Banffshire | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | Scotland |
| County town | Banff |
| Area | |
• Total | 641 sq mi (1,660 km2) |
| Ranked 13th of 34 | |
| Chapman code | BAN |
| Website | www |
Banffshire (/ˈbænfʃər/;Scots:Coontie o Banffshire;Scottish Gaelic:Siorrachd Bhanbh) is ahistoric county inScotland. Thecounty town isBanff, although the largest settlement isBuckie to the west. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 the area has been split between theAberdeenshire andMoraycouncil areas. The historic county boundaries of Banffshire are still used for certain functions, being aregistration county andlieutenancy area.
It borders theMoray Firth to the north,Moray andInverness-shire to the west, andAberdeenshire to the east and south.
Considerable evidence ofprehistoric human habitation exists in the area, particularly near the coast. Examples include thecairn atLongman Hill andCairn Lee, near theBurn of Myrehouse.[1][2]
The area also includes the ruins of several medieval castles and the 12th centurykirk ofGamrie.
Banffshire's origins as ashire (the area administered by asheriff) are obscure. There is some evidence that it was a shire from the time ofDavid I (reigned 1124–1153), but the earliest documentedSheriff of Banff was in the 13th century.[3]
The sheriff's jurisdiction covered a number ofprovincial lordships which then existed between the largerprovinces ofMoray to the west andBuchan to the east. The lordships includedBoyne andEnzie on the coast, plus the inland areas ofStrathisla and several small lordships along the eastern side of thestrath of theRiver Spey and its tributaries, includingGlenlivet,Strathavon andGlenfiddich. The shire was long and thin; the main towns were generally in the wider part to the north near the coast, but the shire had a long, more sparsely populated, tail extending some 50 miles (80 km) along the Spey into theGrampian Mountains.[4]
The boundaries of the older provinces were not always firmly defined, and some of the smaller provincial lordships were sometimes deemed to be subordinate to a larger province. Banffshire was sometimes said to include parts of the provinces of Moray and Buchan.[5][6]
Over time, Scotland's shires became more significant than the old provinces, with more administrative functions being given to the sheriffs. In 1667Commissioners of Supply were established for each shire, which would serve as the main administrative body for the area until the creation of county councils in 1890. Following theActs of Union in 1707, the English term 'county' came to be used interchangeably with the older term 'shire'.[7]
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Elected county councils were established in 1890 under theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1889, taking most of the functions of the commissioners (which were eventually abolished in 1930). Banffshire County Council held its first meeting on 22 May 1890 atBanff Sheriff Court, the county's main courthouse (built 1871) which also served as the meeting place for the commissioners.[8][9]
The 1889 Act also led to a review of boundaries, withexclaves being transferred to a county they actually bordered, and parish and county boundaries being adjusted to eliminate cases where parishes straddled county boundaries. There were several such changes affecting the boundaries of Banffshire. Prior to these boundary changes Banffshire included four detached parts surrounded by Aberdeenshire, the largest of which was the parish ofSt Fergus, and several parishes straddled the county boundaries. The boundary changes all took effect on 15 May 1891.[10][11]
The county council initially established its offices at 8 Low Street, opposite the sheriff court. In 1934 it bought St Leonard's House on Sandyhill Road in Banff, converting that to be its main offices instead. Council meetings continued to be held at the sheriff court.[12][13]
In 1975 theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1973 reorganised local government in Scotland into a two-tier system of regions and districts. Banffshire was all included within theGrampian region, but the old county was split between two of the lower-tier districts. The north-east of Banffshire, including the town of Banff, went to theBanff and Buchan district. The west and south of Banffshire went to the newMoray district.[14]
In 1996 the Scottish local government system was reorganised again, this time into single-tiercouncil areas. The Moray district became one of the new council areas, whilst the Banff and Buchan district merged withGordon andKincardine and Deeside to become the newAberdeenshire council area. The modern council areas of Moray and Aberdeenshire therefore cover different areas to the historic counties after which they are named.[15]
The boundaries of the pre-1975 county of Banffshire are still used for some limited official purposes connected with land registration, being aregistration county.[16] The pre-1975 county of Banffshire also serves as a lieutenancy area.[17][18]
Banffshire consists of a 30-mile stretch of coast along theMoray Firth fromSpey Bay toCullykhan Bay, the immediate hinterland, plus a long, tapering 'tail' stretching inland some 55 or so miles, thus giving the county an elongated shape.
Civil parishes are still used for some statistical purposes, and separate census figures are published for them. As their areas have been largely unchanged since the 19th century this allows for comparison of population figures over an extended period of time.
From 1845 to 1930, parishes formed part of thelocal government system of Scotland, having parochial boards from 1845 to 1894 and parish councils from 1894 to 1930. Following the boundary changes of 1891, there were 21 parishes in Banffshire:[19]
TheAberdeen–Inverness railway line runs through the town ofKeith in the north of the county.
Principal mansions in Banffshire c. 1854The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland (1854) Vol. I. by the Rev.John Marius Wilson[20] lists the following :
In 2023, theLord Lieutenant of Banffshire organised a competition to design a flag for the county. The winning design is gold, white and blue, and represents rivers, bridges, whisky barrels and the sunset.[22][23]
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