Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns (from the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

meaning "the Stewartry"), is a historic county,

registration county A registration county was, in Great Britain and Ireland, a statistical unit used for the registration of births, deaths and marriages and for the output of census information. In Scotland registration counties are used for land registration pur ...

and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. It is bounded by

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area inclu ...

on the north and west, and by Angus on the south. The name "Kincardine" is also used in Kincardine and Mearns, a committee area of the Aberdeenshire Council, although this covers a smaller area than the county.

History

Anciently, the area was the Province of ''Mearns'', bordered on the north by Marr, and on the west by Angus. The name of the province simply refers to its status; the more important provinces were governed by a ''great steward'' ('' Mormaer''), while the less important ones were governed by a mere ''steward'' (''Maer''). It included the

burgh A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Bur ...

s of Stonehaven, Banchory, Inverbervie and Laurencekirk, and other settlements included

Drumoak Drumoak (, gd, Druim M'Aodhaig, ) is a village situated between Peterculter and Banchory in North Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Drumoak is proximate to the River Dee, with Park Bridge, named for the local Park Estate, being a local crossin ...

, Muchalls, Newtonhill and Portlethen. ''Mearns'' extended to Hill of Fare north of the River Dee, but in 1891 the

Royal Burgh A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...

Torry Torry is an area within the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. Torry’s origins People have been living in Torry since at least the 12th century. The place name first appears in written records in 1484 and was erected a Burgh of barony by Royal Cha ...

(on the south bank of the Dee) was incorporated into

. The introduction of sheriffs in the 11th century created a parallel authority over the area, based at the town of Kincardine. The town of Kincardine was not, as many believe, the village of

Kincardine O'Neil Kincardine O'Neil ( gd, Cinn Chàrdainn, sco, Kinker) is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is situated between the towns of Banchory and Aboyne approximately 25 miles (40 km) west of Aberdeen on the north bank of the River Dee. ...

(which was actually in Marr), nor was it the Kincardine in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...

. The Kincardine in question is in fact a place that ceased to exist during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, its only visible remnant being the ruin of Kincardine Castle, 2 miles northeast of

Fettercairn Fettercairn (, gd, Fothair Chàrdain) is a small village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, northwest of Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire on the B966 from Edzell. Fettercairn is also reached via the Cairn O' Mount road (B974) from Deeside. The name co ...

, near the hamlet of Phesdo. In 1296, King

John Balliol John Balliol ( – late 1314), known derisively as ''Toom Tabard'' (meaning "empty coat" – coat of arms), was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. Little is known of his early life. After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, Scotland entered a ...

wrote a letter of surrender from the castle to

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a va ...

after a short war that marked the beginning of the

Wars of Scottish Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of ...

. In 1600, the Estates of Parliament ordered the shrieval governance of Kincardineshire to be conducted at the Stonehaven Tolbooth. In the mid-19th century, local government reforms replaced the ancient provinces by new Counties (''shires''), aligned to sheriffdom boundaries; hence, Mearns became Kincardineshire. The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 established a uniform system of

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

s in Scotland and realigned the boundaries of many of Scotland's counties. Subsequently, Kincardineshire County Council was created in 1890. Kincardine County Council was based at offices at 33 Evan Street in Stonehaven from around 1920. The county lost its administrative status in 1975. The area of Nigg in the north of the county became part of the City of Aberdeen, and the remainder of the county became part of the

Kincardine and Deeside Kincardine and Deeside was formerly (1975–96) a local government district in the Grampian Region of Scotland. In 1996 it was included in the Aberdeenshire unitary area. History This region is rich in prehistory with numerous megalithic site ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

of the Grampian

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

. When the Grampian region was divided into unitary council areas in 1996, the district was absorbed into the

council area.

Geography

Roughly triangular in shape, Kincardineshire consists of the largely flat Strathmore area running parallel with the coast, with hillier, forested country in the interior, the latter forming part of the Grampian Mountains. The highest point is Mount Battock at 778 m (2,552 ft), lying on the border with Angus.

Rivers

Among the rivers are

Cowie Water The Cowie Water ( gd, Uisge Chollaidh) is a river of Scotland. Geography The river rises in the Grampian Mountains in Kincardineshire, and discharges to the North Sea in the northern part of Stonehaven,United Kingdom Ordnance Survey Map L ...

, Carron Water, Luther Water, Burn of Muchalls, Burn of Pheppie, Burn of Elsick,

Burn of Monboys Burn of Monboys is a stream that rises in the Mounth, or eastern range of the Grampian Mountains, northwest of Stonehaven and south of Netherley, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Monboys Burn is a tributary to the Cowie Water. Hydrology The headwaters ...

Bervie Water Bervie Water ( gd, Uisge Bhiorbhaigh) is a river in Aberdeenshire, Scotland which rises in the Drumtochty Forest and flows across The Mearns to reach the North Sea at Inverbervie. Approximately two kilometres upstream of the North Sea, the Be ...

and the lower reaches of the River Dee.

Structures and sites

Allardice Castle Allardice Castle (also spelled Allardyce) is a sixteenth-century manor house in Kincardineshire, Scotland. It is approximately 1.5 kilometres north-west of the town of Inverbervie. The Bervie Water flows around Allardice Castle on both sides. Al ...

Cowie Castle Cowie Castle is a ruined fortress in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The site lies at the northern end of Stonehaven on the North Sea coast. To the immediate south is the Cowie Bridge crossing of the Cowie Water. Evidence of prehistoric man exist ...

(ruins) *

Catterline Catterline is a coastal village on the North Sea in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is situated about south of Stonehaven; nearby to the north are Dunnottar Castle and Fowlsheugh Nature Reserve. Other noted architectural or historic features in th ...

Dunnottar Castle Dunnottar Castle ( gd, Dùn Fhoithear, "fort on the shelving slope") is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-eastern coast of Scotland, about south of Stonehaven. The surviving buildings are largely of th ...

Fetteresso Castle Fetteresso Castle is a 14th-century tower house, rebuilt in 1761 as a Scottish Gothic style Palladian manor, with clear evidence of prehistoric use of the site. It is situated immediately west of the town of Stonehaven in Kincardineshire, sli ...

* Fowlsheugh Nature Reserve *

Lewis Grassic Gibbon Lewis Grassic Gibbon was the pseudonym of James Leslie Mitchell (13 February 1901 – 7 February 1935), 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 ...

Centre, Arbuthnott *

Muchalls Castle Muchalls Castle stands overlooking the North Sea in the countryside of Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The lower course is a well-preserved Romanesque, double-groined 13th-century tower house structure, built by the Frasers o ...

Portlethen Moss The Portlethen Moss is an acidic bog nature reserve located to the west of the town of Portlethen, Aberdeenshire in Scotland. Like other mosses, this wetland area supports a variety of plant and animal species, even though it has been subject ...

* Stonehaven Tolbooth *

Ury House Ury or URY may refer to: Places * River Ury, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland * Ury House, Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, Scotland, an historic mansion * Ury, Seine-et-Marne, a commune in the Seine-et-Marne département of France * Ury, West Virginia, U ...

Coat of arms

The county's coat of arms displayed and reflected the history of the

Honours of Scotland The Honours of Scotland (, gd, Seudan a' Chrùin Albannaich), informally known as the Scottish Crown Jewels, are the regalia that were worn by Scottish monarchs at their coronation. Kept in the Crown Room in Edinburgh Castle, they date from th ...

, which were kept at

and later at Kinneff, both within the historical boundaries of the county, during the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, then separate entities united in a personal union under Charles I. They include the 1639 to 1640 Bi ...

. It was: ''Gules, the Sceptre and Sword of Scotland crosswise in saltire, with the Crown of Scotland in chief and a ruined castle on a mound in base, all or.'' The motto was , Latin for "Praise God". It was originally the motto of the Viscounts of Arbuthnott, whose seat is in the county, and the 14th Viscount was Lord Lieutenant of Kincardine at the time of the arms' matriculation by the

Lord Lyon The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new gra ...

in 1927.

Constituency

There was a Kincardineshire constituency of the House of Commons of the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

from 1708 to 1801 and of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

from 1801 to 1918, representing the county of Kincardineshire, minus the

parliamentary burgh In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constitue ...

of Inverbervie. Inverbervie was a component of the Aberdeen District of Burghs from 1708 to 1832 and of the Montrose District of Burghs from 1832 to 1950. In 1918 the Kincardineshire constituency was merged with part of the Western Aberdeenshire constituency to form the Kincardine and Western Aberdeenshire constituency. In 1950 Kincardine and Western Aberdeenshire was divided between the West Aberdeenshire constituency and the North Angus and Mearns constituency. North Angus and Mearns then covered the whole of the county of Kincardineshire, including the former parliamentary burgh of Inverbervie, and part of the county of Angus, the latter being previously within the Forfarshire constituency. In 1983, eight years after the abolition of the local government county of Kincardineshire, North Angus and Mearns was replaced by new constituencies. The county currently makes up part of the West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine constituency of the House of Commons.

Transport

Rail

The Edinburgh-Aberdeen railway line runs parallel to the coast and through the towns of Laurencekirk, Stonehaven and Portlethen.

Historic transport routes

The ancient

Causey Mounth The Causey Mounth is an ancient drovers' road over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This route was developed as the main highway between Stonehaven and Aberdeen around the 12th century AD and it conti ...

road was built on high ground to make passable this only available medieval route from coastal points south to

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

. This ancient passage specifically connected the

Bridge of Dee The Bridge of Dee or Brig o Dee ( gd, Drochaid Dhè) is a road bridge over the River Dee in Aberdeen, Scotland. The term is also used for the surrounding area of the city. Dating from 1527,Richards, J.M., ''The National Trust Book of Bridge ...

(and effectively

). The route was that taken by the

Earl Marischal The title of Earl Marischal was created in the Peerage of Scotland for William Keith, the Great Marischal of Scotland. History The office of Marischal of Scotland (or ''Marascallus Scotie'' or ''Marscallus Scotiae'') had been hereditary, held b ...

and Marquess of Montrose when they led a

Covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from '' Covena ...

army of 9,000 men in the first battle of the

Bishops' Wars The 1639 and 1640 Bishops' Wars () were the first of the conflicts known collectively as the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which took place in Scotland, England and Ireland. Others include the Irish Confederate Wars, the First ...

in 1639. Elsick Mounth is a prehistoric trackway used by the Caledonian tribes as well as the Roman army in their northern invasion of the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

Settlements

Altens Altens is a district in the city of Aberdeen, on the north-east coast of Scotland. Altens is home to a large industrial estate, alongside a similar estate in neighbouring Tullos. The industrial estates have offices, including a large facility ...

* Arbuthnott *

Auchenblae Auchenblae (, gd, Achadh nam Blàth) (historically known as Auchinblae) 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 ann ...

* Balnagask * Banchory * Bridge of Muchalls * Cammachmore *

* Chapelton of Elsick * Cookney * Cove Bay *

Crawton Crawton is a former fishing community on the southeast Aberdeenshire coast in Scotland, deserted since 1927. Approximately three miles south of Stonehaven, Crawton Farm () lies to the north of Catterline above a shingle beach. The ruins of 23 hous ...

Downies Downies is a cliff-top village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland situated on Cammachmore Bay. Historically Downies was a fishing village, until much of the local North Sea fishery collapsed from overfishing; presently Downies is chiefly a residential ...

Drumlithie 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", although the origin of this name remains ...

* Edzell Woods *

* Findon * Fordoun *

Glenbervie Glenbervie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Gleann Biorbhaidh'', Scots: ''Bervie'') 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 B ...

* Gourdon * Inverbervie * Johnshaven *

Kincorth Kincorth is a suburb located to the south of Aberdeen, Scotland. The name is a corruption of the Scottish Gaelic "Ceann Coirthe", which probably refers to an old pillar or standing stone (''coirthe''). Kincorth is known as the garden estate of A ...

* Kinneff * Kirkton of Durris * Laurencekirk *

Luthermuir Luthermuir is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK. Historically the village was home to weavers and labourers. Facilities Luthermuir is home to a primary school and a church. There is a single playground, however, it was deemed unsafe an ...

* Maryculter * Marykirk * Muchalls * Netherley * Newtonhill * Nigg * Old Portlethen * Portlethen *

St Cyrus St Cyrus or Saint Cyrus ( sco, Saunt Ceerus), formerly Ecclesgreig (from gd, Eaglais Chiric) is a village in the far south of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. General information Traditional salmon fishing with nets is still conducted from St Cyrus bea ...

* Stonehaven * Tewel *

Tullos Tullos is an area of Aberdeen, Scotland. The area takes its name from the Vale of Tullos, which lies between Tullos Hill and Torry Hill. Tullos derived its name from a corruption of the Gaelic ‘Tulach’ meaning a hill. In this extract from ...

File:Housing at Balnagask - geograph.org.uk - 10369.jpg, Balnagask File:Bridge of Muchalls.jpg, Bridge of Muchalls File:Catterline Harbour.jpg, Catterline File:Stonehaven-Square.jpg, Stonehaven

Notable people

The author

, born James Leslie Mitchell, was a Scottish writer. His '' Sunset Song'' is one of the best-known Scottish novels of the 20th century. It was voted Scotland's favourite book in a poll announced at the 2005 Edinburgh International Book Festival. Set in a fictional village in the Mearns, the book draws heavily from Mitchell's upbringing in Arbuthnott. One of the key features of the book, and some of his other writing, is the balanced and immersive use of the local

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

Scots dialect mixed with standard English, in a manner easily and enjoyably accessible to someone unfamiliar with the North East of Scotland. * See also :People from Kincardine and Mearns

Notable residents

Richard Henry Brunton Richard Henry Brunton FRGS MICE (26 December 1841 – 24 April 1901) was the so-called " Father of Japanese lighthouses". Brunton was born in Muchalls, Kincardineshire, Scotland. He was employed by the government of Meiji period Japan as ...

, born in Kincardine *

Cosmo Innes Cosmo Nelson Innes FRSE (9 September 1798 – 31 July 1874) was a Scottish advocate, judge, historian and antiquary. He served as Advocate-Depute, Sheriff of Elginshire, and Principal Clerk of Session. He was a skilled decipherer of ancient ...

born in Durris Castle *

Hercules Linton Hercules Linton (1 January 1837 – 15 May 1900) was a Scottish surveyor, designer, shipbuilder, antiquarian and local councillor, best known as the designer of the ''Cutty Sark'' and partner in the yard of Scott and Linton, which built her. H ...

(1837–1900), born in Inverbervie, designer of the Cutty Sark * James Murdoch, born in Stonehaven * James Taylor (tea planter) born on the Monboddo estate, Laurencekirk * Robert William Thomson born in Stonehaven

References

External links

*
Historic map showing the Mearns by H. Moll (d. 1732)Interactive map of modern Kincardineshire
{{Coord, 56, 55, N, 2, 30, W, region:GB_type:adm2nd_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Former counties of Scotland Lieutenancy areas of Scotland Counties of the United Kingdom (1801–1922)