Fordoun
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Fordoun () (Pronounced "For-Dun") is a parish and village 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. Fothirdun (possibly "the lower place"), as it was historically known, was an important area in the Howe of the Mearns. Fordoun and Auchenblae, together with their immediate districts form the Parish of Fordoun with the
Parish Church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...
in the vicinity of the original settlement, now absorbed by Auchenblae. In the 19th Century Fordoun railway station was opened approximately 3 miles to the South East of Fordoun Church and the original settlement. A village grew at the site of the station (opened in November 1849 and closed in June 1956), where there was also a number of shops, but only a seasonal farm shop remains. In the time since the founding of the railway station the village formerly known as Fordoun Station has come to be known simply as Fordoun and the site of the original settlement has been absorbed by Auchenblae.


People from Fordoun

*
John of Fordun John of Fordun (before 1360 – c. 1384) was a Scottish chronicler. It is generally stated that he was born at Fordoun, Mearns. It is certain that he was a secular priest, and that he composed his history in the latter part of the 14th ...
(d. c. 1384), Scottish Chronicler was born in the Parish of Fordoun. * George Wishart (ca.1513 – 1546) a Scottish Protestant Reformer and one of the early Protestant martyrs burned at the stake as a heretic. *
John Wishart of Pitarrow Sir John Wishart of Pitarrow (died 1585) was a Scottish lawyer, courtier, comptroller of the exchequer, and rebel. Career He was the eldest son of James Wishart of Cairnbeg in the parish of Fordoun in Aberdeenshire. His grandfather, James Wisha ...
(died 1576), a son of John Wishart of Cairnbeg in Fordoun parish, and
comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accountancy, accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior- ...
of the Scottish exchequer. * James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (1714–99), judge on the
Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...
lived at Monboddo House. He was author of ''The Origin and Progress of Man and Language'', a study of
evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
that predated the work of
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
. * James Beattie (1735–1803), Scottish scholar and writer was born in Laurencekirk and first worked as schoolmaster in Fordoun. He became Professor of Moral Philosophy and Logic at
Marischal College Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has been the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. The building was constructed for and is on long-term lease fr ...
and is noted for his ''Essay on the Nature and Immutability of Truth'' (1770) and poem The Minstrel. *
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...
(1739-1802) co-founder of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...
, one of the first doctors to recognise the infectious nature of puerperal fever. * Donald II of Scotland King of the Picts or King of Alba in the late 9th century.


History

There is a Pictish symbol stone, the Fordoun Stone (also known as St. Palladius' Stone), in the parish church on the outskirts of Auchenblae at NO726784 In his 1819 ''Geography'', James Playfair notes that
Fordoun is a mean town, and the seat of a presbytery, noted for being the birthplace or temporary residence of John Fordoun, author of the ''Scotichronicon''; and of Palladius, who was sent by Pope Celestine into Scotland, in the 5th century, to oppose the Pelagian heresy. The chapel of Palladius, adjacent to the church, is 40 by 18 feet; at the corner of the minister's garden there is a well still called Paldy's well; and an Annual fair in the neighbourhood is styled Paldy-fair.


20th century to present

As part of the national war effort, a number of men from the Parish of Fordoun (consisting of both Fordoun and Auchenblae) volunteered or were conscripted to fight in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and II. A
war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...
was erected on Gilbert's Hill overlooking Auchenblae in 1920 which records the names of the 29 servicemen from the parish who were killed in World War I and 13 servicemen and one civilian who were killed in World War II. A memorial in Fordoun Memorial Hall (located in Fordoun) lists the names of an additional 14 men (43 in total) from the parish who were killed in World War I. Many of the killed had joined the Gordon Highlanders. The death toll from the village would likely have been higher if the parish's principal source of employment was not farming which was protected as a reserved occupation. Also in the parish, on the B966, is a disused airfield that was active during World War II. A two-runway satellite for Peterhead airfield, Fordoun Aerodrome operated from 1942 to 1944.


Notes

{{authority control Villages in Aberdeenshire Parishes in Kincardineshire