Midmar Kirk and Recumbent Stone Circle - geograph

Midmar is a historic settlement in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area incl ...

, lying north of

Banchory Banchory (, sco, Banchry, gd, Beannchar) is a burgh or town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is about west of Aberdeen, near where the Feugh River meets the River Dee. Prehistory and archaeology In 2009, a farmer discovered a short cist b ...

and southwest of

Inverurie Inverurie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Uraidh'' or ''Inbhir Uaraidh'', 'mouth of the River Ury') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland at the confluence of the rivers Ury and Don, about north-west of Aberdeen. Geography Inverurie is in the va ...

. It is noted for its three stone circles and various standing stones. Midmar and Sunhoney are both

recumbent stone circle A recumbent stone circle is a type of stone circle that incorporates a large monolith, known as a ''recumbent'', lying on its side. They are found in only two regions: in Aberdeenshire in the north-east of Scotland and in the far south-west of Ire ...

History

The name ''Midmar'', formerly ''Migmar'', is of

Pictish Pictish is the extinct Brittonic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited number of geographic ...

origin. The first element is ''mig-'' meaning "bog, swamp" (c.f.

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

''mig(n)''), while the second is the district name ''

Marr Marr (Scottish Gaelic: ''Màrr'') is one of six committee areas in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It has a population of 34,038 (2001 Census). Someone from Marr is called a ''Màrnach'' in Scottish Gaelic. Etymology The genesis of the name ''Mar ...

''. Midmar is a largely rural community, and links to

Midmar Castle Midmar Castle is a 16th-century castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, located west of Westhill and west of Echt. The castle was built for George Gordon of Midmar and Abergeldie between 1565 and 1575, and was constructed by the stonemason and arch ...

and Midmar Manor House. The castle dates from the 16th century. The current church dates from 1787. The previous church, St Nidian's, was located over half a kilometre to the south and now forms part of a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

that includes a medieval

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively eas ...

known as Cunningar Motte. The oil boom in the 1970s created a temporary burst in building due to the village's proximity to Aberdeen.

Stone circles

Midmar stone circle lies adjacent to the parish church. The 17m diameter circle features stones up to 2.45m high. The stones have been described as "fang-like". In 1914, the stones were disturbed by the construction of a new graveyard. The circle was scheduled as an ancient monument in 1925 and 1970. Sunhoney stone circle lies slightly east of the village at Sunhoney Farm. Cullerlie stone circle lies further east. Sunhoney and Midmar are both

s whilst Cullerlie is thought to be a later version. The three circles are supplemented by other standing stones of similar date, scattered throughout the area. One example is a standing stone 100 metres north of the Midmar circle.

Notable residents

*Prof

J. R. U. Dewar Prof John Robert Urquhart Dewar FECVS (1850–1919) was a 19th/20th-century Scottish veterinarian who served as Principal of the Dick Vet school in Edinburgh from 1895 to 1911. Life He was born on 26 March 1850 in Aberdeenshire. In 1875, h ...

(1850–1919), principal of the

Dick Vet The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, commonly referred to as the Dick Vet, is the veterinary school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and part of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine the head of which is Moira Whyt ...

School in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

*Rev John Ogilvie (poet) (1733–1813) *

John Ligertwood Paterson John Ligertwood Paterson (September 14, 1820 – December 9, 1882) was a Scottish physician who lived and worked in Bahia, Brazil. He co-founded the Tropicalista School of Medicine in Brazil, along with O. E. H. Wucherer and José Francisco da ...

(1820–1882), medical doctor known for work in

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

External links

* http://www.midmarhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Newsletter-Issue-26-Summer-2017.pdf

References

{{authority control Villages in Aberdeenshire Stone circles in Aberdeenshire