Banffshire ; sco, Coontie o Banffshire; gd, Siorrachd Bhanbh) 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 of

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 ...

. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. It borders the Moray Firth to the north, Morayshire and

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in popula ...

to the west, and Aberdeenshire to the east and south.

Local government council

Between 1890 and 1975 the County of Banff, also known as Banffshire, had its own

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 ...

. Banffshire County Council was based at the Sheriff Court and County Hall. In 1975 Banffshire was abolished for the purpose of local government and its territory divided between the local government districts of Moray and Banff and Buchan, which lay within the Grampian region. In 1996, the Grampian region was abolished, and the area now lies within the council areas of Moray and Aberdeenshire (note that both these polities have different boundaries to the historic counties of the same names).

Geography

Banffshire consists of a 30-mile segment of coast along the Moray Firth from Spey Bay to Cullaykhan Bay, the immediate hinterland, plus a long, tapering 'tail' stretching inland some 55 or so miles, thus giving the county an elongated shape.

History

Considerable evidence of prehistoric human habitation exists particularly near the

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

al area. For example, the Longman Hill cairn and

Cairn Lee Cairn Lee is a prehistoric monument in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Cairn Lee and proximate Longman Hill are the oldest prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone ...

are situated in the northern portion of Banffshire in the vicinity of the Burn of Myrehouse. Located in the area are the ruins of several medieval castles and the 12th century kirk of

Gamrie Gardenstown ( sco, Gamrie) is a small coastal village, by road east of Banff in Aberdeenshire, northeastern Scotland. The village's main economic base is fishing. Gardenstown is served by Gardenstown New Church. The hamlet of Dubford is to t ...

. Until 1891 the county contained various exclaves which were locally situated in Aberdeenshire, the biggest being the parish and village of

St. Fergus St Fergus is a village in the Buchan area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. St Fergus lies from the North Sea coast and north-west of Peterhead. The Parish of St Fergus includes the remains of Inverugie Castle and Ravenscraig Castle. The church ...

Civil parishes

Civil parishes are still used for some statistical purposes, and separate census figures are published for them. As their areas have been largely unchanged since the 19th century this allows for comparison of population figures over an extended period of time. From 1845 to 1930, parishes formed part of the

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loc ...

system of Scotland, having parochial boards from 1845 to 1894. #

Aberlour Aberlour ( gd, Obar Lobhair) is a village in Moray, Scotland, south of Elgin on the road to Grantown. The Lour burn is a tributary of the River Spey, and it and the surrounding parish are both named Aberlour, but the name is more commonly used ...

# Alvah # Banff # Bellie (probably now all in Moray) # Boharm # Botriphnie

Drummuir Drummuir ( gd, Druim Iubhair) is a small village in Scotland, in the traditional county of Banffshire, and in the Moray council area. It is between Dufftown (five miles), Keith (seven/eight miles) and Huntly (nine miles). Its old name was Bot ...

Boyndie Boyndie is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. History Boyndie was once home to RAF Banff Strike Wing, which played a pivotal role in protecting the area during World War II. Under the command of group captain the Hon. Max Aitken, six multi- ...

# Cabrach # Cullen # Deskford # Fordyce # Forglen #

# Glass #

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austr ...

# Inveraven or Inveravon # Inverkeithny #

Keith Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons i ...

# Kirkmichael (possibly all in Banffshire) # Marlach or Marnoch # Mortlach (

Mortlach distillery Mortlach distillery is a distiller of Scotch whisky in Dufftown, Moray, Scotland. Founded in 1823, the distillery is currently owned by Diageo. The whisky is a key component in several Johnnie Walker bottlings., while Diageo also markets four Mo ...

) # Rathven # Rothiemay Milltown of Rothiemay # Rothnie # Ontiquhill or Ordiquhill

Settlements

* Aberchirder * Banff * Bogmuir * Buckie * Charlestown of Aberlour * Cornhill * Craigellachie * Cullen *

Dufftown Dufftown ( gd, Baile Bhainidh ) is a burgh in Moray, Scotland. While the town is part of the historic Mortlach parish, the town was established and laid out in the early 19th century as part of a planned new town settlement. The town has several ...

* Findochty * Fordyce *

Gardenstown Gardenstown ( sco, Gamrie) is a small coastal village, by road east of Banff in Aberdeenshire, northeastern Scotland. The village's main economic base is fishing. Gardenstown is served by Gardenstown New Church. The hamlet of Dubford is to th ...

Glenlivet Glenlivet ( Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Lìobhait) is the glen in the Scottish Highlands through which the River Livet flows. The river rises high in the Ladder Hills, flows through the village of Tomnavoulin and onto the Bridgend of Glenlivet, ...

Ianstown thumb Ianstown (Scottish Gaelic: Baile Iain) is a small village on the Moray Firth in Scotland. It lies within the council area of Moray. Its OS grid reference is . The town of Buckie Buckie ( gd, Bucaidh) is a burgh town (defined as such ...

* Kirktown of Alvah * Kirktown of Mortlach *

Ladysbridge Ladysbridge (), known for census purposes as Knockglass (), is a village in County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2016 census, the area had a population of 658 people. The village of Ladysbridge lies at the junction of the R632 and R633 regional r ...

* Lintmill * Macduff * Marypark * Milltown of Rothiemay * Newmill * Portessie *

Portgordon Portgordon, or sometimes Port Gordon, ( gd, Port Ghòrdain) is a village in Moray, Scotland, south-west of Buckie. It was established in 1797 by Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon as a fishing village. It had a population of 844 at the time o ...

* Portknockie * Portsoy * Rathven * Sandend * Spey Bay *

Tomintoul Tomintoul (; from gd, Tom an t-Sabhail, meaning "Hillock of the Barn") is a village in the Moray council area of Scotland in the historic county of Banffshire. Within Cairngorms National Park, the village lies close to the banks of the River ...

Upper Dallachy Upper Dallachy is a small village situated in Moray, Scotland, approximately 2 miles south-east of Spey Bay. The village is located next to the now-abandoned RAF Dallachy airfield, which was used frequently in the Second World War and was the ...

* Whitehills

Transport

The Aberdeen–Inverness railway line runs through the town of

in the north of the county.

Architecture

Principal mansions

Principal mansions in Banffshire c. 1854 ''The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland'' (1854) Vol. I. by the Rev. John Marius Wilson''The Imperial gazetteer of Scotland (1854)''
Vol I. by Rev. John Marius Wilson p.130 lists the following : *Auchintoul *Auchlunkart House (A. Steuart) *Balveny Castle or

Balvenie The Balvenie distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Dufftown, Scotland, owned by William Grant & Sons. History William Grant was born on 19 December 1839 in his father's house in Dufftown. At seven he began herding ...

Castle *Cairfield House (John Gordon) *Cullen House (Earl of Seafield) *Duff House *Edingight House (Major A.F. Innes Taylor) * Forglen House and Birkenbog (Sir Robert Abercrombie) *Gordon Castle (Duke of Richmond) *Letterfourie (Sir William Gordon) *Mayen House (William Duff) *Mount-coffer House (Earl of Fife) *Park House (Colonel Thomas Gordon) *Rothiemay

Castles in Banffshire

*Auchindune Auchindoun Castle *Balveny or

*Banff *Cullen (near Cullen) *Deskford *Edinglassie *Findochty *Galval or Gouldwell Castle (Boharm Civil Parish) *Grange * Inchdrewer, Banff Parish *Park *Scuth

Notable residents

* James Abercromby, (1706–1781), born in Glassaugh, British general in the French and Indian War * Captain

George Duff Captain George Duff RN (c. 1 February 1764 – 21 October 1805) was a British naval officer during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, who was killed by a cannonball at the Battle of Trafalg ...

RN (c. 1 February 1764 – 21 October 1805) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

officer during the American War of Independence, the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Pruss ...

and the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

, who was killed by a cannonball at the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1 ...

. Born in Banff *

James Ferguson James Ferguson may refer to: Entertainment * Jim Ferguson (born 1948), American jazz and classical guitarist * Jim Ferguson, American guitarist, past member of Lotion * Jim Ferguson, American movie critic, Board of Directors member for the Broadc ...

, FRS (1710–1776), born Rothiemay, astronomer and instrument maker * George Gauld (surveyor) *

James Grant James Grant may refer to: Politics and law * Sir James Grant, 1st Baronet (died 1695), Scottish lawyer *Sir James Grant, 6th Baronet (1679–1747), Scottish Whig politician *Sir James Grant, 8th Baronet (1738–1811), Scottish member of parliament ...

(1706–1778) Roman Catholic priest who served as an underground missionary on the Isle of Barra and later as the

vicar apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pr ...

of the Lowland District of Scotland * Saint John Ogilvie, (1579–1615), born in

was a Scottish Catholic martyr. * George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen, 1829–1921, Canadian railway executive who named

Banff, Alberta Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise. At above Banff is the community with the second highe ...

, after his birthplace;

Banff National Park Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rocky Mountains, west of Calgary, Banff encompasses of mountainous terrain, with many glaciers and ice fields, dense co ...

and Banff Springs Hotel are linked to Stephen back to Banffshire.

Surnames

Most common surnames in Banffshire at the time of the United Kingdom Census of 1881: # Smith # Grant #

Wilson Wilson may refer to: People *Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson R ...

# Reid #

Watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

# Stuart # Morrison #

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

Cowie Cowie may refer to: People * Cowie (surname) Places *Cowie, Aberdeenshire, an historic fishing village located at the north side of Stonehaven, Scotland **Cowie Castle, a ruined castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland ** Chapel of St. Mary and St. Nath ...

# McDonald

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=March 2017 Lieutenancy areas of Scotland Former counties of Scotland Counties of the United Kingdom (1801–1922)