Alford (Aberdeenshire)

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Alford
Scottish Gaelic Athfort
Main Street from Alford
Main Street from Alford
Coordinates 57 ° 14 ′  N , 2 ° 42 ′  W Coordinates: 57 ° 14 ′  N , 2 ° 42 ′  W
Alford (Scotland)
Alford
Alford
Residents 2140 2011 census
administration
Post town ALFORD
ZIP code section AB33
prefix 01975
Part of the country Scotland
Council area Aberdeenshire
British Parliament West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
Scottish Parliament Aberdeenshire West

Alford ( Gaelic : Athfort ) is a Scottish village in the Council Area Aberdeenshire . It forms the center of the Howe of Alford region named after it . Alford is in a sparsely populated region about ten miles west-southwest of Inverurie . The Don passes the village one kilometer north.

history

Due to the fertile soil, Alford was characterized by agriculture in the past and was the location of regular regional grain and cattle markets. The latter were held until the 1980s. In the 1550s, the Tower House Balfluig Castle was built in Alford . In 1645 James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose at Alford fought the Battle of Alford against the Covenanters . During the Scottish oil boom in the 1970s, commuters settled in Alford. The singer Emeli Sandé grew up in Alford.

Between 1871 and 1891 the population of Alford rose from 482 to 535. In 1961 there were 758 people living in Alford; in 1981 there were already 860 inhabitants. In the period that followed, the population rose sharply. As part of the 2011 census survey, Alford counted 2140 inhabitants.

traffic

The A944 ( Aberdeen - Corgarff ) is Alford's main thoroughfare. A short distance west of the village it connects with the A980 coming from Banchory . In 1859 the Alford Valley Railway was opened, connecting Alford at Kintore with the British rail network.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ List of Gaelic expressions
  2. ↑ a b c d Entry in the Gazetteer for Scotland
  3. ^ A b Alford in: FH Groome (Ed.): Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical , Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh, 1882–1885.
  4. ↑ Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  5. ^ Information in the Gazetteer for Scotland
  6. ↑ 2011 census data

Web links

Commons : Alford  - collection of images, videos and audio files