Banffshire

Banffshire (ˈbænfʃər; Coontie o Banffshire; Siorrachd Bhanbh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. It borders the Moray Firth to the north, Morayshire and Inverness-shire to the west, and Aberdeenshire to the east and south. Between 1890 and 1975 the County of Banff, also known as Banffshire, had its own county council. Banffshire County Council was based at the Sheriff Court and County Hall. In 1975 Banffshire was abolished for the purpose of local government and its territory divided between the local government districts of Moray and Banff and Buchan, which lay within the Grampian region. In 1996, the Grampian region was abolished, and the area now lies within the council areas of Moray and Aberdeenshire (note that both these polities have different boundaries to the historic counties of the same names). Banffshire consists of a 30-mile stretch of coast along the Moray Firth from Spey Bay to Cullaykhan Bay, the immediate hinterland, plus a long, tapering 'tail' stretching inland some 55 or so miles, thus giving the county an elongated shape. Considerable evidence of prehistoric human habitation exists particularly near the coastal area. For example, the Longman Hill cairn and Cairn Lee are situated in the northern portion of Banffshire in the vicinity of the Burn of Myrehouse. Located in the area are the ruins of several medieval castles and the 12th century kirk of Gamrie. Until 1891 the county contained various exclaves which were locally situated in Aberdeenshire, the biggest being the parish and village of St. Fergus. Civil parishes are still used for some statistical purposes, and separate census figures are published for them. As their areas have been largely unchanged since the 19th century this allows for comparison of population figures over an extended period of time. From 1845 to 1930, parishes formed part of the local government system of Scotland, having parochial boards from 1845 to 1894.