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Elgin ( ; ; ) is a historic town (former
cathedral city City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the the Crown, monarch of the United Kingdom to specific centres of population, which might or might not meet the generally accepted definition of city, cities. , there are List of cities in the Un ...
) and formerly a
royal burgh A royal burgh ( ) was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...
in
Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the floodplain where the town of Birnie is. There, the church of Birnie Kirk was built in 1140 and still serves the community. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190 AD. It was created a
royal burgh A royal burgh ( ) was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...
in the 12th century by King
David I of Scotland David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Scottish Gaelic, Modern Gaelic: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th century ruler and saint who was David I as Prince of the Cumbrians, Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 112 ...
, and by that time had a castle on top of the present-day Lady Hill to the west of the town. The origin of the name Elgin is likely to be Celtic. It may derive from 'Aille' literally signifying beauty, but in topography a beautiful place or valley. Another possibility is 'ealg', meaning both 'Ireland' and 'worthy'. The termination 'gin' or 'in' are Celtic endings signifying little or diminutive forms, hence Elgin could mean beautiful place, worthy place or little Ireland.


History

The discovery of the Elgin Pillar, a 9th-century class II
Pictish stone A Pictish stone is a type of monumental stele, generally carved or incised with symbols or designs. A few have ogham inscriptions. Located in Scotland, mostly north of the River Clyde, Clyde-River Forth, Forth line and on the Eastern side of the ...
, under the High Street in 1823 suggests there may have been an Early Christian presence in the area of the later market, but there is no further evidence of activity before Elgin was created a
Royal Burgh A royal burgh ( ) was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...
in the 12th century. In August 1040,
MacBeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...
's army defeated and killed Duncan I at Bothganowan (Pitgaveny), near Elgin. Elgin is first recorded in a charter of David I in 1151 in which he granted an annuity to the Priory of Urquhart. David had made Elgin a royal burgh around 1130, after his defeat of Óengus of Moray. During David's reign, the castle was established at the top of what is now Lady Hill. The town received a royal charter from Alexander II in 1224 when he granted the land for a new
cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
to Andrew, Bishop of Moray. This finally settled the episcopal see which had been at various times at Kinneddar, Birnie and Spynie. The ancient Forest of Darnaway was designated a Royal Forest and was used by the Scottish kings for hunting. Alexander II was Elgin's greatest benefactor and returned many times to his royal castle. He established the two religious houses of the town, the
Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...
or Blackfriars on the west side and the
Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...
or Greyfriars in the east. Further to the east stood the Hospital of Maison Dieu, or House of God also founded during the reign of Alexander II for the reception of poor men and women. On 19 July 1224, the foundation stone of the new Elgin Cathedral was ceremoniously laid. The cathedral was completed sometime after 1242 but was completely destroyed by fire in 1270. The reasons for this are unrecorded. The buildings now remain as ruins date from the reconstruction following that fire. The Chartulary of Moray described the completed cathedral as "Mirror of the country and the glory of the kingdom".
Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...
travelled twice to Elgin. During his first visit in 1296, he was impressed by what he saw. Preserved in the
Cotton library The Cotton or Cottonian library is a collection of manuscripts that came into the hands of the antiquarian and bibliophile Sir Robert Bruce Cotton MP (1571–1631). The collection of books and materials Sir Robert held was one of the three "foun ...
now held in the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
is the journal of his stay, describing the castle and the town of Elgin as "bon chastell et bonne ville"—good castle and good town. By his second visit in September 1303, the castle's wooden interior had been burned while held by the English governor, Henry de Rye. As a result, he only stayed in Elgin for two days and then camped at Kinloss Abbey from 13 September until 4 October. King Edward was furious when David de Moravia, Bishop of Moray, joined Scotland's cause with Bruce, and Edward appealed to the Pope who excommunicated the bishop, thus removing papal protection, causing him to flee to
Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...
, then to
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
, only to return after Robert Bruce's victories against the English. After Edward's death in July 1307,
Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...
attacked Elgin and then retook Scotland in 1308. In August 1370 Alexander Bur, Bishop of Moray began payments to Alexander Stewart, Wolf of Badenoch, King Robert III's brother, for the protection of his lands and men. In February 1390, the bishop then turned to Thomas Dunbar, son of the Earl of Moray, to provide the protection. This action infuriated Stewart and in May he descended from his castle on an island in Lochindorb and burned the town of Forres in revenge. In June he burned much of Elgin, including two monasteries, St Giles Church, the Hospital of Maison Dieu and the cathedral. Andrew of Wyntoun's ''Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland'' (a 15th-century history of Scotland) described this action by "wyld, wykked Heland-men". The rebuilding of the cathedral took many years; but much of it has since crumbled away due to the inferior quality of the stone made available to the 15th- and 16th-century masons, while the 13th-century construction still remains. In 1506, the great central tower collapsed and although rebuilding work began the next year it was not completed till 1538.


From the Reformation to the eighteenth century

The citizens of Elgin and surrounding areas did not seem to object to the new religion following the
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
. In 1568 the lead was stripped from the roof of the cathedral, by order of the
Privy Council of Scotland The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. During its existence, the Privy Council of Scotland was essentially considered as the government of the Kingdom of Scotland, and was seen as the most ...
. The lead was sold to William Birnie and Alexander Clark. The proceeds went to the maintenance of Regent Moray's soldiers, but the ship taking the lead cargo to
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
sank almost immediately on leaving Aberdeen harbour. Without this protection, the building began to deteriorate. The
Kirk Session A session (from the Latin word ''sessio'', which means "to sit", as in sitting to deliberate or talk about something; sometimes called ''consistory'' or ''church board'') is a body of elected elders governing a particular church within presbyte ...
records of Elgin name women who danced at New Year 1623 to the sound of a trumpet. Six men, described as guisers or "gwysseris" performed a sword dance wearing masks and visors covering their faces in the churchyard and in the courtyard of a house. They were fined 40 shillings each. The fabric of the Cathedral continued to deteriorate. In 1637, the rafters over the choir were blown down and in 1640 the minister of St Giles along with the Laird of Innes and Alexander Brodie of Brodie, all ardent
Covenanters Covenanters 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. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son ...
, removed and destroyed the ornately carved screen and woodwork that had remained intact. The tracery of the West window was destroyed sometime between 1650 and 1660 by Cromwell's soldiers. On Easter Sunday 1711 the central tower collapsed for the second time in its history but caused much more damage. The rubble was quarried for various projects in the vicinity until 1807 when, through the efforts of Joseph King of Newmill, a wall was built around the cathedral and a keeper's house erected. Mountains of this rubble were cleared by one John Shanks, enabling visitors to view the ornate stonemasonry. Shanks was presented with an ornate snuffbox by the authorities; it is now in Elgin Museum. When
Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...
toured Scotland in 1717, he visited Elgin and said:
In this rich country is the city, or town rather, of Elgin; I say city, because in antient time the monks claim'd it for a city; and the cathedral shews, by its ruins, that it was a place of great magnificence. Nor must it be wonder'd at, if in so pleasant, so rich, and so agreeable a part of the country, all the rest being so differing from it, the clergy should seat themselves in a proportion'd number, seeing we must do them the justice to say, that if there is any place richer and more fruitful, and pleasant than another, they seldom fail to find it out. As the country is rich and pleasant, so here are a great many rich inhabitants, and in the town of Elgin in particular; for the gentlemen, as if this was the Edinburgh, or the court, for this part of the island, leave their Highland habitations in the winter and come and live here for the diversion of the place and plenty of provisions; and there is, on this account, a great variety of gentlemen for society, and that of all parties and of all opinions. This makes Elgin a very agreeable place to live in, notwithstanding its distance, being above 450 measur'd miles 25 kmfrom London, and more, if we must go by Edinburgh.
The cathedral is known as the ''Lantern of the North.'' When Bishop Bur wrote to King Robert III, complaining of the wanton destruction done to the building by the King's brother, the Wolf of Badenoch, he describes the cathedral as "the ornament of this district, the glory of the kingdom and the admiration of foreigners." Chambers, in his ''Picture of Scotland'', says:
It is an allowed fact, which the ruins seem still to attest, that this was by far the most splendid specimen of ecclesiastical architecture in Scotland, the abbey church of Melrose not excepted. It must be acknowledged that the edifice last mentioned is a wonderful instance of symmetry and elaborate decoration; yet in extent, in loftiness, in impressive magnificence, and even in minute decoration, Elgin has been manifestly superior. Enough still remains to impress the solitary traveller with a sense of admiration mixed with astonishment.
Lachlan Shaw in his ''History of the Province of Moray'' was equally impressed when he wrote
the church when entire was a building of Gothic architecture inferior to few in Europe.
Prince Charles Edward Stuart travelled to Elgin from Inverness in March 1746 and, falling ill with a feverish cold, stayed for 11 days before returning to await the arrival of the king's army. He stayed in Elgin with Mrs Anderson, a passionate Jacobite, at Thunderton House. She kept the sheets that the Prince slept on and was buried in them a quarter of a century later. The Duke of Cumberland passed through the town on 13 April, camping at Alves on the way to meet the Prince in battle on Drummossie Muir. After the battle, William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock, one of the Prince's generals, was captured and taken to London and eventual execution, but he wrote to his friend from prison about his indebtedness to the shoemakers of Elgin:
Beside my personal debts mentioned in general and particular in the State, there is one for which I am liable in justice, if it is not paid, owing to poor people who gave their work for it by my orders. It was at Elgin in Murray, the Regiment I commanded wanted shoes. I commissioned something about seventy pair of shoes and brogues, which might come to 3 shillngs or three shillings and sixpence each, one with the other. The magistrates divided them among the shoemakers of the town and country, and each shoemaker furnished his proportion. I drew on the town, for the price, out of the composition laid on them, but I was afterwards told at Inverness that, it was believed, the composition was otherwise applied, and the poor shoemakers not paid. As these poor people wrought by my orders, it will be a great ease to my heart to think they are not to lose by me, as too many have done in the course of that year, but had I lived I might have made some inquiry after but now it is impossible, as their hardships in loss of horses and such things, which happeened through my soldiers, are so interwoven with what was done by other people, that it would be very hard, if not impossible, to separate them. If you'll write to Mr Innes of Dalkinty at Elgin (with whom I was quartered when I lay there), he will send you an account of the shoes, and if they were paid to the shoemakers or no; and if they are not, I beg you'll get my wife, or my successors to pay them when they can...


Nineteenth century

In the 19th century, the old medieval town of Elgin was swept away. The first major addition to the town centre was the Assembly Rooms, built in 1821 by the Trinity Lodge of Freemasons, at the corner of High Street and North Street. In 1819, Dr Gray's Hospital was built on unused ground. The building has imposing columns and distinctive dome. Dr Alexander Gray, a doctor who worked for and made his fortune with the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
, endowed £26,000 for the hospital. In 1828 the new parish church of St Giles was built at a cost of £10,000. L. General Andrew Anderson, born in Elgin, also of the East India Company, died in 1824 and bequeathed £70,000 to the town to found an institution for the welfare of the elderly poor and for the education of orphans. The Anderson Institution was built in the east end of the town in 1832 with accommodation for 50 children and ten elderly people. The Burgh Court House was built in 1841, the museum was completed in 1842 and Elgin Sheriff Court was built in 1866. The Morayshire Railway was officially opened in ceremonies at Elgin and Lossiemouth on 10 August 1852, the steam engines having been delivered to Lossiemouth by sea. It was the first railway north of Aberdeen and initially ran only between Elgin and Lossiemouth. It was later extended south to Craigellachie. The Great North of Scotland Railway took over the working of the line in 1863 and bought the company in 1881 following the Morayshire Railway's return to solvency from crippling debt. The town was becoming prosperous, and by 1882 it had a Head Post Office with a savings bank, insurance and telegraph departments, and branches of the Bank of Scotland and the British Linen Company, Caledonian, Commercial, North of Scotland, Royal and Union Banks, and the National Securities Savings Bank, offices or agencies of 48 insurance companies, five hotels, and a newspaper. The Cooper Park drill hall was completed in 1908. The war memorial in Elgin dates from 1921 and represents "Peace and Victory". It was designed by Percy Portsmouth.


Geography and geology

The modern town straddles the River Lossie, with the suburbs of Bishopmill to the north and New Elgin to the south. Permo
Triassic The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...
rocks, rare in Scotland, are commonly found around Elgin. These are composed of aeolian sandstone formed when this area was subjected to desert conditions. Quarry Wood, on the town's edge, has a formation nicknamed Cuttie's Hillock which produced the internationally known fossils called the Elgin Reptiles. In the Elgin district, boulders belonging to the lowest group of Jurassic strata, Oxford clay and chalk are found both in glacial deposits and on the surface of the ground. The largest of these deposits is at Linksfield, where limestone and shale lie on boulder clay. There is a large hill in Elgin's town centre, often viewed as the highlight of the Elgin tourist trail.


Climate

Elgin's climate is
temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...
maritime, with cool summers and relatively mild winters due to its proximity to the sea. Rainfall is quite low as it is in the
rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...
of mountains to the west and south-west.


Demography

Source
Moray Council
from 2001 Census data

Elgin's population in 1901 was 8460


Economy

The Elgin–Forres–Lossiemouth triangle is heavily dependent on
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
stations for the employment of civilians. In 2005, RAF Lossiemouth along with its neighbour RAF Kinloss contributed £156.5 million (including civilian expenditure) to the Moray economy, of which £76.6 million was retained and spent locally. The bases provide, directly or indirectly, 21% of all employment in the area, although in 2010 the closure of RAF Kinloss had a significant effect on these numbers. Aware of the impact that the Air Force has on the area's economy, the local population instigated a long campaign to save RAF Lossiemouth, the future of which was also in doubt. How much of an influence this had upon the government's and Ministry of Defence's final decision is uncertain, but the base was ultimately saved and RAF Leuchars instead faced the axe as part of the same Strategic Defence and Security Review. RAF Leuchars will now become, like RAF Kinloss, an army base. Other areas offering significant employment are local authority, construction and real estate, food and drink, tourism, transport, business services and wholesale/retail. Whisky is an important component of the wider local economy, with Glen Moray distillery, Miltonduff distillery and the BenRiach distillery all within six miles of Elgin. In a 2006 study, Elgin was shown to be one of the most expensive towns in which to buy property in Scotland.HBOS, 2006


Politics


National governments

Elgin is in the Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey constituency of the United Kingdom Parliament which returns a Member of Parliament (MP) to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
, currently
Graham Leadbitter Graham Leadbitter is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey since 2024. Early life and career Leadbitter was educated at Biggar High School, and studied comput ...
of the SNP. Elgin is in the Moray constituency of the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...
which has significantly different boundaries to the UK Parliament constituency. The constituency returns a
Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; ; ) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The additional member system produces a form of proportional representation, where ...
(MSP) to Holyrood—currently
Richard Lochhead Richard Neilson Lochhead (born 24 May 1969) is a Scottish politician serving as the Minister for Business and Employment since 2023. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he served as the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and ...
of the SNP—and is part of the Highlands and Islands electoral region.


Local government

Elgin is represented on the
Moray Council Moray Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Mhoireibh'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Moray, Moray council area. History Moray District Council Local government across Scotland was reorganised in 1975 u ...
by two wards: Elgin City North and Elgin City South. Each ward elects three members using the single transferable vote system - a form of
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
.


City status

Elgin unsuccessfully bid to become a city as part of
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 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. ...
's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022. The last Scottish town to become a city was
Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...
in 2022.


Transport

Elgin is situated on the A96 trunk route which connects the cities of
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
and
Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...
. Heavy traffic through the town causes serious congestion. Scottish transport minister Tavish Scott visited the town in August 2006 to look at the traffic management problems and to meet campaigners for a bypass. It is estimated that a bypass would remove about one-third of traffic from Elgin's streets. The A941 runs from Lossiemouth through Elgin to Rothes, Craigellachie, Dufftown and Rhynie. Elgin railway station is operated by
ScotRail ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail (), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise as an operator of las ...
. The railway also connects to Aberdeen and Inverness which have trains to other UK destinations. Elgin's bus station is located adjacent to the St Giles Centre and is operated mainly by
Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...
. It provides services within Elgin and to other local towns as well as to Aberdeen and Inverness. The nearest airports are Inverness Airport, which has flights to mainly UK destinations, and Aberdeen Airport which has UK and international flights.


Education


Nursery schools

* Ark Childcare, Mosstowie * Jack 'n' Jill Pre-School Centre, Kinder House, 22 Wardend Place, New Elgin * Moray Leisure Centre Pre-School Nursery, Borough Briggs Road, Elgin * Magic Roundabout Pre-School Nursery, Thornhill Drive, Elgin *St Sylvesters Nursery *Bishopmill Nursery *Seafield Nursery *Liberty Kids


Primary schools

* Aberlour House * Bishopmill Primary School, Morriston Road, Bishopmill * East End Primary School, Institution Road * Greenwards Primary School, Edgar Road, New Elgin * New Elgin Primary School, Bezack Street, New Elgin * Seafield Primary School, Deanshaugh Terrace, Bishopmill * West End Primary School, Mayne Road * St Sylvester's RC Primary School, Abbey Street * Linkwood Primary School


Secondary schools

* Elgin Academy, Morriston Road, Bishopmill * Elgin High School, High School Drive, New Elgin *
Gordonstoun Gordonstoun School ( ) is an elite co-educational Private school (United Kingdom), private school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. Two generations of British royalty were educated at Gordonstoun, including Prince Philip, Duke of Ed ...
, Gordonstoun Road, Elgin


Further education

* Moray College, Moray Street, Elgin


Community care


Hospitals

* Dr Gray's Hospital


Health centres

* The Maryhill Health Centre. * Linkwood Medical at the Glassgreen Centre (Formerly the Victoria Crescet Medical Centre before its relocation in 2009)


Hospice

* The Oaks Hospice, Sherrifmill


Religion

The following denominations have places of worship in Elgin:
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
* St Giles', High Street * St Columba's South, Moss Street * Birnie Kirk * Elgin High, North Guildry Street Free Church of Scotland * Free Church, South Street Baptist Union of Scotland * Elgin Baptist Church, Reidhaven Street Roman Catholic Church * St Sylvester's, Institution Road * Greyfriars Sisters of Mercy Convent in Elgin
Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church (; ) is a Christian denomination in Scotland. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. It is also an Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, ecclesiastical provi ...
* Holy Trinity, Trinity Place Other denominations *
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
, Pansport Road *
Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...
, Linkwood * Calvary Christian Life Centre, Lesmurdie Road * True Jesus Church, Lesmurdie Road *
Pentecostal Church of God The Pentecostal Church of God (PCG) is a Finished Work Pentecostalism, Finished Work Pentecostal denomination of Christianity headquartered in Bedford, Texas, United States. As of 2010, there were 620,000 members, 6,750 clergy in 4,825 churches wo ...
, New Elgin Hall Annex * Brethren, Riverside Gospel Hall, North Street * Oasis Church COTN, The Hub, Tyock Industrial Estate * Elgin Mosque, 1 Gordon Street.


Culture and leisure

* Elgin Museum, 1 High Street * Elgin Library, Cooper Park * Elgin Golf Club, Hardhillock, Birnie Road * Cooper Park: boating, pitch and putt, tennis * Biblical Gardens * Moray Leisure Centre, Borough Briggs Road, containing swimming pool, ice rink and a gymnasium *Moray Sports Centre, Linkwood * Elgin Town Hall with auditorium for production of shows * Community Centre, Trinity Road: badminton * The Lantern Gallery, 18 South Guildry Street * Red Shoes Theatre and music venue, High Street * Elgin Youth Café, Francis Place * Moray Jazz Club, ground floor of the Elgin City Football Club, Borough Briggs Road * Dandy Lion statue, the Plainstones


Media

Television signals are received from the Knockmore transmitter. Radio stations that broadcast to the town are
BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish national radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 N ...
on 92.6 FM, BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal (for Gaelic listeners) on 104.9 FM, MFR on 107.7 FM and Wave Radio, a community based station that broadcast from the Dr Gray's Hospital. The town is served by the local newspaper, '' Northern Scot''.


Music

During the 1960s,
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
,
the Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
,
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
,
Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...
and
Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...
all performed at the Two Red Shoes dancehall,"Red Shoes future in doubt"
Northern Scot
and
The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...
played Elgin Town Hall.
Oi Polloi Oi Polloi are a punk rock band from Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of ...
performed at the Ocean Club on Batchen Street in April 2007, under a gazebo erected by local punks.


Sport

In August 2021, a new community sports facility consisting of a full-size football pitch and two enclosed five-a-side pitches was opened.


Football

Formed in 1893, the town's only senior football club is Elgin City, who play at Borough Briggs stadium. They entered the
Highland Football League The Scottish Highland Football League (SHFL, commonly known as the Highland League) is a senior football league based in the north of Scotland. The league sits at level 5 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Scott ...
in 1895 and won the league championship fourteen times. The club entered the
Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...
in season 2000–01 and currently competes in Division Two. Their home colours are black and white vertical stripes, black shorts and white socks. Past famous players for Elgin City include
Andy Goram Andrew Lewis Goram (13 April 1964 – 2 July 2022) was a Scottish footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Bury, Lancashire, England, he started his career with Oldham Athletic and Hibernian, but he is best remembered for playing for ...
, Nicky Walker, Jimmy Johnstone and John McGinlay. Recently ex-Scotland players Brian Irvine and David Robertson have managed the club. Two junior football sides, Bishopmill United and New Elgin, both currently compete in the Scottish Junior Football North Division Two while Moray Social, Golden Pheasant F.C. and Bishopmill Villa participate in the Moray District Welfare Football Association.


Rugby union

Moray RFC was established in 1923 and play their home games at Morriston Playing Fields.


Cricket

Elgin Cricket Club plays home games on the Cooper Park cricket pitch under the auspices of North of Scotland Cricket Association.


Ice hockey

Elgin is home to the Moray Typhoons, an SNL team. They play their home games at the Moray Leisure Centre.


Roller derby

The Helgin
roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played on an oval track by two teams of five skaters. It is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leaguesA Roller Derby league is synonymous with an individual club or team in other team sports, as ...
team trains regularly in Elgin.


Twin town

Elgin has been twinned with
Landshut Landshut (; ) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, on the banks of the Isar, River Isar. Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free state (government), Free State of Bavaria, and the seat of the surrou ...
in
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
, Germany since 1956.


Notable people


13th to 17th centuries

* William Wiseman (), nobleman and
Sheriff of Elgin The Sheriff of Elgin was historically the royal official responsible for enforcing law and order in Elgin, Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third o ...
. Ancestor of Capel Wiseman of Hertfordshire (1635–1683), Bishop of the Dromore Diocese (County Down) of the Church of Ireland, who was forced to flee to the Continent following the accession of James II in 1685.


18th century

* Alexander Brodie Spark (1792–1856), banker and merchant


19th century

* Lt William Rennie, (1822–1887),
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
recipient * Mary Ann Maitland (1839–1919), author * Sir David Hardie (1856–1945), Australian medical practitioner * John Grant (1876–1961), bagpipe musician and composer * Margaret Hasluck (1885–1947), author and anthropologist * James Low (1894–1960), footballer * Masataka Taketsuru (1894–1979), Japanese whisky distiller


20th century

* Frederick Fyvie Bruce (1910–1990), usually cited as F. F. Bruce, theologian * Archbishop Mario Conti (1934-2022), Roman Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Glasgow, Scotland * Leslie Benzies (born 1971), video game designer and producer * Kevin McKidd (born 1973), actor, director, and singer * Steven Pressley (born 1973), former international
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
and former manager of Carlisle United * Lesley Souter (1917–1981), first female electrical engineer from the University of Glasgow * Chris Clark (born 1980), footballer * Richard Foster (born 1985), footballer


Notes


External links


Elgin census data

Elgin Museum

Engraving of Elgin in 1693
by John Slezer at National Library of Scotland {{Authority control Towns in Moray Towns with cathedrals in the United Kingdom County towns in Scotland Former cities in Scotland Royal burghs Parishes in Moray