Kincardineshire Observer

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 west, and by Angus on the south.

The name "Kincardine" is also used in Kincardine and Mearns, a committee area of the Aberdeenshire Council, although this covers a smaller area than the county.

History

Anciently, the area was the Province of ''Mearns'', bordered on the north by Marr, and on the west by Angus. The name of the province simply refers to its status; the more important provinces were governed by a ''great steward'' ('' Mormaer''), while the less important ones were governed by a mere ''steward'' (''Maer'').

It included the burghs of Stonehaven, Banchory, Inverbervie and Laurencekirk, and other settlements included Drumoak, Muchalls, Newtonhill and Portlethen. ''Mearns'' extended to Hill of Fare north of the River Dee, but in 1891 the Royal Burgh of Torry (on the south bank of the Dee) was incorporated into Aberdeenshire.

The introduction of sheriffs in the 11th century created a parallel authority over the area, based at the town of Kincardine. The town of Kincardine was not, as many believe, the village of Kincardine O'Neil (which was actually in Marr), nor was it the Kincardine in Fife. The Kincardine in question is in fact a place that ceased to exist during the Middle Ages, its only visible remnant being the ruin of Kincardine Castle, 2 miles northeast of Fettercairn, near the hamlet of Phesdo.

In 1296, King John Balliol wrote a letter of surrender from the castle to Edward I of England after a short war that marked the beginning of the Wars of Scottish Independence. In 1600, the Estates of Parliament ordered the shrieval governance of Kincardineshire to be conducted at the Stonehaven Tolbooth.

In the mid-19th century, local government reforms replaced the ancient provinces by new Counties (''shires''), aligned to sheriffdom boundaries; hence, Mearns became Kincardineshire. The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 established a uniform system of county councils in Scotland and realigned the boundaries of many of Scotland's counties. Subsequently, Kincardineshire County Council was created in 1890. Kincardine County Council was based at offices at 33 Evan Street in Stonehaven from around 1920.

The county lost its administrative status in 1975. The area of Nigg in the north of the county became part of the City of Aberdeen, and the remainder of the county became part of the Kincardine and Deeside district of the Grampian region. When the Grampian region was divided into unitary council areas in 1996, the district was absorbed into the Aberdeenshire council area.

Geography

Roughly triangular in shape, Kincardineshire consists of the largely flat Strathmore area running parallel with the coast, with hillier, forested country in the interior, the latter forming part of the Grampian Mountains. The highest point is Mount Battock at 778 m (2,552 ft), lying on the border with Angus.

Rivers

Among the rivers are Cowie Water, Carron Water, Luther Water, Burn of Muchalls, Burn of Pheppie, Burn of Elsick, Burn of Monboys, Bervie Water and the lower reaches of the River Dee.

Structures and sites

* Allardice Castle
* Cowie Castle (ruins)
* Catterline
* Dunnottar Castle
*Fetteresso Castle
* Fowlsheugh Nature Reserve
*Lewis Grassic Gibbon Centre, Arbuthnott
* Muchalls Castle
* Portlethen Moss
* Stonehaven Tolbooth
*Ury House

Coat of arms

The county's coat of arms displayed and reflected the history of the Honours of Scotland, which were kept at Dunnottar Castle and later at Kinneff