Places To Visit

Places of Interest in the Parish of Marnoch

Old Marnoch Church

For centuries before Aberchirder came into being the centre of the Parish of Marnoch was the area at its southernmost edge around the church and school beside the River Deveron, 3 km southwest of Auchintoul House and 2 km or so west of Kinnairdy Castle. A new parish church was built on Cairnhill in 1792 to replace an older one in the kirkyard.

Marnoch Kirkyard

The kirkyard itself, on the banks of the Deveron, is well worth a visit. It is such a peaceful place for the departed to rest and the living to contemplate the meaning of life. If you want to look for the graves of family members or of public and private figures from the past, you will find a very useful guide in two booklets of the Monumental Inscriptions of Marnoch Kirkyard, obtainable from http://www.anesfhs.org.uk

Tollhouses

The A97 was built as a turnpike road and the two tollhouses in the Parish of Marnoch can still be seen at Blacklaw and Bridge of Marnoch.

Rural Schools

Until the 1960s the rural parts of the parish were served by four schools, which have since been converted to private houses.

Blacklaw School is at the junction of the A97 road to Banff and the B9025 to Portsoy.
Culvie School is situated on the road from Finnygaud to Marnoch.
Marnoch School sits on the B9117 road from Bridge of Marnoch to Rothiemay.
Netherdale School Two former schools, built in 1875 and 1958, can still be seen at Netherdale, just before Damfolds on the road to Netherdale House.

A history of the rural schools can be found in the Virtual Museum – Education