Crimond
Crimond
| |
|---|---|
  Crimond Location withinAberdeenshire | |
| Population | 870 (2022)[1] |
| OS grid reference | NK051567 |
| Council area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Fraserburgh |
| Postcode district | AB43 |
| Dialling code | 01346 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
| Website | aberdeenshire.gov.uk |
Crimondis a village inAberdeenshire,in the northeast ofScotland,located 9 miles (14 km) northwest of the port ofPeterheadand just over 2 miles (3.2 km) from the coast.
Geography
[edit]The mainA90 roadruns through Crimond and is lined byCrimond Churchwith a village hall, Crimond Primary School,[2]Crimond Medical Practice, Crimond Shop and Post Office, Crimond Care Home for the elderly and Crimond Motors garage.[3]The oldest houses in the village run alongside the main road with a modern estate to the west side.
When standing with a clear view of the surrounding countryside the masts at the nearby Crimond Aerodrome to the east may be seen as are the telecommunications satellite receivers onMormond Hillto the North West. The nearbyLoch of Strathbegis aRSPBowned and protected nature reserve. Around the loch there are 3 hides from which to watch the birds and other wildlife. They are accessible through the airfield and there is a car park. There is also the Starnafin Centre where you can watch the birds from and find out more information about which birds and animals are present. There is a shelter belt wood that runs parallel to the main A90 about 200 metres to the east which used to belong to the Crimonmogate estates. It is mainly beech wood and is used as a walk by the locals. There is a large grain dryer owned by Allied Grain to the east of the village. There are remains of an old camp where the workers who built theSt Fergus Gas Terminallived whilst it was being constructed to the east of the village.
History
[edit]In 1324,Sir Archibald Douglaswas recorded as being granted the lands of Crimond.
In the summer of 1297 after capturingAberdeen,William Wallaceand his army travelled through Crimond as they marched to meet another Scottish commanderAndrew Morayat a stronghold on the banks of theRiver Spey.[4]
Defence use
[edit]DuringWorld War II,aRoyal Naval Air Station Merganserwas established near the village, close toRattrayas a training establishment, home of714 Naval Air Squadron. A camp for military personnel, Logie Camp, occupied the land to west of the main road. After the war it was used for displaced persons until demolished and replaced by modern council housing in the late 1950s. After the war the base was closed and subsequently was used as a Royal Naval Wireless Station providing long range radio services. The radio facilities are now managed byVT Communications.
The site was used for motorsports although this ceased on the establishment of the RN Wireless Station.
Motorcycle races
[edit]From the mid 1960s to the md 1970s the Bon Accord Motor Cycle Club of Aberdeen ran Scottish Championship motorcycle road races on a track utilising some of the main runways and peripheral tracks of the air station. The opening meeting in 1966 featured John "Moon Eyes" Cooper competing on solos against double Manx GP winner George Buchan and sidecar aces Chris Vincent and Mac Hobson.. These were the most northerly races in the UK and regularly attracted competitors from the whole of Scotland and the north of England.[citation needed]
Stockcars
[edit]Crimond is home to the famous Crimond Racewaystock cartrack[5]which is the most northerly in the United Kingdom. It is here that formerFormula Oneworld champion driverJim Clarkbegan his career.[6]
The stock cars began in the 1950s with the original tracks on the runways on the nearbyCrimond Aerodrome.However the Ministry of Defence reclaimed the land to build radio masts and so the track was moved three times before settling for its current situation in 1973/1974.
The track is an oval with two stands and a large tire wall around the outside to protect the spectators.
Today the track hostsScottish Hot Rod,Saloonstox,Formula Twoand other local formula championships.
Religion
[edit]
Crimond Church is the sole official religious building in the village and is part of the ChristianChurch of Scotland.The remains of the Old Parish Church, dating to 1576, survive half a mile to the north, along with 17th- and 18th-century monuments and anobelisk.[7]
Richard de Pottonwas a 13th CenturyBishop of Aberdeen,who was credited with making the parish church of Crimond into Aberdeen's fourteenthprebend.
The clock of Crimond Church has an extra minute between the eleven and twelve making for 61 minutes in the hour. The clock mechanism was repaired in 1948 by Zygmunt Krukowski, a former Polish soldier, who adjusted the frequency of the pendulum by adding and removing penny coins. He also repainted the clock face with the correct number of minutes. The subsequent furore resulted in a further repainting with restoration of the extra minute. The clock is electric but the original movement is kept in the church as a display in memory of the late councillor Norman Cowie OBE who raised the funds for the new electric clock.
The church has a wind vane in the shape of a fish that was lost around the time of World War Two and only found in the 1990s, when it was placed back on top of the spire. The wind vane has been the target of vandalism and contains bullet holes from an air rifle.
"Crimond" is also the name of ahymn tunebyJessie Seymour Irvine,famous as the customary tune for "The Lord's My Shepherd",a metrical version ofPsalm 23.
Notable people
[edit]- Baron Robert John Graham Boothby(1900–1986).ConservativeMP for the formerAberdeen Eastern constituency.
- Robert Burnet, Lord Crimond(1592–1661). Judge of theCourt of Sessionand owner of the Crimond Estate.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland".National Records of Scotland.31 March 2022.Retrieved31 March2022.
- ^"Crimond School".Crimond.aberdeenshire.sch.uk.Retrieved13 March2019.
- ^Crimond MotorsArchived2007-03-02 at theWayback Machine
- ^"Rebel Commander".Waichung.demon.co.uk.Archived fromthe originalon 16 May 2007.Retrieved3 May2007.
- ^"Crimond Raceway - Home".Crimondraceway.co.uk.Retrieved13 March2019.
- ^Finlay, David (August 1996)."Jim Clark's racing debut: Birth of a Legend".Motor Sport Magazine Archive.Archivedfrom the original on 10 August 2020.Retrieved5 March2021.
- ^McKean, Charles (1990).Banff & Buchan: An Illustrated Architectural Guide.Mainstream Publications Ltd. p. 144.ISBN185158-231-2.
Bibliography
[edit]Henderson, John Alexander (1907). "Crimond".Aberdeenshire epitaphs and inscriptions: with historical, biographical, genealogical, and antiquarian notes / by John A. Henderson.University of Guelph Library. Aberdeen: Printed for the Subscribers, 1907. pp. 70–77.
External links
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Settlements and places of interest inBuchan,Aberdeenshire | ||
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| Primary settlements |  | |
| Other settlements | ||
| Places of interest | ||
Areas and primary settlements inAberdeenshire(see also:Aberdeen City) | ||
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| inBanff and Buchan |  | |
| inBuchan | ||
| inFormartine | ||
| inGarioch | ||
| inKincardine and Mearns | ||
| inMarr | ||
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