Lossiemouth
Encyclopedia
Lossiemouth 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 eventually merged into one. From 1890 - 1975 it was a police burgh
as Lossiemouth and Branderburgh.
Stotfield, the first significant settlement (discounting Kinneddar which has now disappeared), lies to the north west of the town. Next was the Seatown - a small area between the river and the canal inholding of 52 houses, 51 of which are the historic fisher cottages. Following the decision to build a new harbour on the River Lossie
, the 18th Century planned town of Lossiemouth, built on a grid system, was established on the low ground below the Coulard Hill. Branderburgh formed the final development during the 19th Century. This part of the town developed entirely as a result of the new harbour with its two basins and eventually covered the entire Coulard Hill and providing the town's impressive profile when seen from afar.
never conquered the peoples of the North of Scotland, they made several journeys to the Moray Firth coast. Suspected Roman forts have been discovered at Thomshill, Birnie, near Elgin
and at Easter Galcantray, Cawdor
, Nairnshire and also a suspected marching camp at Wester Alves, Moray
.
The Greco-Roman astronomer and geographer, Claudius Ptolemaeus, generally known as Ptolemy
(c. 90 – c. 168), describes in chapter 2 of his Geographa entitled Albion
Island of Britannia the mouth of the River Lossie
as ostium Loxa Fluvius. Settlement in this area has a long history. St Gervadius, a celtic hermit inhabited a cave overlooking the entrance to the sea loch, Loch Spynie. In his time, the River Lossie entered the loch further to the south, near Inchbroom. The rocky promontory is recorded in the Chartulary of Moray as Holyman's Head and it is said that Gervadius (St Gerardine as he became known in later times) would walk around the headland with a flaming torch to warn ships away from the dangerous rocks. Even today the Halliman Skerries retain the reference to St Gervadius. He died in 934 AD and his cave became a place of pilgrimage right up to the 16th Century. The cave was eventually quarried out.
The settlement at the river mouth is significant particularly in its relationship with the Royal Burgh
of Elgin. An argument between Alexander Bur, Bishop of Moray
and John Dunbar, 4th Earl of Moray
was documented in 1383 regarding the ‘ownership’ of the port of ‘Losey’. This document mentions that Losey was commonly known to fall within the limits of the episcopal estates. The Bishop’s description of the port suggests that it was well downstream from his fishing station at Spynie. It seems likely, therefore to look upon Losey as not merely a fishing station but as a trading port that the Elgin Burgesses used as a counterbalance to the Royal Burgh of Forres
's trading port of Findhorn
. The dispute with the Earl of Moray went further. That same year of 1383, the Earl wrote to the Elgin burgesses offering them the use of his port at the mouth of the River Spey with no duties in an attempt to take trade from the Bishop. The port and fishery was mentioned again in 1551.
The loch and the river became separated c.1600. A succession of storms built banks of sand and boulders that eventually closed off the sea entrance. To avoid flooding it is documented that, in 1609, the post-Reformation
Protestant Bishop
, Alexander Douglas took steps to exclude the River Lossie from the loch. Evidence of a sudden and unnatural looking right-angled bend between Caysbriggs and Inchbroom may indicate the location of this diversion.
Modern Lossiemouth has its origins in five separate communities that in time grew into one. These were Kinneddar, Stotfield, Seatown, Lossiemouth and finally, Branderburgh; the most ancient of these are Kinneddar and Stotfield.
Kinneddar has now disappeared as a ferm toun, however an old farmhouse still retains its name and is probably its location. A Pictish
settlement occupied the area and large numbers of carved stones, now held in Elgin Museum, were found. These stones date the settlement to around the 8th or 9th Century. Pictish crosses were found in or near the cemetery and indicate the presence of a Christ
ian establishment. Early documented references to the settlement refer to it as Kenedor dating it to the 10th Century; it may, of course, have been a continuation of the original Pictish religious community. Saint Gervadius
(Gerardine) is referred to as "Gervadius of Kenedor" and may have been part of this community, establishing his cell in the cave just to the northeast.
Bishop Richard is known to have resided at Kinneddar and for that period, it became the cathedral church of the diocese. However maps dating from the early 16th century clearly show this farming community as King Edward. National Library of Scotland
It is unlikely, though, that this community took its name from King Edward I
of England, The Hammer of the Scots, even though Edward travelled twice to this area to demonstrate his grip over the country; the most likely explanation is that the early cartographers took the local pronunciation of Kinneddar as King Edward and recorded it as such. He is known to have stayed in Elgin for four days in late July 1296 and it was during this sojourn into Scotland that he removed the Stone of Scone
(Stone of Destiny) from Scone Palace and had it placed in a wooden chair at Westminster Abbey
. He again stayed in Elgin for two days in September 1303 and then camped at Kinloss Abbey
from the 13th of September till the 4th of October.
At that time the castle at Kinneddar, along with those at Elgin and Duffus, was left under the control of English garrisons. In 1308, Robert the Bruce, taking advantage of King Edward II's preoccupation with matters in England and France, started capturing and usually destroying castles that were either English garrisoned or controlled throughout Scotland. Joined by an army provided by David de Moravia, the Bishop of Moray
, Bruce burned the castles of Inverness and Nairn before seizing and burning Kinneddar castle. He attacked Elgin castle only to be twice repulsed before finally succeeding. King Edward had the Bishop ex-communicated causing him to flee to Norway only to return after Edward's death.
Kinneddar village was still sizable in the early 19th century but dwindled away with the building of the new Lossiemouth, just to the east.
The early maps, some dating back to the early 16th century, clearly show Stotfield (some maps, name the settlement as Stotfold or Stodfauld). The name Stotfold means in Old English, 'horse fold'. The fact that the name is a form of English and not derived from Pictish
or Gaelic names suggests that incomers settled the area. King David I introduced settlers from other parts of the kingdom as a way of reducing the powers of the lords who had ruled large territories as independent provinces. Indeed, King David put down a rebellion by the Mormaer of Moray
in 1130 and it is possible that Stotfield dated from shortly after this event. The English speaking inhabitants of the Lothian
s would most likely have been the chosen settlers. It is notable that the people inhabiting the Lothians were Angles
(formally part of the Kingdom of Northumbria
).
In the Middle Ages
, Stotfield was primarily a farm hamlet with small scale fishing being carried out. The fishing gradually became more important and the population specialised into farm workers and fishermen. Subsistence was hard but at least it was relatively easy, in this case, for farm and sea food to be bartered. However, the religious strictures introduced following the Reformation
impacted upon the community, especially the fishers.
The minutes from the Kinneddar Parish
Kirk Session clearly show that the ancient superstitions were at least as important to them as observance of church niceties:
But the practices continued and, 35 years later, the minutes from the session records stated:
This is interesting because it shows that the power to fine parishioners had by then been removed and put in the hands of magistrates.
Parish records from Duffus Kirk show that similar experiences were happening at Brughsea (Burghead). It is apparent, therefore, that Clavie burning
was carried out in the three fisher towns of Brughsea, Causie (Covesea) and Stotefold (Stotfield). It is unlikely that this practice would have been restricted to the three Morayshire locations and that it would have been more widespread. Burghead still burns a ceremonial clavie on the eve of the old new year but is no longer associated with fishing boats. A puzzling date for the modern ceremony as the 17th Century ones were held on the 31st of December.
Stotfield fishing disaster
The Stotfield fishing disaster struck on Christmas
Day 1806. The severity of this tragedy had an enormous effect upon the Stotfield community when every single able bodied male in the village perished in a huge storm. The folk memory of it is still retained among the fishermen of Lossiemouth.
The Seatown was established at the end of the 17th Century when the old port at Spynie became landlocked.
A succession of storms had built up large shingle banks to block the outlet of Loch Spynie to the sea. The merchants of Elgin decided that a new harbour that could berth larger trading vessels at the river mouth was required. The fishermen didn't use the new pier however but continued to sail their boats up to the beach at the Seatown. Seatown is called The Toonie by its inhabitants and sometimes referred to as the Dogwall. This was a reference to dogs-skins that were dried here before being turned into floats for nets.
In 1685, the Elgin burgh council called upon a German engineer, Peter Brauss, to look at the viability of providing a harbour at the mouth of the River Lossie; he decided that a harbour could be established. The first efforts at the beginning of the 18th Century looked to have failed but by 1764, the new jetty had been built at a cost of £1200.
At the time that the new river mouth harbour was being constructed, so too was a more planned development laid out in streets running parallel and right angles to each other. An open square with a cross separated the first settlement from the new.
The fishers occupied the houses at the Seatown and the builders, craftsmen and merchants in the new Lossiemouth. Later, a canal cut to drain Loch Spynie, would present a physical barrier to the two communities and entered the River Lossie in this area.
The construction of the new harbour was carried out between 1837 and 1839 but initially in a relatively small form. The beginning of the building process was marked by a ceremony and reported in the Inverness Courier as follows,
Branderburgh, with its characteristic wide streets, continued to push its boundaries westward and by the early 20th century finally joined with Stotfield. A substantial amount of sandstone was quarried from the east side of the town to accommodate this rapid house building project. When Lossiemouth and Branderburgh became a police burgh in 1890, the town became mainly known as Lossiemouth, or more commonly – Lossie.
Fishing boats
The boats used at Stotfield, Seatown and finally Branderburgh were the same as those found across the entire Scottish east coast fishery. Chronologically, these were the two masted luggers, the Skaffies, Fifies and Zulus; then the powered Steam Drifters and Seine Netters.
Morayshire Railway
The Morayshire Railway was officially opened at ceremonies in Elgin and Branderburgh on 10 August 1852, the steam engines having been delivered to Lossie by sea. It was the first railway north of Aberdeen and initially travelled only the 5½ miles between Lossie and Elgin but later extended south to Craigellachie. The Lossie – Elgin section had three stops; the Rifle Range Halt, Greens of Drainie and Linksfield. The Great North of Scotland Railway
took over the working of the line in 1863 and bought the company in 1881 following the Morayshire Railway's return from crippling debt back to solvency. The railway and harbour became very important to the economy of both Lossie and Moray. It was the Morayshire Railway that persuaded Col Brander, of Pitgaveny, to build the bridge from the Seatown to the east beach to encourage more day tripping in the summer months
Dates
Note: From early maps, Stotfield is known to exist in 16th century (see National Library of Scotland
) but is probably older. Kinneddar is referenced in the 10th Century. http://www.catholic-forum.com/Saints/saintg5l.htm
The town is locatedon the most northerly point of the south coast of the Moray Firth
, at the mouth of the River Lossie
. To the west of the town are a sandy beach, golf links and the Royal Air Force
station, RAF Lossiemouth
. Lossie Forest is a large pine forest that starts on the town's south-east boundary and the river splits it into two sections. The south side of the town is joined by the fertile plains of the Laich o' Moray.
Lossiemouth Beach is a large strip of dunes separated from the rest of the town by the River Lossie, creating a useful sheltered expanse of water. The town looks down onto this natural harbour with a plain promenade street from which there is a long wooden footbridge leading onto the sands. Ringed plover
, grey heron
, black-headed gull
, oystercatcher
, curlew
, mallard
and other waders feed under the bridge and are easy to watch from the street, and there are vast numbers of water birds in the more rural area further east.
A large part of the town is built on the Coulard Hill which consists of pale grey and yellow sandstones and with these is associated a cherty and calcareous band, known as 'the cherty rock of Stotfield' . This rock is a form of silica that contains micro-crystalline quartz. Also in the calcareous band of the Stotfield rock there is limestone with nodular masses of flint, crystals of galena (lead ore) and iron pyrites. The quarry on the east side of the town that produced the stone for the building of Branderburgh produced the largest variety and total numbers of fossil
reptile
s from the late Triassic
Period to have been found in the UK. This was a total of eight species and 97 individuals; five of the species are unique to Lossiemouth, one of which is an early form of dinosaur
. This quarry is ranked as one of Britain's most important fossil bearing locations of this period.
Lossiemouth's population in 1901 was 3904
Source: Moray Council from 2001 Census data
station for its employment of civilians. In 2005, RAF Lossiemouth
along with its neighbour RAF Kinloss
contributed £156.5 million (including civilian expenditure) to the Moray
economy, of which £76.6 million was retained and spent locally. The bases are responsible for providing, directly or indirectly, 21 per cent of all employment in the area.
Before the RAF, fishing was almost the sole industrialised process in Lossiemouth but now contributes very little to the overall economy; in 2001, fishing accounted for 1.62% (55 individuals) of the full-time employment of Lossiemouth. However, some engineering businesses once associated with fishing still exist in the town. Unlike other sizable towns in the area, Lossiemouth has not attracted the large supermarket groups due to its proximity to Elgin which also provides employment to a significant proportion of the working population.
Source: Highland & Islands Enterprise & Moray Council
. There is a regular bus service to and from Elgin.
The nearest railway station is at Elgin
and offers services every 90 to 120 minutes to both Inverness
(circa 50 minutes travel time) and Aberdeen
(circa 90 minutes travel time), which in turn provide services to the rest of the UK. The former Morayshire Railway
line to Elgin was closed to passenger traffic in 1964 and goods in 1966. The former railway route has been turned into a footpath, and the edge of the station platform is visible in the main car park near the harbour.
There is a frequent bus service from Lossiemouth to Elgin.
Similarly, Inverness Airport
(36 miles / 58 km) and Aberdeen Airport
(62 miles / 101 km) offer a wide range of destinations.
Church of Scotland
United Free Church of Scotland
Baptist
Plymouth Brethren
Scottish Episcopal
Roman Catholic
club is Lossiemouth F.C.
, nicknamed "The Coasters", who play in the Highland Football League
. The club play their home games at Grant Park. They have won several trophies in recent seasons, including the Highland League Cup and several North of Scotland Cups. The local derby had been versus Elgin City FC, however their promotion to the higher Scottish leagues in recent years have reduced the frequency of the matches. The town's junior football club is Lossiemouth United. RAF Lossiemouth
also has a junior football club. In addition, the station has a rugby union
and a cricket
club that play in their respective North of Scotland leagues and a rugby league
side that plays in the Scotland Rugby League
as the Moray Eels; most station teams also play in their respective RAF competitions. The Moray Golf Club
is the town's golf club and has two courses, the Old Course established in 1889, designed by Old Tom Morris who predicted that it would become the best in the north, and the 18 hole New Course, designed by Sir Henry Cotton, opened in 1979.
spoken in Lossiemouth was closely related to the Doric dialect
that was prevalent in Aberdeenshire
. Many variations of this dialect can be heard along the Grampian coast, identifiable dialects from towns as close as 5 miles apart (i.e. Lossiemouth and Hopeman
) is not unheard of. Just as the Doric is in decline, however, so it is in Lossiemouth. The reasons for this include the demise of Lossiemouth as a fishing port where its fishermen used Scots extensively. In fishing towns such as Peterhead and Fraserburgh, Scots is still widely spoken. In Lossiemouth, though, the high level of employment at the RAF station and a large population of non-Scots (nearly 25%) has hastened this decline. Quite a lot of the words still remain in use but on the whole, Scottish English
is increasingly spoken among the indigenous population.
vessels, both named after the River Lossie
, were involved in rescues following torpedo sinkings during the Second World War.
Source for money calculations at - http://eh.net/hmit/ppowerbp/
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 :...
, 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...
. Originally the port belonging to 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...
, 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 eventually merged into one. From 1890 - 1975 it was a police burgh
Police burgh
A police burgh was a Scottish burgh which had adopted a “police system” for governing the town. They existed from 1833 to 1975.-The 1833 act:The first police burghs were created under the Burgh Police Act, 1833...
as Lossiemouth and Branderburgh.
Stotfield, the first significant settlement (discounting Kinneddar which has now disappeared), lies to the north west of the town. Next was the Seatown - a small area between the river and the canal inholding of 52 houses, 51 of which are the historic fisher cottages. Following the decision to build a new harbour on the River Lossie
River Lossie
The River Lossie is a river in north east Scotland. Ptolemy , the Greco / Roman geographer, named it as ost. Loxa Fl. The river originates in the hills above Dallas, in Moray, and has its source 400 meters above sea-level. It enters the sea at Lossiemouth on the Moray Firth...
, the 18th Century planned town of Lossiemouth, built on a grid system, was established on the low ground below the Coulard Hill. Branderburgh formed the final development during the 19th Century. This part of the town developed entirely as a result of the new harbour with its two basins and eventually covered the entire Coulard Hill and providing the town's impressive profile when seen from afar.
Roman to Medieval
Although the RomansRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
never conquered the peoples of the North of Scotland, they made several journeys to the Moray Firth coast. Suspected Roman forts have been discovered at Thomshill, Birnie, near 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...
and at Easter Galcantray, Cawdor
Cawdor
Cawdor is a village and parish in Nairnshire, Highland council area, Scotland. The village is situated 5 miles south south west of Nairn, and 12 miles from Inverness.-History:The village is the location of Cawdor Castle, the seat of the Earl Cawdor....
, Nairnshire and also a suspected marching camp at Wester Alves, 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 :...
.
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
(c. 90 – c. 168), describes in chapter 2 of his Geographa entitled Albion
Albion
Albion is the oldest known name of the island of Great Britain. Today, it is still sometimes used poetically to refer to the island or England in particular. It is also the basis of the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland, Alba...
Island of Britannia the mouth of the River Lossie
River Lossie
The River Lossie is a river in north east Scotland. Ptolemy , the Greco / Roman geographer, named it as ost. Loxa Fl. The river originates in the hills above Dallas, in Moray, and has its source 400 meters above sea-level. It enters the sea at Lossiemouth on the Moray Firth...
as ostium Loxa Fluvius. Settlement in this area has a long history. St Gervadius, a celtic hermit inhabited a cave overlooking the entrance to the sea loch, Loch Spynie. In his time, the River Lossie entered the loch further to the south, near Inchbroom. The rocky promontory is recorded in the Chartulary of Moray as Holyman's Head and it is said that Gervadius (St Gerardine as he became known in later times) would walk around the headland with a flaming torch to warn ships away from the dangerous rocks. Even today the Halliman Skerries retain the reference to St Gervadius. He died in 934 AD and his cave became a place of pilgrimage right up to the 16th Century. The cave was eventually quarried out.
The settlement at the river mouth is significant particularly in its relationship with the Royal Burgh
Royal burgh
A royal burgh was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished in 1975, the term is still used in many of the former burghs....
of Elgin. An argument between Alexander Bur, Bishop of Moray
Bishop of Moray
The Bishop of Moray or Bishop of Elgin was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Moray in northern Scotland, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics...
and John Dunbar, 4th Earl of Moray
Earl of Moray
The title Earl of Moray has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland.Prior to the formal establishment of the peerage, Earl of Moray, numerous individuals ruled the kingdom of Moray or Mormaer of Moray until 1130 when the kingdom was destroyed by David I of Scotland.-History of the...
was documented in 1383 regarding the ‘ownership’ of the port of ‘Losey’. This document mentions that Losey was commonly known to fall within the limits of the episcopal estates. The Bishop’s description of the port suggests that it was well downstream from his fishing station at Spynie. It seems likely, therefore to look upon Losey as not merely a fishing station but as a trading port that the Elgin Burgesses used as a counterbalance to the Royal Burgh of Forres
Forres
Forres , 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...
's trading port of Findhorn
Findhorn
Findhorn is a village in Moray, Scotland. It is located on the eastern shore of Findhorn Bay and immediately south of the Moray Firth. Findhorn is 3 miles northwest of Kinloss, and about 5 miles by road from Forres....
. The dispute with the Earl of Moray went further. That same year of 1383, the Earl wrote to the Elgin burgesses offering them the use of his port at the mouth of the River Spey with no duties in an attempt to take trade from the Bishop. The port and fishery was mentioned again in 1551.
The loch and the river became separated c.1600. A succession of storms built banks of sand and boulders that eventually closed off the sea entrance. To avoid flooding it is documented that, in 1609, the post-Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
Protestant Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
, Alexander Douglas took steps to exclude the River Lossie from the loch. Evidence of a sudden and unnatural looking right-angled bend between Caysbriggs and Inchbroom may indicate the location of this diversion.
Modern Lossiemouth has its origins in five separate communities that in time grew into one. These were Kinneddar, Stotfield, Seatown, Lossiemouth and finally, Branderburgh; the most ancient of these are Kinneddar and Stotfield.
Kinneddar
Picts
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...
settlement occupied the area and large numbers of carved stones, now held in Elgin Museum, were found. These stones date the settlement to around the 8th or 9th Century. Pictish crosses were found in or near the cemetery and indicate the presence of a Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
ian establishment. Early documented references to the settlement refer to it as Kenedor dating it to the 10th Century; it may, of course, have been a continuation of the original Pictish religious community. Saint Gervadius
Saint Gervadius
Saint Gervadius was an Irish saint. His feast day is celebrated on November 8. He was an Irishman who established himself as a hermit in Scotland, near Kenedor .He may have emigrated to escape Viking raids in his native land...
(Gerardine) is referred to as "Gervadius of Kenedor" and may have been part of this community, establishing his cell in the cave just to the northeast.
Bishop Richard is known to have resided at Kinneddar and for that period, it became the cathedral church of the diocese. However maps dating from the early 16th century clearly show this farming community as King Edward. National Library of Scotland
National Library of Scotland
The National Library of Scotland is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. It is based in a collection of buildings in Edinburgh city centre. The headquarters is on George IV Bridge, between the Old Town and the university quarter...
It is unlikely, though, that this community took its name from King Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
of England, The Hammer of the Scots, even though Edward travelled twice to this area to demonstrate his grip over the country; the most likely explanation is that the early cartographers took the local pronunciation of Kinneddar as King Edward and recorded it as such. He is known to have stayed in Elgin for four days in late July 1296 and it was during this sojourn into Scotland that he removed the Stone of Scone
Stone of Scone
The Stone of Scone , also known as the Stone of Destiny and often referred to in England as The Coronation Stone, is an oblong block of red sandstone, used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland and later the monarchs of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom...
(Stone of Destiny) from Scone Palace and had it placed in a wooden chair at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
. He again stayed in Elgin for two days in September 1303 and then camped at Kinloss Abbey
Kinloss Abbey
Kinloss Abbey is a Cistercian abbey approximately 3 miles east of Forres in the county of Moray, Scotland.The abbey was founded in 1150 by King David I and was first colonised by monks from Melrose Abbey. It received its Papal Bull from Pope Alexander III in 1174, and later came under the...
from the 13th of September till the 4th of October.
At that time the castle at Kinneddar, along with those at Elgin and Duffus, was left under the control of English garrisons. In 1308, Robert the Bruce, taking advantage of King Edward II's preoccupation with matters in England and France, started capturing and usually destroying castles that were either English garrisoned or controlled throughout Scotland. Joined by an army provided by David de Moravia, the Bishop of Moray
Bishop of Moray
The Bishop of Moray or Bishop of Elgin was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Moray in northern Scotland, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics...
, Bruce burned the castles of Inverness and Nairn before seizing and burning Kinneddar castle. He attacked Elgin castle only to be twice repulsed before finally succeeding. King Edward had the Bishop ex-communicated causing him to flee to Norway only to return after Edward's death.
Kinneddar village was still sizable in the early 19th century but dwindled away with the building of the new Lossiemouth, just to the east.
Stotfield
Pictish language
Pictish is a term used for the extinct language or languages thought to have been spoken by the Picts, the people of northern and central Scotland in the Early Middle Ages...
or Gaelic names suggests that incomers settled the area. King David I introduced settlers from other parts of the kingdom as a way of reducing the powers of the lords who had ruled large territories as independent provinces. Indeed, King David put down a rebellion by the Mormaer of Moray
Mormaer of Moray
The Mormaerdom or Kingdom of Moray was a lordship in High Medieval Scotland that was destroyed by King David I of Scotland in 1130. It did not have the same territory as the modern local government council area of Moray, which is a much smaller area, around Elgin...
in 1130 and it is possible that Stotfield dated from shortly after this event. The English speaking inhabitants of the Lothian
Lothian
Lothian forms a traditional region of Scotland, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills....
s would most likely have been the chosen settlers. It is notable that the people inhabiting the Lothians were Angles
Angles
The Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
(formally part of the Kingdom of Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
).
In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Stotfield was primarily a farm hamlet with small scale fishing being carried out. The fishing gradually became more important and the population specialised into farm workers and fishermen. Subsistence was hard but at least it was relatively easy, in this case, for farm and sea food to be bartered. However, the religious strictures introduced following the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
impacted upon the community, especially the fishers.
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
Kirk Session clearly show that the ancient superstitions were at least as important to them as observance of church niceties:
"17 Aprilis 1670 After Sermon the Session Assembling &c. The said day the fishers of Stotefold & Cousea being remitted from yeThorn (letter)Thorn or þorn , is a letter in the Old English, Old Norse, and Icelandic alphabets, as well as some dialects of Middle English. It was also used in medieval Scandinavia, but was later replaced with the digraph th. The letter originated from the rune in the Elder Fuþark, called thorn in the...
Presbetry to this Church discipline for satisfaction of yr (their) great & gross scandall & Idolatrous custome in burning torches on ye new years even The Presbetry having ordained y' (that) those psons mor in accession in this transgression yn (than) oyrs (others)satisfy ye discipline in Sacco And oyra (others) according to the arbitrement of ye Sessione. The Session do yrfore (therefore) ordain John Edward in Stotefold to satisfy in Sacco on day & to pay 20s James Jafray in Cousea to satisfy in the Joges two dayes, Wm Innes Wm Hesbein Thomas Edward & John Thome all of ym (them) to testify yr(their) Repentance by standing at ye pillar And ilk ane of ym (them ) to pay 20s Alexr Innes owner of ye Boats of Stotefold, Wm Young owner of ye boats of Cousea each of ym (them) are ordained to pay 4 libs (pounds). In regard that they had not restrained this abuse Conform to yr (their) engagement before ye Presbetry in Ano 66 (year 1666) The fors (four) psons (persons) all of y snd Compeiring yr (their)sentence being intimated unto ym (them) they accepting & submitting to disciplin were sharpely rebuked exhorted to serious Repentance & enjoyned to satisfy conform to ye ordinance The next Lords day."
But the practices continued and, 35 years later, the minutes from the session records stated:
"23 Dec 1705 Also after sermon ye min1' (the minister) did guard ye Seamen to beware of ye old Heathenish superstitious practice of carrieing of lighted Clevies or torches about yr boats on new years even certifieing all that should be found any manner of way to concurr with or contribute to ye said work—should be put in ye hands of ye civill magistrate."
This is interesting because it shows that the power to fine parishioners had by then been removed and put in the hands of magistrates.
Parish records from Duffus Kirk show that similar experiences were happening at Brughsea (Burghead). It is apparent, therefore, that Clavie burning
Burning the clavie
Burning the clavie is an ancient Scottish custom still observed at Burghead, a fishing village on the Moray Firth. The clavie is a bonfire of casks split in two, lighted on 11 January, i.e. the first day of the year by the Julian Calendar...
was carried out in the three fisher towns of Brughsea, Causie (Covesea) and Stotefold (Stotfield). It is unlikely that this practice would have been restricted to the three Morayshire locations and that it would have been more widespread. Burghead still burns a ceremonial clavie on the eve of the old new year but is no longer associated with fishing boats. A puzzling date for the modern ceremony as the 17th Century ones were held on the 31st of December.
Stotfield fishing disaster
The Stotfield fishing disaster struck on Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
Day 1806. The severity of this tragedy had an enormous effect upon the Stotfield community when every single able bodied male in the village perished in a huge storm. The folk memory of it is still retained among the fishermen of Lossiemouth.
Seatown
A succession of storms had built up large shingle banks to block the outlet of Loch Spynie to the sea. The merchants of Elgin decided that a new harbour that could berth larger trading vessels at the river mouth was required. The fishermen didn't use the new pier however but continued to sail their boats up to the beach at the Seatown. Seatown is called The Toonie by its inhabitants and sometimes referred to as the Dogwall. This was a reference to dogs-skins that were dried here before being turned into floats for nets.
Lossiemouth
At the time that the new river mouth harbour was being constructed, so too was a more planned development laid out in streets running parallel and right angles to each other. An open square with a cross separated the first settlement from the new.
The fishers occupied the houses at the Seatown and the builders, craftsmen and merchants in the new Lossiemouth. Later, a canal cut to drain Loch Spynie, would present a physical barrier to the two communities and entered the River Lossie in this area.
Branderburgh
By the early 19th century, the river harbour was busy but its long-term future was unsustainable and meant that a new solution was sought. In 1834, a Stotfield and Lossiemouth Harbour Company was formed to look into building a new harbour at Stotfield Point. That same year, The Inverness Courier carried the following:"A paragraph is quoted from an Elgin paper under the heading "unexampled economy worthy of imitation." The two senior bailies of the burgh went on behalf of the town to Lossiemouth to meet the gentlemen appointed to stake off the ground for a proposed new harbour. The worthy Magistrates walked the whole distance, five miles out and five miles home, and only spent one shilling! This expenditure consisted of sixpence for whisky and the other sixpence to the waiter."
"The ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the inner basin of the new harbour at Stotfield Point, Lossiemouth, took place on the 15th inst [June]. The stone was laid by Lieut. Colonel James Brander of Pitgaveny, the proprietor of the site, with the assistance of the Trinity Lodge of Freemasons, and in presence of the Chairman and shareholders of the Harbour Company, and representatives of the burgh of Elgin."This was the beginning of the final phase of building that was to become Branderburgh. However, by 1858, the basin had been enlarged further and deepened to 16 feet at spring tides. This encouraged many fishing families from up and down the coast to move to the town. The harbour as well as having a large herring fleet by now, also shared the available space with trading ships. This prompted the now renamed Elgin and Lossiemouth Harbour Company to build a new second basin at a cost of £18,000. This basin was intended solely for fishing boats and opened in 1860.
Branderburgh, with its characteristic wide streets, continued to push its boundaries westward and by the early 20th century finally joined with Stotfield. A substantial amount of sandstone was quarried from the east side of the town to accommodate this rapid house building project. When Lossiemouth and Branderburgh became a police burgh in 1890, the town became mainly known as Lossiemouth, or more commonly – Lossie.
Fishing boats
The boats used at Stotfield, Seatown and finally Branderburgh were the same as those found across the entire Scottish east coast fishery. Chronologically, these were the two masted luggers, the Skaffies, Fifies and Zulus; then the powered Steam Drifters and Seine Netters.
- The Skaffie appeared at the beginning of the 19th Century. These boats were initially small so that they could be easily beached but later versions were heavier when large harbours became prevalent. Their stems were rounded and had raked sterns.
- The Fifie was the predominant fishing boat on the east coast from the 1850s until the mid-1880s. The Fifies main features were the vertical stem and stern. Fifies built from 1860 onwards were all decked and from 1870s onwards the bigger boats were built with carvel planking, i.e. the planks were laid edge to edge instead of the overlapping clinker style of previous boats. Some boats were built up to about 70 feet in length and were very fast.
- The Zulu took its name from the Zulu war that was raging in South Africa at the time. Lossiemouth fisherman William 'Dad' Campbell was the first to introduce this form of fishing boat. His boat, the Nonesuch, had the characteristic vertical stem and steeply raking stern. The Zulu Boats rapidly became very popular in Lossiemouth and then along the whole of the east coast. Because these boats were ultimately very big and fast, they could reach the fishing grounds quickly and return with the catch equally fast.
- The Steam Drifters, so called because just like the Fifies and Zulus, they used drift nets. They were large boats, usually 80–90 feet in length with a beam of around 20 feet. Steam drifters had many advantages. They were usually about 20 ft (6 m) longer than the sailing vessels so they could carry more nets and catch more fish. This was important because the market was growing quickly at the beginning of the 20th century. They could travel faster and further and with greater freedom from weather, wind and tide. Because less time was spent travelling to and from the fishing grounds, more time could be spent fishing. However they did have disadvantages. They were expensive to build and run and as the herring fishery declined they became too expensive to operate.
- The Seine Netters initially were converted Fifies and Zulus. From 1906, petrol and paraffin engines began to be installed, initially for auxiliary power. However, as more powerful engines became available, sails (apart from the mizzen sail) were dispensed with. Danish seine net boats were landing huge quantities of plaice and other white fish at English east coast ports. Lossiemouth fishermen noted this and a few decided to use the seine net. It was obvious that this would be successful, but they were still hampered by the design and cost of the majority steam boats. John Campbell, nephew of William Campbell who designed the first Zulu boat, saw that a new design was needed to accommodate the large amounts of white fish that could be caught. His boat, the Marigold, did very well and over a short period the entire fleet (the first in Scotland) converted to the seine net.
Morayshire Railway
Great North of Scotland Railway
The Great North of Scotland Railway was one of the smaller Scottish railways before the grouping, operating in the far north-east of the country. It was formed in 1845 and received its Parliamentary approval on June 26, 1846, following over two years of local meetings...
took over the working of the line in 1863 and bought the company in 1881 following the Morayshire Railway's return from crippling debt back to solvency. The railway and harbour became very important to the economy of both Lossie and Moray. It was the Morayshire Railway that persuaded Col Brander, of Pitgaveny, to build the bridge from the Seatown to the east beach to encourage more day tripping in the summer months
Timeline
Note: From early maps, Stotfield is known to exist in 16th century (see National Library of Scotland
National Library of Scotland
The National Library of Scotland is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. It is based in a collection of buildings in Edinburgh city centre. The headquarters is on George IV Bridge, between the Old Town and the university quarter...
) but is probably older. Kinneddar is referenced in the 10th Century. http://www.catholic-forum.com/Saints/saintg5l.htm
Geography, geology and wildlife
Moray Firth
The Moray Firth is a roughly triangular inlet of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotland...
, at the mouth of the River Lossie
River Lossie
The River Lossie is a river in north east Scotland. Ptolemy , the Greco / Roman geographer, named it as ost. Loxa Fl. The river originates in the hills above Dallas, in Moray, and has its source 400 meters above sea-level. It enters the sea at Lossiemouth on the Moray Firth...
. To the west of the town are a sandy beach, golf links and the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
station, RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Lossiemouth is a Royal Air Force station to the west of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland. It is one of the RAF's biggest bases and is currently Britain's main base for Tornado GR4s. From 2013 the Northern QRA force of Typhoon F2 will relocate to Lossiemouth following the closure of...
. Lossie Forest is a large pine forest that starts on the town's south-east boundary and the river splits it into two sections. The south side of the town is joined by the fertile plains of the Laich o' Moray.
Lossiemouth Beach is a large strip of dunes separated from the rest of the town by the River Lossie, creating a useful sheltered expanse of water. The town looks down onto this natural harbour with a plain promenade street from which there is a long wooden footbridge leading onto the sands. Ringed plover
Ringed Plover
The Common Ringed Plover or Ringed Plover is a small plover.Adults are 17-19.5 cm in length with a 35–41 cm wingspan. They have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes...
, grey heron
Grey Heron
The Grey Heron , is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in the milder south and west, but many birds retreat in winter from the ice in colder regions...
, black-headed gull
Black-headed Gull
The Black-headed Gull is a small gull which breeds in much of Europe and Asia, and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory, wintering further south, but some birds in the milder westernmost areas of Europe are resident...
, oystercatcher
Oystercatcher
The oystercatchers are a group of waders; they form the family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, Haematopus. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and South East Asia...
, curlew
Curlew
The curlews , genus Numenius, are a group of eight species of birds, characterised by long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. They are one of the most ancient lineages of scolopacid waders, together with the godwits which look similar but have straight bills...
, mallard
Mallard
The Mallard , or Wild Duck , is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia....
and other waders feed under the bridge and are easy to watch from the street, and there are vast numbers of water birds in the more rural area further east.
A large part of the town is built on the Coulard Hill which consists of pale grey and yellow sandstones and with these is associated a cherty and calcareous band, known as 'the cherty rock of Stotfield' . This rock is a form of silica that contains micro-crystalline quartz. Also in the calcareous band of the Stotfield rock there is limestone with nodular masses of flint, crystals of galena (lead ore) and iron pyrites. The quarry on the east side of the town that produced the stone for the building of Branderburgh produced the largest variety and total numbers of fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
s from the late Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
Period to have been found in the UK. This was a total of eight species and 97 individuals; five of the species are unique to Lossiemouth, one of which is an early form of dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
. This quarry is ranked as one of Britain's most important fossil bearing locations of this period.
Demographics
Population Males: 3476 Females: 3397 Total: 6873 Age structure (%) 0 – 4 years: 5.86 5 – 15 years: 14.62 16 – 24 years: 10.74 25 – 44 years: 32.93 45 – 64 years: 22.03 65 – 74 years: 7.42 75+ years: 6.40 Religion (%) Church of Scotland: 41.96 Roman Catholic: 5.69 Other Christian: 16.98 Other non-Christian: 0.70 None: 30.21 Not answered: 4.45 Country of birth (%) Scotland: 73.58 England: 19.83 Wales: 1.63 Other UK: 0.03 Republic of Ireland: 0.25 Other EU: 1.69 Elsewhere: 2.27 Ethnic group (%) White Scottish: 76.31 Other White British: 21.26 White Irish: 1.08 Other White: 1.08 Indian: 0.12 Pakistani: 0.07 Chinese: 0.10 Caribbean: 0.10 African: 0.07 Black Scottish or Other Black: 0.07 Mixed background: 0.20 Other: 0.12 |
Lossiemouth's population in 1901 was 3904
Source: Moray Council from 2001 Census data
Economy
Lossiemouth is heavily dependent on the Royal Air ForceRoyal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
station for its employment of civilians. In 2005, RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Lossiemouth is a Royal Air Force station to the west of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland. It is one of the RAF's biggest bases and is currently Britain's main base for Tornado GR4s. From 2013 the Northern QRA force of Typhoon F2 will relocate to Lossiemouth following the closure of...
along with its neighbour RAF Kinloss
RAF Kinloss
RAF Kinloss is a Royal Air Force station near Kinloss, on the Moray Firth in the north of Scotland. It opened on 1 April 1939 and served as an RAF training establishment during the Second World War. After the war it was handed over to Coastal Command to watch over Russian ships and submarines in...
contributed £156.5 million (including civilian expenditure) to the 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 :...
economy, of which £76.6 million was retained and spent locally. The bases are responsible for providing, directly or indirectly, 21 per cent of all employment in the area.
Before the RAF, fishing was almost the sole industrialised process in Lossiemouth but now contributes very little to the overall economy; in 2001, fishing accounted for 1.62% (55 individuals) of the full-time employment of Lossiemouth. However, some engineering businesses once associated with fishing still exist in the town. Unlike other sizable towns in the area, Lossiemouth has not attracted the large supermarket groups due to its proximity to Elgin which also provides employment to a significant proportion of the working population.
Source: Highland & Islands Enterprise & Moray Council
Transport
Three roads converge on the town. The A941 connects to Elgin, while the B9103 joins the A96 (main Inverness to Aberdeen route) and the B9040 which connects to Hopeman and BurgheadBurghead
Burghead 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...
. There is a regular bus service to and from Elgin.
The nearest railway station is at Elgin
Elgin railway station
Elgin railway station is a railway station serving the town of Elgin, Moray in Scotland. The station is managed by First ScotRail and is on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line....
and offers services every 90 to 120 minutes to both Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
(circa 50 minutes travel time) and Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
(circa 90 minutes travel time), which in turn provide services to the rest of the UK. The former Morayshire Railway
Morayshire Railway
The Morayshire Railway was the first railway to be built north of Aberdeen, in Scotland. It received royal assent in 1846 but construction did not start until 1851 due to the economic conditions existing in the United Kingdom at the time. The railway was built in two phases with the section from...
line to Elgin was closed to passenger traffic in 1964 and goods in 1966. The former railway route has been turned into a footpath, and the edge of the station platform is visible in the main car park near the harbour.
There is a frequent bus service from Lossiemouth to Elgin.
Similarly, Inverness Airport
Inverness Airport
Inverness Airport is an international airport situated at Dalcross, north east of the city of Inverness in Highland, Scotland. The airport is the main gateway for travellers to the north of Scotland with a wide range of scheduled services throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, and limited...
(36 miles / 58 km) and Aberdeen Airport
Aberdeen Airport
Aberdeen Airport is an international airport, located at Dyce, a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, approximately northwest of Aberdeen city centre. 2.76 million passengers used Aberdeen Airport in 2010, a reduction of 7.4% compared with 2009, making it the 15th busiest airport in the UK...
(62 miles / 101 km) offer a wide range of destinations.
National governments
- Lossiemouth is in the Moray (Westminster) constituencyMoray (UK Parliament constituency)-Sources:* * * * * * -See also:...
of the The United Kingdom ParliamentParliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
which returns a Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) to the House of Commons,http://www.parliament.uk/about_commons/about_commons.cfm at WestminsterPalace of WestminsterThe Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
.
- Lossiemouth is in the Moray constituencyMoray (Scottish Parliament constituency)Moray is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
of the The Scottish ParliamentScottish ParliamentThe Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/home.htm which has slightly different boundaries to the UK Parliament constituency of the same name. The constituency returns a Member of the Scottish ParliamentMember of the Scottish ParliamentMember of the Scottish Parliament is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.-Methods of Election:MSPs are elected in one of two ways:...
(MSP) to HolyroodScottish Parliament BuildingThe Scottish Parliament Building is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Edinburgh. Construction of the building commenced in June 1999 and the Members of the Scottish Parliament held their first debate in the new building on 7...
and is part of the Highlands and Islands electoral region.
Local government
- see also Moray council election, 2007Moray council election, 2007Elections to The Moray Council were held on 3 May 2007, the same day as the Scottish Parliament election. The election was the first using the eight new wards created under the Local Governance Act 2004. 26 councillors were elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral...
- Lossiemouth is part of The Moray Council and elects its four representatives as part of the Heldon and Laich ward. As of May 3, 2007, these are John Hogg, Eric McGillivray, David Stewart and Allan Wright.
Secondary
- Lossiemouth High SchoolLossiemouth High SchoolLossiemouth High School is a secondary school situated in the coastal town of Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland.The school's catchment area includes the nearby villages of Burghead, Hopeman, Cummingston and Duffus. The feeder primaries are Hythehill, St. Gerardine's, Hopeman and Burghead. There are over...
is located in the south west of the town by the playing fields. Adjacent to the school is the swimming pool and community centre, which incorporates a playschool. Lossie High serves the Burghsea area, dominated by Lossiemouth itself and the villages Hopeman, 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...
, Cummingston and DuffusDuffusDuffus is a village in Moray, Scotland, centred on a Mercat Cross. The Duffus Village Inn, along with the local shop, Post Office and Duffus Village Hall provide a focal point for the community. Nearby are the impressive remains of Duffus Castle, St...
. The feeder primaries are Hythehill, St. Gerardine's, Hopeman and Burghead. There are over 700 pupils separated into four houses; Covesea, Kinnedar, Pitgaveny and Spynie.
Further
- Ecosse Performers College is located at 56 High Street.
Religion
The following religious denominations have places of worship in Lossiemouth: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....
- St Gerardine's High, Drainie Parish Church, St Gerardines Road
- St James’ Church, Prospect Terrace
United Free Church of Scotland
United Free Church of Scotland
The United Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland...
- United Free Church, St Gerardines Road
Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
- Lossiemouth Baptist Church, King Street
Plymouth Brethren
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
- Gospel Hall, James Street
Scottish Episcopal
Scottish Episcopal Church
The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian church in Scotland, consisting of seven dioceses. Since the 17th century, it has had an identity distinct from the presbyterian Church of Scotland....
- St Margaret’s Church, Stotfield Road
Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
- St Columba's Church, Union Street
Culture and leisure
- Lossiemouth Cruising Club The Marina, Pitgaveny Quay
- Moray Golf ClubMoray Golf ClubMoray Golf Club is situated in Lossiemouth , Moray, Scotland. The club has two eighteen hole courses appropriately called the Old Course and the New Course. The club has played host to many championships, both amateur and professional...
, Stotfield Road. The club has two 18 hole courses. - The Warehouse, Pitgaveny Quay - Small intimate theatre/live music venue
- Lossiemouth Fisheries and Community Museum, Pitgaveny Quay
- Lossiemouth Folk Club
- Lossiemouth Bowling Club, St Gerardines Road
- Public Library, Town Hall Lane
- Swimming pool, adjacent to Lossiemouth High School
- Lossiemouth Youth Cafe (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat)
Sport
The town's main footballFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
club is Lossiemouth F.C.
Lossiemouth F.C.
Lossiemouth F.C. are a senior football club from Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland. They play in the Highland Football League.Founded in 1945, they were admitted to the Highland League in the following year and have played in that league ever since. The club play their football at Grant Park...
, nicknamed "The Coasters", who play in the Highland Football League
Highland Football League
The Press & Journal Highland Football League is a league of football clubs operating not just in the Scottish Highlands, as the name may suggest, but also in the north-east lowlands...
. The club play their home games at Grant Park. They have won several trophies in recent seasons, including the Highland League Cup and several North of Scotland Cups. The local derby had been versus Elgin City FC, however their promotion to the higher Scottish leagues in recent years have reduced the frequency of the matches. The town's junior football club is Lossiemouth United. RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Lossiemouth is a Royal Air Force station to the west of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland. It is one of the RAF's biggest bases and is currently Britain's main base for Tornado GR4s. From 2013 the Northern QRA force of Typhoon F2 will relocate to Lossiemouth following the closure of...
also has a junior football club. In addition, the station has a rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and a cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
club that play in their respective North of Scotland leagues and a rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
side that plays in the Scotland Rugby League
Scotland Rugby League
The Scottish Rugby Football League is the governing body for rugby league football in Scotland. It administers the Scotland national rugby league teams jointly with the Rugby Football League....
as the Moray Eels; most station teams also play in their respective RAF competitions. The Moray Golf Club
Moray Golf Club
Moray Golf Club is situated in Lossiemouth , Moray, Scotland. The club has two eighteen hole courses appropriately called the Old Course and the New Course. The club has played host to many championships, both amateur and professional...
is the town's golf club and has two courses, the Old Course established in 1889, designed by Old Tom Morris who predicted that it would become the best in the north, and the 18 hole New Course, designed by Sir Henry Cotton, opened in 1979.
Language
The dialect of the Scots languageScots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
spoken in Lossiemouth was closely related to the Doric dialect
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:...
that was prevalent in 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...
. Many variations of this dialect can be heard along the Grampian coast, identifiable dialects from towns as close as 5 miles apart (i.e. Lossiemouth and Hopeman
Hopeman
Hopeman 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:...
) is not unheard of. Just as the Doric is in decline, however, so it is in Lossiemouth. The reasons for this include the demise of Lossiemouth as a fishing port where its fishermen used Scots extensively. In fishing towns such as Peterhead and Fraserburgh, Scots is still widely spoken. In Lossiemouth, though, the high level of employment at the RAF station and a large population of non-Scots (nearly 25%) has hastened this decline. Quite a lot of the words still remain in use but on the whole, Scottish English
Scottish English
Scottish English refers to the varieties of English spoken in Scotland. It may or may not be considered distinct from the Scots language. It is always considered distinct from Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic language....
is increasingly spoken among the indigenous population.
Notable Lossie-ites
- James Ramsay MacDonald First British Labour Prime Minister (1866–1937)
- Malcolm John MacDonald Labour MP, Minister, diplomat and author (1901–1981)
- Sergeant Alexander EdwardsAlexander EdwardsAlexander Edwards VC was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, VC, cooper and soldier (1885–1918) - Gordon Campbell, Baron Campbell of CroyGordon Campbell, Baron Campbell of CroyGordon Thomas Calthrop Campbell, Baron Campbell of Croy, MC, PC, DL , born in Lossiemouth, Moray, and a Scottish Conservative & Unionist politician....
, MC PC DL Soldier, diplomat, Conservative MP, Cabinet Minister and Peer (1921–2005) - Stewart ImlachStewart Imlach-External links:* * by Angus Robertson MP....
Professional Footballer, Internationalist (1932–2001) - David West, RSWDavid West, RSWDavid West, RSW, was a watercolour painter of land, sea and sky. He was born on 12 November 1868 in Lossiemouth, the youngest of 12 children, and died 8 October 1936 in Glasgow following a seizure.- Life and career:...
Watercolour artist, gold prospector, sailor (1868–1936) - Meg FarquharMeg FarquharMeg Farquhar was the first female professional golfer in Britain when, aged 19, she became assistant to George Smith, the resident Professional at the Moray Golf Club in 1929....
First female professional golfer in Britain (1910 - 1988) - John GardenJohn GardenJohn Smith "Jock" Garden , clergyman, Australian trade unionist and politician, was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Australia.-Early life:...
Baptist minister, Australian politician and founder member of Australian Communist Party (1882–1968) - George Fraser Leading hybridizer of rhododendrons in British Columbia, Canada
- Sir Alex Smith Former Head of Advanced Research, Rolls-Royce (1922 - 28 February 2003)
- Peter Kerr Jazz musician, farmer, record producer and author
- John Todd, Local painter and artist
Snippets
Two Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
vessels, both named after the River Lossie
River Lossie
The River Lossie is a river in north east Scotland. Ptolemy , the Greco / Roman geographer, named it as ost. Loxa Fl. The river originates in the hills above Dallas, in Moray, and has its source 400 meters above sea-level. It enters the sea at Lossiemouth on the Moray Firth...
, were involved in rescues following torpedo sinkings during the Second World War.
- HMS Lossie, a River class frigate, was patrolling in the Indian Ocean. On the 29 June 1944, the freighter Nellore was sunk and a week later HMS Lossie picked up 112 crewmen including the captain near the Chagos Archipelago and landed them at Addu AtollAddu AtollAddu City is a city in Maldives consisting of the inhabited islands of the southernmost atoll of the archipelago....
. - HMS River Lossie (requisitioned Aberdeen drifter A332) picked up the master and 41 crew members of the merchant ship Cairnmona off Rattray Head on 30 October 1939 after she was sunk by a GermanGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
U-boatU-boatU-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
while in a convoy bound from MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
to LeithLeith-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
and NewcastleNewcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
.
Footnotes
Source for money calculations at - http://eh.net/hmit/ppowerbp/