Keith, Moray

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St. Rufus Church

Strathisla Distillery

Keith Auld Brig

Alexander (Sandy) Ogilvie (1791-1871) at his loom in his shop in Land Street

Keith (Scottish Gaelic: Baile Chèith, or Cèith Mhaol Rubha (archaic)) is a small town in the northeast of Scotland with a population of around 4,500.^[1] It is part of the Moray council area but until 1975 was in Banffshire, a name which persists in postal addresses and is common usage amongst older residents.^{[citation needed]} Keith has two main sections: Keith, which is the new town and Fife Keith, which is much older area.

The oldest part of Keith dates to around 1180.^{[citation needed]} The main part of the town is on higher ground above the river, laid out in 1755 by the Earl of Findlater.^{[citation needed]} It is located at the crossing of the A95 and A96 roads. Local services include a health centre, dentist, optician and multiple hairdressing salons. The town has three schools: Keith Grammar School, Keith Primary School and St Thomas RC Primary School.

The annual Keith Country Show, held at Seafield Park, is an event in the farming calendar of north-east Scotland.^{[citation needed]}

History and culture

The name appears to come from Brythonic coed meaning "wood", but it may also be related to the Pictish territorial division in this area, which was known as Cé^[2].

The Chronicles of Keith, compiled in the 19th century, provide an unusually comprehensive view of the area's history. From it, we learn that early on, Keith was known as "Kethmalruff", a dedication to Saint Maol Rubha (d. 722), also Latinised as "St Rufus". This dedication to an early medieval saint may imply a Dark Age origin for the first church at Keith (still marked by an ancient graveyard, though the parish church was rebuilt on another site in Victorian times), though no archaeological evidence for this has been identified.

The language spoken indigenously round Keith is Doric, a particularly vibrant form of Lowland Scots, although Scottish Gaelic was also used anciently in the area (as evidenced by numerous placenames), and by one or two Highland colonies. Before these, the language would have been Pictish.

Tourist attractions

Keith had one of the few tartan museums in Scotland, an indication of the town's history in the wool industry. The town is at the start of the Malt Whisky trail, and has three distilleries, including Strathisla Distillery, one of the oldest in the Highlands. The Keith and Dufftown Railway is an 11-mile heritage railway running to Dufftown.

The Keith Heritage Group have published a number of maps that lead visitors on walking tours through the town and surrounding countryside.

Two annual events attract tourists to Keith. The first of these, the TMSA Keith Festival,^[3] falls on the second weekend of June and celebrates the traditional (and not so traditional) music of the area, providing entertainment in the form of concerts, ceilidhs, competitions and sessions.

On the second weekend of August the town hosts the Keith Country Show. The show was founded in 1872 and every year promises days of prize-winning livestock and family fun.^[4]

Sport Facilities

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Keith has an 18-hole golf course, three tennis courts, a bowling club, squash court, skate park, multiple football pitches (one official pitch - Kynoch Park - where Keith F.C. play) and a large sports hall. The swimming pool has been refurbished with a gym and sauna room added to the facilities. Keith Cricket Club play their home games at Fife Park.

Famous residents

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• James 'Gordon Bennett', Sr., founder and publisher of the New York Herald
• Colin Hendry, footballer
• Irvine Laidlaw, businessman and life peer
• James Naughtie, broadcaster
• Saint John Ogilvie, post-Reformation saint
• Brian Adam, Member of the Scottish Parliament
• George Foulkes, Member of the Scottish Parliament

References

External links

• A Tour of Keith in Words and Pictures
• Keith Heritage in Focus
• Official website of Keith Golf Club
• Information on "Undiscovered Scotland"
• St Thomas RC School website
• Tartan Museum Community Website
• Census data
• Keith Community website
• Map sources for Keith, Moray

Coordinates: 57°32′34″N 2°57′20″W / 57.54280°N 2.95553°W / 57.54280; -2.95553

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