A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
Skene, a parish of SE Aberdeenshire, whose church stands, 405 feet above sea-level, 6 miles S by E of Kintore and 87/8 W by N of Aberdeen, under which there is a post office, and with which Skene communicates daily by the Cluny and Echt coaches. It is bounded N by Kintore and Kinellar, E by Newhills, SE and S by Peterculter, SW by Echt, W by Cluny, and NW by Kemnay. Its utmost length, from NW to SE, is 7 miles; its breadth varies between 15/8 and 45/8 miles; and its area is 10,500 acres, of which 270 are water. Oval Loch Skene (7 x 5 furl.) lies at an altitude of 276 feet on the SW border, and covers an area of 311¾ acres, 45 of which are in Echt. It contains pike; has a maximum depth of only 12 feet; receives Kinnernie or Corskie Burn, flowing 1¾mile east-south-eastward along the Echt boundary; and sends off Leuchar Burn, creeping 35/8 miles southward and east-south-eastward along the Echt and Peterculter boundary, on its way to the river Dee. The surface sinks along Leuchar Burn to 234 feet above sea-level, and rises thence to 632 feet at the Hill of Kinmundy, 744 at the Hill of Keir, and 731 at the Hill of Auchronie. Formerly Skene had a bleak and barren appearance; but it has, within recent times, been greatly improved in the way of both reclamation and planting. Its highest grounds are now all either cultivated to the top or largely clothed with plantation. But a small part of it, however, has a fertile soil; the greater part being either light or cold, and generally incumbent on clay. The predominant rock is granite. Fully two-thirds of the entire area are in tillage; one-eighth is under wood; and the rest is either pasture, moss, or waste. Antiquities are the' Drum Stone' on the Kinellar border, remains of tumuli and stone circles, traces of a watch-tower on the Hill of Keir, and supposed memorials of a Roman road from the Dee to the Don. Skene House, 3 miles WNW of the church, is a fine baronial edifice, part old, part modern. In 1880 it was purchased from the Earl of Fife by George Hamilton, Esq. Other mansions, noticed separately, are Easterskene and Kirkville; and 8 proprietors hold each an annual value of £500 and upwards, 7 of between £100 and £500. Skene is in the presbytery and synod of Aberdeen; the living is worth £221. The parish church, originally dedicated to St Bride, was rebuilt in 1801, and contains 700 sittings. The Free church stands ¾ mile to the W, near the NE shore of Loch Skene. Four schools-the Central, Garlogie, Westhill, and Lyne Free Church-with respective accommodation for 126, 68, 100, and 100 children, had (1884) an average attendance of 116, 68, 59, and 46, and grants of £101, 3s., £59, 10s., £50, 19s., and £41, 4s. Valuation (1860) £8585, (1885) £10,908, 16s. 6d. Pop. (1801) 1140, (1 831) 1677, (1851) 1862, (1871) 1842, (1881) 1787.—Ord. Sur., shs. 76, 77, 1874-73.
(F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4); © 2004 Gazetteer for Scotland)
| Linked entities: | |
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| Feature Description: | "a parish" (ADL Feature Type: "countries, 4th order divisions") |
| Administrative units: | Skene ScoP Aberdeenshire ScoCnty |
| Place: | Skene |
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