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Elchies Road, ABERLOUR, AB38 9AA

OS 1GL Bolt Aberlour Church - lovely large benchmark

This building looks so different from most of the gothic late Victorian drill halls that, had it not been for a small plaque by the door, I would probably not have realised that that is what it is. It was designed by Thomas Mackenzie (1814-1854) but probably not actually built until after his death. Its original purpose was a school, but after a new school was built in 1905 it became the drill hall. The bell that used to hang in the little belfry on the left is now in Aberlour Primary School.

Restaurant.

A grassy square before the church with a recent addition of a commemorative cairn celebrating the founding of Aberlour 200 years earlier.

This building looks so different from most of the gothic late Victorian drill halls that, had it not been for a small plaque by the door, I would probably not have realised that that is what it is. It was designed by Thomas Mackenzie (1814-1854) but probably not actually built until after his death. Its original purpose was a school, but after a new school was built in 1905 it became the drill hall.

The kirk was built in 1812, but little remains of the original building. The tower was added by William Robertson in 1838-1841. In 1861, following damage by fire, the kirk was rebuilt by George Petrie. It was again altered in 1910, and in 1935 an apse and vestry were added and the interior remodelled. The building is Category B listed.

The charming Speyside village of Aberlour's village square and church. The village is well renowned in the local area and far beyond for world famous Walkers shortbread and the River Spey which flows nearby.

The war memorial is in the style of a traditional market cross, with the shaft topped with a lion and mounted on a hexagonal plinth. Two faces list the names of those who died in the 1914-1918 war, and two more those who fell in 1939-1945. A door occupies one face, and the sixth face is blank. It was designed by John Wittet and built in 1919.

The kirk was built in 1812, but little remains of the original building. The tower was added by William Robertson in 1838-1841. In 1861, following damage by fire, the kirk was rebuilt by George Petrie. It was again altered in 1910, and in 1935 an apse and vestry were added and the interior remodelled. Notice that there is no clock on the north face of the tower. The story goes that when the clock tower was being planned, the residents of the parish of Knockando, on the opposite bank of the River Spey, were invited to contribute to the cost. This they declined to do, so It was decided to spare the expense of a clock facing across the river towards Knockando, and this fourth side of the tower remains clockless.

The cairn was donated by Aberlour and Speyside Rotary Club and unveiled by Mrs Clare Russell, Lord Lieutenant of Banffshire, on 12 September 2012. It commemorates the 200th anniversary of the founding of Charlestown of Aberlour by Charles Grant of Wester Elchies, who named the new village after his son, also Charles. These days it is mostly referred simply as Aberlour, to the confusion of the occasional tourist.