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Keith, Moray
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Keith (Scottish Gaelic: Ceith Mhaol Rubha) is a small town in the northeast of Scotland with a population of around 5,000.
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Encyclopedia
Keith (Scottish Gaelic: Ceith Mhaol Rubha) is a small town in the northeast of Scotland with a population of around 5,000. It is part of the Moray council area but until 1975 was in Banffshire, a name which persists in postal addresses and is common usage amongst older residents. Keith has two main sections: Keith, which is the new town and Fife Keith, which is much older. Nearby Newmill is a planned village.
The oldest part of Keith dates to around 1180. The main part of the town is on higher ground above the river, laid out in 1755 by the Earl of Findlater. It is located at the crossing of the A95 and A96 roads. Local services include a health centre, dentist, optician and multiple hairdressing salons. The town has three schools: Keith Grammar School, Keith Primary School and St Thomas RC Primary School.
The annual Keith Country Show, held at Seafield Park, is a notable event in the farming calendar of north-east Scotland.
History and culture
The Chronicles of Keith, compiled in the 19th century, provide an unusually comprehensive view of the area's history. From it, we learn that early on, Keith was known as "Kethmalruff", a dedication to Saint Maol Rubha (d. 722), also Latinised as "St Rufus". This dedication to an early medieval saint may imply a Dark Age origin for the first church at Keith (still marked by an ancient graveyard, though the parish church was rebuilt on another site in Victorian times), though no archaeological evidence for this has been identified.
The language spoken indigenously round Keith is Doric, a particularly vibrant form of Lowland Scots, although Scottish Gaelic was also used anciently in the area (as evidenced by numerous placenames), and by one or two Highland colonies. Before these, the language would have been Pictish.
Tourist attractions
Keith had one of the few tartan museums in Scotland, an indication of the town's history in the wool industry. The town is at the start of the Malt Whisky trail, and has three distilleries, including Strathisla Distillery, one of the oldest in the Highlands. The Keith and Dufftown Railway is an 11-mile heritage railway running to Dufftown.
The have published a number of maps that lead visitors on walking tours through the town and surrounding countryside.
Two annual events attract tourists to Keith. The first of these, the , falls on the second weekend of June and celebrates the traditional (and not so traditional) music of the area, providing entertainment in the form of concerts, ceilidhs, competitions and sessions.
On the second weekend of August the town hosts the Keith Country Show. The show was founded in 1872 and every year promises days of prize-winning livestock and family fun.
Sport Facilities
Keith has an 18-hole golf course, three tennis courts, a bowling club, squash court, skate park, multiple football pitches (one official pitch - Kynoch Park - where Keith F.C. play) and a large sports hall. The swimming pool has been refurbished with a gym and sauna room added to the facilities. Keith Cricket Club play their home games at Fife Park.
Famous residents
*James 'Gordon Bennett', Sr., founder and publisher of the New York Herald
External links
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