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<small>Inbhir Losaidh</small>
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<small>Lossie</small>
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Scotland
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Scotland
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6803
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NJ235705
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577189
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-032875
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LOSSIEMOUTH
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IV
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IV31 6xx
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01343
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Moray
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Presbytery of Moray
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Moray
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Moray
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Moray
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{Link without Title}
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is a town in
Moray ,
Scotland . Originally the port belonging to
Elgin , it became an important and innovative fishing town. Although there has been over a 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over the past 250 years and consists of four separate communities that eventually merged into one. From 1890 - 1975 it was a
Police Burgh as '''Lossiemouth and Branderburgh'''.
Stotfield, the first significant settlement (discounting Kinneddar which has now disappeared), lies to the north west of the town. Next was the Seatown - a small area between the river and the canal consisting of 52 houses, 51 of which are the historic fisher cottages. Following the decision to build a new harbour on the
River Lossie , the 18th Century planned town of Lossiemouth built on on a grid system was established on the low ground below the Coulard Hill. Branderburgh formed the final development during the 19th Century. This part of the town developed entirely as a result of the new harbour with its two basins and eventually covered the entire Coulard Hill and providing the town's impressive profile when viewed from a distance.
RAF Lossiemouth forms a significant part of the town; established in 1939 and houses three operational
Tornado GR4 squadrons, and the Tornado GR4 Operational Conversion Unit as well as a flight of
Westland Sea King search and rescue helicopters.
Although the (c. 90 – c. 168), describes in chapter 2 of his ''Geographa'' entitled ''
Albion Island of Britannia'' the mouth of the
River Lossie as ''ostium Loxa Fluvius''. Settlement in this area has a long history.
St Gervadius , a celtic hermit inhabited a cave overlooking the entrance to the sea loch, Loch Spynie. In his time, the River Lossie entered the loch further to the south, near Inchbroom. The rocky promontory is recorded in the Chartulary of Moray as Holyman's Head and it is said that Gervadius (St Gerardine as he became known in later times) would walk around the headland with a flaming torch to warn ships away from the dangerous rocks. Even today the Halliman Skerries retain the reference to St Gervadius. He died in 934 AD and his cave became a place of pilgrimage right up to the 16th Century. The cave was eventually quarried out.
The settlement at the river mouth is significant particularly in its relationship with the
Royal Burgh of Elgin. An argument between Alexander Bur,
Bishop Of Moray and John Dunbar, 4th
Earl Of Moray was documented in 1383 regarding the ‘ownership’ of the port of ‘Losey’. This document mentions that Losey was commonly known to fall within the limits of the episcopal estates. The Bishop’s description of the port suggests that it was well downstream from his fishing station at Spynie. It seems likely, therefore to look upon Losey as not merely a fishing station but as a trading port that the Elgin Burgesses used as a counterbalance to the Royal Burgh of
Forres 's trading port of
Findhorn . The dispute with the Earl of Moray went further. That same year of 1383, the Earl wrote to the Elgin burgesses offering them the use of his port at the mouth of the River Spey with no duties in an attempt to take trade from the Bishop. The port and fishery was mentioned again in 1551.
The loch and the river became separated c.1600. A succession of storms built banks of sand and boulders that eventually closed off the sea entrance. To avoid flooding it is documented that, in 1609, the post-
Reformation Protestant Bishop , Alexander Douglas took steps to exclude the River Lossie from the loch. Evidence of a sudden and unnatural looking right-angled bend between Caysbriggs and Inchbroom may indicate the location of this diversion.
Modern Lossiemouth has its origins in five separate communities that in time grew into one. These were Kinneddar, Stotfield, Seatown, Lossiemouth and finally, Branderburgh; the most ancient of these are Kinneddar and Stotfield.
Kinneddar has now disappeared as a ''ferm toun'', however an old farmhouse still retains its name and is probably its location. A
Pictish settlement occupied the area and large numbers of carved stones, now held in Elgin Museum, were found. These stones date the settlement to around the 8th or 9th Century. Pictish crosses were found in or near the cemetery and indicate the presence of a
Christ ian establishment. Early documented references to the settlement refer to it as Kenedor dating it to the 10th Century; it may, of course, have been a continuation of the original Pictish religious community.
Saint Gervadius (Gerardine) is referred to as "Gervadius of Kenedor" and may have been part of this community, establishing his cell in the cave just to the northeast.
Bishop Richard is known to have resided at Kinneddar and for that period, it became the cathedral church of the diocese. However maps dating from the early 1500s clearly show this farming community as King Edward.National Library of Scotland
{Link without Title} It is unlikely, though, that this community took its name from
King Edward I of England, ''The Hammer of the Scots'', even though Edward travelled twice to this area to demonstrate his grip over the country; the most likely explanation is that the early cartographers took the local pronunciation of Kinneddar as King Edward and recorded it as such. He is known to have stayed in Elgin for four days in late July 1296 and it was during this sojourn into Scotland that he removed the
Stone Of Scone (Stone of Destiny) from Scone Palace and had it placed in a wooden chair at
Westminster Abbey . He again stayed in Elgin for two days in September 1303 and then camped at
Kinloss Abbey from the 13th of September till the 4th of October.
At that time the castle at Kinneddar, along with those at Elgin and Duffus, was left under the control of English garrisons. In 1308,
Robert The Bruce , taking advantage of
King Edward II 's preoccupation with matters in England and France, started capturing and usually destroying castles that were either English garrisoned or controlled throughout Scotland. Joined by an army provided by David de Moravia, the
Bishop Of Moray , Bruce burned the castles of Inverness and Nairn before seizing and burning Kinneddar castle. He attacked Elgin castle only to be twice repulsed before finally succeeding. King Edward had the Bishop ex-communicated causing him to flee to Norway only to return after Edward's death.
Kinneddar village was still sizable in the early 19th century but dwindled away with the building of the new Lossiemouth, just to the east.
The early maps, some dating back to the early 16th century, clearly show Stotfield (some maps, name the settlement as Stotfold or Stodfauld). The name Stotfold means in Old English, 'horse fold'. The fact that the name is a form of English and not derived from
Pictish or
Gaelic names suggests that incomers settled the area.
King David I introduced settlers from other parts of the kingdom as a way of reducing the powers of the lords who had ruled large territories as independent provinces. Indeed, King David put down a rebellion by the
Mormaer Of Moray in 1130 and it is possible that Stotfield dated from shortly after this event. The English speaking inhabitants of the
Lothian s would most likely have been the chosen settlers. It is notable that the people inhabiting the Lothians were
Angles (formally part of the Kingdom of
Northumbria ).
In the Presbetry to this Church discipline for satisfaction of yr (their) great & gross scandall & Idolatrous custome in burning torches on ye new years even The Presbetry having ordained y' (that) those psons mor in accession in this transgression yn (than) oyrs (others)satisfy ye discipline in Sacco And oyra (others) according to the arbitrement of ye Sessione. The Session do yrfore (therefore) ordain John Edward in Stotefold to satisfy in Sacco on day & to pay 20s20 shillings (Scots) in 1670 was worth about £10 in 2005; £1 (English) = £12 (Scots)James Jafray in Cousea to satisfy in the Joges two dayes, Wm Innes Wm Hesbein Thomas Edward & John Thome all of ym (them) to testify yr(their) Repentance by standing at ye pillar And ilk ane of ym (them ) to pay 20s Alexr Innes owner of ye Boats of Stotefold, Wm Young owner of ye boats of Cousea each of ym (them) are ordained to pay 4 libs (pounds). In regard that they had not restrained this abuse Conform to yr (their) engagement before ye Presbetry in Ano 66 (year 1666) The fors (four) psons (persons) all of y snd Compeiring yr (their)sentence being intimated unto ym (them) they accepting & submitting to disciplin were sharpely rebuked exhorted to serious Repentance & enjoyned to satisfy conform to ye ordinance The next Lords day."''
But the practices continued and, 35 years later, the minutes from the session records stated:
''"23 Dec 1705 Also after sermon ye min1' (the minister) did guard ye Seamen to beware of ye old Heathenish superstitious practice of carrieing of lighted Clevies or torches about yr boats on new years even certifieing all that should be found any manner of way to concurr with or contribute to ye said work—should be put in ye hands of ye civill magistrate."''
This is interesting because it shows that the power to fine parishioners had by then been removed and put in the hands of magistrates.
Parish records from Duffus Kirk show that similar experiences were happening at Brughsea (Burghead)The letters "r" and "u" were transposed in later times but the local name for Burghead, ie the "Broch", can clearly be identified in the ancient spelling (''Brugh''sea). It is apparent, therefore, that
Clavie Burning was carried out in the three fisher towns of Brughsea, Causie (Covesea) and Stotefold (Stotfield). It is unlikely that this practice would have been restricted to the three Morayshire locations and that it would have been more widespread. Burghead still burns a ceremonial clavie on the eve of the ''old'' new year but is no longer associated with fishing boats. A puzzling date for the modern ceremony as the 17th Century ones were held on the 31st of December.
See Also: Stotfield fishing disaster
The Stotfield fishing disaster struck on
Christmas Day
1806 . The severity of this tragedy had an enormous effect upon the Stotfield community when every single able bodied male in the village perished in a huge storm. The folk memory of it is still retained among the fishermen of Lossiemouth.
The Seatown was established at the end of the 17th Century when the old port at Spynie became landlocked.
A succession of storms had built up large shingle banks to block the outlet of Loch Spynie to the sea. The merchants of Elgin decided that a new harbour that could berth larger trading vessels at the river mouth was required. The fishermen didn't use the new pier however but continued to sail their boats up to the beach at the Seatown. Seatown is called ''The Toonie'' by its inhabitants and sometimes referred to as the ''Dogwall''. This was a reference to dog-skins that were dried here before being turned into floats for nets.
In 1685, the Elgin burgh council called upon a German engineer, Peter Brauss, to look at the viability of providing a harbour at the mouth of the River Lossie; he decided that a harbour could be established. The first efforts at the beginning of the 18th Century looked to have failed but by 1764, the new jetty had been built at a cost of £1200 £1200 in 1764 was worth about £125,000 in 2005.
At the time that the new river mouth harbour was being constructed, so too was a more planned development laid out in streets running parallel and right angles to each other. An open square with a cross separated the first settlement from the new.
The fishers occupied the houses at the Seatown and the builders, craftsmen and merchants in the new Lossiemouth. Later, a canal cut to drain Loch Spynie, would present a physical barrier to the two communities and entered the River Lossie in this area.
By the early 1800s, the river harbour was busy but its long-term future was unsustainable and meant that a new solution was sought. In 1834, a Stotfield and Lossiemouth Harbour Company was formed to look into building a new harbour at Stotfield Point. That same year, ''The Inverness Courier'' carried the following:
''"A paragraph is quoted from an Elgin paper under the heading "unexampled economy worthy of imitation." The two senior bailies of the burgh went on behalf of the town to Lossiemouth to meet the gentlemen appointed to stake off the ground for a proposed new harbour. The worthy Magistrates walked the whole distance, five miles out and five miles home, and only spent one shilling! One shilling in 1834 was worth about £3.70 in 2005; the whisky was cheap but that's a big tip to the waiter! This expenditure consisted of sixpence for whisky and the other sixpence to the waiter."''
The construction of the new harbour was carried out between 1837 and 1839 but initially in a relatively small form. The beginning of the building process was marked by a ceremony and reported in the ''Inverness Courier'' as follows,
''"The ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the inner basin of the new harbour at Stotfield Point, Lossiemouth, took place on the 15th inst {Link without Title} . The stone was laid by Lieut. Colonel James Brander of Pitgaveny, the proprietor of the site, with the assistance of the Trinity Lodge of Freemasons, and in presence of the Chairman and shareholders of the Harbour Company, and representatives of the burgh of Elgin."''
This was the beginning of the final phase of building that was to become Branderburgh. However, by 1858, the basin had been enlarged further and deepened to 16 feet at spring tides. This encouraged many fishing families from up and down the coast to move to the town. The harbour as well as having a large herring fleet by now, also shared the available space with trading ships. This prompted the now renamed Elgin and Lossiemouth Harbour Company to build a new second basin at a cost of £18,000 £18,000 in 1860 was worth about £1.1 million in 2005. This basin was intended solely for fishing boats and opened in 1860.
Branderburgh, with its characteristic wide streets, continued to push its boundaries westward and by the early 1900s finally joined with Stotfield. A substantial amount of sandstone was quarried from the east side of the town to accommodate this rapid house building project. When Lossiemouth and Branderburgh became a police burgh in 1890, the town became mainly known as Lossiemouth, or more commonly – Lossie.
See Also: Scottish east coast fishery
The boats used at Stotfield, Seatown and finally Branderburgh were the same as those found across the entire Scottish east coast fishery. Chronologically, these were the two masted luggers, the Skaffies, Fifies and Zulus; then the powered Steam Drifters and Seine Netters.
- The ''Skaffie'' appeared at the beginning of the 19th Century. These boats were initially small so that they could be easily beached but later versions were heavier when large harbours became prevalent. Their stems were rounded and had raked sterns.
- The ''Fifie'' was the predominant fishing boat on the east coast from the 1850s until the mid-1880s. The Fifies main features were the vertical stem and stern. Fifies built from 1860 onwards were all decked and from 1870s onwards the bigger boats were built with carvel planking, i.e. the planks were laid edge to edge instead of the overlapping clinker style of previous boats. Some boats were built up to about 70 feet in length and were very fast.
- The ''Zulu'' took its name from the Zulu war that was raging in South Africa at the time. Lossiemouth fisherman William 'Dad' Campbell was the first to introduce this form of fishing boat. His boat, the ''Nonesuch'', had the characteristic vertical stem and steeply raking stern. The Zulu Boats rapidly became very popular in Lossiemouth and then along the whole of the east coast. Because these boats were ultimately very big and fast, they could reach the fishing grounds quickly and return with the catch equally fast.
- The ''Steam Drifters'', so called because just like the Fifies and Zulus, they used drift nets. They were large boats, usually 80-90 feet in length with a beam of around 20 feet. Steam drifters had many advantages. They were usually about 20ft longer than the sailing vessels so they could carry more nets and catch more fish. This was important because the market was growing quickly at the beginning of the 20th century. They could travel faster and further and with greater freedom from weather, wind and tide. Because less time was spent travelling to and from the fishing grounds, more time could be spent fishing. However they did have disadvantages. They were expensive to build and run and as the herring fishery declined they became too expensive to operate.
- The ''Seine Netters'' initially were converted Fifies and Zulus. From 1906, petrol and paraffin engines began to be installed, initially for auxiliary power. However, as more powerful engines became available, sails (apart from the mizzen sail) were dispensed with. Danish '' Seine Net '' boats were landing huge quantities of plaice and other white fish at English east coast ports. Lossiemouth fishermen noted this and a few decided to use the seine net. It was obvious that this would be successful, but they were still hampered by the design and cost of the majority steam boats. John Campbell, nephew of William Campbell who designed the first Zulu boat, saw that a new design was needed to accommodate the large amounts of white fish that could be caught. His boat, the ''Marigold'', did very well and over a short period the entire fleet (the first in Scotland) converted to the seine net.
See Also: Morayshire Railway
The Morayshire Railway was officially opened at ceremonies in Elgin and Branderburgh on 10 August 1852, the steam engines having been delivered to Lossie by sea. It was the first railway north of Aberdeen and initially travelled only the 5½ miles between Lossie and Elgin but later extended south to Craigellachie. The Lossie – Elgin section had three stops; the Rifle Range Halt, Greens of Drainie and Linksfield. The
Great North Of Scotland Railway took over the working of the line in 1863 and bought the company in 1881 following the Morayshire Railway's return from crippling debt back to solvency. The railway and harbour became very important to the economy of both Lossie and Moray. It was the Morayshire Railway that persuaded Col Brander, of Pitgaveny, to build the bridge from the Seatown to the east beach to encourage more day tripping in the summer months
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From early maps, Stotfield is known to exist in 1500s (see National Library of Scotland) but is probably older. Kinneddar is referenced in the 10th Century. [http://www.catholic-forum.com/Saints/saintg5l.htm]
The town is positioned at (NJ2320771191). It sits on the most northerly point of the south coast of the
Moray Firth , at the mouth of the
River Lossie . To the west of the town are a sandy beach, golf links and the
Royal Air Force station,
RAF Lossiemouth . The south-east of Lossiemouth is characterised by sand dunes on a beach which separates the River Lossie from the sea. Lossie Forest is a large pine forest that starts on the town's south-east boundary and the river splits it into two sections. The south side of the town is joined by the fertile plains of the Laich o' Moray.
A large part of the town is built on the Coulard Hill which consists of pale grey and yellow sandstones and with these is associated a cherty and calcareous band, known as '' 'the cherty rock of Stotfield' ''. This rock is a form of silica that contains micro-crystalline quartz. Also in the calcareous band of the Stotfield rock there is limestone with nodular masses of flint, crystals of galena (lead ore) and iron pyrites. The quarry on the east side of the town that produced the stone for the building of Branderburgh produced the largest variety and total numbers of
Fossil Reptile s from the late
Triassic Period to have been found in the UK. This was a total of eight species and 97 individuals; five of the species are unique to Lossiemouth, one of which is an early form of
Dinosaur . This quarry is ranked as one of Britain's most important fossil bearing locations of this period.
Lossiemouth experiences a maritime temperate climate with generally cool summers and mild winters, and a relatively small annual temperature range. This is due to the sea which has a much higher heat capacity than soil and rock. Seawater takes longer to warm up in summer, but once heated it retains its energy long after the surrounding land has cooled down, helping to moderate the climate. The
British Isles has its prevailing wind from the southwest blowing over the
Atlantic Ocean and the
Gulf Stream , or more correctly, the
North Atlantic Drift ocean current. This allows the air masses to pick up considerable amounts of moisture and, in Scotland, to deposit most of it on the western sides of the mountain ranges. The air that reaches the east coast is considerably drier which accounts for Lossiemouth's relatively low rainfall pattern.
