Banffshire ; sco, Coontie o Banffshire; gd, Siorrachd Bhanbh) is a historic county,

registration county A registration county was, in Great Britain and Ireland, a statistical unit used for the registration of births, deaths and marriages and for the output of census information. In Scotland registration counties are used for land registration purpose ...

and

lieutenancy area Lieutenancy areas are the separate areas of the United Kingdom appointed a lord-lieutenant – a representative of the British monarch. In many cases they have similar demarcation and naming to, but are not necessarily coterminate with, the coun ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is

Buckie Buckie ( gd, Bucaidh) is a burgh town (defined as such in 1888) on the Moray Firth coast of Scotland. Historically in Banffshire, Buckie was the largest town in the county until the administrative area was abolished in 1975. The town is the t ...

to the west. It borders the Moray Firth to the north,

Morayshire Moray; ( gd, Moireibh ) or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland, bordering Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire to the south, and Banffshire to the east. It ...

and

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in popula ...

to the west, and Aberdeenshire to the east and south.

Local government council

Between 1890 and 1975 the County of Banff, also known as Banffshire, had its own

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irel ...

. Banffshire County Council was based at the Sheriff Court and County Hall. In 1975 Banffshire was abolished for the purpose of local government and its territory divided between the local government districts of Moray and

Banff and Buchan Banff and Buchan is a committee area of the Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland. It has a population of 35,742 (2001 Census). Fishing and agriculture are important industries, together with associated processing and service activity. Banff and Bucha ...

, which lay within the

Grampian Grampian ( gd, Roinn a' Mhonaidh) was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. The region t ...

region. In 1996, the Grampian region was abolished, and the area now lies within the

council areas For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" ( gd, comhairlean), which are all governed by single-tier authorities designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Ga ...

of Moray and Aberdeenshire (note that both these polities have different boundaries to the historic counties of the same names).

Geography

Banffshire consists of a 30-mile segment of coast along the Moray Firth from

Spey Bay Spey Bay ( gd, Inbhir Spè) is a small settlement in Moray, Scotland. It is situated at the eastern side of the mouth of the River Spey on the coast of the Moray Firth between the village of Kingston on the western side of the Spey, and the f ...

to Cullaykhan Bay, the immediate hinterland, plus a long, tapering 'tail' stretching inland some 55 or so miles, thus giving the county an elongated shape.

History

Considerable evidence of prehistoric human habitation exists particularly near the

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...

al area. For example, the

Longman Hill Longmanhill is a Bronze Age long barrow situated atop a prominent rounded landform in northern Aberdeenshire, Scotland near Banff Bay. Due to the low-lying coastal plain characteristics, the elevation of Longmanhill affords a long-distance view as ...

cairn and

Cairn Lee Cairn Lee is a prehistoric monument in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Cairn Lee and proximate Longman Hill Longmanhill is a Bronze Age long barrow situated atop a prominent rounded landform in northern Aberdeenshire, Scotland near Banff Bay. Due to the ...

are situated in the northern portion of Banffshire in the vicinity of the

Burn of Myrehouse The Burn of Myrehouse is a coastal stream in Aberdeenshire in northeast Scotland, the lower section of which, Getty Burn is a right bank tributary of River Deveron which discharges into Banff Bay. This watercourse has been suggested as an associ ...

. Located in the area are the ruins of several medieval castles and the 12th century

kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk' ...

Gamrie Gardenstown ( sco, Gamrie) is a small coastal village, by road east of Banff in Aberdeenshire, northeastern Scotland. The village's main economic base is fishing. Gardenstown is served by Gardenstown New Church. The hamlet of Dubford is to ...

. Until 1891 the county contained various exclaves which were locally situated in Aberdeenshire, the biggest being the parish and village of St. Fergus.

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 public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

system of Scotland, having parochial boards from 1845 to 1894. # Aberlour # Alvah # Banff # Bellie (probably now all in Moray) #

Boharm Boharm is a rural parish in the Speyside area of north Scotland, midway between Aberlour and Fochabers, and north of Dufftown. It lies on minor roads to either side of the A95. The main settlements in the parish are Maggieknockater and Mulben. ...

# Botriphnie

Drummuir Drummuir ( gd, Druim Iubhair) is a small village in Scotland, in the traditional county of Banffshire, and in the Moray council area. It is between Dufftown (five miles), Keith (seven/eight miles) and Huntly (nine miles). Its old name was Bot ...

Boyndie Boyndie is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. History Boyndie was once home to RAF Banff Strike Wing, which played a pivotal role in protecting the area during World War II. Under the command of group captain the Hon. Max Aitken, six multi ...

# Cabrach # Cullen #

Deskford Deskford (Scottish Gaelic: ''Deasgard'') is a parish and a small settlement in Moray, Scotland, formerly in Banffshire. A number of significant historical and archaeological remains have been found in the area, notably the remains of a carnyx ...

# Fordyce # Forglen #

# Glass # Grange # Inveraven or Inveravon #

Inverkeithny Inverkeithny is a village in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The village lies near where the Burn of Forgue flows into the River Deveron, west of Turriff and south-east of Aberchirder. In 1990, it was described by Charles McKea ...

Keith Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

# Kirkmichael (possibly all in Banffshire) # Marlach or Marnoch # Mortlach (

Mortlach distillery Mortlach distillery is a distiller of Scotch whisky in Dufftown, Moray, Scotland. Founded in 1823, the distillery is currently owned by Diageo. The whisky is a key component in several Johnnie Walker bottlings., while Diageo also markets four ...

) #

Rathven Rathven ( sco, Raffin) is an ecclesiastical parish, village and former civil parish in the historic county of Banff, now in Moray, Scotland. The civil parish was last used as a census subdivision in 2001 when the population was 12,378, The for ...

# Rothiemay

Milltown of Rothiemay Milltown of Rothiemay (Scottish Gaelic: ''Ràth a' Mhuigh'') is a small inland village, built mostly of granite, in the north-east of Scotland and is within the Moray council area bordering neighbouring Aberdeenshire across the river to the sou ...

# Rothnie # Ontiquhill or Ordiquhill

Settlements

Aberchirder Aberchirder ( sco, Fogieloan, Gaelic: ''Obar Chiardair'') known locally as Foggieloan or Foggie, is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated on the A97 road six miles west of Turriff. Etymology The name Aberchirder, recorded in c.1204 a ...

* Banff * Bogmuir *

Charlestown of Aberlour Aberlour ( gd, Obar Lobhair) is a village in Moray, Scotland, south of Elgin on the road to Grantown. The Lour burn is a tributary of the River Spey, and it and the surrounding parish are both named Aberlour, but the name is more commonly use ...

* Cornhill * Craigellachie * Cullen *

Dufftown Dufftown ( gd, Baile Bhainidh ) is a burgh in Moray, Scotland. While the town is part of the historic Mortlach parish, the town was established and laid out in the early 19th century as part of a planned new town settlement. The town has severa ...

Findochty Findochty (pronounced , sco, Finichty, gd, Am Fionn Ochdamh) is a village in Moray, Scotland, on the shores of the Moray Firth; historically it was part of Banffshire. The Gaelic name of the village was recorded by Diack using his own transcri ...

* Fordyce *

Gardenstown Gardenstown ( sco, Gamrie) is a small coastal village, by road east of Banff in Aberdeenshire, northeastern Scotland. The village's main economic base is fishing. Gardenstown is served by Gardenstown New Church. The hamlet of Dubford is to ...

Glenlivet Glenlivet (Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Lìobhait) is the glen in the Scottish Highlands through which the River Livet flows. The river rises high in the Ladder Hills, flows through the village of Tomnavoulin and onto the Bridgend of Glenlivet, ...

* Ianstown *

* Kirktown of Alvah * Kirktown of Mortlach *

Ladysbridge Ladysbridge (), known for census purposes as Knockglass (), is a village in County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2016 census, the area had a population of 658 people. The village of Ladysbridge lies at the junction of the R632 and R633 regional r ...

* Lintmill * Macduff *

Marypark Marypark is a hamlet in Moray, Scotland. It is south-west of Charlestown of Aberlour Aberlour ( gd, Obar Lobhair) is a village in Moray, Scotland, south of Elgin on the road to Grantown. The Lour burn is a tributary of the River Spey, and ...

* Newmill *

Portessie Portessie ( sco, Peterhythe or The Sloch) is a small fishing village east of Buckie, on the north-east coast of Scotland. It is commonly nicknamed "the Sloch", due to the name of the original settlement being Rottenslough. The village is sandwich ...

* Portgordon *

Portknockie Portknockie ( gd, Port Chnocaidh, the hilly port) is a coastal village on the Moray Firth within Moray, Scotland. The village's name is written as Portknockies in the Old Parish Registers. This would suggest that the port's name referred to not ...

Portsoy Portsoy ( gd, Port Saoidh) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Historically, Portsoy was in Banffshire. The original name may come from ''Port Saoithe'', meaning "saithe harbour". Portsoy is located on the Moray Firth coast of northeast Scotlan ...

Sandend Sandend ( sco, Sanine) is a small fishing village near Banff and Portsoy, Scotland, typical of the area. It was "a considerable seatown as early as 1624". In the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was an active village. There were two fish-h ...

Tomintoul Tomintoul (; from gd, Tom an t-Sabhail, meaning "Hillock of the Barn") is a village in the Moray council area of Scotland in the historic county of Banffshire. Within Cairngorms National Park, the village lies close to the banks of the River ...

* Upper Dallachy *

Whitehills Whitehills is a small fishing village in Banffshire, Scotland, that lies west of Banff on the Moray Firth. It forms part of the Aberdeenshire council area. It surrounds a rocky bay to the west of Knock Head. It has grown as a fishing village ...

Transport

The Aberdeen–Inverness railway line runs through the town of

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 John Marius Wilson (c. 1805–1885) was a British writer and an editor, most notable for his gazetteer A gazetteer is a geographical index or directory used in conjunction with a map or atlas.Aurousseau, 61. It typically contains informati ...

''The Imperial gazetteer of Scotland (1854)''
Vol I. by Rev.

p.130 lists the following : *Auchintoul *Auchlunkart House (A. Steuart) *Balveny Castle or

Balvenie The Balvenie distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Dufftown, Scotland, owned by William Grant & Sons. History William Grant was born on 19 December 1839 in his father's house in Dufftown. At seven he began herding ...

Castle *Cairfield House (John Gordon) *Cullen House (Earl of Seafield) *Duff House *Edingight House (Major A.F. Innes Taylor) *

Forglen House Forglen House is a mansion house that forms the centrepiece of the Forglen estate in the parish of Forglen, north-west of Turriff, Aberdeenshire, in the north-east of Scotland. The lands were given to the abbots of the Abbey of Arbroath by Kin ...

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 Auchindoun Castle is a 15th-century L-Plan tower castle located in Auchindoun near Dufftown in Banffshire, Scotland. History While there is evidence of prehistoric or Pictish earthworks in the grounds of the castle, the remains most visible toda ...

*Balveny or

*Banff *Cullen (near Cullen) *Deskford *Edinglassie *Findochty *Galval or Gouldwell Castle (Boharm Civil Parish) *Grange * Inchdrewer, Banff Parish *Park *Scuth

Notable residents

* James Abercromby, (1706–1781), born in Glassaugh,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

general in the French and Indian War * Captain

George Duff Captain George Duff RN (c. 1 February 1764 – 21 October 1805) was a British naval officer during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, who was killed by a cannonball at the Battle of Trafal ...

RN (c. 1 February 1764 – 21 October 1805) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

officer during the American War of Independence, the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

and the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, who was killed by a cannonball at the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...

. 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 * Jim Ferguson, American movie critic, Board of Directors member for the Broadca ...

, FRS (1710–1776), born Rothiemay, astronomer and instrument maker *

George Gauld (surveyor) George Gauld (1731–1782) was a British military engineer, artist, cartographer, geographer and surveyor. Life George Gauld was born in Ardbrack, Banffshire, Scotland, in 1731, and was educated at King's College in Aberdeen, where he rece ...

* 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 layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

who served as an underground missionary on the Isle of

Barra Barra (; gd, Barraigh or ; sco, Barra) is an island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and the second southernmost inhabited island there, after the adjacent island of Vatersay to which it is connected by a short causeway. The island is name ...

and later as the

vicar apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of the Lowland District of Scotland * Saint John Ogilvie, (1579–1615), born in

was a Scottish Catholic martyr. *

George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen, (5 June 1829 – 29 November 1921), known as Sir George Stephen, Bt, between 1886 and 1891, was a Canadian businessman. Originally from Scotland, he made his fame in Montreal and was the first Canadian ...

, 1829–1921, Canadian railway executive who named

Banff, Alberta Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise. At above Banff is the community with the second highest ...

, after his birthplace; Banff National Park and

Banff Springs Hotel The Fairmont Banff Springs, formerly and commonly known as the Banff Springs Hotel, is a historic hotel located in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The entire town including the hotel, is situated in Banff National Park, a national park managed by Parks C ...

are linked to Stephen back to Banffshire.

Surnames

Most common surnames in Banffshire at the time of the United Kingdom Census of 1881: #

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom * Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...

# Wilson # Reid #

Watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

# Stuart #

Morrison Morrison may refer to: People * Morrison (surname), people with the Scottish surname Morrison * Morrison Heady (1829–1915), American poet * Morrison Mann MacBride (1877–1938), Canadian merchant Places in the United States * Morrison, Colorad ...

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

Cowie Cowie may refer to: People *Cowie (surname) Places *Cowie, Aberdeenshire, an historic fishing village located at the north side of Stonehaven, Scotland **Cowie Castle, a ruined castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland ** Chapel of St. Mary and St. Natha ...

# McDonald

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=March 2017 Lieutenancy areas of Scotland Former counties of Scotland Counties of the United Kingdom (1801–1922)