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Skene

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"SKENE, a parish, in the district of Aberdeen and county of Aberdeen, 9 miles (W. by N.) from the city of Aberdeen; containing 1546 inhabitants. This place was originally part of the royal forests of the kings of Scotland, and was granted to the ancestor of the ancient family of Skene by Malcolm Canmore, as an acknowledgment of his having saved the life of that monarch by killing with his dirk a wild boar by which the king was attacked while hunting in the forest. In commemoration of that event, the intrepid defender of his sovereign assumed for his family name the Gaelic term Skian, signifying "a dagger or dirk", which eventually was extended to the estate, and from which the present name of the parish is obviously derived. . . The parish is bounded on the west and on the south by the Leuchar, separating it from the parishes of Echt and Peterculter respectively. . . In general the soil is light and gravelly, of different degrees of fertility in different parts, but most productive on the old infield lands: the chief crops are oats and barley, potatoes, turnips, and the usual grasses. . . . There is no village properly so called. A factory for spinning woollen yarn, the machinery of which is driven by the water of Loch Skene, and, on the failure of that power, by steam, has been established at Garlogie. . . Ecclesiastically this place is within the bounds of the presbytery and synod of Aberdeen. The minister's stipend is £158. 6. 8., of which one-third is paid from the exchequer; with a manse, and a glebe valued at £20 per annum patron, the Earl of Fife. Skene church, which is situated nearly in the centre of the parish, was built in 1801, and has been repaired; it is a neat substantial structure, and contains 700 sittings. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church and Independents. . . 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 Aberdeen - Synod of Aberdeen

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

FilmBirthsMarriagesDeaths
238/11726-18191681-18211721-1821
238/21820-541820-541820-50
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Description & Travel

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

You can see pictures of Skene which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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Maps

This parish appears on sheet 38 of the OS Landranger Series, and on sheet 246 of the OS Pathfinder Series.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference NJ798079 (Lat/Lon: 57.161876, -2.336175), Skene which are provided by:

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Names, Geographical

Here is a list of place names in the parish.

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Taxation

A booklet containing extracts from the 1696 Poll Book for this parish is available from the Aberdeen & NE Scotland FHS.