County of Moray
Encyclopedia
Moray is one of the registration counties of Scotland
, bordering Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire
to the south, and Banffshire
to the east. It was formerly in use as a local government
county
until 1975, when Elgin
was the county town
.
Prior to 1889 there were two large detached portions of Moray situated locally in Inverness-shire, and a corresponding part of Inverness-shire situated locally in Moray. With the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889
these parts were merged into the areas in which they locally lay. The county was officially called Elginshire, or 'Morayshire', sharing the name of the Elginshire
parliamentary
constituency, so named since 1708.
In 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
, most of the county was combined with Aberlour
, Buckie
, Cullen, Dufftown
, Findochty
, Keith
and Portknockie
areas of the county of Banffshire
to form the Moray district of the Grampian
region
. Grantown-on-Spey
and Cromdale
areas were combined with Kingussie
and Badenoch
areas of the county of Inverness-shire
to form the Badenoch and Strathspey
district of the Highland
region. In 1996 this district was superseded by the council area of Moray
1996, under the provisions of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994
.
The registration county, for property, is 'County of Moray', and a slightly smaller area, also based on the former county, is a lieutenancy area
named 'Moray'.
near Cullen. Bin Hill is visible from a number of distant points including Longman Hill
, situated to the east in coastal Aberdeenshire
.
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...
, bordering Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire
Inverness-shire
The County of Inverness or Inverness-shire was a general purpose county of Scotland, with the burgh of Inverness as the county town, until 1975, when, under the Local Government Act 1973, the county area was divided between the two-tier Highland region and the unitary Western Isles. The Highland...
to the south, and Banffshire
Banffshire
The County of Banff is a registration county for property, and Banffshire is a Lieutenancy area of Scotland.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...
to the east. It was formerly in use as a local government
Local government of Scotland
Local government in Scotland is organised through 32 unitary authorities designated as Councils which consist of councillors elected every four years by registered voters in each of the council areas....
county
Counties of Scotland
The counties of Scotland were the principal local government divisions of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current lieutenancy areas and registration counties are largely based on them. They are often referred to as historic counties....
until 1975, when Elgin
Elgin, Moray
Elgin is a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190...
was the county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
.
Prior to 1889 there were two large detached portions of Moray situated locally in Inverness-shire, and a corresponding part of Inverness-shire situated locally in Moray. With the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889
The Local Government Act 1889 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was passed on 26 August 1889. The main effect of the Act was to establish elected county councils in Scotland...
these parts were merged into the areas in which they locally lay. The county was officially called Elginshire, or 'Morayshire', sharing the name of the Elginshire
Elginshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Elginshire, in Scotland, was a county constituency of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...
parliamentary
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
constituency, so named since 1708.
In 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
The Local Government Act 1973 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in Scotland, on May 16, 1975....
, most of the county was combined with Aberlour
Aberlour
Aberlour , is the name of a place in Moray, Scotland, 12 miles south of Elgin on the road to Grantown. A burn , a tributary of the River Spey, and surrounding parish, are both named Aberlour, but the name is most commonly used in reference to the village which straddles the stream and flanks the...
, Buckie
Buckie
Buckie is a burgh town on the Moray Firth coast of Scotland in Moray. Buckie was the largest town in Banffshire by some thousands of inhabitants before regionalisation in 1975 removed that political division from the map of Scotland...
, Cullen, Dufftown
Dufftown
Dufftown is a burgh in Banffshire, Scotland.The town was originally named Mortlach in the Middle Ages, until the 19th century when the Earl of Fife built the town as a housing for soldiers returning home from war...
, Findochty
Findochty
Findochty is a village in Banffshire, Scotland, 4 miles east of the town of Buckie.Findochty stands on the shores of the Moray Firth. The Gaelic name of the village was recorded by Diack in his own transcription method as fanna-guchti which is unclear in meaning...
, Keith
Keith, Moray
Keith is a small town in the Moray council area in north east Scotland. It has a population of around 4,500....
and Portknockie
Portknockie
Portknockie is a coastal village on the Moray Firth in northeast Scotland, in Moray. Portknockie is a coastal village on the Moray Firth in northeast Scotland, in Moray. Portknockie is a coastal village on the Moray Firth in northeast Scotland, in Moray. (Family historians will note that this...
areas of the county of Banffshire
Banffshire
The County of Banff is a registration county for property, and Banffshire is a Lieutenancy area of Scotland.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...
to form the Moray district of the Grampian
Grampian
Grampian was a local government region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996. It is now divided into the unitary council areas of:*Moray*Aberdeenshire*City of AberdeenThe region had five districts:*Aberdeen*Banff and Buchan...
region
Regions and districts of Scotland
The local government areas of Scotland were redefined by the Local Government Act 1973 and redefined again by the Local Government etc Act 1994....
. Grantown-on-Spey
Grantown-on-Spey
Grantown-on-Spey is a town in the Highland Council Area in Scotland.It was founded in 1765 as a planned settlement on a low plateau at Freuchie beside the river Spey at the northern edge of the Cairngorm mountains, about 20 miles South East of Inverness .It is the main town in what was the...
and Cromdale
Cromdale
Cromdale is a village in Highland, Scotland and one of the ancient parishes which formed the combined ecclesiastical parish of "Cromdale, Inverallan and Advie" in Morayshire....
areas were combined with Kingussie
Kingussie
Kingussie is a small town in the Highland region of Scotland. It is one settlement in the Highland Council ward of Badenoch and Strathspey, and is the capital of the district of Badenoch. It lies beside the A9 road, although the old route of the A9 serves as the town's main street...
and Badenoch
Badenoch
Badenoch is a traditional district which today forms part of Badenoch and Strathspey, an area of Highland Council, in Scotland, bounded on the north by the Monadhliath Mountains, on the east by the Cairngorms and Braemar, on the south by Atholl and the Grampians, and on the west by Lochaber...
areas of the county of Inverness-shire
Inverness-shire
The County of Inverness or Inverness-shire was a general purpose county of Scotland, with the burgh of Inverness as the county town, until 1975, when, under the Local Government Act 1973, the county area was divided between the two-tier Highland region and the unitary Western Isles. The Highland...
to form the Badenoch and Strathspey
Badenoch and Strathspey
Badenoch and Strathspey as a local government district 1975 to 1996Badenoch and Strathspey is a local government ward of the Highland council area and a ward management area of the Highland Council in Scotland...
district of the Highland
Highland (council area)
Highland is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole. It shares borders with the council areas of Moray, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross, and Argyll and Bute. Their councils, and those of Angus and...
region. In 1996 this district was superseded by the council area of Moray
Moray
Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...
1996, under the provisions of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994
Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994
The Local Government etc. Act 1994 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the current local government structure of 32 unitary authorities covering the whole of Scotland....
.
The registration county, for property, is 'County of Moray', and a slightly smaller area, also based on the former county, is a lieutenancy area
Lieutenancy areas of Scotland
The lieutenancy areas of Scotland are the areas used for the ceremonial lord-lieutenants, the monarch's representatives, in Scotland. They are different from the local government council areas, the committee areas, the sheriffdoms, the registration counties, the former regions and districts, the...
named 'Moray'.
Geography
There are a number of mountainous features within Moray, including Bin HillBin Hill, Morayshire
Bin of Cullen or Bin Hill is a hill in Moray, Scotland directly inland from Findochty. Bin of Cullen is 320 m in height and visible from considerable distances, such as Longman Hill to the east and Lossiemouth to the West....
near Cullen. Bin Hill is visible from a number of distant points including Longman Hill
Longman Hill
Longman Hill is a prehistoric monument in northern Aberdeenshire, Scotland near Banff Bay. Due to the low lying coastal plain characteristics, the elevation of Longman Hill affords a long distance view as far as the Moray Firth....
, situated to the east in coastal Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
.
| Administrative Morayshire 1889-1975 | |
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Towns and villages of the county
- BurgheadBurgheadBurghead is a small town in Moray, Scotland, about 8 miles north-west of Elgin. The town is mainly built on a Peninsula which projects north-westward into the Moray Firth, meaning that most of the town has sea on 3 sides. The present town was built between 1805 and 1809, destroying in the...
- Charlestown of Aberlour
- Craigellachie
- ElginElgin, MorayElgin is a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190...
- FindochtyFindochtyFindochty is a village in Banffshire, Scotland, 4 miles east of the town of Buckie.Findochty stands on the shores of the Moray Firth. The Gaelic name of the village was recorded by Diack in his own transcription method as fanna-guchti which is unclear in meaning...
- GlenlivetGlenlivetGlenlivet is the glen in the Scottish Highlands through which the River Livet flows.The river rises high in the Ladder Hills. It flows gently down through the village of Tomnavoulin and onto the Bridgend of Glenlivet, flowing under the ancient packhorse bridge before emptying into the River Avon,...
- Grantown-on-SpeyGrantown-on-SpeyGrantown-on-Spey is a town in the Highland Council Area in Scotland.It was founded in 1765 as a planned settlement on a low plateau at Freuchie beside the river Spey at the northern edge of the Cairngorm mountains, about 20 miles South East of Inverness .It is the main town in what was the...
- LongmornLongmornLongmorn is a village in Moray, Scotland, famous for its malt whisky distilleries. It lies approximately two and a half miles south of Elgin on the main road from Elgin to Rothes....
- LossiemouthLossiemouthLossiemouth is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, it became an important fishing town. Although there has been over a 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over the past 250 years and consists of four separate communities that...
- MaggieknockaterMaggieknockaterMaggieknockater is a hamlet on the A95 road between Craigellachie and Mulben in Scotland in the Moray council area, in the former county of Banffshire....
- PortknockiePortknockiePortknockie is a coastal village on the Moray Firth in northeast Scotland, in Moray. Portknockie is a coastal village on the Moray Firth in northeast Scotland, in Moray. Portknockie is a coastal village on the Moray Firth in northeast Scotland, in Moray. (Family historians will note that this...
- RothesRothesRothes is a town in Moray, Scotland, south of Elgin and on the banks of the River Spey. The village has a population of 1209 .At the south end of the village lie the remains of Rothes Castle, which dates from the 13th century...
- DufftownDufftownDufftown is a burgh in Banffshire, Scotland.The town was originally named Mortlach in the Middle Ages, until the 19th century when the Earl of Fife built the town as a housing for soldiers returning home from war...
- HopemanHopemanHopeman is a seaside village in Moray, Scotland, on the coast of the Moray Firth, founded in 1805 to house and re-employ people displaced during the Highland clearances. The population is around 1 000 people in approximately 670 households.-The village:...
- ForresForresForres , is a town and former royal burgh situated in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately 30 miles east of Inverness. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions...
- BuckieBuckieBuckie is a burgh town on the Moray Firth coast of Scotland in Moray. Buckie was the largest town in Banffshire by some thousands of inhabitants before regionalisation in 1975 removed that political division from the map of Scotland...
- KeithKeith, MorayKeith is a small town in the Moray council area in north east Scotland. It has a population of around 4,500....
- KinlossKinlossKinloss is a village in Moray, Scotland. It is located near the shore of Findhorn Bay, around 3 miles from Findhorn and 2.5 miles from Forres. RAF Kinloss is located northeast of the village, and is transitioning to an Army barracks.The Cistercian Kinloss Abbey was created in 1150 by King David...
- KellasKellas, MorayKellas is a village in Moray, Scotland. It is approximately three miles North East of Dallas on the B9010 road. The Kellas cat is named after this village....
- Alves
- FochabersFochabersFochabers is a village in the Parish of Bellie, in Moray, Scotland, not far from the cathedral city of Elgin and located on the east bank of the River Spey. Around 2,000 people live in the village, which enjoys a rich musical and cultural history...
- MosstodlochMosstodlochMosstodloch is a small village in Moray, Scotland, lying near the A96 between Fochabers and Elgin on the west bank of the River Spey.Construction work on a bypass for Mosstodloch and the neighbouring village of Fochabers, costing £31.5m, started in February 2010 and the Mosstodloch section opened...
- LhanbrydeLhanbrydeLhanbryde is a village in Moray, Scotland, four miles east of Elgin. Previously bisected by the A96, it was bypassed in the early 1990s and now lies to the north of this busy trunk road....