Marykirk ( gd, Obar Luathnait) is a village in the
Kincardine and Mearns
Kincardine and Mearns is one of six area committees of the Aberdeenshire council area in Scotland. It has a population of 38,506 (2001 Census). There are significant natural features in this district including rivers, forests, mountains and bogs ...
area of
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...
, Scotland, next to the border with
Angus
Angus may refer to:
Media
* ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film
* ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record''
Places Australia
* Angus, New South Wales
Canada
* Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario
* East Angus, Quebec
Scotland
* An ...
at the
River North Esk
The North Esk ( gd, Easg Thuath) is a river in Angus and Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is formed by the meeting of the Water of Mark (from Glen Mark) and the Water of Lee (from Loch Lee), and enters the North Sea four miles north of Montrose. I ...
.
The village is approximately 6 miles ENE of
Montrose at the southern end of the Howe of the Mearns. The road bridge carrying the
A937 over the River North Esk is a substantial structure with four arches. It was designed by
Robert Stevenson Robert Stevenson may refer to:
* Robert Stevenson (actor and politician) (1915–1975), American actor and politician
* Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer
* Robert Stevenson (director) (1905–1986), Engl ...
and completed in 1815 at the cost of £1,000 replacing the previous route to the village, an ancient ford. There is a rail bridge across the same river some 600 m north of the road bridge and the village once had
a rail station to the north east.
The present parish church was rebuilt in 1806 replacing the previous church, the remains of which can be found in the adjacent kirkyard. The older church was dedicated to St Mary and consecrated in 1242 by the Bishop de Bernham. The settlement and parish were called Aberluthnot before being renamed after the church. The village was made a
burgh of barony
A burgh of barony was a type of Scottish town ( burgh).
Burghs of barony were distinct from royal burghs, as the title was granted to a landowner who, as a tenant-in-chief, held his estates directly from the crown. (In some cases, they might also ...
in 1540 in favour of David
Barclay of Mathers by Cardinal
David Beaton
David Beaton (also Beton or Bethune; 29 May 1546) was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scotland, Scottish Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal prior to the Scottish Reformation, Reformation.
Career
Cardinal Beaton was the sixth and youngest ...
in 1540, confirmed in 1543 by
Queen Mary.
The centre of the village has an ancient market cross. The grand gates to the now demolished mansion Kirktonhill House, built in 1799 for the Taylor family, once the home of oil merchant R W Adamson, can be found still in position. Once boasting many small businesses supporting the surrounding agricultural lands, including a part time post office and newsagents the village now has no shops and only the hotel. The nearest shop is a short drive to Montrose or Laurencekirk in the other direction.
The village also has a small primary school of three teachers with between 30 and 40 pupils. as well as a hotel, the 19th-century coaching house, the Marykirk Hotel.
A rare example of a
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 ...
is located in the churchyard, built to frustrate the activities of bodysnatchers in the 19th century.
Since 1996 the village has held an annual raft race in the River North Esk which normally takes place on the last Sunday in May. After six years of holding the race it came to a halt, as a committee couldn't be formed to organise it. Then in 2009 a committee formed and the raft race started once again. It still continues, and Marykirk holds its raft race on the third Sunday of May each year.
Marykirk was also the site of the world's first electricity-generating wind turbine, built by
James Blyth to light his summer residence in the village.
Up until the end of July 2010, the village also had its own amateur weather station.
Notable people
*
James Blyth (1839-1906), electrical engineer
*
Wally Kinnear
William Duthie Kinnear (3 December 1880 – 5 March 1974) was a Scottish rower who competed for Great Britain at the 1912 Summer Olympics and won major single scull events prior to the First World War.
Early days
Better known to his friends as ...
(1880-1974), rower
References
Sources
Marykirkin the ''
Gazetteer for Scotland''
Marykirkin ''The History of the Howe''
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Villages in Aberdeenshire