Portsoy () is a small town in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

, Scotland. Historically, Portsoy was in

Banffshire Banffshire (; ; ) is a historic county in Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 the area has been spli ...

until 1975. The original name may come from ''Port Saoithe'', meaning "saithe harbour". Portsoy is located on the

Moray Firth The Moray Firth (; , or ) is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of the north of Scotland. It is the largest firth in Scotland, stretching from Duncans ...

coast of northeast Scotland, northwest of

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

and east of

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

. It had a population of 1,752 at the time of the 2011 census.

History

Portsoy became a

burgh of barony A burgh of barony was a type of Scottish town (burgh). Burghs of barony were distinct from royal burghs, as the title was granted to a landowner who, as a tenant-in-chief, held his estates directly from the crown. (In some cases, they might also ...

in 1550, under Sir Walter Ogilvie of Boyne Castle, and the charter was confirmed by parliament in 1581. From the 16th century until 1975, Portsoy was in the civil and religious parish of Fordyce but was administered by its own Town Council and Banffshire County Council. Following the commencement of the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government of Scotland, local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975. The act followed and largely impleme ...

, on 16 May 1975, lower Banffshire, including Portsoy, became part of Banff & Buchan District Council area which was, in turn, part of the larger Grampian Regional Council area. A further reorganisation of local government in Scotland came via the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. With effect from 1 April 1996, 32 unitary authorities came into existence covering the whole of Scotland, Banff & Buchan District Council and Grampian Regional Council ceased to exist and Portsoy came under the jurisdiction of the Aberdeenshire Council unitary authority. The " old harbour" dates to the 17th century and is the oldest on the

. The "new harbour" was built in 1825 for the growing

herring fishery Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atl ...

, which at its peak reached 57 boats. The Old Town Hall in The Square was completed in 1798.

Economy

Portsoy is known for local

jewellery Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

made from "Portsoy

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

" (which is not marble, but rather

serpentinite Serpentinite is a metamorphic rock composed predominantly of serpentine group minerals formed by serpentinization of mafic or ultramafic rocks. The ancient origin of the name is uncertain; it may be from the similarity of its texture or color ...

). The annual Scottish Traditional Boat Festival was started in 1993 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the old harbour.

In popular culture

Portsoy, notably the harbour, has featured in

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

period dramas ''The Camerons'', ''The Shutter Falls'' and ''

Peaky Blinders The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1920s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to working-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, racke ...

'' and a Tennent's Lager advert parodying the 1949 film '' Whisky Galore!'' It was also the principal location for Gillies MacKinnon's film '' Whisky Galore!'', a 2016 remake of the 1949 film; Portsoy represented the fictional island of Todday.

Transport

Portsoy railway station was formerly the terminus of the Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway branch of the Great North of Scotland Railway system.''Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Graphic and Accurate Description of Every Place in Scotland''
Frances Hindes Groome (1901), p. 1350 It closed in 1968.

Notable people

* Jimmy MacBeath, the wandering singer, was born in Portsoy and is buried there * William Boyd, Canadian pathologist and medical textbook writer, was born in Portsoy * Eoin Jess, the former Aberdeen and Scotland footballer, was born in Portsoy * Jim Paterson, trombonist with

Dexys Midnight Runners Dexys (known as Dexys Midnight Runners from 1978 to 2011) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul music, soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid- 1980s. They are best known in the UK for their ...

, was born and raised in Portsoy"Dexys Midnight Runner musician returns to Portsoy"
– '' The Press and Journal'', 15 June 2016

References

External links

Portsoy's page in the Gazetteer of Scotland
{{Authority control Portsoy Burghs Banff and Buchan