Rathen is a parish and hamlet near Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. In Scottish Gaelic, its name means fort on the river.[1]
| Rathen | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Rathen Kirk and adjacent but and ben | |
  Rathen Location within Aberdeenshire | |
| OS grid reference | NK000607 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | FRASERBURGH |
| Postcode district | AB43 |
| Dialling code | 01346 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
On the coast is Cairnbulg Point, flanking the eastern side of Fraserburgh Bay.[1] Mormond Hill (769 feet (234 m)) 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
edit-
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
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Graphic and Accurate Description of Every Place in Scotland, Frances Hindes Groome (1901), p. 1363
- ^ a b c d e 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
External links
edit- Rathen at Scottish-Places.info
- Photographs of Rathen at Geograph.org.uk
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