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Banffshire
Banffshire (/ˈbænfʃər/; Scots: Coontie o Banffshire; Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Bhanbh) is a historic county in Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 the area has been split between the Aberdeenshire and Moray council areas. The historic county boundaries of Banffshire are still used for certain functions, being a registration county and lieutenancy area.
It borders the Moray Firth to the north, Moray and Inverness-shire to the west, and Aberdeenshire to the east and south.
Considerable evidence of prehistoric human habitation exists in the area, particularly near the coast. Examples include the cairn at Longman Hill and Cairn Lee, near the Burn of Myrehouse.
The area also includes the ruins of several medieval castles and the 12th century kirk of Gamrie.
Banffshire's origins as a shire (the area administered by a sheriff) are obscure. There is some evidence that it was a shire from the time of David I (reigned 1124–1153), but the earliest documented Sheriff of Banff was in the 13th century.
The sheriff's jurisdiction covered a number of provincial lordships which then existed between the larger provinces of Moray to the west and Buchan to the east. The lordships included Boyne and Enzie on the coast, plus the inland areas of Strathisla and several small lordships along the eastern side of the strath of the River Spey and its tributaries, including Glenlivet, Strathavon and Glenfiddich. 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 the Grampian Mountains.
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.
Over time, Scotland's shires became more significant than the old provinces, with more administrative functions being given to the sheriffs. In 1667 Commissioners 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 the Acts of Union in 1707, the English term 'county' came to be used interchangeably with the older term 'shire'.
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Banffshire AI simulator
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Banffshire
Banffshire (/ˈbænfʃər/; Scots: Coontie o Banffshire; Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Bhanbh) is a historic county in Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 the area has been split between the Aberdeenshire and Moray council areas. The historic county boundaries of Banffshire are still used for certain functions, being a registration county and lieutenancy area.
It borders the Moray Firth to the north, Moray and Inverness-shire to the west, and Aberdeenshire to the east and south.
Considerable evidence of prehistoric human habitation exists in the area, particularly near the coast. Examples include the cairn at Longman Hill and Cairn Lee, near the Burn of Myrehouse.
The area also includes the ruins of several medieval castles and the 12th century kirk of Gamrie.
Banffshire's origins as a shire (the area administered by a sheriff) are obscure. There is some evidence that it was a shire from the time of David I (reigned 1124–1153), but the earliest documented Sheriff of Banff was in the 13th century.
The sheriff's jurisdiction covered a number of provincial lordships which then existed between the larger provinces of Moray to the west and Buchan to the east. The lordships included Boyne and Enzie on the coast, plus the inland areas of Strathisla and several small lordships along the eastern side of the strath of the River Spey and its tributaries, including Glenlivet, Strathavon and Glenfiddich. 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 the Grampian Mountains.
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.
Over time, Scotland's shires became more significant than the old provinces, with more administrative functions being given to the sheriffs. In 1667 Commissioners 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 the Acts of Union in 1707, the English term 'county' came to be used interchangeably with the older term 'shire'.