One of the small "wynds" running between houses.
Top end of Kirk Wynd.
Looking east down Main street from the centre of the village.
Looking up School Wynd with the old school,(now a housing development) on the right and the ancient round tower where king Malcolm III and William The Conqueror signed the Treaty of Abernethy stating that Scotland was indeed, subserviant to England!!
There has been a settlement here from very early times as the unearthing, during building work, of a pictish stone bearing symbols proves. A Roman fort has remains on the Law (hill) at the back of the village and at one time it was an ecclesiastical centre with a cathedral!...and the name has absolutely nothing to do with Abernethy biscuits, but probably more to do with a corruption of two gaelic words "Obair Nechtan" meaning the work of Nechtan, who was a Pictish king.
The "Main" street runs through the centre of the old village and was certainly never designed for large vehicles as it twists and turns through the old houses. There is now a newer, wider , straighter road which avoids this part.
In 1909 there were 2 bakers, 7 grocers,1 butcher, 2 drapers, 2 tailors, 4 dressmakers and 3 boot and shoemakers.
Tradesman were well represented, with 5 joiners and cabinetmakers and a blacksmith.
Also present were 5 coal merchants,1 miller to provide corn, 3 cattle dealers and 6 spirit (liquid) dealers!
To find out much more detail click here.
Now we have 1 newsagent, 1 general store and a visiting Post Office van, which doesn't sell postal orders! There are 2 pubs. and probably several tradesmen of various types.
The village itself has grown considerably in size with several new housing estates and the new primary school is still not big enough for the influx of children from all the additional housing.
To see more interesting stories of the world of other people farther afield click here.
13 comments:
Very interesting location and it's impact on history. The link you provided was very useful. I remain blown away by the previous My World photo which overviews the town and countryside!
I do like the interesting little roads and wynds that Abernethy has. It's hard to believe just how many shops and tradesmen such a small place could support.
Obviously no Tesco in those days.
I found that very interesting. I remember reading about the Treaty in a magazine a while ago.
Beautiful and interesting
Looks like the buildings are really close together. I like the stone work. Nice tour and captures of your world.
the place looks so quaint and pretty. I've only seen this in movies :)
My world is here
What a quaint and charming village. 4 dressmakers... those were the days!
What a gorgeous old village and with so much history That's what I miss here For the rest they say Scotland looks a bit like NZ Mountains and lots of sheep
There are many scottish people out here in NZ
Now that's village life - I'm almost expecting Miss Marple to come round the corner. I guess you have to go to a bigger town for clothes and such. Wonderful photos.
The history is so interesting. The more recent statistics from 1909 say that at that time the villagers were mainly poor people who could not afford to eat much meat as the ratio of butchers to bakers makes clear. A pity there are so few shopkeepers now.
It's a sign of the times--centralisation---and supermarkets, cars, the media, etc. We travel to the bigger cities where everything is a bit cheaper. Many of the villages now are mainly dormitories for these places.
What a beautiful village!
I love this information about Abernethy, Scotland. It's really great to learn more about where my surname comes from. Thanks so much for sharing! More, More!
If you know of any cool tshirts that say "Abernethy, Scotland", please let me know...I'd love to purchase one. Thanks!!
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