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The Cowie Village of today is a picturesque sea town, the Cowie of
the Middle Ages is a comparatively different settlement The old Cowie it is claimed was created a royal burgh by David I. The ruined kirk
of Cowie was dedicated to St Mary in 1276, it is of architectural importance as one of the few examples of the early English style in North East Scotland.
Stonehaven was the creation of the George the 5th Earle marshal who also founded Peterhead; He had Old
Stonehaven turned into a burgh of Barney as it remained until in 1880 it was united with New Stonehaven founded by Robert Barclay of Ury in 1797.
Marischal who built a storehouse the Old Tolbooth in the harbour, which is the town's most precious link to its first beginnings, it is situated at the base of the north pier of the harbour and when
recently restored it was opened by the Queen Mother as a museum and tea room.
Like Cowie Stanehyve was destroyed by Montrose in 1645.
The Old Chevalier passed through Stonehaven and was proclaimed King as James VIII at the door of Fetteresso Castle on the
2nd January 1716
then again at the Cross of Stonehaven by the Procurator Fiscal of the day.
In 1748 three Episcopal clergymen from Stonehaven, Drumlithie and Muchalls were tried
and imprisoned in the Tolbooth for six months by their Presbyterian 'brethren' During this period fishermen's wives from the havens along the coast were
often seen trudging along the sea-beach with creels on their backs: in them were concealed babies to be christened by the gaoled pastors through the window of the Tolbooth.
The scene of
one of these christenings was depicted by the 'literary painter' SW Brownlow in a famous canvas of 1865, Since this incident the Tolbooth has become something of a shrine to the Scottish Episcopal
Church. They took part in its recent
restoration, and one of its rooms has become a 'Church Room'.
At the end of the High Street in the Old Town stand the Mercat Cross and 18th-centuary town
steeple with its Dutch roof, Old houses in its immediate neighbourhood had to be demolished
but they have been replaced by a new housing scheme specially designed to retain the ancient
character of this part of the town.
The Barclays of Ury bought the estate of Arduthie for £1.500 in 1759. The site of the future New Town of Stonehaven was then largely moor-covered with short heath, furze and broom.
Encouraging settlers to the 'New Town' on the north bank of the Carron Fues sore real progress in the first two decades of the 19th centaury when the
Old Town’s harbour was much improved and herring fishing began.
The new town of Stonehaven has a very pleasant tree-lined square, where the Market Buildings were erected in 1827 over looked by a
steeple 130 ft high. The Town Hall in Allardyce Street dates from 1827, Mackie Academy dates from 1893.
Stonehaven like Burghead and Lerwick has its traditional mid winter fire festival it takes place at midnight on Hogmanay
on the 31 December and
ushers in the New Year. It consists of a march by the young men of the town, swinging fire-balls in the High Street. The fire-balls are carefully made according to an old recipe, and vary in size
from a
football to one twice as big.
A small number of fishermen still operate from Stonehaven, but the tendency is for the harbour to become the domain of pleasure craft
It has become a popular centre for yachting and water-skiing.
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