Kemnay ( Gaelic: ''Camnaidh'') is a village west of

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 ...

Garioch Garioch ( sco, The Geerie, , gd, Gairbheach) is one of six committee areas in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It has a population of 46,254 (2006 estimate), which gives it the largest population of Aberdeenshire's six committee areas. The Garioch con ...

, 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 ...

History

The village name ''Kemnay'' is believed to originate from the Celtic words that mean "little crook in the river" due to the village location on the bend of the River Don.

Kemnay House Kemnay House is a 17th-century tower house, now incorporated in a later house, about south and west of Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and south of Kemnay, to the south of the River Don.Coventry, Martin (1997) ''The Castles of Scotland''. ...

is classified by

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment ...

as a category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The village was served by

Kemnay railway station Kemnay railway station was a station on the Alford Valley Railway in Kemnay, Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Count ...

on the Alford Valley Railway from 1859 to 1950. The alignment through the village has been lost to housing developments. The pre-Reformation church was dedicated to St Anne. The parish was united with Craigern in 1500 and both came under the umbrella of nearby Kinkell. The old church was extensively rebuilt in 1632. The current parish church dates from 1844. The pre-1844 church was of unusual cruciform style, with the earth floor 1m below the surrounding ground, and prone to icing in winter. The two upper galleries were accessed by earth ramps in the graveyard. The church was enlarged in 1871 by Rev George Peter of St Cyrus. The village was substantially rebuilt after the creation of

in 1858. It shares its name with Kemnay a small community in

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is located in the

Rural Municipality of Whitehead Whitehead is a rural municipality in the province of Manitoba in Western Canada. It is west of Brandon, Manitoba and the principle communities within its boundaries Kemnay and Alexander. It became a municipality on 22 December 1883 and was name ...

about 10 kilometres west of

Brandon Brandon may refer to: Names and people *Brandon (given name), a male given name *Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins Places Australia *Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales *Brandon, Q ...

on PTH 1A.

Notable people

David Leitch David Leitch (born November 16, 1975) is an American filmmaker, actor, stunt performer and stunt coordinator who made his directorial debut on the 2014 action film ''John Wick'' with Chad Stahelski, though only Stahelski was credited. Leitch the ...

(b.1608) minister of the parish and Chaplain to King Charles II

Religion

Kemnay has church buildings available for the following religious groups: :*

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

:* ehovah’s Witnesses

Tourism

Kemnay is popular with explorers of Aberdeenshire who can stay in numerous guest houses, hotels, and bed and breakfasts within the village. There are two pubs, the Bennachie Lodge and the Burnett Arms Hotel.

Granite

Kemnay Quarry was opened in 1830 by John Fyfe, and began commercial operation in 1858. Fyfe invented the

Blondin Charles Blondin (born Jean François Gravelet, 28 February 182422 February 1897) was a French tightrope walker and acrobat. He toured the United States and was known for crossing the Niagara Gorge on a tightrope. During an event in Dublin in ...

aerial ropeway system at Kemnay in 1872. Kemnay Granite has been used in many famous buildings and structures, including; * Cenotaph, Glasgow *

Forth Railway Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...

, Edinburgh/Fife *

Marischal College Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long- ...

, Aberdeen *

Kew Bridge Kew Bridge is a wide-span bridge over the Tideway (upper estuary of the Thames) linking the London Boroughs of Richmond upon Thames and Hounslow. The present bridge, which was opened in 1903 as King Edward VII Bridge by King Edward VII and Quee ...

and

Putney Bridge Putney Bridge is a Grade II listed bridge over the River Thames in west London, linking Putney on the south side with Fulham to the north. The bridge has medieval parish churches beside its abutments: St Mary's Church, Putney is built on the so ...

, London *

Thames Embankment The Thames Embankment is a work of 19th-century civil engineering that reclaimed marshy land next to the River Thames in central London. It consists of the Victoria Embankment and Chelsea Embankment. History There had been a long history of ...

, London Granite workers from Kemnay helped to quarry and shape the Australian granite used in the

Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The view of the bridg ...

. They also travelled to quarries in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, the

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

Levees and Odessa.

Places of interest

* James Mitchell Memorial * Fetternear Estate *

Fetternear Palace Fetternear Bishop's Palace is an archaeological site of what was one of the palaces (or residences) of the medieval bishops of Aberdeen. It is near Kemnay in Aberdeenshire. Later, a ruined tower-house and mansion of Fetternear House were built on ...

, archaeological dig site (Bishop's Palace) * Johnstone FM Monument * Kemnay Academy * View Point (Place of Origin) * War Memorial * Kemnay

morthouse A morthouse or deadhouse was a specialised secure building usually located in a churchyard where bodies were temporarily interred before a formal funeral took place. These buildings date back to the time when bodysnatchers or resurrectionists fre ...

in the parish churchyard This is dated 1831 over its iron door.

Sports

Kemnay has various sports clubs, including; * Badminton * Bowling Club * Cricket * Football * Golf * Tennis There are playing fields available for use by the public at Bogbeth Park, which is also home to the Kemnay Skate Park. Golfer

Paul Lawrie Paul Stewart Lawrie (born 1 January 1969) is a Scottish professional golfer who is best known for winning The Open Championship in 1999. He was a vice-captain for the European Ryder Cup team in 2016. Early career Lawrie was born in Aberdeen a ...

, who won the

1999 Open Championship File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoo ...

is a former pupil of Kemnay Academy, as is former

Aberdeen F.C. Aberdeen Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They compete in the Scottish Premiership and have never been relegated from the top division of the Scottish football league system since they were ...

footballer Darren Mackie. In April 2017, a gym opened in the village, Station 83.

Education

In Kemnay, there are two

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 and one secondary school: * Kemnay Primary School * Alehousewells Primary School * Kemnay Academy, which unveiled a £14.3 million extension in 2015.

References

Citations Bibliography

External links

*
Kemnay Village WebsiteKemnay Academy
{{authority control Villages in Aberdeenshire