Muchalls
Encyclopedia
Muchalls is a small coastal ex-fishing village in Kincardineshire
, Scotland
, south of Newtonhill
and north of Stonehaven
. Muchalls is situated slightly north of a smaller hamlet known as the Bridge of Muchalls
. At the western edge of Muchalls is the historic Saint Ternan's Church
. The rugged North Sea
coast
line near Muchalls features numerous cliffs, sea stacks and headland
s, not infrequently in haar
. The Grim Brigs
headland is situated at Muchalls southern edge and Doonie Point
headland is approximately 1.5 kilometres south.
Charles Dickens
visited Muchalls in its heyday as a Victorian resort and declared that Muchalls was a remarkably beautiful place. Footage was recorded in Muchalls for the 1990 film Hamlet
. Muchalls is the birthplace of Richard Henry Brunton
, considered the father of Japanese lighthouse
s.
trackway
, which was constructed on high ground to make passable this only available medieval route from coast
al points south from Stonehaven
to Aberdeen
. This ancient passage specifically connected the River Dee
crossing (where the present Bridge of Dee
is situated) via Gillybrands
, Muchalls Castle
and Stonehaven
to the south. The route was that taken by William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal
and the Marquess of Montrose when they led a Covenanter
army
of 9000 men in the battle
of the Civil War
in 1639. From Muchalls Castle to the sea is a secret cave about one mile long which smugglers once used. The cave is said to be haunted by the green lady. The cave has been boarded up at the castle end and at the sea and (near the bridge of Muchalls) it has collapsed just below the railway line.
Kincardineshire
The County of Kincardine, also known as Kincardineshire or The Mearns was a local government county on the coast of northeast Scotland...
, 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...
, south of Newtonhill
Newtonhill
Newtonhill is a farming village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It has been popular with farm workers and tradesmen for decades for its cheap housing and location, just six miles south of Aberdeen.-Facilities:...
and north of Stonehaven
Stonehaven
Stonehaven is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 9,577 in 2001 census.Stonehaven, county town of Kincardineshire, grew around an Iron Age fishing village, now the "Auld Toon" , and expanded inland from the seaside...
. Muchalls is situated slightly north of a smaller hamlet known as the Bridge of Muchalls
Bridge of Muchalls
Bridge of Muchalls is an entirely residential hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland by the North Sea. It is on the A90 dual carriageway about three miles north of Stonehaven and to the south of Muchalls Castle....
. At the western edge of Muchalls is the historic Saint Ternan's Church
Saint Ternan's Church
Saint Ternan's Church is an Episcopal church near Muchalls in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The church was built in 1831 on land granted by the owners of Muchalls Castle. A very early Episcopal church had been constructed within Muchalls Castle itself in the first quarter of the 17th century...
. The rugged North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
line near Muchalls features numerous cliffs, sea stacks and headland
Headland
A headland is a point of land, usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends out into a body of water.Headland can also refer to:*Headlands and bays*headLand, an Australian television series...
s, not infrequently in haar
Haar (fog)
In meteorology, haar is a coastal fog along certain lands bordering the North Sea; the term is primarily but not only, applied in eastern Scotland. Research has shown that haar is typically formed over the sea and is brought to land by wind advection....
. The Grim Brigs
Grim Brigs
Grim Brigs is a rocky headland on the North Sea at Muchalls, Scotland. Notable historic features in this vicinity include St. Ternan's Church, Muchalls Castle and Elsick House. Approximately one kilometre inland is the noted medieval drovers' road known as the Causey Mounth...
headland is situated at Muchalls southern edge and Doonie Point
Doonie Point
Doonie Point is a rocky headland situated approximately 1.5 kilometres south of the village of Muchalls in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The clifftop of Doonie Point yields views to the north of Grim Brigs, Brown Jewel and the coast of Newtonhill. To the south are views of the Castle Rock of Muchalls...
headland is approximately 1.5 kilometres south.
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
visited Muchalls in its heyday as a Victorian resort and declared that Muchalls was a remarkably beautiful place. Footage was recorded in Muchalls for the 1990 film Hamlet
Hamlet (1990 film)
Hamlet is a 1990 drama film based on the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet. It was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, with Mel Gibson as the young Prince Hamlet...
. Muchalls is the birthplace of Richard Henry Brunton
Richard Henry Brunton
Richard Henry Brunton FRGS MICE was the so-called "Father of Japanese lighthouses". Brunton was born in Muchalls, Kincardineshire, Scotland...
, considered the father of Japanese lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
s.
History
Muchalls is situated slightly to the east of the ancient Causey MounthCausey Mounth
The Causey Mounth is an ancient drovers' road over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This route was developed as the main highway between Stonehaven and Aberdeen around the 12th century AD and it continued to function as the principal route connecting these...
trackway
Trackway
A trackway is an ancient route of travel for people or animals. In biology, a trackway can be a set of impressions in the soft earth, usually a set of footprints, left by an animal. A fossil trackway is the fossilized imprint of a trackway. Trackways have been found all over the world...
, which was constructed on high ground to make passable this only available medieval route from coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
al points south from Stonehaven
Stonehaven
Stonehaven is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 9,577 in 2001 census.Stonehaven, county town of Kincardineshire, grew around an Iron Age fishing village, now the "Auld Toon" , and expanded inland from the seaside...
to 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 ....
. This ancient passage specifically connected the River Dee
River Dee, Aberdeenshire
The River Dee is a river in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It rises in the Cairngorms and flows through Strathdee to reach the North Sea at Aberdeen...
crossing (where the present Bridge of Dee
Bridge of Dee
The Bridge of Dee or Brig o' Dee is a road bridge over the River Dee in Aberdeen, Scotland. The term is also used for the surrounding area of the city. Dating from 1527, the bridge crosses at what was once the City of Aberdeen's southern boundary...
is situated) via Gillybrands
Gillybrands
Gillybrands is an historic coaching inn and present day farm steading near Cammachmore, Scotland. It was operating as a coaching inn along the ancient Causey Mounth drovers' road as early as the twelfth century AD, and original stone foundations from that era are extant. Other nearby historic...
, Muchalls Castle
Muchalls Castle
Muchalls Castle stands overlooking the North Sea in the countryside of Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The lower course is a well preserved double groined 13th century towerhouse structure, built by the Frasers of Muchalls. Upon this structure, the 17th century castle was begun by...
and Stonehaven
Stonehaven
Stonehaven is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 9,577 in 2001 census.Stonehaven, county town of Kincardineshire, grew around an Iron Age fishing village, now the "Auld Toon" , and expanded inland from the seaside...
to the south. The route was that taken by William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal
William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal
William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal was a Scottish nobleman and Covenanter. He was the eldest son of William Keith, 6th Earl Marischal...
and the Marquess of Montrose when they led a Covenanter
Covenanter
The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...
army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
of 9000 men in the battle
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
of the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
in 1639. From Muchalls Castle to the sea is a secret cave about one mile long which smugglers once used. The cave is said to be haunted by the green lady. The cave has been boarded up at the castle end and at the sea and (near the bridge of Muchalls) it has collapsed just below the railway line.
External links
- Muchalls on the Kincardineshire Coast - A Health Resort, By William Paul, 1896
- Solar Eclipse 2003 at Muchalls
See also
- Brown JewelBrown JewelThe Brown Jewel is a sea stack on the North Sea coast of Scotland, north of the village of Muchalls in Aberdeenshire.-History:Brown Jewel is situated somewhat to the east of the ancient Causey Mounth trackway, which route was constructed on high ground to make passable this medieval passage from...
- Burn of PheppieBurn of PheppieThe Burn of Pheppie is an easterly flowing coastal stream in Aberdeenshire, Scotland that discharges to the North Sea immediately north of the village of Muchalls. Draining chiefly agricultural lands, this stream has a notable lack of turbidity and a pH level of approximately 8.02...
- Frasers of MuchallsFrasers of MuchallsThe Frasers of Muchal-in Mar, sometimes referred to as the Frasers of Muchalls, were a branch of the Fraser family in Scotland.In 1366 Thomas Fraser, a descendant of Sir Alexander Fraser of Cornton brother of Sir Richard Fraser of Touch-Fraser, exchanged the lands in Petyndreich, Stirlingshire for...
- Mill of MuchallsMill of MuchallsThe Mill of Muchalls is an historic water powered mill located along the Burn of Muchalls in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This mill is situated near to the coast of the North Sea proximate to Doonie Point. The earliest position of the village of Muchalls lay slightly to the south of the Mill of...