Banffshire (; ; ) is a historic county in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The

county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...

is Banff, although the largest settlement is

Buckie Buckie () is a burgh town (defined as such in List of burghs in Scotland, 1888) on the Moray Firth coast of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically in Banffshire, Buckie was the largest town in the county until the administrative area was ...

to the west. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 the area has been split between the

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 ...

and

Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 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. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...

council areas. The historic county boundaries of Banffshire are still used for certain functions, being a registration county and lieutenancy area. It borders the Moray Firth to the north,

and Inverness-shire to the west, and

to the east and south.

History

Considerable evidence of

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

human habitation exists in the area, particularly near the coast. Examples include the

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

at Longman Hill and Cairn Lee, near the Burn of Myrehouse. The area also includes the ruins of several medieval castles and the 12th century kirk of Gamrie. Banffshire's origins as a

shire Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...

(the area administered by a

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

) are obscure. There is some evidence that it was a shire from the time of David I (reigned 1124–1153), but the earliest documented Sheriff of Banff was in the 13th century. The sheriff's jurisdiction covered a number of provincial lordships which then existed between the larger

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

to the west and Buchan to the east. The lordships included Boyne and Enzie on the coast, plus the inland areas of Strathisla and several small lordships along the eastern side of the strath of the River Spey and its tributaries, including Glenlivet, Strathavon and Glenfiddich. The shire was long and thin; the main towns were generally in the wider part to the north near the coast, but the shire had a long, more sparsely populated, tail extending some along the Spey into the Grampian Mountains. The boundaries of the older provinces were not always firmly defined, and some of the smaller provincial lordships were sometimes deemed to be subordinate to a larger province. Banffshire was sometimes said to include parts of the provinces of Moray and Buchan. Over time, Scotland's shires became more significant than the old provinces, with more administrative functions being given to the sheriffs. In 1667 Commissioners of Supply were established for each shire, which would serve as the main administrative body for the area until the creation of county councils in 1890. Following the Acts of Union in 1707, the English term 'county' came to be used interchangeably with the older term 'shire'. Elected county councils were established in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, taking most of the functions of the commissioners (which were eventually abolished in 1930). Banffshire County Council held its first meeting on 22 May 1890 at Banff Sheriff Court, the county's main courthouse (built 1871) which also served as the meeting place for the commissioners. The 1889 Act also led to a review of boundaries, with

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

s being transferred to a county they actually bordered, and parish and county boundaries being adjusted to eliminate cases where parishes straddled county boundaries. There were several such changes affecting the boundaries of Banffshire. Prior to these boundary changes Banffshire included four detached parts surrounded by Aberdeenshire, the largest of which was the parish of St Fergus, and several parishes straddled the county boundaries. The boundary changes all took effect on 15 May 1891. The county council initially established its offices at 8 Low Street, opposite the sheriff court. In 1934 it bought St Leonard's House on Sandyhill Road in Banff, converting that to be its main offices instead. Council meetings continued to be held at the sheriff court. In 1975 the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 reorganised local government in Scotland into a two-tier system of regions and districts. Banffshire was all included within the Grampian region, but the old county was split between two of the lower-tier districts. The north-east of Banffshire, including the town of Banff, went to the Banff and Buchan district. The west and south of Banffshire went to the new

district. In 1996 the Scottish local government system was reorganised again, this time into single-tier council areas. The Moray district became one of the new council areas, whilst the Banff and Buchan district merged with Gordon and Kincardine and Deeside to become the new

council area. The modern council areas of Moray and Aberdeenshire therefore cover different areas to the historic counties after which they are named. The boundaries of the pre-1975 county of Banffshire are still used for some limited official purposes connected with land registration, being a registration county. The pre-1975 county of Banffshire also serves as a lieutenancy area.

Geography

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

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 governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

system of Scotland, having parochial boards from 1845 to 1894 and parish councils from 1894 to 1930. Following the boundary changes of 1891, there were 21 parishes in Banffshire: * Aberlour (included burgh of Charlestown of Aberlour, commonly known as Aberlour) *Alvah * Banff (included burgh of same name) * Boharm * Botriphnie * Boyndie * Cabrach * Cullen (included burgh of same name) * Deskford * Fordyce (included burgh of Portsoy) * Forglen * Gamrie (included burgh of Macduff) * Grange * Inveravon * Inverkeithny * Keith (included burgh of same name) * Kirkmichael *Marnoch (included burgh of Aberchirder) * Mortlach (included burgh of Dufftown) *Ordiquhill * Rathven (included burghs of

, Findochty, and Portknockie) * Rothiemay

Settlements

* Aberchirder * Banff * Boyndie *

* Charlestown of Aberlour * Cornhill * Craigellachie * Cullen * Dufftown * Findochty * Fordyce * Gardenstown * Glenlivet * Ianstown * Keith * Macduff * Marypark * Milltown of Rothiemay * Newmill * Portessie * Portgordon * Portknockie * Portsoy * Rathven * Sandend * Spey Bay * Tomintoul * Upper Dallachy * Whitehills

Transport

The Aberdeen–Inverness railway line runs through the town of Keith 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 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 Balvenie *Banff *Cullen (near Cullen) *Deskford *Edinglassie *Findochty *Galval or Gouldwell Castle (Boharm Civil Parish) *Grange * Inchdrewer, Banff Parish *Park *Scuth

Flag

In 2023, the Lord Lieutenant of Banffshire organised a competition to design a flag for the county. The winning design is gold, white and blue, and represents rivers, bridges, whisky barrels and the sunset.

Notable residents

* James Abercromby, (1706–1781), born at Glassaugh House, Fordyce, British general in the French and Indian War * Francis George Cumming (1861–1941), salvation army officer, chaplain, social worker and probation officer * Captain George Duff (c. 1 February 1764 – 21 October 1805) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer during the American War of Independence, the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

and the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, who was killed by a cannonball at the Battle of Trafalgar. 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 (band), Lotion * Jim Ferguson, American movie critic, Board of Directors member ...

(1710–1776), born Rothiemay, astronomer and instrument maker * George Gauld (surveyor) * James Grant (1706–1778)

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...

who served as an underground missionary on the Isle of Barra and later as the vicar apostolic of the Lowland District of Scotland * Saint John Ogilvie, (1579–1615), born in Keith was a Scottish Catholic martyr. * George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen, 1829–1921, Canadian railway executive who named

Banff, Alberta Banff is a resort town in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Calgary, east of Lake Louise, Alberta, Lake Louise, and above Banff was the first municipality to incorporate within ...

, after his birthplace; Banff National Park and Banff Springs Hotel are linked to Stephen back to Banffshire.

References

External links

Banffshire Photographs
from the George Washington Wilson 1904 Catalogue of Landscape and Architectural Views in Scotland * {{coord, 57, 30, N, 3, 05, W, region:GB_type:adm2nd_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Lieutenancy areas of Scotland Former counties of Scotland Counties of the United Kingdom (1801–1922)