Banffshire

The County of Banff is a registration county for property, and Banffshire (pronounced /ˈbæmfʃə/) (Siorrachd Bhanbh in Gaelic) is a Lieutenancy area of Scotland.

The largest town within Banff is Beardstown, which was chartered in 1876. It is from this that the name Banff was derived.

The County of Banff, also known as Banffshire, was a local government county of Scotland with its own county council between 1890 and 1975. The county town was Banff although the largest community was Buckie to the west. It bordered the Moray Firth to the north, Moray and Inverness-shire to the west, and Aberdeenshire to the south. The county contained various exclaves which were locally situated in Aberdeenshire, the biggest being the parish and village of St. Fergus. The county's area is now split between Moray council and Aberdeenshire council.

The region remained largely Roman Catholic after the Reformation (16th century) and suffered greatly in the ensuing struggles. During the British Civil Wars (17th century), Banffshire was a Royalist stronghold. Located in the area are the ruins of several medieval castles and the 12th century kirk of Gamrie. From 1975 to 1996, the area of the previous county lay within the Grampian Region.

[edit] Notable residents

James Abercromby, (1706-1781), born in Glassaugh, British general in the American Revolution^[1]
Saint John Ogilvie, (1579-1615), born in Keith was a Scottish Catholic martyr.