Kincardine () is a small hamlet in

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

, situated on the west end of the south shore of the

Dornoch Firth The Dornoch Firth (, ) is a firth on the east coast of Highland, in northern Scotland. It forms part of the boundary between Ross and Cromarty, to the south, and Sutherland, to the north. The firth is designated as a national scenic area, one of ...

. The village of Ardgay is less than 1 mile north west of Kincardine along the A836 coast road. It lies within the

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Kincardine and

Community council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. ...

of Ardgay and District.

Etymology

The name ''Kincardine'', as with other locations so-named, may be a

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

adaptation of a

Pictish Pictish is an extinct Brittonic Celtic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from late antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited number of geog ...

name. The second element is the Pictish ''*carden'', perhaps meaning "encampment" or "brake". The first element represent Gaelic ''ceann'' substituting an original Pictish ''*pen'', both meaning "end, head, top", giving an aboriginal form of ''*Pencarden''.

Landmarks

The church of Kincardine, built in 1799, is on a site near Kincardine Burn, which passes to the north-west before flowing into

. Origines Parochiales Scotiae, Vol 2, publ. W. H. Lizars, Edinburgh, 1855; pp.410-414 The church was closed in 1955 and since 1993 has been a Heritage Centre in the care of the Kyle of Sutherland Heritage Society. Website of the Church of Scotland's Kyle of Sutherland area (comprising three parishes) www.kyleofsutherlandchurches.org/kincardine-croick-edderton/ - retrieved Jan. 2024 A French naval bell donated to the church in 1778 by Admiral Sir John Ross, of Balnagown, was moved in 1947 to the church presently used in Ardgay, formerly the United Free church, when church services were transferred there. Kyle of Sutherland Heritage Society website: kyle-of-sutherland-heritage.org.uk - retrieved Jan. 2024 North-west of the church, on Kincardine Burn, lies Kincardine Mills. The building dates from 18th to early 19th century, although it is now a ruin, albeit a substantial two-storey building. It is laid out on an L plan. In the late 19th century remains of an old castle were recorded on a site between the church and the sea at Kincardine, next to a steep bank, called “Bank of the Gate”. But at the present time, no remains are visible at the site.

History

The church of Kincardine is first mentioned in 1227, when the minister of the church attended a meeting of the clerics regarding a dispute between the bishops of Moray and Ross. It was dedicated to St. Columba. Although the present church was built in 1799, it seems to be located at the site of the previous church building. In the mid 16th century, the Bishop of Ross granted lands in and around Kincardine to the Lord of Balnagown, head of the

Clan Ross Clan Ross ( ) is a Highland Scottish clan. The original chiefs of the clan were the original Earl of Ross, Earls of Ross. History Origins The first recorded chief of the Clan Ross was Fearchar, Earl of Ross, "Fearcher Mac an t-Sagairt" which ...

, of the same family as the

Earl of Ross The Earl or Mormaer of Ross was the ruler of the province of Ross in northern Scotland, as well as chief of Clan Ross. Origins and transfers In the early Middle Ages, Ross was part of the vast earldom of Moray. It seems to have been made ...

. These were the village of Ardgay, the Kirktown of Kincardine (including the Salmon fishing rights) and the mill of Kincardine. In 1657 David Ross, Lord of Balnagown was in possession of the same lands, with the some difference in detail. The castle at Kincardine was recorded in 1845 as having belonged to the same family, but was then a ruin.

New Statistical Account The ''Statistical Accounts of Scotland'' are a series of documentary publications, related in subject matter though published at different times, covering life in Scotland in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The ''Old (or First) Statistica ...

, Vol XIV (Inverness, Ross and Cromarty), publ. William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh,1845; chapter on Kincardine Until the late 1790s the church was thatched with heather, but when the roof caught fire, the building was destroyed. The minister M.A. Gallie rebuilt the church at the same site and his initials and the date 1799 still appear carved above the lintel of the door on the south side of the church. Website of Historic Environment Scotland: canmore.org.uk/site/13882 – retrieved Jan. 2024

References

Populated places in Sutherland {{Scotland-geo-stub

Etymology

Landmarks

History

See also

References