Brechin (; gd, Breichin) is a city and former

Royal burgh A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...

in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin was described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

(which continues today as an episcopal seat of the

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...

), but that status has not been officially recognised in the modern era. Nevertheless, the designation is often used, with examples being the City of Brechin and District Community Council, City of Brechin and Area Partnership, City of Brechin Civic Trust and Brechin City Football Club. Kinnaird Castle is nearby. Brechin is located slightly closer to Dundee than

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and is located on the A90 between the cities. It is the fourth largest settlement of Angus.

History

Old Town Hall, Brechin (geograph 6982552)

In the centre of Brechin is a small

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

in the

Brechin Town House Brechin Town House is a municipal structure in the High Street in Brechin, Angus, Scotland. The structure, which is now used as a museum, is a Category B listed building. History The first municipal building in the town was a tolbooth which wa ...

, and an award-winning tourist attraction, the

Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh an ...

. Along with the cathedral and

round tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and fu ...

, part of the

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

of Brechin's ''Maison Dieu'' or hospital survives from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

; the Maison Dieu was founded before 1267 by William de Brechin. The Maison Dieu chapel is in the care of

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...

. The Bank Street drill hall was completed in 1879. The Guildry Incorporation of Brechin was formed in 1629 by merchants and traders in the Burgh and in 1666 obtained recognition of its rights under Decree of the Convention of Burghs. The Guildry's historic purposes have been assumed by local government and its current functions are social and civic.

Religion

Brechin Cathedral

The town is well known for its cathedral, with eleventh century

(

), one of only two of these

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-style monuments surviving in Scotland (the other is at

Abernethy Abernethy may refer to: Places Scotland * Abernethy, Perth and Kinross, a village ** Abernethy (NBR) railway station, a former railway station in this village * Nethy Bridge, Highland, a village formerly known as Abernethy * Abernethy Forest, ...

, Perthshire). The tower was originally free-standing, but is now incorporated in the framework of the cathedral. The

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

has been much altered, but still contains

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

work of the 13th and 14th centuries, notably a handsome western tower and processional door.

Scottish Episcopal Church

In 1695, following the Glorious Revolution, the town's

Episcopalians Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

were driven out of Brechin Cathedral which remained under the control of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

. A meeting house was set up in the High Street with a chapel being built in 1743. Following the

Jacobite rising of 1745 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 ...

, the chapel's seats and books were destroyed by government forces and the chapel was taken over by a qualified congregation. A new Episcopalian Church, St Andrews Church was built in 1809 and consecrated in June 1811. This was replaced by a new building in 1888. St Andrews Church is part of the

Diocese of Brechin The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brechin, also known as the Diocese of Angus, was one of the thirteen pre-Reformation dioceses of Scotland. History The diocese was believed to have been founded by Bishop Samson in 1153, and based at the cathedr ...

and its archives are held by the

University of Dundee , mottoeng = "My soul doth magnify the Lord" , established = 1967 – gained independent university status by Royal Charter1897 – Constituent college of the University of St Andrews1881 – University College , ...

Governance

Brechin is represented within

Angus Council Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include ag ...

by the Brechin & Edzell ward, from which three councillors are elected.

Education

Education in Brechin is managed by the Education Department of

. There is one secondary school in the area; Brechin High School and four feeder

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s; Andover Primary school, Edzell Primary School, Maisondieu Primary School and Stracathro Primary School.

Sport

Brechin City F.C. Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club ...

contest in the Highland Football League at its stadium Glebe Park. Glebe Park is the only senior football ground in Europe which has a hedge along one of its perimeters. Brechin is also home to the

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

football club Brechin Victoria who play at Victoria Park.

Transportation

Brechin was previously served by

Brechin railway station Brechin is a station in Angus, on the Caledonian Railway line. History The station opened for business on 1 February 1848. Initially four trains per day ran between Brechin and Montrose. The fare between Brechin and Montrose was 1s.4d First Cl ...

, a terminus of several lines. It was closed to passengers in 1952, but has since reopened as part of the Caledonian Railway heritage railway. The single-carriageway bypass of Brechin was dualled and reopened in March 1994, completing the dualling of the newly numbered A90 between Perth and Aberdeen.

Notable people

* Dame

Anne Begg Dame Margaret Anne Begg DBE (born 6 December 1955) is a Scottish politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberdeen South from 1997 to 2015. A member of the Labour Party, she was Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee ...

, former Member of Parliament for Aberdeen South. * Sir David de Brechin (d. 1320), Lord of Brechin. *

Joseph Fairweather Lamb Joseph Fairweather Lamb FRSE (1928–2015) was a 20th-century Scottish physician, who was Emeritus Professor of the Chandos Chair of Physiology at the University of St Andrews. Life He was born at Balnacake Farm near Brechin on 18 July 1928A ...

, academic and former Chandos Chair of Physiology at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. *

James McCosh James McCosh (April 1, 1811 – November 16, 1894) was a philosopher of the Scottish School of Common Sense. He was president of Princeton University 1868–88. Biography McCosh was born into a Covenanting family in Ayrshire, a ...

and

Free Church A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions fr ...

minister at Brechin. Later president of

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

* David Myles, former MP for Banffshire and public servant. *

Robin Orr Robert Kemsley (Robin) Orr (2 June 1909 – 9 April 2006) was a Scottish organist and composer. Life Born in Brechin, and educated at Loretto School, he studied the organ at the Royal College of Music in London under Walter Galpin Alcock, and pi ...

, composer. *

Robert Watson-Watt Sir Robert Alexander Watson Watt (13 April 1892 – 5 December 1973) was a Scottish pioneer of radio direction finding and radar technology. Watt began his career in radio physics with a job at the Met Office, where he began looking for accura ...

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

pioneer, born in Brechin.

Gallery

File:Door to Brechin Round Tower.jpg, Door to Brechin Round Tower File:John the Scot.svg, Coat of arms of Brechin, based on the arms of Henry, Lord of Brechin

References

External links

Brechin Online
Local Community Website for Brechin.
Brechin Advertiser
- local newspaper
Brechin Town House Museum

Brechin Environment
{{Authority control Towns in Angus, Scotland