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Scottish Counties:
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire (Siorrachd Obar Dheathain in Gaelic) is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland. Present day Aberdeenshire does not include Aberdeen City which is a unitary authority in its own right. However, Aberdeenshire Council has its headquarters at Woodhill House, in Aberdeen; the only Scottish council whose headquarters are based outside of the council area. Aberdeenshire borders Angus and Perth and Kinross to the south, and Highland and Moray to the west. The present council area is named after the historic county of Aberdeenshire which had different boundaries and was abolished in 1975. Between 1975 and 1996 the area was incorporated within the region of Grampian, with local government being carried out by three district councils; Banff and Buchan, Gordon and Kincardine and Deeside.
Suggested Reading: Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire: An Almanac by Oliver and Boyd |
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Angus
Angus (Aonghas in Gaelic) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders onto Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and the City of Dundee. Main industries include agriculture and fishing. Angus was historically a county (known officially by its anglified title of Forfarshire until 1928) until 1975 when it became a district of the Tayside Region. In 1996 the region was abolished and Angus was established as a unitary authority. The former county had borders with Kincardineshire to the north-east, county of Aberdeenshire to the north and Perthshire to the west. Southwards, it faced Fife across the Firth of Tay. Areas similar to that of the council area are covered by the Angus Westminster constituency and Angus Holyrood constituency. The area can be split into three geographic areas. To the north and west, the topography is mountainous. This is the area of the five Angus Glens. The area is sparsely populated and the main industry is hill-farming. In the south and east, the topography consists of rolling hills bordering the sea. The area is fairly well populated with the larger towns and the City of Dundee on the coast. In between these two areas lies Strathmore, the Great Valley, a fertile agricultural area, noted for potatoes, Angus cattle, and soft fruit.
Suggested Reading: Fife, Perthshire and Angus by Bruce Walker |
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Argyll
Argyll, archaically Argyle (Earra-Ghàidheal in modern Gaelic), is a region of western Scotland corresponding with ancient Dál Riata, and can be used to mean the entire western seaboard between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath. The early thirteenth century author of De Situ Albanie explains that "the name Arregathel means margin of the Scots or Irish, because all Scots and Irish are generally called Gattheli [=Gaels], from their ancient warleader known as Gaithelglas." Argyll was a medieval Bishopric too, with its cathedral at Lismore, as well as an early modern Earldom and Duchy, the Duchy of Argyll. It was also a county of Scotland until 1975, when Scottish counties were abolished for virtually all administrative purposes. At the time of abolition the county had boundaries as shown in the map herewith. In this form it is known also as Argyllshire. Argyll's neighbouring counties were Inverness-shire, Perthshire, Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, Ayrshire and Bute. Renfrewshire and Ayrshire were the other side of the Firth of Clyde. Bute was a county of islands in the firth.
Suggested Reading: Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders by William Mcelwee |
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Ayrshire
Ayrshire (Siorrachd Inbhir Àir in Scottish Gaelic) is a region of south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and the new town (and ancient royal burgh) of Irvine. The town of Troon (pop. 20,000) on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the last seven years, eight times in total, including the most recent one in 2004. Approximately 200,000 visitors come to Troon during this period. Ayrshire, under the name the County of Ayr, is a registration county. The electoral and valuation area named Ayrshire covers the three council areas of South Ayrshire, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire, therefore including the Isle of Arran, Great Cumbrae and Little Cumbrae, which are not always included when the term Ayrshire is applied to the region. The same area is known as Ayrshire and Arran in other contexts.
Suggested Reading: Old South Ayrshire Villages by Hugh Maxwell |
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Banffshire
The County of Banff is a registration county for property, and Banffshire (Siorrachd Bhanbh in Gaelic) is a Lieutenancy area of Scotland. The County of Banff, also known as Banffshire, was a county of Scotland between 1890 and 1975. The county town was Banff. It bordered the Moray Firth to the north, Moray and Inverness-shire to the west, and Aberdeenshire to the south. The county contained various exclaves which were locally situated in Aberdeenshire, the biggest being the parish and village of St. Fergus. The region remained largely Roman Catholic after the Reformation (16th century) and suffered greatly in the ensuing struggles. During the English Civil War (17th century), Banffshire was a Royalist stronghold. Located in the area are the ruins of several medieval castles and the 12th century kirk of Gamrie. From 1975 to 1996, the area of the previous County lay within the Grampian Region. The County's area is now split between Moray council and Aberdeenshire council.
Berwickshire
Berwickshire is a committee area of the Scottish Borders Council and a Lieutenancy area of Scotland, on the border with England. Berwickshire was formerly one of the ancient traditional county, but was abolished in 1975. From 1975 until 1996 Berwickshire was a District Council within the former Borders Regional Council. Its traditional county town, after which it is named, had been Berwick-upon-Tweed, but the town changed hands in 1482 and has been part of the county of Northumberland, in England, ever since. Berwickshire was sometimes unofficially called Duns-shire because of this anomaly. Places in Berwickshire include Coldstream, Duns, Eyemouth, Earlston, Lauder, Swinton, Foulden, and Greenlaw.
Buteshire
Bute, also known as Buteshire, was a local government county of Scotland with its own elected county council from 1890 to 1975. The council area comprised a number of islands in the Firth of Clyde, between the local govenment counties of Argyll and Ayrshire, the principal islands being the Isle of Bute, the Isle of Arran, Great Cumbrae and Little Cumbrae. The county town was Rothesay, located on the Isle of Bute. In 1975 the county area was divided between the Argyll and Cunninghame districts of the Strathclyde region. The Isle of Bute became part of Argyll while the Isle of Arran and the Cumbraes became part of Cunninghame. As a result of local government reorganisation in 1996, when unitary council areas were created, the Isle of Bute is now part of Argyll and Bute, and the other islands are within North Ayrshire.
Caithness
Caithness (Gallaibh in Gaelic)[1] is a committee area of Highland Council, Scotland; a lieutenancy area; and a registration county, Caithness was formerly a district within the Highland region from 1975 to 1996 and a local government county with its own county council from 1891 to 1975. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (1708 to 1918). The boundaries of Caithness are not identical in all contexts. Caithness has a land boundary with Sutherland. Otherwise it is bounded by sea. The land boundary follows a watershed and is crossed by two roads (the A9 and the A836) and one railway. Across the Pentland Firth ferries link Caithness with Orkney, and Caithness has also an airport at Wick. Wick is a Royal Burgh and is the former county town. The only other burgh in Caithness is Thurso.
Suggested Reading: Inventors and Engineers of Caithness by Robert P. Gunn |
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Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire (Siorrachd Chlach Mhannainn in Gaelic) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area, bordering Perth and Kinross, Stirling and Fife. Clackmannanshire Council logoIn terms of population, it is the smallest council area in mainland Scotland, with a population of 49,000, around half of whom live in the main town, Alloa, which is the administrative centre, having outgrown Clackmannan in 1822. The motto of Clackmannanshire is 'Look Aboot Ye'.
Suggested Reading: The heartland: Clackmannanshire, Perthshire and Stirlingshire by Nigel G Tranter |
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Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire (Siorrachd Dhùn Phris in Gaelic) was a county of Scotland. Its county town was Dumfries. It bordered Kirkcudbrightshire to the west, Ayrshire to the north-west, Lanarkshire, Peeblesshire and Selkirkshire to the north, and Roxburghshire to the east. To the south is the coast of the Solway Firth, and across the English border, the traditional county of Cumberland. Today it forms part of the council area known as Dumfries and Galloway.
Dunbartonshire
Dunbartonshire (Siorrachd Dhùn Bhreatainn in Gaelic) or the County of Dumbarton, is a lieutenancy area and a registration county of Scotland. Between 1890 and 1975 it was a county. The area had been previously been part of the historic district of Lennox, which was a duchy in the Peerage of Scotland, see Duke of Lennox. Dumbarton was formerly the county town. Dumbartonshire County Council was set up in 1889/90, and at the beginning of the 20th century, some influential councillors had spelling of the County name changed from Dumbartonshire to Dunbartonshire. The justification was that that Dumbarton derives from the Gaelic Dùn Breatainn, but the town stuck with the name Dumbarton, and some people continue to refer to the county as Dumbartonshire. The county retained a large exclave despite the boundary changes in the 1890s elsewhere in Scotland, containing Kirkintilloch and Cumbernauld, between Stirlingshire and Lanarkshire.
East Lothian
East Lothian (Lodainn an Ear in Gaelic) is one of 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative capital is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh. The council area was created in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, with the boundaries of the East Lothian district of the Lothian region. The district had been created in 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, and it consisted of the local government county of East Lothian, plus the burgh of Musselburgh and an Inveresk area, both formerly within the county of Midlothian. When abolished, for local government purposes, in 1975, the county of East Lothian bordered the county of Midlothian to the west, and the county of Berwick to the south. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. Although border changes saw several villages on the outskirts of Edinburgh (e.g. Whitecraig) transferred to the cunty, most residents of the "old Haddingtonshire" do not regard them as part of the same county.
Suggested Reading: East Lothian and the Borders by David MacAdam |
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Fife
Fife (Fìobh in Gaelic) is a council area of Scotland, situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with landward boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire. It was originally one of the Pictish kingdoms, known as Fib, and is still commonly known as the Kingdom of Fife within Scotland. It is a lieutenancy area, and was a county of Scotland until 1975. It was very occasionally known by the anglification Fifeshire in old documents and maps compiled by English cartographers and authors. A person from Fife is known as a Fifer. From 1975 to 1996 Fife was a local government region divided into three districts — Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and North-East Fife. Since 1996 the functions of the district councils have been exercised by the unitary Fife Council. The historical town of St Andrews is located on the east coast of Fife. It is well known for one of the most ancient universities in Europe, and as the home of golf.
Suggested Reading: The Witches of Fife: Witch-hunting in a Scottish Shire, 1560-1710 by Stuart Macdonald |
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Inverness-shire
Inverness-shire (Siorrachd Inbhir Nis in Gaelic) was one of the former counties of Scotland. The main town was Inverness. The county covered a large mainland area and various island areas off the west coast. The mainland area had coastline in both the east and the west and included the towns of Kingussie, Fort William and Mallaig. The island areas included North Uist, South Uist, and Harris in the Outer Hebrides, and Skye and the Small Isles in the Inner Hebrides. The county was made up of the historic districts of Inverness (without Nairn), parts of Lochaber and Badenoch during reorganisation due to Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, this Act established a uniform system of county councils and town councils in Scotland and restructured many of Scotland’s counties.
Suggested Reading: Inverness by Norman Newton |
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