Keith, Moray
Encyclopedia
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 :...
council area
Council Area
A Council Area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Act.-Legislation :1889...
in north east 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...
. It has a population of around 4,500.
Until 1975 it was in 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...
, a name which persists in postal addresses, common usage and historical references. Keith has two main sections: Keith, which is the new town and Fife Keith, which is the much older area.
The oldest part of Keith dates to around 1180. The main part of the town is on higher ground above the river, laid out around 1750 by the Earl of Findlater
Earl of Seafield
Earl of Seafield is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1701 for James Ogilvy, who in 1711 succeeded his father as Earl of Findlater. The titles remained united until the earldom of Findlater became extinct in 1811. The earldom of Seafield is still extant, however...
. It is located at the crossing of the A95
A95 road
The A95 road is a major road of north-east Scotland connecting the A9 road in the Highlands to the A98 road near the coast.It leaves the A9 four miles north of Aviemore.It then goes:*through Drumullie;...
and A96
A96 road
The A96 is a major road in the North of Scotland.It runs generally west/north-west from Aberdeen, bypassing Kintore, Inverurie, Huntly and Forres, and running through Keith, Fochabers, Elgin and Nairn...
roads. Local services include a health centre, dentist, optician and multiple hairdressing salons. The town has three schools: Keith Grammar School, Keith Primary School and St Thomas RC Primary School.
The annual Keith Country Show, held at Seafield Park, is an event in the farming calendar of north-east Scotland.
History and culture
The name appears to come from Brythonic coed meaning "wood", but it may also be related to the PictishPicts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
territorial division in this area, which was known as Cé.
The Chronicles of Keith, compiled in the 19th century, provide an unusually comprehensive view of the area's history. From it, we learn that early on, Keith was known as "Kethmalruff", a dedication to Saint Maol Rubha (d. 722), also Latinised as "St Rufus". This dedication to an early medieval saint may imply a Dark Age origin for the first church at Keith (still marked by an ancient graveyard, though the parish church was rebuilt on another site in Victorian times), though no archaeological evidence for this has been identified.
The language spoken indigenously round Keith is Doric
Doric dialect (Scotland)
Doric, the popular name for Mid Northern Scots or Northeast Scots, refers to the dialects of Scots spoken in the northeast of Scotland.-Nomenclature:...
, which superseded Scottish Gaelic (see language section at Moray).
Tourist attractions
Keith had one of the few tartanTartan
Tartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns...
museums in Scotland, an indication of the town's history in the wool industry. The town is at the start of the Malt
Malt
Malt is germinated cereal grains that have been dried in a process known as "malting". The grains are made to germinate by soaking in water, and are then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air...
Whisky
Whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
trail, and has three distilleries, including Strathisla Distillery
Strathisla Single Malt
Strathisla is the oldest continuously operating distillery in Scotland. It was founded as the Milltown Distillery by George Taylor in 1789 as an alternative to the waning of flax dressing industry. He leased the land from the Earl of Seafield....
, one of the oldest in the Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
and since 1950 headquarters of Chivas Brothers, producers of Chivas Regal
Chivas Regal
Chivas Regal is a blended Scotch whisky produced by Chivas Brothers, owned by Pernod Ricard. According to the brand packaging, Chivas Brothers was first established in 1801 in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Chivas brand's home is Strathisla Distillery at Keith, Moray in Speyside, Scotland.It is the...
. The Keith and Dufftown Railway
Keith and Dufftown Railway
The Keith and Dufftown Railway is a heritage railway in Scotland, running for from Keith Town railway station, Keith to Dufftown railway station, Dufftown via Drummuir ....
is an 11-mile heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
running to 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...
.
The Keith Heritage Group have published a number of maps that lead visitors on walking tours through the town and surrounding countryside.
Two annual events attract tourists to Keith. The first of these, the TMSA Keith Festival, falls on the second weekend of June and celebrates the traditional (and not so traditional) music of the area, providing entertainment in the form of concerts, ceilidh
Céilidh
In modern usage, a céilidh or ceilidh is a traditional Gaelic social gathering, which usually involves playing Gaelic folk music and dancing. It originated in Ireland, but is now common throughout the Irish and Scottish diasporas...
s, competitions and sessions.
On the second weekend of August the town hosts the Keith Country Show. The show was founded in 1872 and every year promises days of prize-winning livestock and family fun.
Sport Facilities
Keith has an 18-hole golfGolf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
course, three tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
courts, a bowling club, squash court, skate park, multiple football pitches (one official pitch - Kynoch Park - where Keith F.C.
Keith F.C.
Keith F.C. are a senior football club who currently play in the Highland League in Scotland.They were founded in 1910 and play at Kynoch Park which is at the east end of the town..Keith are the football team of Keith in Banffshire, north-east Scotland...
play) and a large sports hall. The swimming pool has been refurbished with a gym and sauna room added to the facilities. Keith Cricket Club play their home games at Fife Park.
Famous residents
- James 'Gordon Bennett', Sr.James Gordon Bennett, Sr.James Gordon Bennett, Sr. was the founder, editor and publisher of the New York Herald and a major figure in the history of American newspapers.-Biography:...
, founder and publisher of the New York HeraldNew York HeraldThe New York Herald was a large distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835, and 1924.-History:The first issue of the paper was published by James Gordon Bennett, Sr., on May 6, 1835. By 1845 it was the most popular and profitable daily newspaper in the UnitedStates... - Colin HendryColin HendryEdward Colin Hendry is a retired Scottish footballer and manager, who played as a defender. Hendry started his career with Dundee in 1983 and spent spells at Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Rangers, Coventry City, Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool...
, footballer - Irvine Laidlaw, businessman and life peer
- James NaughtieJames NaughtieJames Naughtie is a British radio presenter and radio news presenter for the BBC. Since 1994 he has been one of the main presenters of Radio 4's Today programme.- Biography :...
, broadcaster - William Boyd Robertson MacmillanWilliam Macmillan (Moderator)William B. R. Macmillan was a minister of the Church of Scotland. He was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1991.-Background and career:...
, 1991 Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of ScotlandChurch of ScotlandThe Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation.... - Saint John OgilvieSaint John OgilvieSaint John Ogilvie was a Scottish Roman Catholic Jesuit martyr.-Biography:Ogilvie, the son of a wealthy laird, was born into a respected Calvinist family at Drum-na-Keith near Keith in Banffshire, Scotland and was educated in mainland Europe where he attended a number of Roman Catholic educational...
, post-Reformation saint - Brian AdamBrian AdamBrian Adam is the Scottish Government Minister for Parliamentary Business and Chief Whip and Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Aberdeen Donside constituency....
, Member of the Scottish Parliament - George FoulkesGeorge Foulkes, Baron Foulkes of CumnockGeorge Foulkes, Baron Foulkes of Cumnock, PC is a British Labour Party life peer. He has been a member of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Scottish Parliament...
, Member of the Scottish Parliament
External links
- The map of Keith on streetmap.co.uk
- A Tour of Keith in Words and Pictures
- St Thomas’ Church, Keith
- Keith Heritage in Focus
- Official website of Keith Golf Club
- Information on "Undiscovered Scotland"
- St Thomas RC School website
- Tartan Museum Community Website
- Census data
- Keith Community website
- Keith Community Radio (FM 102.8 and online)