Oldmeldrum

Oldmeldrum (commonly known as Meldrum) is a village and parish in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, not far from Inverurie in North East Scotland. With a population of around 2,187, Oldmeldrum falls within Scotland's top 300 centres of population. Oldmeldrum is home to one of the oldest whisky distilleries in Scotland, Glen Garioch, which was built in 1797. Local industries are agriculture and engineering services connected to the oil industry in Aberdeen. Archaeological excavations in advance of the construction of a new bypass road around the north of Oldmeldrum, in the summer 2005, revealed the remains of three Bronze Age ring-ditch roundhouses. The archaeologists believe that the houses that might be part of an area of open settlement which means the first settlement at Oldmeldrum was 3500 years ago. The Battle of Barra was fought in May 1308 (some say earlier) near the Hill of Barra between the armies of Scots King Robert Bruce and John Comyn, 3rd Earl of Buchan. Oldmeldrum was made a burgh of barony in 1672. The parish of Meldrum was known as "Bethelnie" until 1684. It was a centre of the hosiery trade in the 18th century. Oldmeldrum Burgh had a population of 1,110 in 1911 and 1,103 in 1951. By the 2001 census the population stood at 2,003 and had risen to 2,187 by 2006. On the third Saturday of June, Oldmeldrum is host to the popular "Meldrum Sports," which features highland games, highland dancing, piping, five-a-side football, displays, stalls, and a beer tent. The Sports were first held in 1930, when a group of residents got together to raise funds to provide cocoa to the local children. There has also been an Arts and Music Festival in Oldmeldrum; this has been held in March 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009 by the Rotary Club to promote local singers, musicians, artists, and photographers. Oldmeldrum has a primary school and a secondary school, the Meldrum Academy, which also includes the local library. A skatepark was built in June 2009 within Oldmeldrum Pleasure Park, a community park to the east of the main Banff to Aberdeen Road.