Rathen
| Rathen | |
| Aberdeenshire | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Rathen Kirk and adjacent but and ben | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NK000607 |
| Location: | 57°38’0"N, 2°0’7"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Fraserburgh |
| Postcode: | AB43 |
| Dialling code: | 01346 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Aberdeenshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Banff and Buchan |
Rathen is a parish and hamlet near Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire. In Scottish Gaelic, its name means fort on the river.[1]
On the coast is Cairnbulg Point, flanking the eastern side of Fraserburgh Bay.[1] Mormond Hill (769 ft) sits on the borders of Rathen, Strichen and Lonmay.[1] Rathen Burn runs through the parish for three miles.[1]
The old kirk, St Ethernan's,[2] is one of the most ancient in Aberdeenshire. The church was given, by Marjory, Countess of Buchan, to Arbroath Abbey in the 13th century.[1] In 1328, Robert the Bruce, a year before his death, granted it to the college and canons of Old Machar.[1] A sundial was added in the kirkyard in 1625,[2] and the church's nave was erected by the Frasers of Memsie in 1646.[1] While the belfry dates from 1782, its bell has the inscription Peter Jansen, 1643.[1] Also in the kirkyard are the burials of the great great grandparents of the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg.[2]
The church was replaced in 1868 by a new construction, designed by William Smith,[2] to the east of its predecessor.[1]
There is also a free church, Inverallochy and Rathen East Church,[3] two miles northeast of Rathen.[4]
At the end of the 19th century, the main residence was Mormond House (formerly Cortese House),[2] with House of Memsie being used as a farmhouse.[1]
Rathen railway station formerly existed as part of the now-defunct Formartine and Buchan Railway.
Gallery
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Rathen Parish Church -
The remains of Rathen Old Kirk -
The former Rathen East Kirk in nearby Mosstown -
Inverallochy and Rathen East Church -
Rathen War Memorial
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References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Graphic and Accurate Description of Every Place in Scotland, Frances Hindes Groome (1901), p. 1363
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 McKean, Charles (1990). Banff & Buchan: An Illustrated Architectural Guide. Mainstream Publications Ltd.. p. 137. ISBN 185158-231-2.
- ↑ Inverallochy and Rathen East Church official website
- ↑ Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Graphic and Accurate Description of Every Place in Scotland, Frances Hindes Groome (1901), p. 1364
Outside links
- Rathen at Scottish-Places.info
- Photographs of Rathen at Geograph.org.uk
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