Fochabers Property For Sale & Rent

Fochabers Real Estate

FOCHABERS in Moray Like Huntly in Aberdeenshire, Fochabers owes its being to the noble house of Gordon. But here the position is reversed, for while at Huntly it is the castle, though in ruins, that is their greatest monument, at Fochabers it is the town itself, an exceptionally fine example of Georgian town-planning, that remains to testify to their good taste. It was laid out by John Baxter, mason to William Adam, for Alexander, 4th Duke of Gordon, and his Duchess, Jane Maxwell, at the end of the 18th cent., when it became necessary to remove the original village, which stood in the way of the extension of Gordon Castle. Baxter designed the 'New Town' in the form of a rectangle, bisected lengthways from E. to W. by the main highway from Aberdeen to Elgin. On this major axis is a large market square with the parish church of Bellie (1798) in the middle of its S. side. From the square, Duke Street ran N. on the alignment of Gordon Castle, but in 1852 this vista was closed by the erection of an Episcopal chapel, balancing the parish Kirk at the other end of the street.

Moray location