Gardenstown

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Gardenstown
Scots: Gamrie
Banffshire
Gardenstown from the Sea.jpg
Gardenstown
Location
Location: 57°39’58"N, 2°19’59"W
Data
Post town: Banff
Postcode: AB45
Dialling code: 01261
Local Government
Council: Aberdeenshire
Parliamentary
constituency:
Banff and Buchan

Gardenstown is a small coastal village in the parish of Gamrie, Banffshire, nine miles east by road east of Banff. The village's main economic base is fishing. Gardenstown is served by Gamrie Parish Church. The hamlet of Dubford is to the south, and a footpath along the shore to the east leads to the village of Crovie.

History

There is evidence of Neolithic or Bronze Age peoples having settled in the vicinity of Gardenstown; notably at Longman Hill[1] and Cairn Lee. Nearby are the remains of the Church of St John the Evangelist which was built in 1513, and celebrates the defeat of the Danes at this site in 1004 in the 'Battle of the Bloody Pits'.[2]

Gardenstown was founded in 1720 by Alexander Garden as a fishing village. A church was built in 1875, and the parish of Gardenstown was separated from Gamrie on 16 March 1885.[3] In 1953, heavy flooding washed away two houses in the village.

In May 2007, a TV series titled The Baron was filmed in and around the village. The series featured three celebrities — Malcolm McLaren, Mike Reid and Suzanne Shaw — competing to be elected "Baron of Troup". During the filming, McLaren was thrown out of the village for unruly behaviour,[4] leaving Reid and Shaw to contest the final election, which was won by Reid.

Between 2008-2010, an ethnographic study of the social, religious and economic life of the village was conducted by anthropologist Joseph Webster. This was published by Palgrave in 2013 as a book entitled The Anthropology of Protestantism: Faith and Crisis among Scottish Fishermen.[5]

Landmarks and local economy

Gamrie Parish Church

A permanent meteorological station is situated at Gardenstown. The village is served by Gamrie Parish Church and has a pub, an osteopathy clinic[6] and a whale and dolphin rescue centre.[7] Until recently there was a bakery and a butcher's shop.

Notable people

  • Joseph Watt, recipient of the Victoria Cross

References

Outside links

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("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Gardenstown)