Kinnear Square lies at the south end of Laurencekirk.
Its old name was Conveth, an anglification of the Gaelic Coinmheadh, referring to an obligation to provide free food and board to passing troops. Laurencekirk is in the valley between the Hill of Garvock and the Cairn O' Mount. The famous landmark of the Johnston Tower can be seen on the peak of the Garvock.
Laurencekirk was, in the past, known for making snuff boxes with a special type of airtight hinge (known as a "Laurencekirk hinge") invented by James Sandy.
The Laurencekirk Golf Club, now defunct, was founded in the early 1900s but by 1951 it had been wound up.[5]
Laurencekirk has two public houses; The Crown and The Royal.
Laurencekirk Primary school was built in 1999 and Mearns Academy, the senior school, opened in a new building in August 2014. The Community Centre, Library and Police Station are housed within the Mearns Campus. There are two public parks, both with children's play areas, and in addition the memorial park houses a bowling green and a skate-board facility.
There are two churches, a Church of Scotland and St Laurence's Church, an Episcopalian Church which is part of the Diocese of Brechin. In 1693 the Episcopalians had been driven from the parish kirk in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution. A new meeting house was built at nearby Redmyre, though this was destroyed in 1746. The Episcopalians built a chapel dedicated to St Laurence in Laurencekirk 1791 which took in the congregations of Redmyre and Luthermuir. The current St Laurence' was opened in 1873 and now also serves the congregations of Drumtochty, Fasque and Drumlithie.[6] its archives are held at the University of Dundee as part of the Brechin Diocese's Archives.[6]
Alongside the commercial enterprise of the local newspaper, The Kincardineshire Observer[9] (often referred to as The Squeeker) which was first published in 1902, Laurencekirk has a Local Community Radio Station in Mearns FM.[10] Broadcasting from nearby Stonehaven in the Townhall, Mearns FM helps to keep Laurencekirk up to date with local and charity events, as well as playing a wee bit of music. Staffed completely by volunteers, Mearns FM is run as a not for profit organisation, broadcasting under a Community Radio licence, with a remit to provide local focus news events and programming. Jointly funded by local adverts and local and national grants. Mearns FM has one of the largest listening areas of any Community Radio Station owing to the Mearns' distributed population, Mearns FM was set up to try to bring these distant communities together.[11]
Transport
The Dundee–Aberdeen line passes through the town. The railway station, which closed to passengers in 1967, was re-opened on 17 May 2009. The opening of this station has affirmed Laurencekirk's status as a commuter town providing links to Aberdeen, Dundee and beyond.
The Laurencekirk bypass opened in 1985 as part of the project to dual the road between Perth and Aberdeen.[12] The bypass is now part of the A90. A grade-separated (flyover) junction is planned for access to Laurencekirk, eliminating a flat crossing where numerous accidents have occurred. However, in 2021 it was revealed the project had been delayed.[13]
In literature
Lewis Grassic Gibbon wrote much about The Mearns and the surrounding area in his book Sunset Song. A tribute centre can be visited at Arbuthnott a few miles from Laurencekirk.
Fred Urquhart worked on the land in the Laurencekirk district during the Second World War, and his short stories make use of his observations of rural life there.[14]
^"FARQUHAR, James (1764-1833), of Johnston Lodge, Laurencekirk; Hallgreen, Inverbervie, Kincardine and 13 Duke Street, Westminster, Mdx". History of Parliament.
^"Bypass to open tomorrow". The Press and Journal. 29 May 1985. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
^Hall, Jamie (11 May 2021). "Upgrades to notorious north-east junction held up by unsafe bridge". Press and Journal. Retrieved 13 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ ab"The Fred Urquhart Collection Series". Kennedy and Boyd. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
^Monuments and monumental inscriptions in Scotland: The Caledonian Society of Scotland
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Laurencekirk.
Laurencekirk area community website
January 10, 2023
laurencekirk, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, september, 20. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Laurencekirk news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Laurencekirk ˌ l ɒr en s ˈ k ɜːr k Scots Lowrenkirk 2 Scottish Gaelic Eaglais Labhrainn colloquially known as The Lang Toun 3 4 or amongst locals as simply The Kirk is a small town in the historic county of Kincardineshire Scotland just off the A90 Dundee to Aberdeen main road It is administered as part of Aberdeenshire It is the largest settlement in the Howe o the Mearns area and houses the local secondary school Mearns Academy which was established in 1895 and awarded the Charter Mark in 2003 LaurencekirkScottish Gaelic Eaglais Labhrainn CoinmheadhScots LowrenkirkLaurencekirkLocation within AberdeenshirePopulation3 140 mid 2020 est 1 OS grid referenceNO7171 Edinburgh67 mi 108 km London380 mi 612 km Council areaAberdeenshireLieutenancy areaKincardineshireCountryScotlandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townLAURENCEKIRKPostcode districtAB30Dialling code01561PoliceScotlandFireScottishAmbulanceScottishUK ParliamentWest Aberdeenshire and KincardineScottish ParliamentAngus North and MearnsList of places UK Scotland 56 50 N 2 28 W 56 83 N 02 46 W 56 83 02 46 Coordinates 56 50 N 2 28 W 56 83 N 02 46 W 56 83 02 46Kinnear Square lies at the south end of Laurencekirk Its old name was Conveth an anglification of the Gaelic Coinmheadh referring to an obligation to provide free food and board to passing troops Laurencekirk is in the valley between the Hill of Garvock and the Cairn O Mount The famous landmark of the Johnston Tower can be seen on the peak of the Garvock Laurencekirk was in the past known for making snuff boxes with a special type of airtight hinge known as a Laurencekirk hinge invented by James Sandy The Laurencekirk Golf Club now defunct was founded in the early 1900s but by 1951 it had been wound up 5 Contents 1 Services 2 Local landmarks 3 Gallery 4 Local radio 5 Transport 6 In literature 7 Notable residents 8 References 9 External linksServices EditLaurencekirk has two public houses The Crown and The Royal Laurencekirk Primary school was built in 1999 and Mearns Academy the senior school opened in a new building in August 2014 The Community Centre Library and Police Station are housed within the Mearns Campus There are two public parks both with children s play areas and in addition the memorial park houses a bowling green and a skate board facility There are two churches a Church of Scotland and St Laurence s Church an Episcopalian Church which is part of the Diocese of Brechin In 1693 the Episcopalians had been driven from the parish kirk in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution A new meeting house was built at nearby Redmyre though this was destroyed in 1746 The Episcopalians built a chapel dedicated to St Laurence in Laurencekirk 1791 which took in the congregations of Redmyre and Luthermuir The current St Laurence was opened in 1873 and now also serves the congregations of Drumtochty Fasque and Drumlithie 6 its archives are held at the University of Dundee as part of the Brechin Diocese s Archives 6 Local landmarks Edit Laurencekirk Parish Church Johnston Tower Johnston Tower was built to commemorate the Duke of Wellington s victory over Napoleon in the Peninsular War 7 It is situated on the Garvock Hill alongside a wind farm The neighbouring residence Johnston Lodge was built in 1780 by James Farquhar MP for Aberdeen Burghs and later for Portalington 8 The house was later owned by Lord Gardenstone Gallery Edit Laurencekirk Masonic Hall a former church Laurencekirk Church of Scotland Western Inn LaurencekirkLocal radio EditAlongside the commercial enterprise of the local newspaper The Kincardineshire Observer 9 often referred to as The Squeeker which was first published in 1902 Laurencekirk has a Local Community Radio Station in Mearns FM 10 Broadcasting from nearby Stonehaven in the Townhall Mearns FM helps to keep Laurencekirk up to date with local and charity events as well as playing a wee bit of music Staffed completely by volunteers Mearns FM is run as a not for profit organisation broadcasting under a Community Radio licence with a remit to provide local focus news events and programming Jointly funded by local adverts and local and national grants Mearns FM has one of the largest listening areas of any Community Radio Station owing to the Mearns distributed population Mearns FM was set up to try to bring these distant communities together 11 Transport EditThe Dundee Aberdeen line passes through the town The railway station which closed to passengers in 1967 was re opened on 17 May 2009 The opening of this station has affirmed Laurencekirk s status as a commuter town providing links to Aberdeen Dundee and beyond The Laurencekirk bypass opened in 1985 as part of the project to dual the road between Perth and Aberdeen 12 The bypass is now part of the A90 A grade separated flyover junction is planned for access to Laurencekirk eliminating a flat crossing where numerous accidents have occurred However in 2021 it was revealed the project had been delayed 13 In literature EditLewis Grassic Gibbon wrote much about The Mearns and the surrounding area in his book Sunset Song A tribute centre can be visited at Arbuthnott a few miles from Laurencekirk Fred Urquhart worked on the land in the Laurencekirk district during the Second World War and his short stories make use of his observations of rural life there 14 Notable residents EditVery Rev George Cook 1772 1845 minister of Laurencekirk and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Francis Garden Lord Gardenstone 1721 1793 founder of Laurencekirk James Henderson 1823 1906 influential newspaper and magazine publisher Sir Robert Pearson 1871 1954 cricketer advocate and chairman of the London Stock Exchange James Andrew Robbie FRSE 1910 1977 geologist Thomas Ruddiman served as the parish schoolmaster from 1695 to 1700 15 Alexander Charles Stephen FRSE 1893 1966 zoologist Fred Urquhart 1912 1995 writer 14 Ryan Gauld 1995 The Scottish Messi References Edit Mid 2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland National Records of Scotland 31 March 2022 Retrieved 31 March 2022 The Online Scots Dictionary Lang Toun s Rolling Stone Fry Up The Courier DC Thomson Retrieved 18 June 2020 A90 Completion of Dualling Perth to Aberdeen 1994 HMSO p 5 Retrieved 17 August 2020 Laurencekirk Golf Club Golf s Missing Links a b BrMS 13 Records of St Laurence s Church Laurencekirk Archive Services Online Catalogue University of Dundee Retrieved 27 August 2018 Johnston Lodge Primelocation FARQUHAR James 1764 1833 of Johnston Lodge Laurencekirk Hallgreen Inverbervie Kincardine and 13 Duke Street Westminster Mdx History of Parliament Home Kincardineshire Observer Mearns FM From Mountain To Sea Mearns FM launch release Bypass to open tomorrow The Press and Journal 29 May 1985 Retrieved 15 April 2021 Hall Jamie 11 May 2021 Upgrades to notorious north east junction held up by unsafe bridge Press and Journal Retrieved 13 May 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link a b The Fred Urquhart Collection Series Kennedy and Boyd Retrieved 27 September 2017 Monuments and monumental inscriptions in Scotland The Caledonian Society of ScotlandExternal links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Laurencekirk Laurencekirk area community website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Laurencekirk amp oldid 1130353796, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
