BURGHEAD

'Burghead' is a burgh in Moray, Scotland, and a former fishing and trading port. The present town was built between 1805 and 1809 destroying in the process more than half of the site of an important Pictish hill fort. General Roy’s map shows the defences as they existed in the 18th century but he wrongly attributed them to the Romans. The fort was probably a major Pictish centre and was where the carved slabs depicting bulls had been found; they are known as the ''Burghead Bulls''. A chambered well of some considerable antiquity was discovered in 1809.
Near Burghead there is a large radio transmitter owned by National Grid Wireless used for Long Wave and Medium Wave broadcasting, the Burghead transmitting station.

Contents

History

Iron age fort

Chambered well

Education

Primary

Secondary

Further Education

Politics

UK and Scottish parliaments

Local government

Population (Demography)

Interesting Facts

Transport

Roads

Bus & Train

Air & Sea

Sport

Football

References and footnotes

External links

History

Iron age fort

This vitrified fort lies on top a headland which commands extensive views of the Moray Firth. Originally believed to be Ptolemy's 'Ptoroton' and the 'Torffness' of the Orkneyinga Saga it is now known to be of Pictish origin. It encloses 3 hectares and is three times as large as any other fort of the same period in Scotland. Six striking carved slabs known as the ''Burghead Bulls'' were discovered during excavations. Four of the originals are held locally and one each in the Royal Museum, Edinburgh, and in the British Museum, London. Much of the fort was destroyed during the re-building of the village from 1805-09 and the Doorie Hill (see below), which marked the junction of the citadel and the bailey, is the only remaining piece of the southern ramparts. Lengths of the eastern and northern ramparts are also still visible.Sellar, W.D.H. (editor) (1993). ''Moray: Province and People''. London. Robert Hale. Pages 142-4''Burghead Well''. (1968) Ancient Monuments of Scotland. Crown copyright leaflet.''Burghead''. (c. 1990) Grampian Regional Council leaflet.

Chambered well

The Burghead Well, which lies within the perimeter of the promontory fort, was discovered in 1809. It consists of a flight of stone steps leading down to a chamber containing a tank fed by springs. There is a frieze in the upper walls, a pedestal in the southeast corner and a sunken basin in the northwest corner. The chamber is 11 feet high, and 11 feet across with a 4 foot wide ledge around the edge, and the tank is 4 feet deep. The discovery was made during excavations for a possible municipal water supply after an elderly fisherman recalled a tradition of a well in the vicinity. Various additions such as re-cutting the steps and deepening the tank were undertaken, but the flow of water proved to be insufficient for the proposed new function. At the time of discovery it was assumed that both the fort and well were of Roman antiquity and it was described as a 'Roman bath'. Later in the 19th century it was suggested that it was an early Christian baptistery possibly associated with the cult of St Ethan. Known locally as the 'Bailey Well', it is unique in Scotland and its origins remain obscure. It is almost certainly of Dark Age provenance and clearly had some ceremonial significance.^[1] It is possible that its main purpose was as a water supply for the fort and may suggest a Pictish interest in water spirits.
===burning of the clavie===
A pagan fire festival is held on 11 January each year and is called the burning of the clavie. In 1599, the Scottish parliament passed a law under James VI to make 1 January the official New Years Day and that the year 1600 would be the first time of its use but kept the Julian calendar. Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752 when the day following the 2 September was the 14 September. The 'Auld Yuil' [al il] (Old Yule) was therefore celebrated 12 days after the 1 January and the clavie burning was on the eve of the new year.^[2] On 20 January 1689 the young men of the village were rebuked by the church courts for "having made a burning clavie, paying it superstitious worship, and blessing the boats after the old heathen custom."^[3] The tradition nonetheless survives. The Clavie is a barrel which is filled with old bits of tar and wood. It is nailed onto a pole with a specially forged nail. Ten men, traditionally fishermen, take turns to carry the burning Clavie clockwise round the streets presenting bits of smouldering embers to householders to bring them good luck for the following year. The Clavie is then put onto the stone altar upon Doorie Hill (the pillar upon which which was not constructed until the 19th century). More fuel is added before the blazing embers are scattered down the hillside as people scramble for the glowing cinders for good luck.

Education

Town welcome sign.

Primary

Burghead Primary School ^[4]

Secondary

On leaving Burghead Primary School free transport is available to two schools in nearby towns. Students therefore have a choice of which school to go to, they can go to either Lossiemouth High School ^[5] or Elgin Academy ^[6]

Further Education

The nearest further education establishment is Moray College located approximately nine miles away in Elgin.

Politics

UK and Scottish parliaments

★ Burghead is part of the Moray constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which returns a Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons, at Westminster.

★ Burghead is part of the Moray constituency of the Scottish Parliament which has slightly different boundaries to the Westminster constituency. The constituency returns a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) to Holyrood. The Moray constituency is also part of the Highlands and Islands electoral region which returns 7 regional Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) to Holyrood.

Local government

: ''see also Moray council election, 2007''
Burghead is represented at The Moray Council by the Heldon & Laich ward, from which four councillors are elected. The members elected from this ward as of May 3, 2007 are; Allan Grant Wright (Scottish Conservative and unionist), John Christopher Hogg (Independent), Eric Morrison Mcgillivary (Independent) and David Christie Stewart (Scottish National Party). Moray Council is currently controlled by an Independent/Conservative Coalition.
Burghead was previously represented at The Moray Council by the Burghsea ward from which one councillor was elected under first past the post electoral system. Since May 3, 2007 the STV electoral system has been used in local elections throughout Scotland meaning Burghead is represented by several councillors in a significantly larger ward.

Population (Demography)

The population of Burghead in 1991 according to the 1991 Census was 1,495. ^[7] Data from the 2001 Census showed Burghead's population had risen to 1,640, ^[8] however mid 2004 estimates showed the population had risen again slightly to 1,680. ^[9]

Population	Place of birth	Age structure	Religion	Ethnic group
'Males:' 871 (53.6%) 'Females:' 679 (46.4%) 'Total:'1,640	'United Kingdom:'96.46% 'Scotland:' 74.51% 'England:' 19.76% 'Wales:' 1.34% 'Northern Ireland:' 0.85% 'Republic of Ireland:' 0.3% 'Rest of Europe:' 1.71% 'Elsewhere:' 1.52%	'Under 16 years:' 20.12% '16 - 65 years:' 66.04% '65 + years:' 13.84% '0 - 4 years:' 4.94% '5 - 15 years:' 15.18% '16 - 24 years:' 9.63% '25 - 44 years:' 32.93% '45 - 64 years:' 23.48% '65 - 74 years:' 8.54% '75+ years:' 5.3%	'Church of Scotland:' 46.65% 'Roman Catholic:' 5.3% 'Other Christian:' 15.85% 'Buddhist:' 0.12% 'Another Religion:' 0.24% 'None:' 27.32% 'Not answered:' 4.51%	'White Scottish:' 76.65% 'Other White British:' 20% 'White Irish:' 0.55% 'Other White:' 2.01% 'Indian:' 0.06% 'Other South Asian:' 0.6% 'Mixed background:' 0.37% 'Other:' 0.3%

Population	Place of birth (UK)	Place of birth	Religion
General Age Structure	Detailed Age Structure	Ethnic Group

'Sources: Scotland's Census Results Online, General Register Office for Scotland and Moray Council (2001 Census data)'

Interesting Facts

★ Median age of a male - 36

★ Median age of a female - 39

★ Number of males per female (Under age 25) - 1.45

★ Number of males per female (Over age 25) - 1.05

★ Percentage of households where not all persons are in the same:

★
★ Place of birth category - 25.42

★
★ Religious category - 30.9

★
★ Ethnic category - 1.07


'Source: Scotland's Census Results Online

Transport

Roads

Three roads converge on Burghead, The B9013, the B9012 and the B9089. The B9013 connects to the A96 (Aberdeen to Inverness) and would generally be used to get to Elgin, The B9012 also connects to Elgin but via Hopeman and Duffus, The B9089 connects to Kinloss and would generally be used to get to Inverness.

Bus & Train

★ There is a regular bus service (331) which goes to and from Elgin via Duffus.^[10] The service is operated by Stagecoach under the name Stagecoach Bluebird.

★ The nearest Railway station is approximately 9 miles away in Elgin. The station is located on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line and generally only offers services to Aberdeen (90 minutes travel) and Inverness (50 minutes travel),^[11] though more direct services are available. Inverness station and Aberdeen station then provide services to the rest of Britain.All train services within Scotland are operated by First ScotRail, who own the franchise.

Air & Sea

The two nearest passenger airports are Inverness Airport (INV) and Aberdeen Airport (ABZ). Inverness generally only offers services to the UK and Ireland whereas Aberdeen offers services to a variety of international destinations as well as domestic destinations. Aberdeen Airport is also the second largest helicopter terminal in the world and serves the many North Sea oil installations.

Sport

Football

Burghead is currently home to two football teams Burghead Thistle F.C. who play their home games at Forrest Park just outside Burghead and Burghead United.

References and footnotes

1. Historic Scotland - Burghead well. Retrieved 02.01.2007
2. [1]
3. Sellar, W.D.H. (1993). Ibid. The quotation marks are his, but no specific citation is provided.
4. Burghead Primary School contact details [2]
5. Lossiemouth High School contact details [3]
6. Elgin Academy contact details [4]
7. 1991 Census data [5]
8. 2001 Census data, Moray Council [6]
9. Mid-2004 population estimates, General Register of Scotland [7]
10. Bus Timetable, Stagecoach [8]
11. Train timetable, First Scotrail

External links

★ Burghead Headland Trust

★ Census data

★

★ Panorama from Burghead Pier (QuickTime required)