Edzell

Edzell is a village in Angus, Scotland. It is located 5 miles (8 km) north of Brechin, by the River North Esk. Edzell is a Georgian-era planned town, with a broad main street and a grid system of side streets. Originally called Slateford, Edzell was renamed in 1818 after an earlier hamlet, located 1.5 miles (2.5 km) to the west, which by then had been abandoned. Edzell's population in 2004 was 780. [ [http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/files1/stats/04mid-year-estimates-settlements-table1.pdf GRO Scotland] ]

History

Early village

The original village of Edzell was located around the walls of the first Edzell Castle, a motte and bailey structure to the south of the present castle. Of this village, only part of the church now remains, within the original churchyard.

Present village

The existing village of Slateford was expanded in the early 19th century by the Earl of Panmure. The new parish church, replacing the one in the old village, was built in 1818 on the village's north boundary, and led to the official renaming of the village as Edzell.

In 1861, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited Edzell, as part of a Royal progress through Angus and Kincardineshire, just weeks before Albert's sudden death. Edzell was not connected to the railway until 1895, and only had a passenger service until 1936. The line closed in 1966. In the twentieth century, the increasing popularity of golf led to more tourists visiting Edzell's links course. At one point the village had three large hotels, but it now has only two, along with a series of B&Bs.

Description

The most distinctive landmark of the village is the Dalhousie Arch, which spans the main road into Edzell from the south. It was erected in 1887 to commemorate the deaths of the 13th Earl of Dalhousie and his wife, both of whom died on the same day. Confusion with a similar arch in the neighbouring village of Fettercairn, built in 1864 to commemorate Victoria and Albert's stay at the village's Ramsay Hotel, has led some to believe that Edzell's arch was built to commemorate the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 1887, but this is not the case.fact|date=April 2008Other significant buildings in the village include the Inglis Memorial Hall, a gothic building gifted to the village by Sir Robert Inglis in 1896, in memoriam of his father. It now houses the local library. Edzell Muir is a large expanse of parkland and sport fields to the north of the village, used extensively for picnicking and municipal events, and upgraded in 2000.

RAF Edzell

A Royal Air Force base, RAF Edzell is situated four miles (7 km) from Edzell by road, but only one mile (1.5 km) directly east, over the North Esk. It was active for over fifty years, first as a RAF base during World War II, and later on lease to the United States Navy, until its decommissioning in 1996. Its stock of 150 houses were sold off in 1999 to become a new, independent village called Edzell Woods.

References

External links

* [http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/edzell/edzell/index.html Edzell] page on Undiscovered Scotland