Crimond
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Crimond is a village in the northeast of Scotland, located nine miles northwest of the port of Peterhead and just over two miles from the coast.
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[edit] Local area
The main A90 road runs through Crimond itself and is lined by Crimond Church with village hall, Crimond Primary School [1], Crimond Medical Practice, Crimond Shop and Post Office, Crimond Care Home for the elderly and Crimond Motors garage [2]. 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 you can easily see the masts at the nearby Crimond Aerodrome to the east and the telecommunications satellites on the top of Mormond Hill to the North West.
The nearby Loch of Strathbeg is a RSPB owned and protected nature reserve. Around the loch there are 3 hides from which you can 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 locally 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 the remains of an old camp where the workers who built the St. Fergus Gas Plant lived whilst it was being constructed to the east of the village.
[edit] History
In 1324, Sir Archibald Douglas was recorded as being granted the lands of Crimond.
In the summer of 1297 after capturing Aberdeen, William Wallace and his army travelled through Crimond as they marched to meet another rebel commander Andrew de Moray at a stronghold on the banks of the river Spey.[3]
[edit] Defence use
During World War II, a Royal Naval Air Station Merganser was established near the village, close to Rattray as a training establishment, home of 714 Naval Air Squadron.
The base was closed following WWII and subsequently used as a Royal Naval Wireless Station providing long range radio services. The radio facilities are now managed by VT Communications.
The site was used for motorsports although this ceased on the establishment of the RN Wireless Station.
[edit] Stockcars
Crimond is home to the famous Crimond Raceway stock car track [4] which is the most northerly in the United Kingdom. It is here that former Formula 1 world champion driver Jim Clark began his career.
The stock cars began in the 1950's with the original tracks on the runways on the nearby Crimond 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 hosts Scottish Hot Rod, Saloonstox, Formula Two and other local formula championships.
[edit] Religion
Crimond Church is the sole official religious building in the village and is part of the Christian Church of Scotland.
Richard de Potton was a 13th Century Bishop of Aberdeen, who was credited with making the parish church of Crimond into Aberdeen's fourteenth prebend.
Crimond Church has an extra minute between the eleven and twelve making for 61 minutes in the hour. 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 1990's when it was placed back on top of the spire. The wind vane has been the target of vandalism and sports bullet holes from an air rifle.
"Crimond" is also the name of a hymn tune by Jessie Irvine, often used for a metrical version of Psalm 23.
[edit] Famous residents
- Baron Robert John Graham Boothby (1900-1986). Conservative MP for the former Aberdeen Eastern constituency.
- Robert Burnet, Lord Crimond (1592-1661). Judge of the Court of Session and owner of the Crimond Estate.
[edit] External links
- Official Tourism Web Site
- Web Historian's site for Rattray
- British History Article on Crimond
- Map sources for Crimond
[edit] References
- ^ Crimond Primary School
- ^ Crimond Motors
- ^ Rebel Commander. Retrieved on 2007-05-03.
- ^ Crimond Raceway
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