Inverbervie (from gd, Inbhir Biorbhaidh or ''Biorbhaigh'', "mouth of the River Bervie") is a small town on the north-east coast of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, south of

Stonehaven Stonehaven ( , ) is a town in Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 11,602 at the 2011 Census. After the demise of the town of Kincardine, which was gradually abandoned after the destruction of its royal cast ...

Etymology

The name ''Inverbervie'' involves the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

''Inbhir Biorbhaigh'', meaning "mouth of

Bervie Water Bervie Water ( gd, Uisge Bhiorbhaigh) is a river in Aberdeenshire, Scotland which rises in the Drumtochty Forest and flows across The Mearns to reach the North Sea at Inverbervie. Approximately two kilometres upstream of the North Sea, the B ...

". Historic forms, such as ''Haberberui'' from 1290, demonstrate that Gaelic ''inbhir'', "estuary", has succeeded the original

Brittonic Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to: *Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain *Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic *Britons (Celtic people) The Br ...

element ''aber'', with the same meaning (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 peop ...

''aber'').

History

Inverbervie appears in

written history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world his ...

at least as far back as the 12th century AD; in a document relating to Arbroath Abbey, Simon of Inverbervie is noted as having witnessed a charter transferring the lands of Balfeith to the Abbey. The settlement was formerly a

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 ...

from 1342 to 1975 and a

parliamentary burgh In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called "constituenc ...

from 1708 to 1950, the former status being conferred by

David II of Scotland David II (5 March 1324 – 22 February 1371) was King of Scots from 1329 until his death in 1371. Upon the death of his father, Robert the Bruce, David succeeded to the throne at the age of five, and was crowned at Scone in November 1331, becom ...

for hospitality he and his Queen received when shipwrecked there the previous year when returning from exile. The burgh council was based at

Inverbervie Town House Inverbervie Town House is a municipal structure in Church Street in Inverbervie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The structure, which is primarily used as a public library, is a Category B listed building. History The first municipal building in the ...

which was rebuilt in 1840. A small harbour in the town was important in early years but despite improvements by

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE, (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotla ...

in 1819, disappeared by 1830 owing to the buildup of the shingle bar at the river mouth. The first flax spinning mill in Scotland was established here at the Haughs around 1790 and by 1910 there were nine in operation employing 500-600 workers. As a result of this, the population of the settlement peaked at over 2,500 around the turn of the 20th century but has since declined owing the downturn in that industry. The town was within the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Kincardineshire Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the Stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and w ...

until 1975, when the county was merged into 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 to ...

Region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. The Aberdeenshire

unitary council area A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

, which now includes Inverbervie, was created when the region system was eradicated in 1996. ''Aberdeenshire'' is also the name of another former county which was merged into the Grampian Region in 1975. Prominent local buildings include Hallgreen Castle, founded in 1376, standing on a bluff overlooking the sea towards the southern end of the town.

Climate

Like most of the United Kingdom, Inverbervie has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Cfb''). with warm summers, cool winters and few extremes of temperature.

Parliamentary burgh

The

which existed from 1708 to 1950 was a component of the Aberdeen district of burghs of the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

from 1708 to 1801 and of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

from 1801 to 1832. In 1832 Inverbervie became a component of the Montrose district of burghs. In 1950 it was merged into the North Angus and Mearns constituency. North Angus and Mearns was replaced with new constituencies in 1983. With effect from the 2011 Scottish Parliamentary elections, Inverbervie will be back within the Mearns and Angus constituency, following boundary changes. Inverbervie Beach

Attractions

Inverbervie has The Bervie Chipper which in 1998 was awarded the title Fish & Chip Shop of the Year 1997. The Bervie Sports Centre opened in March 1989.

Media

* The local newspaper is the ''Mearns Leader'' which is published by Johnson Press and edited in the neighbouring town of

. * Bervie is served by local radio station,

Mearns FM Mearns FM is a community run radio station based in the North East of Scotland. There are transmitters in Laurencekirk, Inverbervie, Stonehaven and Portlethen leading to a coverage area stretching from St Cyrus to Aberdeen. The studio is loc ...

. Broadcasting from nearby

in the Townhall, Mearns FM aims to keep Bervie up to date with local and charity events, as well as playing music. Staffed completely by volunteers, Mearns FM is run as a not for profit organisation, broadcasting under a community radio licence, with a remit to provide local focus news events and programming. Jointly funded by local adverts and local and national grants, it has one of the largest listening areas of any community radio station owing to the Mearns' distributed population. The station was set up to try to bring these distant communities together.

Education

* Bervie Primary School serves Bervie and the surrounding rural area. * Mackie Academy in Stonehaven.

Community groups

Bervie contains many prominent community groups: Bervie Church Bervie Church is part of Arbuthnott, Bervie and Kinneff Church. It is on the main street in close proximity to the school. The parish also owns the Church Centre (formerly the manse) next to the church, and the Herd Centre (formerly YWCA Hall) at the bottom of Town Head. In 2010, the Rev. Dennis Rose became the minister, and he served the congregation until June 2016. In March 2019, the Rev Andrew Morrison became the minister. He is currently the third youngest minister in the denomination. Scouting and Guiding Bervie has an active Scout group based in their church street hut.

Scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

(10.5-14), Cubs (8-10.5), and

Beavers Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...

(6-8) are all held. Bervie is part of the Kincardineshire Scout District. There are

Guides A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom. Travel and recreation Exp ...

(10-14yrs) and

Rainbows A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows ca ...

(5-7yrs) who also hold meetings in the Scout Hall. The Brownies (7-10yrs) hold meetings in the Burgh Hall. The Living Rooms The Living Rooms Christian Centre and Coffee Shop is in the school car park behind the church. The Living Rooms is an evangelical centre which aims to reach out to people. The Coffee Shop is a popular centre of the community. Services of worship are held in the centre as well as prayer meetings, a youth group, and other special events. Gala and fireworks Every year the Gala Committee organise the climax of the community diary in June. As part of this event, a 'citizen of the year' and 'young citizen of the year' prizes are awarded. The fireworks display is organised and held by the caravan site every year on the Sunday nearest to

Bonfire Night Bonfire Night is a name given to various annual celebrations characterised by bonfires and fireworks. The event celebrates different traditions on different dates, depending on the country. Some of the most popular instances include Guy Fawkes ...

Transport

Inverbervie has regular bus links to

, Montrose,

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

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

via the

X7 Coastrider The X7 Coastrider is an hourly bus route between Perth and Aberdeen via Dundee operated by Stagecoach East Scotland. The service runs seven days per week. History The route was introduced on 12 September 2011 and was initially operated by a fl ...

route. It was served by Bervie railway station, the terminus of a branch line from Montrose, from 1865 to 1951, with freight services discontinued in 1966.

Notable residents

Hercules Linton Hercules Linton (1 January 1837 – 15 May 1900) was a Scottish surveyor, designer, shipbuilder, antiquarian and local councillor, best known as the designer of the ''Cutty Sark'' and partner in the yard of Scott and Linton, which built her. ...

, designer of the ''

Cutty Sark ''Cutty Sark'' is a British clipper ship. Built on the River Leven, Dumbarton, Scotland in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, coming at the end of a long period of ...

clipper ship A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century Merchant ship, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had ...

Alan Murphy, ''Scotland'', 2004, Footprint Travel Guides, 692 pages

References

{{authority control Towns in Aberdeenshire Burghs