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Turriff () is a town and
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in
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 ...
in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. It lies on the
River Deveron The River Deveron ( gd, Uisge Dubh Èireann), known anciently as the Dovern, is a river in the north east of Scotland. The river has a length of , and has a reputation for its Atlantic salmon, sea trout and brown trout fishing. In its upper re ...
, about above
sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
, and has a population of 5,708. In everyday speech it is often referred to by its Scots name ''Turra'', which is derived from the Scottish Gaelic pronunciation.


Services and amenities

There are four churches in Turriff: St Ninian's (Church of Scotland, 1794), St Andrew's (Church of Scotland), St Congan's (Episcopal Church, 1862), and a Baptist church. Turriff has a primary school, Turriff Primary School, and a secondary school, Turriff Academy. Turriff Primary School is a new build which replaced the old Markethill Primary School and opened to pupils on 22 August 2017. People from the surrounding areas, including the villages of
Cuminestown Cuminestown is a village in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and sits at the centre of the parish of Monquhitter. It is approximately 6 miles from Turriff and New Deer, 10 miles from Macduff and Banff and 15 miles from Fraserburgh. ...
,
Fyvie Fyvie is a village in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Geography Fyvie lies alongside the River Ythan and is on the A947 road. Architecture What in 1990, at least, was a Clydesdale Bank was built in 1866 by James Matthews. The ...
and King Edward, attend the secondary school.
Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial and clearing bank based in Scotland and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the Bank of Scotland's implosion in 2008. The bank was established by th ...
,
Santander UK Santander UK plc (, ) is a British bank, wholly owned by the Spanish Santander Group. Santander UK plc manages its affairs autonomously, with its own local management team, responsible solely for its performance. Santander UK is one of the le ...
(formerly
Alliance & Leicester Alliance & Leicester plc was a British bank and former building society, formed by the merger in 1985 of the Alliance Building Society and the Leicester Building Society. The business demutualised in the middle of 1997, when it was floated on ...
),
Clydesdale Bank Clydesdale Bank ( gd, Banca Dhail Chluaidh) is a trading name used by Clydesdale Bank plc for its retail banking operations in Scotland. In June 2018, it was announced that Clydesdale Bank's holding company CYBG would acquire Virgin Money for ...
and
TSB Banking A trustee savings bank is a type of financial institution. * In the United Kingdom: ** Trustee Savings Bank, a bank in the United Kingdom that merged with Lloyds Bank in 1995 to form Lloyds TSB until 2013 ** Lloyds TSB, the name used by ...
have branches in the town. The main supermarket chains are
Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
(whose premises have previously been occupied by Presto, Gateway and
Somerfield Somerfield (; originally Gateway) was a chain of small to medium-sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The company also previously owned the Kwik Save chain of discount food stores. The company was taken over by the Co-operative ...
) and
Co-op Food Co-op Food is a brand used for the food retail business of The Co-operative Group in the United Kingdom. Prior to reintroducing the brand in 2016, the group used " The Co-operative" branding, which is still used by a number of consumers' co- ...
and there are numerous specialist shops including two dispensing pharmacies. The town has a library, a sports centre and swimming pool. It is served by
Turriff Cottage Hospital Turriff Cottage Hospital is a community hospital in Turriff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Grampian. History The hospital was designed by James Duncan as a joint infectious diseases hospital to serve both the burgh and district ...
. In October 2013, Aberdeenshire Council approved a licence to occupy the Municipal Building (previously used as council offices) to a volunteer group for use as a general community centre, while they completed their Community Asset Transfer of the building. The group renamed the building Turriff Town House. The official handover was expected to be completed in 2016, but in June 2016 the group announced that they had not been successful in their Stage 2 Community Asset Transfer. The group retained the licence to occupy until 28 October 2016, when the building was returned to Aberdeenshire Council. Turriff and District Heritage Society were granted a Community Asset Transfer of the building and renamed it Turriff Heritage Centre. Turriff has a senior football club called Turriff United F.C. who now play in the Highland League, having been voted into membership on 26 February 2009. Turriff United Ladies play in the SWFL Second Division and there is also an amateur club, Turriff Thistle, which plays in the AAFA Division Two. There is also a
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
club, Turriff RFC which has men and women sides. The "Turriff Show", which is widely accepted as Scotland's largest two-day agricultural show, is held annually on the first Sunday and Monday of August; the Monday is a local holiday in the town. The show marked its 150th anniversary in 2014 with a visit from
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
. The town has its own weekly newspaper, the '' Turriff Advertiser'', established in 1933 and commonly nicknamed ''The Squeak''.


History

The
Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...
appear to have had a base in the area, and a nearby site is still known as "Temple Brae". In 1273, the
Earl of Buchan The Mormaer () or Earl of Buchan () was originally the provincial ruler of the medieval province of Buchan. Buchan was the first Mormaerdom in the High Medieval Kingdom of the Scots to pass into the hands of a non-Scottish family in the male li ...
founded the Hospital of St Congan for a master, six
chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...
s and thirteen poor husbandmen of
Buchan Buchan is an area of north-east Scotland, historically one of the original provinces of the Kingdom of Alba. It is now one of the six committee areas and administrative areas of Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland. These areas were created by th ...
, though it is believed to have been in ruins before the time of
the Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
. These can be seen in the east gable of today's Episcopal church. In 1512, Turriff became Burgh of Barony with two fairs — Lammas Fair and St Congan's Fair — and founded a grammar school. Turriff's mercat cross, a
red sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) be ...
octagonal pillar, was built before 1557. Its base was widened by James Duncan in 1865, with sculpture by Thomas Goodwillie. It had an iron railing around it in the 19th century. An earlier St Congan's church, now ruined, is medieval in date. Its eastern tower remains, capped with a richly-carved 1635 double
bellcote A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...
. The kirk's bell is dated 1556, and the clock (made in
Carnoustie Carnoustie (; sco, Carnoustie, gd, Càrn Ùstaidh) is a town and former police burgh in the council area of Angus, Scotland. It is at the mouth of the Barry Burn on the North Sea coast. In the 2011 census, Carnoustie had a population of 11,3 ...
) dates from 1797. It was still working as of 1990. Demolition in the 19th century exposed a brightly coloured
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
of
St Ninian Ninian is a Christian saint, first mentioned in the 8th century as being an early missionary among the Pictish peoples of what is now Scotland. For this reason he is known as the Apostle to the Southern Picts, and there are numerous dedication ...
on a white background in the splay of a window in the southern wall of the church. There is a record of a courtyard house (probably of the 17th century), known as Castle Rainy, which was used for a time as the town hall, in Castlegate until the late 19th century. Turriff was notable as the scene of the very first engagements of the
Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities united in a pers ...
(1639–51). Early in 1639, the Marquis of Huntly assembled his forces here, and thereafter went to Kintore in lower Aberdeenshire, eventually marching from there to
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 ...
itself. The Marquis — being informed shortly after his arrival in Aberdeen that a meeting of
Covenanters 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 ...
was to be held in Turriff on the fourteenth of February — resolved to disperse them, by occupying the town with 2000 men. The incident was known as the "Raid of Turriff" and was followed a few days later by a minor engagement known as the "Trot of Turriff". By 1796, said historian
Charles McKean Charles McKean FRSE FRSA FRHistS FRIBA (16 July 1946 – 29 September 2013) was a Scottish historian, author and scholar. Biography McKean was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 16 July 1946. He was educated at Fettes College, the University of Po ...
, "the character of the town was set". "There were over double the number of ale and whisky houses than there were butchers," he added. Turriff prospered in the
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
through agriculture, as evidenced by its solid red sandstone suburbs, and became known for its role as the centre of feeing for Buchan farm labourers. More recently, the 1913
Turra Coo The Turra Coo (Doric dialect (Scotland), Doric for "the Turriff Cow") was a white Ayrshire cattle, Ayrshire-Shorthorn cross dairy cow which lived near the Aberdeenshire town of Turriff in north-east Scotland in the early twentieth century. The co ...
incident in the parish was the result of a local refusal to pay
National Insurance National Insurance (NI) is a fundamental component of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It acts as a form of social security, since payment of NI contributions establishes entitlement to certain state benefits for workers and their famil ...
when this was introduced by
Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...
's government. Sheriff's officers seized a cow from a local farmer who refused to pay National Insurance contributions for his workers. The officers had difficulty selling the cow, as locals were sympathetic toward the farmer. Eventually they brought in an outside auctioneer, but the auction was disrupted by protesters and the cow escaped. A statue of the "coo" was erected in 2010 in the town centre at the junction of High Street and Main Street and has become a popular emblem for the town. Historically, Turriff was an important centre for agricultural trade, with its mart being mentioned in the mid-19th century Second Statistical Account of Scotland as one of the largest in the country. The mart finally ceased operation in December 1989, having been eclipsed by the newer Thainstone Mart at
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 vall ...
. At one time the town was served by Turriff station on
Banff, Macduff and Turriff Junction Railway The Banff, Macduff and Turriff Junction Railway was a railway company that connected the Aberdeenshire town of Turriff with the main line of the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) at Inveramsay. It had earlier been intended to reach Macdu ...
. The town was never fortified.


Geography

The town is enclosed by the rivers or
burns Burns may refer to: * Burn, an injury (plural) People: * Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters Business: * Burns London, a British guitar maker Places: ;In the United States * Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle ...
of Putachie, Knockie and Turriff.


Notable residents

*
Gordon Duncan Gordon Duncan (14 May 1964 – 14 December 2005) was a Scottish bagpiper, low whistle player and composer, born in Turriff, Aberdeenshire. Early life Duncan was born in Turriff, Aberdeenshire on 14 May 1964. His parents were tenant farmer and ...
, composer and bagpiper * George Findlater, recipient of the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
* Charles Reid, photographer *
Alexander Allan Shand Alexander Allan Shand (11 February 1844 - 12 April 1930) was a British banker most known for his work in the development of accountacy and early proposal of a central bank in the Japanese banking system during the meiji period. Early life Shand ...
was born in Turriff


See also

*
List of listed buildings in Turriff, Aberdeenshire This is a list of listed building#Scotland, listed buildings in the List of civil parishes in Scotland, parish of Turriff, Aberdeenshire, Turriff in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. List K ...


References


Bibliography

*


External links


My TurriffThe Turriff Show
{{authority control Towns in Aberdeenshire