Findhorn ( gd, Inbhir Èir or ''Inbhir Èireann'') is a village in

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland (council area), ...

, Scotland. It is located on the eastern shore of Findhorn Bay and immediately south of the

Moray Firth The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Sc ...

. Findhorn is 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Kinloss, and about 5 miles (9 km) by road from

Forres Forres (; gd, Farrais) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions. There a ...

. The

Findhorn Foundation The Findhorn Foundation is a Scottish charitable trust registered in 1972, formed by the spiritual community at the Findhorn Ecovillage, one of the largest intentional communities in Britain.''The Dictionary of Alternatives: Utopianism and Org ...

lies to the south of Findhorn Village but is considered separate from it.

History

Original settlement

The existing settlement is the second village to bear this name, the original having been a mile to the northwest of the present position and inundated by the sea. This transposition was not an overnight catastrophe but a gradual withdrawal from the earlier site during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Some sources (e.g. Graham), claim it is the third village to bear the name, perhaps erroneously assuming that the seventeenth century destruction of the nearby Barony of Culbin by shifting sands resulted in an earlier relocation. Findhorn was part of the

Barony of Muirton The Barony of Muirton is a Scottish feudal barony near Forres along the Findhorn River in Moray. The first known Crown charter was granted in 1532, to Robert Reid, Abbot of Kinloss. The title and rights of the Barony of Muirton are currently ...

and was erected into

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 ...

by act of Parliament in 1661. Although surely

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, an ...

in origin the derivation of the name of the River Findhorn is not absolutely clear.

Watson Watson may refer to: Companies * Actavis, a pharmaceutical company formerly known as Watson Pharmaceuticals * A.S. Watson Group, retail division of Hutchison Whampoa * Thomas J. Watson Research Center, IBM research center * Watson Systems, make ...

(1926) states that it is derived from ''Fionn Èire'', meaning "white Ireland" which "doubtless refers to the white sands of the estuary". The

dative In grammar, the dative case ( abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "Maria Jacobo potum dedit", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob ...

''Èireann'' gave rise to the use of the anglified 'erne' in other local names such as Invererne, Cullerne and Earnhill.

Major seaport

In the seventeenth century Findhorn was the principal

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

of Moray and vessels regularly sailed to and from all parts of the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

and as far as the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

Ports. Changes to the narrow and shallow entrance to the Bay created obstacles to navigation and as the size of trading vessels increased so the volume of trade to the village declined. James Giles (1801 - 1870) - Findhorn - ABDAG002428 - Aberdeen City Council (Archives, Gallery and Museums Collection)

James Giles (1801 - 1870) - Findhorn - ABDAG002428 - Aberdeen City Council (Archives, Gallery and Museums Collection)

Findhorn Bay witnessed a brief episode in the

1745 Jacobite rising The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took pl ...

. In March 1746 the French brigantine ''Le Bien Trouvé'' entered the tidal waters with dispatches for

Bonnie Prince Charlie Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...

but her departure, with the Prince's aide-de-camp on board, was delayed by the arrival of two British men-o'-war. Unable to enter the shallow bay, the two warships lay in wait in the Firth. Somehow ''Le Bien Trouvé'' slipped out and away to safety on a dark night. The name is recalled in the modern-day training

gig Gig or GIG may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Gig'' (Circle Jerks album) (1992) * ''Gig'' (Northern Pikes album) (1993) * ''The Gig'', a 1985 film written and directed by Frank D. Gilroy * GIG, a character in ''Hot Wheels AcceleRacers'' ...

of the same name which is based at Findhorn.

Fishing village

During the nineteenth century fishing predominated. During the 1829 floods known as " The Muckle Spate" five Findhorn fishing boats rescued

residents. For a few years (1860-9) there was a branch

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

line to Findhorn railway station in the village to take advantage of the herring fleet.

Modern times

The early twentieth century saw a decline in fishing as the traditional two-masted zulus were in their turn being replaced by larger vessels. Some of the craft, 'temporarily' beached on the western shore of the Bay whilst their crews fought in the First World War, were never used again. The wreckage is still visible at low tide. The shore-based salmon fisheries lasted until the 1980s but they too are no more. Today the village is a dormitory suburb and leisure craft dominate the moorings. The Crown and Anchor Inn, dating from 1739, is the oldest surviving structure in the village. Other prominent buildings of note include Findhorn House built in 1775, which is the home of the Royal Findhorn Yacht Club, The Kimberley Inn, the James Milne Institute, The Universal Hall at the

and the ice house Heritage Centre. Findhorn Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in 1926 and continued until World War II.

Education

Primary school students go to nearby Kinloss Primary School in Kinloss. Secondary students are in the catchment zone of Forres Academy in

.Aspire to Inspire-Handbook 2016-2017
." Forres Academy. Retrieved on July 1, 2017. page 3 (3/49).

Notes

References

* Graham, C. (1977). Portrait of the Moray Firth. London. Robert Hale. * Cochrane, R.G. & Shand, W. (1981). Findhorn: A Scottish Village. Findhorn Press. * Lauder, T.D. (1873). An Account of the Great Floods of August 1829. J. McGillivary. * McKean, Charles (1987). The District of Moray: An Illustrated Architectural Guide. Scottish Academic Press. * Sellar, W.D.H. (editor) (1993). Moray: Province and People. Scottish Society for Northern Studies. * Ross, Sinclair (1992). The Culbin Sands: Fact and Fiction. University of Aberdeen. * Watson, W. J. (1994) ''The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland''. Edinburgh. Birlinn. . First published 1926. {{Authority control Villages in Moray