Kintore (; Gaelic: ''Ceann Tòrr'') is a town 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 ...

near

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 ...

in Aberdeenshire,

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 ...

, now bypassed by the

A96 road The A96 is a major road in the north of Scotland. It runs generally west/north-west from Aberdeen, bypassing Blackburn, Kintore, Inverurie, Huntly, Fochabers and Forres, and running through Keith, Elgin and Nairn. The road terminates at the ...

between

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 Inverness. It is situated on the banks of the River Don. Nearby are the remains of

Hallforest Castle Hallforest Castle is a keep, one of the oldest in Scotland, as it dates from the 14th century. It is about a mile and a half from Kintore, in Aberdeenshire.Lindsay, Maurice (1986) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Constable. p270 Alternative names ...

, former stronghold of the Earls of Kintore.

History

Established in the ninth century AD as a royal burgh, Kintore had its royal charter renewed by

King James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...

in 1506. But the area has clearly been a popular settlement since prehistoric times. Recent archaeological excavations show

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

finds dating to at least 5000 BC. Kintore Town House was completed in 1747. In 2018, Aberdeenshire Council estimated that around 4,790 people lived in Kintore.

Education

The town is served by two primary schools, Kintore Primary School and Midmill Primary School. For secondary education, local pupils travel by bus to nearby Kemnay and attend Kemnay Academy. The original Kintore Primary School building opened in 1907, and was extended in the 1950s. In February 2006, a new school building was opened at Castle Walk, housing sixteen classrooms, an early years centre, and a library. The old school building was subsequently demolished. Due to the increasing population of Kintore, a second school was built to the south of the town. The £11.5 million Midmill Primary School opened in November 2016, and has a capacity of 540 pupils. The building is located on Carnie Road and comprises nineteen teaching areas, a hall, library, dining area, and outdoor sports facility. The school was officially opened by the Princess Royal in March 2017, and a commemorative plaque was unveiled.

Roman camp

Kintore is the site of Deers Den

Roman camp In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

and is thought to relate to

Agricola Agricola, the Latin word for farmer, may also refer to: People Cognomen or given name :''In chronological order'' * Gnaeus Julius Agricola (40–93), Roman governor of Britannia (AD 77–85) * Sextus Calpurnius Agricola, Roman governor of the mi ...

's campaigns into Scotland; moreover, Deers Den is associated with the

Severan The Severan dynasty was a Roman imperial dynasty that ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235, during the Roman imperial period. The dynasty was founded by the emperor Septimius Severus (), who rose to power after the Year of the Five Empero ...

invasion. Archaeologists say that the Kintore camp was definitely occupied in 120 AD and may have been occupied on as many as three occasions during the Scottish campaigns before lack of resources and more pressing matters elsewhere in the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

induced consolidation and retreat. The Romans, it is believed, were attracted by the belief that Scotland was rich in natural resources, including gold, silver and tin. The Deer's Den camp could have been involved in the preparations for the decisive

battle of Mons Graupius The Battle of Mons Graupius was, according to Tacitus, a Roman Empire, Roman military victory in what is now Scotland, taking place in AD 83 or, less probably, 84. The exact location of the battle is a matter of debate. Historians have long que ...

; however, most researchers argue that the site of Mons Graupius was further south in Aberdeenshire, possibly near

Raedykes Raedykes is the site of a Roman marching camp located just over northwest of Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. National Grid Reference NO 842902. It is designated as a scheduled monument. A marching camp was a temporary camp used mainly for ...

Kempstone Hill Kempstone Hill is a landform in Aberdeenshire, Scotland within the Mounth Range of the Grampian Mountains. The peak elevation of this mountain is 132 metres above mean sea level. This hill has been posited by Gabriel Jacques Surenne, Archibald ...

Megray Hill Megray Hill is a low-lying coastal mountainous landform in Aberdeenshire, Scotland within the Mounth Range of the Grampian Mountains. The peak elevation of this mountain is 120 metres above mean sea level. This hill has been posited as a likely ...

. Arriving from the south,

Roman legion The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period o ...

s marched from

Normandykes Normandykes (Grid Reference: NO 830994) is the site of a Roman marching camp to the southwest of Peterculter, City of Aberdeen, Scotland. The near-rectangular site, measuring approximately , covers about of the summit and eastern slopes of a hil ...

Roman Camp In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

through the Durris Forest as they sought higher ground, evading the bogs of Red Moss and other low-lying mosses associated with the

Burn of Muchalls The Burn of Muchalls is an easterly flowing stream in Aberdeenshire, Scotland that discharges to the North Sea. Its point of discharge is on a rocky beach set with scenic sea stacks. Flowing principally over agricultural lands, the Burn of Mu ...

. That march used the

Elsick Mounth The Elsick Mounth is an ancient trackway crossing the Grampian Mountains in the vicinity of Netherley, Scotland. This trackway was one of the few means of traversing the Grampian Mounth area in prehistoric and medieval times. The highest pass ...

, one of the ancient

trackway Historic roads (historic trails in USA and Canada) are paths or routes that have historical importance due to their use over a period of time. Examples exist from prehistoric times until the early 20th century. They include ancient trackways ...

s crossing the

Mounth The Mounth ( ) is the broad upland in northeast Scotland between the Highland Boundary and the River Dee, at the eastern end of the Grampians. Name and etymology The name ''Mounth'' is ultimately of Pictish origin. The name is derived from ...

of the

Grampian Mountains The Grampian Mountains (''Am Monadh'' in Gaelic) is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. The Grampian rang ...

, lying west of Netherley.

Transportation

The Aberdeen to Inverness railway line lies to the west of Kintore. Since October 2020 the town is once again served by

Kintore railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = File:Kintore railway station 2020 10.jpg , caption = Kintore railway station in 2020 , borough = Kintore, Aberdeenshire , country ...

. Kintore is bypassed to the west by the

NECR

NECR (North East Community Radio) was a local

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

station based on School Road in Kintore. It began broadcasting in 1994, after gaining an Independent Local Radio Licence in 1993. It closed at midnight on 15 August 2018, after 24 years on air, due to difficult trading and growing pressure from the internet.

Notable people

* Robert Marnock, 1800-1889, horticulturalist and garden designer, creator of

Sheffield Botanical Gardens The Sheffield Botanical Gardens are botanical gardens situated off Ecclesall Road in Sheffield, England, with 5,000 species of plants in 19 acres (77,000 m2) of land. The gardens were designed by Robert Marnock and first opened in 1836 ...

. * James Park, 1857-1946, studied science in London, worked as sheep farmer in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, became professor of geology in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

then

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

. Father of Air Chief Marshal Sir

Keith Park Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, (15 June 1892 – 6 February 1975) was a New Zealand-born officer of the Royal Air Force (RAF). During the Second World War, his leadership of the RAF's No. 11 Group was pivotal to the Luftwaffe's defe ...

, "Defender of London"

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

1940. *

Andy Beattie Andrew Beattie (11 August 1913 – 20 September 1983) was a Scottish professional football player and manager. He was the first manager of the Scottish national team. Playing career Beattie was born in Kintore, Aberdeenshire and was emplo ...

, played for Inverurie Locos FC and Preston North End. * Caroline Phillips, Scottish suffragette and journalist.

References

External links

Kintore Golf ClubCommunity websiteParish Church
* {{authority control Towns in Aberdeenshire Royal burghs