Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for Inverkeithny

Inverkeithny, a village and a parish of NE Banffshire. The village stands, 200 feet above sea-level, on the right bank of the Deveron, 3 miles S by E of Aberchirder, and 7 WSW of Turriff, under which it has a post office. The parish is bounded NW by Rothiemay, N by Marnoch, and on all other sides by Aberdeenshire-viz., NE by Turriff, SE by Auchterless, and SW by Forgue. Its utmost length, from WNW to ESE, is 6¼ miles; its breadth varies between 5 furlongs and 4¼ miles; and its area is 7685 acres, of which 432/3 are water. The Deveron winds 47/8 miles east-south-eastward along all the northern border, and at the village is joined by the Burn of Forgue. The parish is well watered by these and several smaller streams, which serve to drive machinery for threshing purposes. Along the Deveron, in the extreme E, the surface declines to 114 feet above sea-level, thence rising to 629 feet at the Hill of Carlincraig, and 738 near Newton of Tollo. The parish thus is pleasantly diversified with hill and dale, and the belt of it along the Deveron is beautifully ornate. About 500 acres are under wood, 400 are either pastoral or waste, and all the rest is regularly or occasionally in tillage. Remains of many stone circles are still to be seen, as also traces of a Roman camp at Mains of Auchingoul, and of hutdwellings on the Hill of Carlincraig. Three proprietors hold each an annual value of more than £1100, and 3 of between £300 and £500; but none are resident. lnverkeithny is in the presbytery of Turriff and synod of Aberdeen; the living is worth £300. The parish church, at the village, is a handsome edifice, erected in 1881 at a cost of nearly £2000, and containing 500 sittings. At the same time the graveyard was levelled and beautifully laid out at a farther cost of £100. Two public schools, Easterfield and Kirktown, with respective accommodation for 100 and 135 children, had (1881) an average attendance of 67 and 86, and grants of £56, 1s. and £80, 3s. Valuation (1860) £4678, (1883) £5911. Pop. (1801) 503, (1831) 587, (1861) 880, (1871) 1000, (1881) 909.—Ord. Sur., sh. 86, 1876.


(F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4); © 2004 Gazetteer for Scotland)

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a village and a parish"   (ADL Feature Type: "populated places")
Administrative units: Inverkeithny ScoP       Banffshire ScoCnty
Place: Inverkeithny

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