Arbuthnott (Scottish Gaelic: Obar Bhuadhnait, "mouth of the Buadhnat")[1] is a village and parish in the Howe of the Mearns, a low-lying agricultural district of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located on the B967, east of Fordoun (on the A90) and north-west of Inverbervie (on the A92).[2] The nearest railway station is Laurencekirk.
Arbuthnott
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Arbuthnott Parish Church | |
![]() ![]() Arbuthnott Location within Aberdeenshire | |
OS grid reference | NO8024975550 |
Council area | |
Country | Scotland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | LAURENCEKIRK |
Postcode district | AB30 |
Police | Scotland |
Fire | Scottish |
Ambulance | Scottish |
UK Parliament | |
Scottish Parliament |
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The most salient feature of the village is the 13th century Parish Church of St Ternan,[3] in which the Missal of Arbuthnott was written. Today the church is part of the combined parish of Arbuthnott, Bervie and Kinneff.[4]
Lewis Grassic Gibbon, an author remembered for his novels about life in the Mearns, grew up at Bloomfield in the parish of Arbuthnott.[5] A small museum in the village is dedicated to him, named the Lewis Grassic Gibbon Centre. This is built as an extension to the village hall, and contains an exhibition about the author and his work. The centre also contains a cafe, and post office facilities.
Arbuthnott House, the seat of the Viscount of Arbuthnott, is near the village.
In 2004, CFA Archaeology conducted archaeological investigations next to the village in advance of the construction of the Aberdeen to Lochside natural gas pipeline. There they discovered the remains of four Middle Bronze Age roundhouses, one Iron Age post-built roundhouse with a souterrain entered from the house, and two medieval/post-medieval corn-drying kilns. It is thought that more houses might exist but they were outside the area that would be impacted by the pipeline and so were not excavated.[6]
The existing house incorporates sections of a 13th/14th century castle built by the Arbuthnott family, and was greatly expanded in the 15th century when a courtyard was created at its base. A range was built on the side of the courtyard in the 16th century. In the 1750s the entrance was adjusted and the overall composition remodelled to create a symmetrical arrangement. A fine plaster ceiling of 1685 is one of the more important internal features.[7]
Settlements and places of interest in Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire | ||
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Primary settlements | ![]() | |
Other settlements |
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Places of interest |
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Areas and primary settlements in Aberdeenshire (see also: Aberdeen City) | ||
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in Banff and Buchan | ![]() | |
in Buchan | ||
in Formartine | ||
in Garioch | ||
in Kincardine and Mearns | ||
in Marr |
General |
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National libraries |