BANFF, a parish and sea-port and burgh and market-town, in
the county of Banff, of which it is the chief town, 165 miles
(N. by E.) from Edinburgh, and on the road from Aberdeen
to Inverness; containing 3958 inhabitants. This
place, called in ancient records Bainiffe, Boineffe, &c.,
appears to have derived its name from the district in
which it issituated,and which obtained the appellation
of Boyn from the Gaelic, signifying
" a stream ", in reference to the river Boyn, by
which the district is intersected. The town, previously
to the middle of the I6th century, was little more than
a small fishing-village. It seems to have owed its
origin to the foundation of a Carmelite monastery,
that was occasionally the residence of some of the
Scottish kings; and to the erection of a castle, governed
by a thane, or constable, who administered justice, and
of which the only vestiges now remaining are, a portion
of the outer walls, and the ditch whereby it was surrounded.
Few transactions of historical importance
occur with reference to the place. In 1644, the lairds
of Gight, Newtow'ii, and Ardlogie, with a party of horse
and foot, made an irruption into the town, levying exactions
upon the bailies, in the absence of the provost,
who had taken flight, and compelling them and the
townsmen to abjure the covenant, and acknowledge
submission to the king and his deputies, as formerly.
In the following year, the Marquess of Montrose entered
the town with a hostile force, plundered the inhabitants,
and burnt several of their houses, in compensation for
which losses, they obtained, on their petition to parliament,
a grant of their own excise. In 1*46, the Duke
of Cumberland's troops, on their march to Culloden,
passed through the town, burnt the episcopal chapel,
and hanged one of the inhabitants, whom they suspected
of being a spy; and in 1759, a French fleet under the
command of Thurot appeared off the coast; but the
apprehensions of the inhabitants were relieved by the
dispersion of the vessels in a storm, before the enemy
attempted to effect a landing. A battery of eighteen and
twenty-four pounders was subsequently erected on the
heights immediately above the harbour, at an expense
of £400, defrayed by the inhabitants; but soon after
the peace, it was dismounted, and the cannon returned
to the government, by whom they had been supplied.
The TOWN consists of two portions, detached from
each other; one of which, constituting the port, stands
on an elevated level, terminating abruptly towards the
Moray Firth, and having the battery at its northern
extremity. Between this and the other portion, which
is partly on the plain, and partly on the declivity of
the bank of the river Doverou, is the present castle, a
plain modern building occupying an elevated site, and
commanding the sweep of the river, with the fine slope
on the opposite side, surmounted with the woods of
Mountcoffer. The streets are regular and spacious, and
the houses, though unequal in size, are in general neatly
built; most of the older houses have been taken down,
and rebuilt in a modern style, and the town retains few
indications of its real antiquity. The streets are lighted
with gas by a joint-stock company established in 1831;
the inhabitants are supplied with water, conveyed into
the town by pipes laid down in ISIO at an expense of
£1100, and there are pumps attached to several of the
houses. Hot, cold, and shower baths, fitted up with
every accommodation, have been established by a company.
In connexion with a literary society founded in
ISIO, and which has a library of 2000 volumes, is a
reading room, well supplied with newspapers and the
most popular periodical prints. An institution for the
cultivation of science and the encouragement of native
talent, was founded in 18'28, and has collected a museum
of natural history, antiquities, and curiosities, among
which is a very e.vtensive collection of the most beautiful
shells found in Java and in the Eastern Archipelago.
A room in the academy buildings is appropriated to the
use of the scientific institution, and the literary society
occupies a room in the town-house.
A principal tr,\de of the port is the herring-fishery,
which, within the last thirty or forty years, has been
established on the shores of the Firth with considerable
success, and is still very prosperous. The quantity of
fish cured in the district of Banff, which extends from
Gardenstown to Portsoy, is in favourable seasons about
30,000 barrels, of which one-half are sent to Germany,
a considerable quantity to London, and the remainder
to Ireland. The number of herring-boats from the port
of BanlF alone, has fluctuated exceedingly, and is at present
very much reduced, probably from the want of
room near the harbour for the erection of the requisite
buildings, and from the higher rate of dues; but the
general herring-trade of the district is still flourishing.
Cod, ling, and turbot are found in abundance off the
coast, and if prosecuted with spirit, the fishery of them
might add greatly to the trade of the port. Lobsters,
crabs, shrimps, and other fish are brought to the
markets, but only for home consumption, though the
bay abounds with shrimps, which might be made a
profitable branch of trade. The salmon-fishery in the
river Doveron, which is the property of Lord Fife, is
let for £1600 per annum, and on each side of the estuary
is a fishery in the open sea, one being let by the corporation
for £191 per annum; the salmon are sent,
either packed in ice or pickled, principally to the London
market. A very considerable trade is also carried on in
the exportation of grain, live cattle, and cured pork;
and in the importation of coal, groceries, and other
commodities. During a late year, 29,790 quarters of
oats, 1 174 quarters of wheat, 976 quarters of barley and
bear, and 194 bags of potato-flour, were shipped from
the port, chiefly for London and Leith; and 440 head
of live cattle, 911 pigs, and 156 sheep and lambs, for
the London market alone. The trade in cattle has since
greatly increased; and in 1841 not less than 1792 head
of cattle were sent to London. More grain is sent to
London from the port of Banff than from all Scotland
besides. The number of vessels registered at Banff as
the head of the district, some years ago, was sixty-seven,
of the aggregate burthen of 4301 tons; of these, ten
schooners of 878 tons', and eleven sloops of 657 tons'
aggregate burthen, belonged to this port, and the remainder
to the several creeks of Fraserburgh, Gardenstown,
Macduff, Portsoy, Port-Gordon, and Garmouth.
In 1847 the number of registered vessels had increased
to 114, of the aggregate burthen of 9396 tons. Several
of these vessels make voyages to Sweden, for iron
and deals; to Russia, for hemp; and to Holland, for
flax; and, in the autumn, frequently to Hamburgh
and Stettin, with cargoes of herrings, bringing in return
grain, wool, bark, and hides.
The HARBOUR is situated at the western extremity of
a circular bay, at the opposite extremity of which are
the town and harbour of Macduff; both these extremities'
are rocky, and between them is a beach of sand.
The old or inner harbour, completed in 1775, was
formed by two piers and the land, inclosing a triangular
area, having at the angle towards the north-north-east
an entrance which, in I8I6, was protected by a newpier
and breakwater, forming a basin or outer harbour
to the north of the former. This addition was made
under the superintendence of the late Mr. Telford, at an
expense of £18,000, one-half of which was defrayed by
government; and though not productive of all the benefit
expected from it, ships having since been wrecked in
the new basin, it has still materially diminished the
swell in the old harbour, now one of the safest in the
Moray Firth, and has afforded additional facilities for
the entrance and departure of vessels. A vessel drawing
twelve feet water can enter the new basin at high- water
of neap tides, and one drawing fifteen feet, at spring
tides; and vessels drawing respectively eight feet and ten
and a half feet water, may enter the old harbour at highwater
of neap and of spring tides. A patent slip on
Morton's principle has been constructed.
Ship-building is occasionally carried on; and there is
a small manufactory for ropes and sails, chiefly for home
use. The thread and stocking manufacture, formerly
pursued here, has been discontinued some years. A
public brewery, erected on the high ground above the
harbour, was once conducted on a large scale, but of
late it has been confined to the supply of the immediate
neighbourhood: a distillery at the Mill of Banff, about
a mile from the town, produces on an average from
11,000 to 12,000 gallons of proof spirits annually. A
foundry for machinery, grates, ploughshares, and various
kinds of cast- metal work, was established about twenty
years since by Messrs. Fraser, and affords employment
to ten men; the works are set in motion by a steamengine
of six-horse power, constructed by the proprietors.
The market is on Friday, and is well supplied
with fish of every kind; there are no cattle-markets,
and though by charter the inhabitants are allowed seven
or eight fairs, only four are held, and of these the Whitsun
fair alone is of any consideration. Coaches pass
daily to and from Aberdeen and Elgin, and to and from
Peterhead. In 1846 an act was obtained authorizing
the construction of a railway from Aberdeen to Inverness,
with branches to Banff and other places.
From a grant of a toft and garden in the burgh by
William the Lion, in 1165, to his chaplain, Douglas,
Bishop of Moray, the town appears to have been previously
a royal burgh; and according to tradition, it
received from Malcolm Canmore those privileges which
were ratified by Robert Bruce, and subsequently, in
137'2, by Robert 11. , who also conferred upon the inhabitants
liberties equal to those of Aberdeen, which were
afterwards confirmed by James VI. and Charles II.
The government is vested in a provost, four bailies, a
dean of guild, a treasurer, and ten councillors, all elected
by the £10 constituency. The corporation revenue is
about £935. The taxes and assessments for the burgh
are not imposed as in other burghs, by the magistrates
and council, but by the inhabitants themselves, assembled
in a special court for that purpose. The affairs of
police are under the management of commissioners, who
are elected in accordance with the provisions of a particular
act of parliament, and by whose authority the
police rates are levied and expended. No one, legally
speaking, can carry on business without becoming a
member of the merchant-guildry of Banff, or of the incorporated
trades, which are six in number, namely, the
hammermen, wrights, shoemakers, tailors, coopers, and
weavers, who all claim exclusive privileges. In practice,
however, for some years past, the burgh has been perfectly
open in this respect, and all exclusive privileges
and monopolies are abolished. It is classed with
Elgin, Cullen, Inverury, Kintore, and Peterhead, in returning
a member to the imperial parliament; and the
parliamentary constituency of Banff includes the qualified
voters in the neighbouring, and otherwise independent,
burgh of Macduff. The town-hall, a spacious but plain
building, erected within the last sixty or seventy years,
occupies two sides of a quadrangle, with a tower at the
external angle, of older date, surmounted by a spire of
graceful proportion, together 100 feet high; the building
is of hewn stone, three stories in height, and contains
a hall, two large drawing-rooms, a council-chamber, a
court-room for the sheriff's court, offices for the chamberlain
and sheriff clerks, &c. The old prison contained
two apartments, each nineteen feet square, for the reception
of civil prisoners; and two cells for criminals; but
it was badly arranged, and totally inadequate for the
purpose of classification. The new jail, by which the
old one has been superseded, is built on the most approved
principles.
The PARISH formed part of that of Boindie from the
Reformation until about 1634. It measures about six
miles and a half in length, and is two miles and a half
in breadth in the centre, from which, towards each extremity,
it diminishes materially; comprehending about
6312 acres, of which 3778 are good arable land, 1161
uncultivated and in pasture, and about '2'20 wood. It is
bounded on the east by the river Doveron, which has its
source on the confines of the counties of Aberdeen and
Banff, and falls into the sea at the town; and on the
west, by the burn of Boindie, by which it is separated
from the parish of that name. Over the former of these
rivers, close to the town, is a substantial stone bridge of
seven semicircular arches, erected at the expense of government,
in 1*79; and over the latter, are two stone
bridges of two arches each. The surface is very uneven,
rising in the lower part of the parish from 200 to 300
feet above the sea, and forming an eminence called the
Gallow Hill; while in the upper part of the parish are
eminences of much greater elevation, though less raised
above the surface of the adjacent lands. The svstcm of
agriculture is improved; and within the last forty or
fifty years a large tract of land, previously in pasture,
has been brought under tillage. Draining has also been
carried on to a very considerable extent, and the greater
portion of the land is inclosed with fences of stone; the
farm-houses and offices are generally well built, and
many of them afford superior accommodations. The
annual value of real property in the parish is £12,889,
including £6977 for the burgh. The substrata are
chiefly clay-slate and greywacke. At Cairn of Ord, in the
south-western part of the parish, is found granite, which
in some places rises to the surface; it is of excellent
quality for building, and has been quarried for that purpose,
but on account of its distance from the sea, it has
not been worked to any great extent.
In several parts the scenery is pleasing, and in others
romantic and picturesque. The river Doveron, on its
first entering the parish, winds into a rocky glen, whose
steep sides, crowned with luxuriant wood, are connected
by a circular arch of stone. Beyond this point, the glen
gradually expands into an open valley, round the eastern
side of which the river forms a graceful curve, inclosing
the plain whereon Duff House is situated. The road
from Aberdeen winds round the verge of a verdant hill,
on the extremity of which, sloping towards the sea, and
stretching into the bay, is the town of Macduff; and on
the western side, near the bend of the river, rises a precipitous
bank, on whose summit is to be seen the mausoleum
of the Duff family, embosomed in sheltering
woods, and near it a funereal urn containing some human
bones that were found on the spot, which was
the cemetery of the ancient Carmelite monastery. Duff
House, the splendid residence of the Earl of Fife, occupies
the grounds formerly belonging to the monastery,
which were conveyed in 1630 to Lord Airlie, and in 1690
to the Duff family, who in 1752 purchased the superiority,
which had been granted by James VI. to King's
College, Aberdeen. The mansion was erected about the
middle of the last century, by Lord Braco, after a design
by Adam, the first of the celebrated architects of that
name, at an expense of £70,000. It is a spacious quadrilateral
structure of freestone, in the Roman style of
architecture, and contains a choice collection of paintings
of the Flemish and Italian schools, and numerous portraits
by the most eminent masters. The demesne is
richly planted; it comprehends much interesting scenery,
and from many points commands extensive and varied
prospects.
The parish is ecclesiastically in the presbytery of
Fordyce and synod of Aberdeen: the minister's stipend
is £245. 19- 9-, with a manse, and the glebe is valued at
£45; patron, the Earl of Seafield. Banff church, situated
on the south side of the town, is a plain structure,
erected in 1790, and capable of containing 1500
persons. The interior is chastely decorated, and has
some handsome monuments of marble, one of which, by
Bacon, representing a soldier weeping over a funereal
vase, is finely executed, and was erected by Sir David
Ochterlony, and the army under his command, to the
memory of Lieut. -Col. Peter Lawtie, a native of this place.
A chapel in connexion with the Established Church, for
a district including the more remote portion of the parish
and others adjoining, and a manse, have been erected at
the upper end of the parish, at an expense of £600; the
stipend of the minister is derived from the seat-rents.
augmented with £20 Royal bounty. There are places of
worship for members of the Free Church, Episcopalians,
the United Presbyterian Synod, Independents, and Wesleyans,
and a Roman Catholic chapel.
A grammar school was founded in 17S6, under the
direction of Dr. Chapman, formerly rector of the grammar
school of Dumfries; the number of boys usually
attending is about 1 70, and the rector, who is obliged to
employ two qualified assistants, has a considerable salary
from the town. This school is endowed with funds, the
interest of which is regularly appropriated to the maintenance
of sixteen bursaries; one, in the gift of the
presbytery of Fordyce, is worth about £30, and the
others are from £2 to £3 per annum. A free school was
founded by Mr. Alexander Pirie, who in 1804 bequeathed
to the town-council and kirk-session £1100 for that purpose,
with a tenement, and £100 for the erection of a
school-house and house for the master. Mr. George
Smith, a native of Fordyce, by will dated at Bombay, in
1769, vested in the magistrates of Banff the residue of
his estate, amounting to £10,297. 16. 6., of which he
appropriated £1000 to the endowment of an infirmary
in this town or at Fordyce, and £40 per annum to a
schoolmaster to educate as many boys of the name of
Smith as the funds would maintain, at £25 per annum
each. The dividends, amounting to £308. 18. 8., are
applied according to the will, and nine boys are maintained
and educated. Mr. Ja7nes h'ilsoti, of Grenada,
vested the whole of his stock, after the decease of certain
annuitants, in the magistrates of Banff, to be appropriated
to charitable purposes, according to their discretion.
This estate, which ultimately produced £3561. 16. 1.
three per cents and £2647 in cash, was appropriated to
the erection of a splendid building, for an infant school,
a free school on the Madras system, and class-rooms for
the grammar school teachers, with a library and museum.
Mr. Alexander Cassy, a native of the town, then resident
in Pentouville, in 1S19, bequeathed the residue of his
estates to the magistrates, to be appropriated to the halfyearly
relief of aged and infirm persons and helpless orphans:
of this property, £10,000 three per cents have
already fallen to the disposal of the trustees, who apply
the dividends. Mins Elizabeth Wilson, in 1825, bequeathed
to trustees the whole property of which she should die possessed,
the produce to be appropriated to six poor tradesmen
and six poor maidens: the annuitants receive from
£9 to £10 each per annum. Alexander Chalmers, Esq., of
Cluny, in 1834 bequeathed property which will amount
to £40,000, in trust, to the lord-lieutenant and member
for the county, the minister and magistrates of Banff,
and others, for the erection and endowment of an hospital
and dispensary, to be called Chalmers' Hospital,
for the county of Banff; the hospital to be erected on
the site of the residence of the founder.
Scarcely any vestiges of the ancient Carmelite monastery
arc remaining; some arches, apparently parts of
cells, are still to be traced in the yard of the inn called
the Royal Oak, and near the foundry is a vaulted chamber,
now occupied by the boiler of the steam-engine belonging
to that establishment. The building occupied
by Sir George Ogilvy, afterwards Lord Banff, and which
appears to have been regarded as a palace, from the occasional
visits to it by the Scottish kings, was destroyed
in 1640 by (liencral Monro, who, having marched into
the town, encamped in the gardens of the house, and
destroyed both them and the building, carrying away the
timber and iron-work, and leaving only the shattered walls,
a heap of ruins. That part of the town which is called the
Sea-town, is supposed to occupy the lands of the chapels
of the Holy Rood, St. Catherine, and St. Mary: a chapel
dedicated to St. Thomas is thought to have stood somewhere
between the site of the parish church and St. Andrew's
chapel, and another chapel, dedicated to St.Ninian,
stood near the churchyard. The Knights Templars anciently
had a preceptory in the town; their possessions
were erected into a lordship, in favour of Sir John
Sandilands, in 1563, and several small and scattered
portions of their lands appear to have passed into burgage
tenures. The old castle of Inchdrewer, erected
about the time of James IV. or James V., is still so
entire as to be habitable, and is now in the occupation
of a tenant; it is chiefly memorable for the death of a
Lord Banff, who was burnt in it in 1713, under circumstances
that have never been fully explained. Adjoining
the mausoleum of Lord Fife is an ancient monument, on
which is the recumbent figure of an armed warrior, with
the inscription, " Hie jacet Johannes Duff, de Maldavat et
Baldavi; obiit 1 Julii, 1404": this monument, with the
ashes of the deceased, was brought from Cullen. James
Sharp, Archbishop of St. Andrew's, who was waylaid
and assassinated near that archiepiscopal city, was born
at Banff Castle, in 1613.