Lonmay parish is situated in the county of Aberdeenshire, in the north east of Scotland. It extends about 9.5 miles and shares its borders with the parishes of Rathen, Strichen, Old Deer, Crimond, Longside. and St. Fergus. (St. Fergus formed a detached part of Banffshire until 1891.)
In 1851, the only village was St. Combs, which was home to fishing families, while the main part of the parish population was scattered over the parish and largely agricultural.
Population
1775 – 1674
1801 – 1607
1811 – 1627
1821 – 1589
1831 – 1798
1841 – ?
1851 – 1919
Churches
The current parish church, built in 1787, was ‘conveniently situated’, despite being more than 7 miles from the southern boundary of the parish and seated 650. [The New Statistical Account of Scotland states the church was originally seated for 860, and 800 persons were within its walls once every year.] The original church stood by the seaside near the village of St Combs, but was removed in 1607 to a site which is now occupied as burying ground.
An additional parochial church at Kinninmonth, in the south of the parish, was built in 1838 for those parishioners who lived far from the parish church, and seated about 400. [The petition for the new chapel stated that “no less than 78 families, consisting of 416 souls, in Lonmay alone, and upwards of 60 other families adhering to the Church of Scotland, are from four to seven miles distant from their respective parish churches…” and a ‘considerable number’ had taken to worshipping in places ‘not only unconnected, but disagreeing, with the Church of Scotland’ just to be able to attend a place of worship.] Kinninmonth church converted to residential use circa 1985.
There was also an episcopal chapel (St Columba’s), built in 1797, that seated 342. It is also now in residential use.
Schools
In 1851, there were six schools in total: 3 parochial schools – located at St Combs, Lonmay (estate) and Kininmonth [the present Kininmonth school was not built until 1876]; 1 private (or unendowed) school; and 2 dames’ schools for girls.
Data for this OPS can also be found at Lonmay, Aberdeenshire One Place Study
Sources
A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, Samuel Lewis (1851)
The New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845)
Scottish Population Statistics including Webster’s Analysis of Population 1755 (1952)