Arbirlot
Encyclopedia
Arbirlot is a village in a rural parish of the same name in Angus
, Scotland
. The current name is a contraction of Aberelliot - mouth of the Elliot. It is situated west of Arbroath
. The main village settlement is on the Elliot Water, 2.5 miles from Arbroath. There is a Church of Scotland
church and a primary school
. The school lies 1 mile further west in the approximate geographic centre of the parish.
A nature trail by the Elliot Water
links Arbirlot with the former railway junction of Elliot on the Angus Coast. Arbirlot holds host to a spectacular 23 foot waterfall.
Kelly Castle, which overlooks the Elliot Water, comprises a four-storey tower of the 16th Century set within a 19th-century courtyard. It was a stronghold of the Mowbray family until forfeited to the Stewarts in the early 14th century and was restored by the Earl of Dalhousie in the 19th century.
In the 18th and 19th centuries Arbirlot was principally occupied by handloom weavers and farmers, Arbirlot once had a meal mill, a slaughterhouse, two schools, a post office, a savings bank, an inn, a parish library as well as a number of shops.
The parish is believed to be the original home of Clan Elliot, which was transplanted in the Scottish Borders to defend the newly-crowned Robert the Bruce's Scotland from English invaders through an intricate network of peel towers. The Elliots joined the clans of Armstrong, Scott, Douglas, Kerr, Nixon, Hepburn and Maxwell in this effort. The Border Reivers and other titles such a Outlaws of the Marshes are most informative about the Elliots and their exploits after leaving the Arbirlot parish.
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The current name is a contraction of Aberelliot - mouth of the Elliot. It is situated west of Arbroath
Arbroath
Arbroath or Aberbrothock is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus in Scotland, and has a population of 22,785...
. The main village settlement is on the Elliot Water, 2.5 miles from Arbroath. There is a Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
church and a primary school
Arbirlot Primary School
Arbirlot Primary School is a mixed, non-denominational, primary school in the parish of Arbirlot, Angus, Scotland. The school is the successor to various village schools in Arbirlot that have existed since at least the late 16th century....
. The school lies 1 mile further west in the approximate geographic centre of the parish.
Elliot Water
The Elliot Water is a minor river in Angus in eastern Scotland. The Elliot rises near West Hills in Carmyllie and flows through the parish and village of Arbirlot before reaching the North Sea at Elliot, on the west side of Arbroath...
links Arbirlot with the former railway junction of Elliot on the Angus Coast. Arbirlot holds host to a spectacular 23 foot waterfall.
Kelly Castle, which overlooks the Elliot Water, comprises a four-storey tower of the 16th Century set within a 19th-century courtyard. It was a stronghold of the Mowbray family until forfeited to the Stewarts in the early 14th century and was restored by the Earl of Dalhousie in the 19th century.
In the 18th and 19th centuries Arbirlot was principally occupied by handloom weavers and farmers, Arbirlot once had a meal mill, a slaughterhouse, two schools, a post office, a savings bank, an inn, a parish library as well as a number of shops.
The parish is believed to be the original home of Clan Elliot, which was transplanted in the Scottish Borders to defend the newly-crowned Robert the Bruce's Scotland from English invaders through an intricate network of peel towers. The Elliots joined the clans of Armstrong, Scott, Douglas, Kerr, Nixon, Hepburn and Maxwell in this effort. The Border Reivers and other titles such a Outlaws of the Marshes are most informative about the Elliots and their exploits after leaving the Arbirlot parish.
Notable Natives and Residents
- George Gladstanes c1562 - 1615, Minister in Arbirlot c1597, afterwards Bishop of Caithness and later Archbishop of St Andrews
- Alexander McGill ? - 1734, Mason and Architect
- Rev Thomas GuthrieThomas GuthrieThomas Guthrie D.D. was a Scottish divine and philanthropist, born at Brechin in Angus . He was one of the most popular preachers of his day in Scotland, and was associated with many forms of philanthropy - especially temperance and Ragged Schools, of which he was a founder.He studied at Edinburgh...
1803 - 1873, divine and philanthropist, Minister in Arbirlot 1827-1837 - Rev John Kirk ? - ?, divine and biographer (of Susannah Wesley mother of John WesleyJohn WesleyJohn Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
, The Mother of the Wesleys, Jarrold, London 1868), Church of Scotland Minister in Arbirlot 1837 - ? and later first Free Church of Scotland Minister in Arbirlot - Sir John KirkJohn Kirk (explorer)Sir John Kirk was a Scottish physician, naturalist, companion to explorer David Livingstone, and British administrator in Zanzibar. He was born in Barry, near Arbroath, Scotland and is buried in St. Nicholas's churchyard in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. He earned his medical degree from the...
1832 - 1922, physician, naturalist, companion to explorer David LivingstoneDavid LivingstoneDavid Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and an explorer in Africa. His meeting with H. M. Stanley gave rise to the popular quotation, "Dr...
, diplomat, slavery abolitionist and photography pioneer, lived with his parents in Arbirlot as a young man. Younger son of Rev John Kirk. - Eileen Ramsay 1940 - , Novelist