Arbuthnott
{{other uses|Arbuthnot (surname)|Arbuthnot (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name = Arbuthnott
| unitary_scotland = Aberdeenshire
| country = Scotland
| gaelic_name = Obar Bhuadhnait
| static_image_name = Arbuthnott St Ternan.JPG
| static_image_caption = Arbuthnott Parish Church
| constituency_westminster = West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
| constituency_scottish_parliament = Angus North and Mearns
| coordinates = {{coord|56.871083|-2.324027|display=inline,title}}
| post_town = LAURENCEKIRK
| postcode_district = AB30
| postcode_area = AB
| os_grid_reference = NO8024975550
| type = Village
| dial_code = 01561
| dial_code1 = 01569
}}
File:Arbuthnott House - geograph.org.uk - 257998.jpg
Arbuthnott ({{langx|gd|Obar Bhuadhnait}}, "mouth of the Buadhnat"){{cite web |last=Mac an Tàilleir |first=Iain |date=2003 |title=Ainmean-Àite |url=http://archive2021.parliament.scot/Gaelic/placenamesA-B.pdf |publisher=The Scottish Parliament |access-date=26 October 2022 |page=5 }} is a hamlet 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).{{cite book|title=AA Touring Guide to Scotland |date=1978 |editor-last=Beach |editor-first= Russell |publisher=The Automobile Association |isbn=978-0-86145-093-0 }} The nearest railway station is Laurencekirk.
The most salient feature of the hamlet is the 13th century Parish Church of St Ternan,{{cite web |url=http://www.mearns.org/arbuth.htm |title=History of the Howe - Arbuthnott |publisher=Mearns Community Web |accessdate=2007-04-28}} in which the Missal of Arbuthnott was written. Today the church is part of the combined parish of Arbuthnott, Bervie and Kinneff.{{cite web |title=About |url=https://www.arbuthnottbervieandkinneff.org.uk/about |publisher=ABK Church |access-date=26 October 2022}}
{{multiple image
| total_width = 400px
| image1 = The Grassic Gibbon Centre.jpg
| caption1 = The Grassic Gibbon Centre
| image2 = Memorial to Lewis Grassic Gibbon in Arbuthnott kirkyard.jpg
| caption2 = Memorial to Gibbon in Arbuthnott kirkyard
}}
Lewis Grassic Gibbon, an author remembered for his novels about life in the Mearns, grew up at Bloomfield in the parish of Arbuthnott.{{Cite ODNB|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/38328|title=Mitchell, (James) Leslie [pseud. Lewis Grassic Gibbon]}} A small museum in the hamlet 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 café, and post office facilities.
Arbuthnott House, the seat of the Viscount of Arbuthnott, is near the hamlet.
Prehistory and archaeology
In 2004, CFA Archaeology conducted archaeological investigations next to the hamlet 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.{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=Melanie |date=2017 |title=Excavation of prehistoric roundhouses and post-medieval kilns at Drumyocher and Hospital Shields, Aberdeenshire |journal=Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports |publisher=Society of Antiquaries of Scotland |volume=70 |url=http://journals.socantscot.org/index.php/sair/issue/view/99 |doi=10.9750/issn.2056-7421.2017.70|doi-access=free }}
Arbuthnott House
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.The Castles of Scotland by Adam Swan ISBN 1-899874-00-3
Notable people
- John Arbuthnot (1667–1735), often known simply as Dr Arbuthnot, Scottish physician, satirist and polymath
- The Most Rev. George Gleig (1753-1840), Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church{{Cite ODNB|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/10810|title=Gleig, George}}
- The Very Rev. Samuel Trail (1806–1887), minister of the parish 1841–44 and Moderator of the General Assembly in 1874
Listed buildings
Within the community of Arbuthnott, there are a number of listed buildings and structures:
- Arbuthnott House - category A
- Arbuthnott House - Doocot - category C(s)
- Arbuthnott House - East Gate - category B
- Arbuthnott House - Garden House - category B
- Arbuthnott House - Ice House - category B
- Arbuthnott House Mains Farm - category B
- Arbuthnott House Sundial - category B
- Arbuthnott House, North Bridge over Arbuthnott Burn - category A
- Arbuthnott Parish Kirk - category A
- Former Arbuthnott Church Manse (Kilternan) - Category C
More broadly, within the former parish boundaries, there are a futherer four buildings and structures which have listed status:
- Allardyce Castle - Category A
- Allardyce Castle - Gate Piers - Category A
- House of Kairs - Category B
- House of Kairs Main Farmhouse - Category B
See also
Notes
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Arbuthnott}}
- [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01686c.htm Catholic Encyclopedia article]
__NOTOC__
{{Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire places|state=uncollapsed}}
{{Aberdeenshire places|state=collapsed}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Villages in Aberdeenshire
Category:Bronze Age sites in Scotland