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Laurencekirk
| |
---|---|
Location within Aberdeenshire | |
Population | 3,140 (mid-2020 est.) [1] |
OS grid reference | NO7171 |
• Edinburgh | 67 mi (108 km) |
• London | 380 mi (612 km) |
Council area | |
Lieutenancy area | |
Country | Scotland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | LAURENCEKIRK |
Postcode district | AB30 |
Dialling code | 01561 |
Police | Scotland |
Fire | Scottish |
Ambulance | Scottish |
UK Parliament | |
Scottish Parliament | |
Laurencekirk ( /ˌlɒrənsˈkɜːrk/ , Scots : Lowrenkirk, [2] Scottish Gaelic : Eaglais Labhrainn), colloquially known as "The Lang Toun" [3] [4] or amongst locals as simply "The Kirk", 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.
Its old name was Conveth, an anglification of the Gaelic Coinmheadh, referring to an obligation to provide free food and board to passing troops. Laurencekirk is in the valley between the Hill of Garvock and the Cairn O' Mount. The famous landmark of the Johnston Tower can be seen on the peak of the Garvock.
Laurencekirk was, in the past, known for making snuff boxes with a special type of airtight hinge (known as a "Laurencekirk hinge") invented by James Sandy.
The Laurencekirk Golf Club, now defunct, was founded in the early 1900s but by 1951 it had been wound up. [5]
Laurencekirk has two public houses; The Crown and The Royal.
Laurencekirk Primary school was built in 1999 and Mearns Academy, the senior school, opened in a new building in August 2014. The Community Centre, Library and Police Station are housed within the Mearns Campus. There are two public parks, both with children's play areas, and in addition the memorial park houses a bowling green and a skate-board facility.
There are two churches, a Church of Scotland and St Laurence's Church, an Episcopalian Church which is part of the Diocese of Brechin. In 1693 the Episcopalians had been driven from the parish kirk in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution. A new meeting house was built at nearby Redmyre, though this was destroyed in 1746. The Episcopalians built a chapel dedicated to St Laurence in Laurencekirk 1791 which took in the congregations of Redmyre and Luthermuir. The current St Laurence' was opened in 1873 and now also serves the congregations of Drumtochty, Fasque and Drumlithie. [6] its archives are held at the University of Dundee as part of the Brechin Diocese's Archives. [6]
Johnston Tower was built to commemorate the Duke of Wellington's victory over Napoleon in the Peninsular War. [7] It is situated on the Garvock Hill alongside a wind farm. The neighbouring residence, Johnston Lodge, was built in 1780 by James Farquhar, MP for Aberdeen Burghs and later for Portalington. [8] The house was later owned by Lord Gardenstone.
Alongside the commercial enterprise of the local newspaper, The Kincardineshire Observer [9] (often referred to as The Squeeker) which was first published in 1902, Laurencekirk has a Local Community Radio Station in Mearns FM. [10] Broadcasting from nearby Stonehaven in the Townhall, Mearns FM helps to keep Laurencekirk up to date with local and charity events, as well as playing a wee bit of music. Staffed completely by volunteers, Mearns FM is run as a not for profit organisation, broadcasting under a Community Radio licence, with a remit to provide local focus news events and programming. Jointly funded by local adverts and local and national grants. Mearns FM has one of the largest listening areas of any Community Radio Station owing to the Mearns' distributed population, Mearns FM was set up to try to bring these distant communities together. [11]
The Dundee–Aberdeen line passes through the town. The railway station, which closed to passengers in 1967, was re-opened on 17 May 2009. The opening of this station has affirmed Laurencekirk's status as a commuter town providing links to Aberdeen, Dundee and beyond.
The Laurencekirk bypass opened in 1985 as part of the project to dual the road between Perth and Aberdeen. [12] The bypass is now part of the A90. A grade-separated (flyover) junction is planned for access to Laurencekirk, eliminating a flat crossing where numerous accidents have occurred. However, in 2021 it was revealed the project had been delayed. [13]
Lewis Grassic Gibbon wrote much about The Mearns and the surrounding area in his book Sunset Song. A tribute centre can be visited at Arbuthnott a few miles from Laurencekirk.
Fred Urquhart worked on the land in the Laurencekirk district during the Second World War, and his short stories make use of his observations of rural life there. [14]
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 unitary authority of Aberdeenshire. 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.
The A90 road is a major north to south road in eastern Scotland, running from Edinburgh to Fraserburgh, through Dundee and Aberdeen. Along with the A9 and the A82 it is one of the three major north–south trunk roads connecting the Central Belt to the North.
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.
Brechin is a city and former Royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin was described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese, but that status has not been officially recognised in the modern era.
Mearns may refer to:
Carnoustie is a town and former police burgh in the council area of Angus, Scotland. It is at the mouth of the Barry Burn on the North Sea coast. In the 2011 census, Carnoustie had a population of 11,394, making it the fourth-largest town in Angus. The town was founded in the late 18th century, and grew rapidly throughout the 19th century due to the growth of the local textile industry. It was popular as a tourist resort from the early Victorian era up to the latter half of the 20th century, due to its seaside location, and is best known for the Carnoustie Golf Links course that often hosts the Open Championship.
Alexander Penrose Forbes was a Scottish Episcopalian divine, born in Edinburgh. A leading cleric in the Scottish Episcopal Church, he was Bishop of Brechin from 1847 until his death in 1875.
Inverbervie is a small town on the north-east coast of Scotland, south of Stonehaven.
The Diocese of Brechin is in the east of Scotland, and is the smallest of the seven dioceses of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It covers the historic counties of Angus and Kincardineshire. It stretches from Muchalls in the north east down to Dundee in the south, and across to Glencarse in the south west. The cathedral and administrative centre is St Paul’s Cathedral in Dundee. The diocese continues to be named after its medieval centre of Brechin.
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.
Newtonhill is a commuter town in Kincardineshire, Scotland. It is popular due to its location, just six miles south of Aberdeen with easy reach of Stonehaven and with views over the North Sea.
St Cyrus or Saint Cyrus, formerly Ecclesgreig is a village in the far south of Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
The Stonehaven Tolbooth is a late 16th-century stone building originally used as a courthouse and a prison in the town of Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Constructed of local Old Red Sandstone, the prison probably attained its greatest note, when three local Episcopalian clergymen were imprisoned for holding services for more than nine people. Lying midway along the old north quay of the Stonehaven Harbour, the present day Tolbooth serves as a local museum with a restaurant on the floor above the ground floor. It is a category A listed building.
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.
Robert Douglas (c.1630–1716) was a 17th and early 18th Church of Scotland minister who rose to be Protestant Bishop of Dunblane.
Laurencekirk railway station is a railway station serving the communities of Laurencekirk and The Mearns in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The station was reopened on 18 May 2009 at a cost of £3 million. It is sited 210 miles 44 chains (338.8 km) from Carlisle, and is between Montrose and Stonehaven, on the Dundee to Aberdeen line. There is a crossover at the north end of the station, which can be used to facilitate trains turning back if the line south to Montrose is blocked.
Brechin High School is a non-denominational secondary school in Brechin, Angus, Scotland
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.
Jonathan Watson (1760–1808) was an Anglican clergyman who served in the Scottish Episcopal Church as the Bishop of Dunkeld from 1792 to 1808.
Montrose railway station was opened on 1 February 1848 by the Aberdeen Railway as a terminus of a short branch from Dubton Junction. Services initially comprised trains to the junction at Dubton, with some continuing through to Brechin.
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