Everything about Mearns totally explained
The
County of Kincardine, also known as
Kincardineshire or
The Mearns (from
A' Mhaoirne meaning 'The Stewartry') was a
local government county on the coast of northeast
Scotland. It was bounded by
Aberdeenshire on the north and west, and by
Angus on the south.
The
Kincardineshire name is retained for a
lieutenancy area, and
Kincardine and Mearns is a
committee area of the
Aberdeenshire Council.
The county town was originally the town of Kincardine (not, as many believe, the village of
Kincardine O'Neil, which was in the
County of Aberdeen). The town of Kincardine, however, ceased to exist during the
Middle Ages. The only visible sign of its previous existence is the ruin of
Kincardine Castle. In 1296,
King John Balliol wrote a letter of surrender from the castle to
Edward I of England after a short war which marked the beginning of the
wars of Scottish independence. In
1600 Parliament caused the government of Kincardineshire to be conducted at the
Stonehaven Tolbooth. The county used to go as far north as the
River Dee but in
1891 the Royal Burgh of
Torry was incorporated into
Aberdeen.
The
burgh of
Stonehaven became the
county town, and the county included three other burghs,
Banchory,
Inverbervie and
Laurencekirk.
The county was abolished in 1975, and was subsumed into the
Kincardine and Deeside district of the
Grampian region. When the Grampian region was divided into
unitary council areas in 1996, the district was absorbed into the
Aberdeenshire council area.
Notable Structures and sites
Constituency
There was a
Kincardineshire constituency of the
House of Commons of the
Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918, representing the county of Kincadineshire, minus the
parliamentary burgh of
Inverbervie. Inverbervie was a component of the
Aberdeen District of Burghs from 1708 to 1832 and of the
Montrose District of Burghs from 1832 to 1950.
In 1918 the Kincardineshire constituency was merged with part of the
Western Aberdeenshire constituency to form the
Kincardine and Western Aberdeenshire constituency.
In 1950 Kincardine and Western Aberdeenshire was divided between the
West Aberdeenshire constituency and the
North Angus and Mearns constituency. North Angus and Mearns then covered the whole of the county of Kincardineshire, including the former parliamentary burgh of Inverbervie, and part of the county of
Angus, the latter being previously within the
Forfarshire constituency.
In 1983, eight years after the abolition of the local government county of Kincardineshire, North Angus and Mearns was replaced by new constituencies.
Historic transportation routes
The ancient
Causey Mounth road 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 to
Muchalls Castle,
Cowie Castle (and effectively
Dunnottar Castle). The route was that taken by the
Earl Marischal and
Marquess of Montrose when they led a
Covenanter army of 9000 men in the first battle of the Civil War in 1639.
Elsick Mounth is a
prehistoric trackway used by the
Caledonian tribes as well as the Roman
army in their northern
invasion of the
Scottish Highlands.
Notable People
The author
Lewis Grassic Gibbon born James Leslie Mitchell, was a Scottish writer. His book
Sunset Song is one the most important Scottish novels of the 20th century. It was voted Scotland’s favourite book, in a poll announced at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2005. The book, set in a fictional village in the Mearns, drew heavily from Mitchell's upbringing in
Arbuthnott. One of the key features of the book (and some of his other writing) is the balanced and immersive use of the local
Doric /
Scots dialect mixed with standard English, in a manner to make it both easily and enjoyably accessible to someone unfamiliar with the North East of Scotland.
See also
Natural features
There are numerous natural features within Kincardineshire. Among the rivers are Cowie Water, Carron Water, Luther Water, Burn of Muchalls, Burn of Pheppie, Burn of Elsick, Burn of Monboys and the lower reaches of the River Dee.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Mearns'.
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