Oyne is a small village in rural
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 ...
at the bottom of
Bennachie
Bennachie ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Beinn na Cìche'') is a range of hills in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.Whiteley, A.W.M. (Ed.) (1976). ''The Book of Bennachie''. The Bailies of Bennachie. . Mostly anecdotes and verse about the mountain and its surrou ...
in
Scotland.
Locality
The village has limited local resources. It once had a
railway station which closed 6 May 1968, and now has a daily bus service to Inverurie away and to Huntly. The area is popular with commuters to
Inverurie/
Huntly/
Aberdeen. The area has a number of large private houses such as Westhall House, which was a small hotel until the 1990s. The Horn family were
lairds
Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Scottish feudal baron, baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds ho ...
of Westhall.
[Mark Dilworth, ‘]Horn, Alexander Alexander Horn (or Dom Maurus Horn, OSB; 28 June 1762 – 1820), was a Scottish Benedictine monk who became a secret agent and diplomat. His work contributed to the birth of the conspiracy theory of the illuminati.Mark Dilworth, ‘Horn, Alexander ...
(1762–1820)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
Oyne is set on a landscape of mountains right at its doorstep.
Oyne also has a café and shop called "Touched by Scotland". Selling souvenirs and snacks, all the goods made in the shop and café are either locally grown or home made.
Oyne School is in the centre of the village of Oyne, is non-denominational and the catchment area is the village of Oyne and the surrounding rural area. The school's current pupil roll numbers in the 50s. The main school building dates back to 1874 but has been substantially modernised and extended to provide the current 3 teacher accommodation. The school has an extensive playing field to the rear of the building.
Harthill Castle
Of note is the ancient seat of the family of Leith of Harthill,
Harthill Castle
Harthill Castle is a large 17th-century Z-plan castle, about north-west of Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, south of Kirkton of Oyne.Coventry, Martin (1997) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Goblinshead. p.200
It may also be known as Torries Cas ...
(sometimes called 'Torries'), which stands close to the parish church. It dates from at least the 15th century and was extensively restored in 1638 by John Leith, the "violent laird". The castle was set on fire in the late 17th century, possible by John's son, Patrick Leith, to prevent it from falling into the hands of Leith creditors. It stood as a ruin for the next 300 years.
Ann Tweedy Savage purchased the castle in 1975 and with Slessor Troup, one of the area's top master masons, restored it between 1975 and 1977. The restoration work won the Saltire Award in 1977.
Harthill Castle is a pink-washed Z-plan twin-tower building, seven storeys () high, made of solid granite, and set in woodland and farmland in Oyne at the foot of Bennachie. The ground floor is vaulted and has arrow slits and musket holes for windows. The next two storeys are partially vaulted. There are circular staircases in each tower, each rising counter-clockwise. The Great Hall has a fireplace that predates the building and was probably brought to the property by the Leiths from their previous home.
References
* Bickley, Francis, ''The Leiths of Harthill'', London, 1937.
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Villages in Aberdeenshire