Rathen,_Aberdeenshire

Rathen, Aberdeenshire

Rathen, Aberdeenshire

Human settlement in Scotland

Rathen is a parish and hamlet near Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. In Scottish Gaelic, its name means fort on the river.[1]

Quick Facts OS grid reference, Council area ...

On the coast is Cairnbulg Point, flanking the eastern side of Fraserburgh Bay.[1] Mormond Hill (769 feet (234 m)) sits on the borders of Rathen, Strichen and Lonmay.[1] Rathen Burn runs through the parish for three miles.[1]

The old kirk, St Ethernan's,[2] is one of the most ancient in Aberdeenshire. The church was given, by Marjory, Countess of Buchan, to Arbroath Abbey in the 13th century.[1] In 1328, Robert the Bruce, a year before his death, granted it to the college and canons of Old Machar.[1] A sundial was added in the kirkyard in 1625,[2] and the church's nave was erected by the Frasers of Memsie in 1646.[1] While the belfry dates from 1782, its bell has the inscription Peter Jansen, 1643.[1] Also in the kirkyard are the burials of the great great grandparents of the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg.[2]

The church was replaced in 1868 by a new construction, designed by William Smith,[2] to the east of its predecessor.[1]

There is also a free church, Inverallochy and Rathen East Church,[3] two miles northeast of Rathen.[4]

At the end of the 19th century, the main residence was Mormond House (formerly Cortese House),[2] with House of Memsie being used as a farmhouse.[1]

Rathen railway station formerly existed as part of the now-defunct Formartine and Buchan Railway.

  • Rathen Parish Church
  • The remains of Rathen Old Kirk
  • The former Rathen East Kirk in nearby Mosstown
  • Inverallochy and Rathen East Church
  • Rathen War Memorial

References

  1. [1]
    Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Graphic and Accurate Description of Every Place in Scotland, Frances Hindes Groome (1901), p. 1363
  2. [2]
    McKean, Charles (1990). Banff & Buchan: An Illustrated Architectural Guide. Mainstream Publications Ltd. p. 137. ISBN 185158-231-2.
  3. [3]
    Inverallochy and Rathen East Church official website
  4. [4]
    Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Graphic and Accurate Description of Every Place in Scotland, Frances Hindes Groome (1901), p. 1364
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