About Kintore

Information last updated by HFRA Chairman on 15 March 2006 (Comment)

The town of Kintore is a well established commuter town situated in Scotland, around 12 miles north west of the centre of Aberdeen, just off the A96 trunk road from Aberdeen to Inverness.

Situated in the middle of Aberdeenshire, the area is surrounded by two sides 0f 100 miles of unspoilt coastline and on the third by the 4000-foot tops of the Cairngorms.  Aberdeenshire offers mountains and moors, salmon-stocked rivers, granite towns, sturdy slate-roofed villages, stacks of history and local folk sure of their own special culture - and all ready with a genuine welcome.  From the Cairngorms down across the rolling farmland, this is a place cut by delightful valleys and winding rivers liking the rivers Dee, Don, Deveron, Ugie and Ythan.  This is in many ways the heartland of what people expect Scotland to be - malt whisky, heather-clad moors, castle at every corner, Highland Games and unpretentious people with very individual speech and identity.

The name Kintore is thought to derive from "Caenn-an-Torr" that is Gaelic for "head of the conical hill" or "town at the head".  Kintore has always been a popular settlement area since pre-historic times for evidence of  many Neothlithic round houses dating back to 5000BC have been found along with the largest and most northerly Roman camp in Britain around the area where Hall Forest Avenue lies. 

As early as 845AD, a Royal Charter was granted to the Burgh by King Keith of Scotland and was renewed by King James IV in 1506.  Prior to regionalisation, the town had it's own Town Council and Provost and received it's own coat of arms in 1975 bearing the motto "Truth is Strength".

The population in the 2001 census was 2170 inhabitants though this has continued to grow since due to extensive housing developments.  With local shops, hotel, school and sports & leisure facilities Kintore has plenty to offer all life styles.  Further facilities are available in nearby Inverurie just 3 miles away or in Aberdeen itself which is just 13 miles away.  The town has a library, caravan park, Pleasure Park and 18-hole golf course. It has a primary school, two business parks, town centre, 18 hole golf course and many community services and facilities.  Even with rapid growth over the past years, the town has been able to retain a village community spirit that can be rarely found in today's fast paced communities.

Its Town House dates from 1737-47 and in its parish churchyard stands a Pictish symbol stone of the 6th-7th century AD. A mile to the south west stand the ruins of Hallforest Castle, a former stronghold of the Keith earls of Kintore.

Historians would find much to fascinate them between then and more recent times.  Interesting features and significant events in around Kintore will hopefully encourage new Residents of the town to feel at home in the midst of a community that has been around for many centurie

To the West of the town stands the ruin of Hallforest castle that was built by Robert the Bruce as a hunting lodge and was at one point the ancestral home of the Keith family.  Thainstone house was designed by Archibald Simpson the famous Aberdeen architect and is now a well known hotel.  Also nearby is Thainstone Agricultural Centre that is one of the largest in Western Europe and is the venue for much commercial and social activity, including it's infamous Sunday car boot sale.

In the centre of the town stands the townhouse, built between 1737 and 1747 and largely funded by the Earl of Kintore (whose coat of arms is shown on the building).  It originally contained a Council room, a tollbooth, a school room and house, a meal girnel (a granary) and a jail.  Other older buildings of interest include Goose Croft House (formerly the Manse), Bridgeale House and Kintore Lodge.

The Aberdeenshire Canal, between Aberdeen and Port Elphinstone in Inverurie, was opened in 1807.  It was 18 miles in length and passed through what is now the centre of the town.  It carried goods and passengers on a slow journey through some 19 locks but was not considered economically viable and was closed in 1854 when the railway was opened.  Residual evidence of the canal can still be found including many of it's milestones.

There has been a Parish Church in Kintore since the 12th century, although the present building (on the site of the previous one) dates from 1819 and was also built to a design by the famous Aberdeen Architect Archibald Simpson though it was later refurbished in 1969.  Inside the Church gate is an interesting Pictish relic - the Ichthus or Elephant Stone - that was recovered from Castle Hill during the construction of the railway.  The present Manse, built in 1900, was a gift to the church.

Originally there was no bridge over the nearby river Don and ferry service was operated by Boatie Marnoch near the location of the present bridge.  The first bridge was built in 1882 and the present one in 1986.

The local school, built in the late 16th century, was one of the earliest built in the Aberdeenshire area.  Having been a junior secondary, it is now a primary school only now with secondary education now being provided by nearby Kemnay and Inverurie Academies.  Due to the growing increase of population within the town, a new primary school is currently being built.