Alford

ALFORD. Pronounced aaaford, this is the epitome of rural Aberdeenshire, less well celebrated than the Garioch, served in the 19th century, for reasons of geography, only by a branch line, a landscape wrought largely by generations of

farmers. The Howe of Alford is now a fertile basin bisected by the River Don; settlement in earlier times avoided the heavier soils of the Howe, focusing on the well-drained slopes instead. Ringed with hills, some domed and inhospitable, one feels one is entering a separate, inviolate country. The village grew up at terminus of the Vale of Alford railway,

opened 1859. The single main street is almost unchanged from the 19th century. There can be bustle but no rush, interspersed with periods of extreme, joyful silence. Not an obvious place, through which the road hastens, yet it merits

more than a pause.

Battle of Alford, 2 July 1645, between Montrose and Covenanters under Baillie. Montrose cleverly lured the Covenanters into the boggy ground beside the Don at Bridge of Alford, where they became easy prey. However, Lord George Gordon, eldest son of Marquis of Huntly was mortally wounded. The Gordon Stone, which marked where he fell, was buried beneath the town dump; a replacement stone can be seen at the entrance to the cemetery. In c.1744 horse and 'armour-clad' rider found in moss by peat-diggers.

Groome

Taken from "Aberdeenshire: Donside and Strathbogie - An Illustrated Architectural Guide", by Ian Shepherd, 2006. Published by the Rutland Press http://www.rias.org.uk

NJ51NE 44 57 15

Licensed as burgh of barony in 1594/5.

G S Pryde 1965.

There is no change to the existing record.

Information from RCAHMS (JRS), 12 March 1998.