Aberchirder

Aberchirder (Gaelic: Obar Chiardair), known locally as Foggieloan or Foggie, is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated on the A97 road six miles west of Turriff.

Aberchirder
Aberchirder
Location within Aberdeenshire
Population1,149 [1] (2001 census)
est. 1,200[2] (2006)
OS grid referenceNJ624522
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townHUNTLY
Postcode districtAB54
Dialling code01466
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

Etymology

The name Aberchirder, recorded in c.1204 as Aberkerdour means 'mouth of the Chirder'. It is formed from the Pictish word aber 'river mouth' and the stream-name Chirder which is itself formed from the Gaelic words ciar 'dark, brown' and dobhar 'water'. This stream name is probably an adaptation of an earlier Pictish name.[3]

History
Main Street, Aberchirder

The village of Aberchirder was founded in 1764 by Alexander Gordon, the 5th laird of Auchintoul. Until 1823 its official name was, in fact, Foggieloan after a small farm community on the site of which it was built.[4] There is some uncertainty as to how the name Foggieloan originated. There are various theories; the most likely is that there is a stretch of moorland north of where the farm town existed (and, now, north of the village) which was named Foggieloan Moss from two Gaelic words foidh (peat moss) and lòn (meadow), so Foggieloan means peaty or boggy meadow. Kinnairdy Castle, now belonging to the Innes family is 2 miles to the south west, where the River Deveron joins the Auchintoul Burn. In 1823 the village was renamed Aberchirder after the 13th century Thanes of Aberkerdour of Kinnairdy Castle.[4]

As a planned community, the village was built on a grid pattern around a central square and had a mix of single storey thatched, stone-built houses fronting onto the streets (to prevent people having their middens on show) with long gardens intended to provide the inhabitants with a seasonal supply of food. Alexander Gordon envisaged a thriving industrial village and built a small linen factory in Back Street (now North Street) which produced fine linen table-cloths and wincey using flax from Auchintoul Moss. By the late 19th century, wealthier inhabitants had built some grander houses and there was a selection of religious establishments throughout the town catering to various denominations in addition to the Church of Scotland and Free Church buildings.[4]

References
  1. "Comparative Population Profile: Aberchirder Locality". Scotland's Census Results Online. 29 April 2001. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2008.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 September 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Grant, Alison (2010). Macleod, Iseabail (ed.). The Pocket Guide to Scottish Place-Names. Glasgow: Richard Drew Ltd. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-899471-00-3. OCLC 759569647.
  4. Peden, Bob (2010). Old Aberchirder. Catrine, East Ayrshire: Stenlake Publishing. p. 3. ISBN 9781840335057.
  • AA Touring Guide to Scotland (1978)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.