Stonehaven ( , ) is a town in Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 11,602 at the 2011 Census. After the demise of the town of

Kincardine Kincardine may refer to: Places Scotland *Kincardine, Fife, a town on the River Forth, Scotland **Kincardine Bridge, a bridge which spans the Firth of Forth *Kincardineshire, a historic county **Kincardine, Aberdeenshire, now abandoned **Kincardi ...

, which was gradually abandoned after the destruction of its royal castle in the Wars of Independence, the Scottish Parliament made Stonehaven the successor

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

of Kincardineshire. It is currently administered as part of the unitary authority 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 ...

. Stonehaven had grown around an Iron Age fishing village, now the "Auld Toon" ("old town"), and expanded inland from the seaside. As late as the 16th century, old maps indicate the town was called ''Stonehyve'', ''Stonehive'', Timothy Pont also adding the alternative ''Duniness''. It is known informally to locals as ''Stoney''.

Pre-history and archaeology

Stonehaven is the site of prehistoric events evidenced by finds at

Fetteresso Castle Fetteresso Castle is a 14th-century tower house, rebuilt in 1761 as a Scottish Gothic style Palladian manor, with clear evidence of prehistoric use of the site. It is situated immediately west of the town of Stonehaven in Kincardineshire, slightl ...

and Neolithic pottery excavations from the

Spurryhillock Spurryhillock is a mesolithic archaeological site and modern industrial estate at Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The area is bordered on its southern edge by the Dundee–Aberdeen line, and on its western edge by the A90. A bus depot is ...

area. In 2004, archaeological work by CFA Archaeology, in advance of the building of the Aberdeen to Lochside Natural Gas Pipeline, found two short cists burials containing cremated remains to the southwest of Stonehaven.

Radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was dev ...

put the burials in the first half of the 2nd millennium BC, which was the Early Bronze Age in Scotland. The burials contained

stone tool A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made either partially or entirely out of stone. Although stone tool-dependent societies and cultures still exist today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric (particularly Stone Ag ...

artifacts and shale/cannel coal beads. That same year, researchers at the

National Museums of Scotland National Museums Scotland (NMS; gd, Taighean-tasgaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It runs the national museums of Scotland. NMS is one of the country's National Collections, ...

and Yale University announced that a fossil found by an amateur paleontologist the previous year was the earliest known fossil of a land-dwelling animal. The fossil was about 420 million years old.

History

The town lies at the southern origin of the ancient

Causey Mounth The Causey Mounth is an ancient drovers' road over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This route was developed as the main highway between Stonehaven and Aberdeen around the 12th century AD and it continue ...

trackway, which was built on high ground to make passable this only available medieval route from coastal points south to Aberdeen. This ancient passage specifically connected the

Bridge of Dee The Bridge of Dee or Brig o Dee ( gd, Drochaid Dhè) is a road bridge over the River Dee in Aberdeen, Scotland. The term is also used for the surrounding area of the city. Dating from 1527,Richards, J.M., ''The National Trust Book of Bridges ...

to Cowie Castle via the

Portlethen Moss The Portlethen Moss is an acidic bog nature reserve located to the west of the town of Portlethen, Aberdeenshire in Scotland. Like other Bog, mosses, this wetland area supports a variety of plant and animal species, even though it has been subjec ...

and the Stonehaven central plaza. The route was taken by the Earl Marischal and Marquess of Montrose when they led a

Covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...

army of over 9,000 men in the first battle of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in 1639. Originally the settlement of Stonehaven grew and prospered and was known as Kilwhang. The Covenanters were imprisoned in Dunnottar Castle, where many died. A memorial to them can be found in Dunnottar Church. Other castles in the vicinity are

and Muchalls Castle, both of which are in private ownership and not open to the public. The oldest surviving structure in Stonehaven is the Stonehaven Tolbooth at the harbour, used as an early prison and now a museum. Dunnottar Castle, perched atop a rocky outcrop, was home to the Keith family, and during the Scottish Wars of Independence, the Scottish Crown Jewels were hidden there. In 1296, King Edward I of England took the

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

only for William Wallace to reclaim it in 1297, burning down the church in the process with the entire English garrison still in it. In 1650, Oliver Cromwell sacked the castle to find the Crown Jewels following an eight-month siege (having previously destroyed the English Crown Jewels). However, just before the castle fell, the Crown Jewels were smuggled out by some ladies who took them by boat to a small church just down the coast in the village of

Kinneff Kinneff is a roadside hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, just north of Inverbervie.Kinneff.
Jacobite town in the Fifteen and it was a safe base for the retreating Jacobite army to stay overnight on the night of 5–6 February 1716. In the

Forty-Five Forty-fives (also known as Auction Forty-Fives, Auction 120s, 120, and Growl) is a trick-taking card game that originated in Ireland. The game is popular in many communities throughout Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, P ...

Stonehaven, part of the

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

north-east, was again ‘reliably Jacobite’ and it was one of the north-eastern ports where reinforcements, plus money and equipment were periodically landed from France. After 1709, when

Dunnottar Parish Church Dunnottar Parish Church is a parish church of the Church of Scotland, serving Stonehaven in the south of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is within the Church of Scotland's Presbytery of Kincardine and Deeside. During 2020, the congregation united t ...

was taken over by the Church of Scotland Episcopalian services were held in the tolbooth until a meeting house was built in the High Street in 1738. Following the failure of the Forty-Five, the Duke of Cumberland ordered the building's demolition. Services were then held in a house on the High Street. Stonehaven Town Hall, which is an events venue in the town, was completed in 1878. Near the Cowie Bridge, at the north of Stonehaven, was a fishing village known as

Cowie Cowie may refer to: People *Cowie (surname) Places *Cowie, Aberdeenshire, an historic fishing village located at the north side of Stonehaven, Scotland **Cowie Castle, a ruined castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland ** Chapel of St. Mary and St. Natha ...

, which has now been subsumed into Stonehaven. Somewhat further north are the ruins of Cowie Castle. Slightly to the west of Stonehaven is the ruined

Ury House Ury or URY may refer to: Places * River Ury, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland * Ury House, Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, Scotland, an historic mansion * Ury, Seine-et-Marne, a commune in the Seine-et-Marne département of France * Ury, West Virginia, ...

, originally a property of the

Frasers House of Fraser (also operating as Frasers) is a British department store group with 44 locations across the United Kingdom, which is now part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it w ...

. A fossil of the oldest known land animal, '' Pneumodesmus newmani'', a species of millipede, was found at Stonehaven's Cowie Beach in 2004.

Geography

Stonehaven is 15 miles (24 km) south of Aberdeen sheltered in

Stonehaven Bay Stonehaven Bay is a natural harbour in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The town of Stonehaven is built along the shore of Stonehaven Bay. The mouths of the Carron Water and the Cowie Water The Cowie Water ( gd, Uisge Chollaidh) is a river of Scotland ...

. The Carron Water and Cowie Water run through the town. Stonehaven lies adjacent to a deeply indented bay surrounded on three sides by higher land between

Downie Point Downie Point is a prominent headland located at the southern edge of Stonehaven Bay in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. (United Kingdom, 2004) From the Stonehaven Harbour, there is a panoramic view of this cliff landform, especially from the tip of Bel ...

and Garron Point. The harbour, consisting of two basins, was improved in the 1820s by the engineer

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 ...

(grandfather of the author Robert Louis Stevenson), and became an important centre of the 19th century

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

trade; the harbour is bordered on the north by

Bellman's Head Bellman's Head is a headland point comprising the northern boundary of Stonehaven Bay in Stonehaven, Scotland.United Kingdom Ordnance Survey Map, Landranger 45, Stonehaven and Banchory, 1:50,000 scale 2004 The corresponding headland at the sout ...

and the south by

. At the western edge of Stonehaven west of the

A90 road The A90 road is a major north to south road in eastern Scotland, running from Edinburgh to Fraserburgh, through Dundee and Aberdeen. Along with the A9 and the A82 it is one of the three major north–south trunk roads connecting the Centra ...

lies the village of

Kirkton of Fetteresso Kirkton ("church town") may refer to: Places Canada *Kirkton, Ontario, a community within South Huron, Huron County, Ontario * Kirkton, Perth County, Ontario, a community within Perth South, Perth County, Ontario Scotland *Kirkton, Dumfries and G ...

. Nearby to the south, Fowlsheugh is a coastal nature reserve, known for its 230-foot-high cliff formations and habitat supporting prolific seabird nesting colonies. Stonehaven has grown rapidly since the oil boom in Aberdeen. The increasing demand for new, middle-class housing has seen four new estates being appended to the town, creating an expanse of

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

s and Stonehaven has been bypassed since 1984. Because of its location at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

between two rivers, Stonehaven is prone to flooding following heavy rain. Aberdeenshire Council has held meetings about the possible construction of

flood defence Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

s. These are currently under construction. The Highland Boundary Fault traverses Scotland from the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; sco, Isle o Arran; gd, Eilean Arainn) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Historically part of Butesh ...

and Helensburgh on the west coast to immediately north of Stonehaven on the east coast.

Parks and green spaces

The largest park is Mineralwell, situated adjacent to the

Glenury Viaduct Glenury Viaduct is a double-track railway viaduct in Stonehaven, Scotland. It is Category B listed. The viaduct is situated north of Stonehaven railway station and adjacent to Mineralwell Park. History On 18 May 1848 during construction of the v ...

which carries the Dundee–Aberdeen line. St Kieran's Well, a grade-C listed public fountain, is situated in the park. It was restored in 1982, though its water supply has since been severed. The park contains one of the largest purpose built radio controlled car circuits in the UK, located at the edge of the park beside the viaduct. The John McRobert Pavilion was opened in the park in 1993 and an artificial turf pitch opened in the park in 2015. The park is now home to a parkrun. In 2021, 120 cherry blossom trees were planted as part of the

Sakura Cherry Tree Project The Sakura Cherry Tree Project is a tree planting program in the United Kingdom. It is intended to symbolise friendship between the United Kingdom and Japan. The trees were donated by the private sector in Japan and are of three types: Beni-yutak ...

. The trees are dedicated to Thomas Blake Glover. Nearby Baird Park occupies an area of four acres and was given to the town by Sir Alexander Baird in 1920, though it had been leased to the council for the previous twelve years. Stonehaven Recreation Grounds was opened in 1885 and is situated near the beach. It is owned by the council. It contains tennis courts and a bowling green. Dunnottar Woods is a woodland area managed by the Woodland Trust.

Education

The town has a secondary school,

Mackie Academy Mackie Academy is a secondary school in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire. As of 2015, Mackie Academy had roughly 1170 pupils and 80 teaching staff. The feeder primary schools are Arduthie, Bervie, Catterline, Dunnottar, Glenbervie, Gourdon, Johnshaven, Ki ...

, which was founded at the site occupied currently by Arduthie School. Mackie takes pupils from a relatively large chunk of southern Aberdeenshire with its catchment zone stretching from Johnshaven in the south to Netherley in the north and out to

Glenbervie Glenbervie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Gleann Biorbhaidh'', Scots: ''Bervie'') is located in the north east of Scotland in the Howe o' the Mearns, one mile from the village of Drumlithie and eight miles south of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire. The river Be ...

in the west. There are three primary schools: * Arduthie School is one of the three primary schools in Stonehaven serving a large portion of the north and east of the town as well as the surrounding countryside to the north-west. * Dunnottar School was founded in 1889. It is linked to the notable Parish Church and the historic Dunnottar Castle and is located at the edge of the old town. It serves the old town and the majority of the countryside surrounding Stonehaven As part of the Stonehaven flooding in 2009 the school was affected and pupils had to be relocated for a week while work was undertaken. * Mill O' Forest School, is located in the newer part of Stonehaven and serves the south and parts of the north of the town. One special education school, Carronhill, opened in 1975. It is situated in the newer part of the town near Mill O' Forest Primary School.

Commerce and culture

Historically the chief commerce of Stonehaven lay in fishing. Led by the

fishery, the catch peaked around the year 1894 with a peak catch of about 15 million fish per annum and employment in the fishing industry of 1280 people. Due to overfishing to serve the expanding regional population, the fishing industry declined with diminishing catches, such that by 1939 only a remnant of the earlier fishing fleet continued to exist, and the catch mostly supported the local population from that point onward.

Glenury distillery Glenury distillery (also known as Glenury Royal) is a former producer of single malt Scotch whisky that operated under a number of different owners between 1825 and 1985, when it closed for the final time. History The distillery was founded by ...

was situated near Mineralwell park, and closed in 1985. Bar_at_Marine_Hotel,_Stonehaven

Currently, the town's primary industries are marine services and tourism, with Dunnottar Castle, a local landmark, bringing in a large number of tourists every year. Dunnottar Castle is regularly used in promotional material by the Scottish tourism industry; in addition, it was used in the 1990 film '' Hamlet'', and appeared as a featured desktop background in the UK edition of

Microsoft Windows 7 Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly ...

. Situated nearby is the war memorial, constructed after World War I. It is visible from much of the town thanks to its prominent position on a hilltop overlooking the bay. Another attractive feature of the town is the long beach facing the North Sea, with large cliffs at either end sheltering small rock pools and inlets. It is also famous for its Olympic-size outdoor swimming pool, which is heated and filled with filtered seawater. The local harbour features the Tolbooth, the town's small museum of local heritage. During

Hogmanay Hogmanay ( , ) is the Scots word for the last day of the old year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner. It is normally followed by further celebration on the morning of New Year's Day (1 January) or i ...

festivities, crowds watch the annual fireballs ceremony in which volunteers walk down the High Street swinging their fireball - a homemade ball of burning waste materials with a chain and handle attached. The Fireball Festival was part of the content of STV's

coverage. The fireballs are finally thrown into the harbour. It is uncertain when the fireballs began, however, reports covering the event from as early as 1911 exist. The event has taken place annually, though has been cancelled during the world wars and in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Stonehaven's long-established pipe band plays at events throughout the year, including the folks festival and fireball ceremony. The band has competed at various levels throughout its illustrious history including several years at the prestigious Grade 1.

Cuisine

The town's Haven Fish Bar was the likely origin of the deep-fried Mars Bar, a snack now culturally associated with Scotland - and its health record - as a whole. In 2012, the (since renamed) Carron fish and chip shop sold around 100–150 deep-fried Mars bars per week, with tourists accounting for around 70% of this figure. The Carron was awarded No 1 Fish and Chip Shop in Scotland 2020. Another local fish and chip shop, the Bay, was awarded the number one fish and chip shop in Scotland, at the National fish and Chip awards in 2012 and 2013.

Sports and events

Every July Stonehaven holds a Highland Games. All those competing in the heavy events (which include the Hammer, the Heavy Stone, and Tossing the Caber) must wear full Scottish Highlands, Highland dress. Other events include the Stonehaven Folk Festival regularly attended by famous Glaswegian comedian Billy Connolly. On the first Saturday in June, the Feein' Market recreates a 19th-century agricultural hiring fair. The RW Thomson Classic Car Rally is an annual celebration of the inventor of the pneumatic tire and attracts an impressive range of vintage and classic cars. There are two harbour festivals each summer. A farmers' market is now held once a month in the market square where local food suppliers and producers can sell fresh fruit, vegetables, poultry, and other types of meat. Stonehaven supports a rugby club - Mackie Academy Former Pupils Rugby Football Club - which plays in the RBS Caledonia Regional League Division 1. They have previously trained on pitches at Red Cloak. The town has a Scottish Junior Football Association, Junior football club - Stonehaven F.C. - that plays in the Scottish Junior Football Association, North Region, North Region Scottish Junior Football North Premier League. Home games are played at Glenury Park, set in Mineralwell Park. There are also three amateur football clubs, AC Mill Inn, Cowie Thistle, and Stonehaven Athletic as well as Stonehaven Youth Football Club who all play their games in Mineralwell Park. In 2015 a combination of Stonehaven Football Club, Cowie Thistle, Stonehaven Athletic, Stonehaven Youth Football Club, and Stonehaven Ladies Football Club created the Stonehaven Community Football Club which was recognised by the Scottish Football Association with a Quality Mark Community Level Award, and subsequently the Legacy Award in November 2017. Stonehave fireballs 2003

Local radio

The Local Community Radio Station ''Mearns FM'' broadcasts to the town and surrounding area, including Inverbervie and Laurencekirk. Staffed completely by volunteers, it is run as a not-for-profit organisation, broadcasting under a community radio license, with a remit to provide locally focused news, events, and programming. Jointly funded by local adverts and local and national grants, ''Mearns FM'' has one of the largest listening areas of any community radio station owing to the Mearns' distributed population.

Notable residents

Stonehaven was the birthplace of Robert William Thomson, inventor of the tire, pneumatic tyre. It is also the birthplace of James Murdoch (Scottish Orientalist), James Murdoch, a journalist and Orientalist, John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, Lord Reith of Stonehaven, the first Director-General of the BBC, and Tom McEwen (politician), Tom McEwen, a Canadian communist politician and trade union organiser. John Ellis, an architect who was born and lived here, was responsible for many local buildings including the War Memorial.

, Stonehaven, is the ancestral seat of the Viscount Stonehaven, Viscounts Stonehaven. It was built by Sir Alexander Baird, 1st Baronet in 1885. The novelist Lewis Grassic Gibbon (James Leslie Mitchell) attended school at what was the old

(now Arduthie Primary). Famous historical visitors include William Wallace and Mary, Queen of Scots. Poet Robert Burns met friends in Stonehaven in 1787.

Transport

The town has been served by Stonehaven railway station on the Dundee–Aberdeen line since 1849. Initially located outside the town, Stonehaven has since grown and has absorbed the station. The

bypasses the town, and meets the A92 road, A92 here. The town has a local service and is also on the X7 Coastrider route between Aberdeen and Perth, Scotland, Perth. A locally run Trackless train, Land Train runs from the town square to the outdoor pool, Dunnottar Castle and the harbour.

Public services

Woodcot Hospital operated from 1867 to 1998. Kincardine Community Hospital continues to operate today. On Tuesday 11 June 2013, it was decided by the Justice Committee that Stonehaven Sheriff Court would be closed. This was despite a petition attracting nearly 300 signatures and disagreement from the local community. Lifeboats were provided by the local charity Maritime Rescue Institute until its closure in 2013. A Royal National Lifeboat Institution station was subsequently established. Stonehaven Leisure Centre was opened in 1985 following an investment of £650,000 and contains sports halls and a 25 metre swimming pool.

References

{{Authority control Stonehaven, Ports and harbours of Scotland Port cities and towns of the North Sea Towns in Aberdeenshire Former county towns in Scotland Highland Boundary Fault Populated coastal places in Scotland