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Old Meldrum

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"MELDRUM, a parish and burgh of barony, in the district of Garioch, county of Aberdeen; containing 1873 inhabitants, of whom 1102 are in the burgh, 17 miles (S. S. E.) from Turriff, and 17¾ (N. N. W.) from Aberdeen. This place was anciently called Bethelnie, and is supposed to have derived that appellation, signifying in the Hebrew language "the House of God", from the early erection of a church, which at that time was the only religious edifice within a very extensive district. . . The town is situated on the turnpike-road from Aberdeen to Banff, and consists of several irregularly-formed streets; the houses are mostly well built, and many of them of handsome appearance. The cotton manufacture is pursued to some extent, there being two establishments belonging to the manufacturers of Aberdeen, in which a number of persons of both sexes are employed in hand-loom weaving. . . The PARISH is about seven miles and a half in extreme length, varying in breadth from two to five miles, and comprising an area of 7474 acres, of which 5774 are arable. . . Meldrum House, the seat of B. C. Urquhart, Esq., superior of the burgh, is a spacious and elegant mansion, completed in 1840, and beautifully situated in a demesne enriched with ancient timber and with thriving plantations of modern growth. For ECCLESIASTICAL purposes the parish is within the bounds of the presbytery of Garioch and synod of Aberdeen. . . Meldrum church, an ancient structure erected in 1654, and repaired and reseated in 1810, is centrically situated, and contains 700 sittings. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church and United Presbyterian Church, and an episcopal chapel. . . More"
[From Samuel Lewis A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland (1851) - copyright Mel Lockie 2016]

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Cemeteries

A book of monumental inscriptions for this parish is available from the Aberdeen & NE Scotland FHS.

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Church Records

Presbytery of Garioch - Synod of Aberdeen

Here are details of the Birth, Marriage and Death records for this parish, available on the OPR films.

FilmBirthsMarriagesDeaths
229/11713-5217371748-54
229/21752-18191752-1819 
229/31820-541820-541831-54
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Description & Travel

Here is a detailed description of the parish, written in 1875.

You can see pictures of Old Meldrum which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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Maps

This parish appears on sheets 38 & 30 of the OS Landranger Series, and on sheet 215 of the OS Pathfinder Series.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference NJ800297 (Lat/Lon: 57.357364, -2.334367), Old Meldrum which are provided by:

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Names, Geographical

Here is a list of place names in the parish.