the 12th century AD; in a document relating to Arbroath Abbey, Simon of Inverbervie is noted as having witnessed a charter transferring the lands of Balfeith to the Abbey. The settlement was formerly a royal burgh from 1342 to 1975 and a parliamentary burgh from 1708 to 1950, the former status being conferred by David II of Scotland for hospitality he and his Queen received when shipwrecked there the previous year when returning from exile. The burgh council was based at Inverbervie Town House which was rebuilt in 1840. [5]
A small harbour in the town was important in early years but despite improvements by Thomas Telford in 1819, disappeared by 1830 owing to the buildup of the shingle bar at the river mouth. The first flax spinning mill in Scotland was established here at the Haughs around 1790 and by 1910 there were nine in operation employing 500-600 workers. As a result of this, the population of the settlement peaked at over 2,500 around the turn of the 20th century but has since declined owing the downturn in that industry.
The town was within the county of Kincardineshire until 1975, when the county was merged into the Grampian Region. The Aberdeenshire unitary council area, which now includes Inverbervie, was created when the region system was eradicated in 1996. Aberdeenshire is also the name of another former county which was merged into the Grampian Region in 1975.
Prominent local buildings include Hallgreen Castle, founded in 1376, standing on a bluff overlooking the sea towards the southern end of the town.
The town has had a large number of houses built over the previous 25 years. Two new estates have sprung up in this time frame – the West Park Estate, and also the Brighead Estate.
Like most of the United Kingdom, Inverbervie has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb). [6] with warm summers, cool winters and few extremes of temperature.
Climate data for Inverbervie (134 m or 440 ft asl, averages 1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 13.1 (55.6) | 13.7 (56.7) | 19.8 (67.6) | 21.1 (70.0) | 23.2 (73.8) | 26.0 (78.8) | 27.5 (81.5) | 27.2 (81.0) | 24.6 (76.3) | 20.8 (69.4) | 16.1 (61.0) | 14.0 (57.2) | 27.5 (81.5) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 6.0 (42.8) | 6.4 (43.5) | 8.1 (46.6) | 9.9 (49.8) | 12.4 (54.3) | 14.9 (58.8) | 17.0 (62.6) | 17.0 (62.6) | 15.0 (59.0) | 11.8 (53.2) | 8.5 (47.3) | 6.3 (43.3) | 11.1 (52.0) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 3.7 (38.7) | 3.9 (39.0) | 5.1 (41.2) | 6.9 (44.4) | 9.1 (48.4) | 11.8 (53.2) | 13.8 (56.8) | 13.9 (57.0) | 12.1 (53.8) | 9.2 (48.6) | 6.1 (43.0) | 4.0 (39.2) | 8.3 (46.9) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.4 (34.5) | 1.4 (34.5) | 2.2 (36.0) | 3.8 (38.8) | 5.9 (42.6) | 8.6 (47.5) | 10.6 (51.1) | 10.8 (51.4) | 9.3 (48.7) | 6.6 (43.9) | 3.7 (38.7) | 1.6 (34.9) | 5.5 (41.9) |
Record low °C (°F) | −11.1 (12.0) | −11.6 (11.1) | −8.8 (16.2) | −4.1 (24.6) | −1.9 (28.6) | 1.6 (34.9) | 2.7 (36.9) | 1.5 (34.7) | −0.8 (30.6) | −2.7 (27.1) | −7.4 (18.7) | −10.3 (13.5) | −11.6 (11.1) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 50.0 (1.97) | 45.7 (1.80) | 42.2 (1.66) | 47.7 (1.88) | 50.2 (1.98) | 58.8 (2.31) | 67.3 (2.65) | 65.7 (2.59) | 54.8 (2.16) | 85.9 (3.38) | 73.4 (2.89) | 61.6 (2.43) | 703.4 (27.69) |
Average rainy days (≥ 1 mm) | 11.5 | 9.6 | 9.6 | 9.6 | 10.2 | 10.8 | 11.6 | 10.7 | 10.2 | 12.8 | 13.6 | 11.6 | 131.8 |
Source: Met Office [7] |
The parliamentary burgh which existed from 1708 to 1950 was a component of the Aberdeen district of burghs of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832.
In 1832 Inverbervie became a component of the Montrose district of burghs.
In 1950 it was merged into the North Angus and Mearns constituency. North Angus and Mearns was replaced with new constituencies in 1983. With effect from the 2011 Scottish Parliamentary elections, Inverbervie will be back within the Mearns and Angus constituency, following boundary changes.
The town, since 2017, has been served by Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Andrew Bowie. And, in the Scottish Parliament, the town is served by SNP MSP for Angus North and Mearns, Mairi Gougeon.
Inverbervie has The Bervie Chipper which in 1998 was awarded the title Fish & Chip Shop of the Year 1997. [8] The Bervie Sports Centre opened in March 1989. [9]
The community is also host to a number of shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants. There is a local General Practice, car maintenance garage, and Care Home.
Children in the local area attend Bervie Primary School, which also hosts a pre-school nursery. Children from Inverbervie fall within the catchment area for Mackie Academy in Stonehaven.
Bervie contains many prominent community groups:
Bervie Church
Bervie Church [14] is part of Arbuthnott, Bervie and Kinneff Church. It is on the main street in close proximity to the school. The parish also owns the Church Centre (formerly the manse) next to the church, and the Herd Centre (formerly YWCA Hall) at the bottom of Townhead. In 2010, the Rev. Dennis Rose became the minister, and he served the congregation until June 2016. On 7 March 2019, the Rev Andrew Morrison became the minister. He is currently the second youngest minister in the denomination.
Scouting and Guiding
Bervie has an active Scout group based in their church street hut. Scouts (10.5-14), Cubs (8–10.5), and Beavers (6–8) are all held. Bervie is part of the Kincardineshire Scout District.
There are Guides (10-14yrs) and Rainbows (5-7yrs) who also hold meetings in the Scout Hall. The Brownies (7-10yrs) hold meetings in the Burgh Hall. During 2023, the local Girlguiding Unit celebrated their centenary.
The Living Rooms
The Living Rooms Christian Centre and Coffee Shop is in the school car park behind the church. The Living Rooms is an evangelical independent Baptist church which aims to reach out to people. The Coffee Shop is a popular centre of the community. [15] Services of worship are held in the centre as well as prayer meetings, a youth group, and other special events.
Gala and fireworks
Every year the Gala Committee organise the climax of the community diary in June. As part of this event, a 'citizen of the year' and 'young citizen of the year' prizes are awarded. The fireworks display is organised and held by the caravan site every year on the Sunday nearest to Bonfire Night.
Inverbervie has regular bus links to Stonehaven, Montrose, Aberdeen and Perth via the X7 Coastrider route. It was served by Bervie railway station, the terminus of a branch line from Montrose, from 1865 to 1951, with freight services discontinued in 1966. The nearest railway stations are located at Montrose, Laurencekirk or Stonehaven.
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agriculture and fishing. Global pharmaceuticals company GSK has a significant presence in Montrose in the east of the county.
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 a 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.
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.
Kincardine and Mearns is one of six area committees of the Aberdeenshire council area in Scotland. It has a population of 38,506. There are significant natural features in this district including rivers, forests, mountains and bogs.
Johnshaven is a coastal village along the North Sea located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. About 2 miles (3 km) southwest of Johnshaven lies Milton Ness, which includes a red sandstone cliff landform.
Arbuthnott is a hamlet and parish in the Howe of the Mearns, a low-lying agricultural district of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located on the B967, east of Fordoun and north-west of Inverbervie. The nearest railway station is Laurencekirk.
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.
St Cyrus or Saint Cyrus, formerly Ecclesgreig is a village in the far south of Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
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.
Mackie Academy is a secondary school in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire. As of the 2023/2024 school year, Mackie Academy had roughly 1,112 pupils and 80 teaching staff. The feeder primary schools are Arduthie, Bervie, Catterline, Dunnottar, Glenbervie, Gourdon, Johnshaven, Kinneff, Lairhillock, and Mill O'Forest.
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.
Mearns FM is a community run radio station based in Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns. 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.
Arbuthnott, Bervie and Kinneff Church is a Christian community in the south of Aberdeenshire. It includes the town of Inverbervie, the villages of Catterline, Gourdon and Kinneff in addition to the area of Arbuthnott.
Angus North and Mearns is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering parts of the council areas of Angus and Aberdeenshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is one of ten constituencies in the North East Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the ten constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Aberdeenshire West is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of Aberdeenshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of ten constituencies in the North East Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to ten constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
The Montrose and Bervie Railway was a Scottish railway. When the Aberdeen Railway opened in 1850, the coastal settlements north of Montrose were not linked in, and local interests promoted a branch line from Montrose to Bervie. They found it impossible to raise capital at first, but from 1861 the larger railways were promoting new connections around Aberdeen, and the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) decided that the Bervie line would give it a route to the south.
Bervie railway station served the town of Inverbervie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland from 1865 to 1966 on the Montrose and Bervie Railway.