Moray
Encyclopedia
Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth
Moray Firth
The Moray Firth is a roughly triangular inlet of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotland...

, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...

 and Highland
Highland (council area)
Highland is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole. It shares borders with the council areas of Moray, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross, and Argyll and Bute. Their councils, and those of Angus and...

.

History

The Moray council area was established in 1975; see History of the subdivisions of Scotland and History of local government in Scotland.

Towns and villages

  • Aberlour
    Aberlour
    Aberlour , is the name of a place in Moray, Scotland, 12 miles south of Elgin on the road to Grantown. A burn , a tributary of the River Spey, and surrounding parish, are both named Aberlour, but the name is most commonly used in reference to the village which straddles the stream and flanks the...

    , Alves
    Alves, Moray
    Alves is a village in Moray, Scotland.-Geography:The A96 runs east to west across Alves and connects the village to the nearest towns of Forres and Elgin . James McLeman is the acting head teacher of the local Alves Primary School, that educates around 28 pupils! The local pub and restaurant is...

    , Archiestown
    Archiestown
    Archiestown is a small village in Moray, Scotland, named in honour of its founder Sir Archibald Grant of Monymusk. It is a typical 18th century planned village with a grid street-plan and spacious square. Originally intended as a weaving centre, it is better known for the nearby distilleries of...

    , Arradoul
    Arradoul
    Arradoul is a small village in Scotland, in the traditional county of Banffshire, and in the Moray council area. It is a ribbon settlement on the south side of main A98 road between Cullen and Fochabers, near to the Buckpool turn off to the town of Buckie. To the south of the village are the farms...

    , Auchenhalrig
  • Bogmoor, Broadley, Buckie
    Buckie
    Buckie is a burgh town on the Moray Firth coast of Scotland in Moray. Buckie was the largest town in Banffshire by some thousands of inhabitants before regionalisation in 1975 removed that political division from the map of Scotland...

    , Burghead
    Burghead
    Burghead is a small town in Moray, Scotland, about 8 miles north-west of Elgin. The town is mainly built on a Peninsula which projects north-westward into the Moray Firth, meaning that most of the town has sea on 3 sides. The present town was built between 1805 and 1809, destroying in the...

  • Clochan
    Clochan
    A Clochán is a dry-stone hut with a corbelled roof, dating from the early Middle Ages or earlier. Most archaeologists think these structures were built on the southwestern coast of Ireland since the Bronze Age. They are most commonly round beehive huts, but rectangular plans are known as well....

    , Craigellachie
    Craigellachie, Scotland
    Craigellachie is a small village in Moray, Scotland, at the confluence of the River Spey and River Fiddich , in walking distance of the town of Aberlour....

    , Cullen, Cummingston
    Cummingston
    Cummingston is located on the North East coast of Scotland in Moray. It lies on the B9012, sandwiched between the two fishing villages of Hopeman and Burghead...

  • Dallas, Deskford, Dipple, Drybridge
    Drybridge
    Drybridge is a village in North Ayrshire, Scotland. Drybridge is thus named because of the 'dry bridge' over the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway, opened in 1812...

    , Dufftown
    Dufftown
    Dufftown is a burgh in Banffshire, Scotland.The town was originally named Mortlach in the Middle Ages, until the 19th century when the Earl of Fife built the town as a housing for soldiers returning home from war...

    , Duffus
    Duffus
    Duffus is a village in Moray, Scotland, centred on a Mercat Cross. The Duffus Village Inn, along with the local shop, Post Office and Duffus Village Hall provide a focal point for the community. Nearby are the impressive remains of Duffus Castle, St...

    , Dyke
    Dyke, Moray
    Dyke is a small village located near Forres. It is situated near to Culbin Forest and the village also has its own primary school. The parish was known in Gaelic as 'Sgìre Dhìg'....

  • Elgin
    Elgin, Moray
    Elgin is a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190...

  • Findhorn
    Findhorn
    Findhorn is a village in Moray, Scotland. It is located on the eastern shore of Findhorn Bay and immediately south of the Moray Firth. Findhorn is 3 miles northwest of Kinloss, and about 5 miles by road from Forres....

    , Findochty
    Findochty
    Findochty is a village in Banffshire, Scotland, 4 miles east of the town of Buckie.Findochty stands on the shores of the Moray Firth. The Gaelic name of the village was recorded by Diack in his own transcription method as fanna-guchti which is unclear in meaning...

    , Fochabers
    Fochabers
    Fochabers is a village in the Parish of Bellie, in Moray, Scotland, not far from the cathedral city of Elgin and located on the east bank of the River Spey. Around 2,000 people live in the village, which enjoys a rich musical and cultural history...

    , Forres
    Forres
    Forres , is a town and former royal burgh situated in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately 30 miles east of Inverness. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions...

    , Fogwatt
    Fogwatt
    Fogwatt is a small village near Elgin, in Moray, Scotland. Fogwatt Community Hall is a local community hall that is situated on the main road towards Rothes.*...

  • Garmouth
    Garmouth, Moray
    Garmouth , spurious ) , is a village in Moray, north east Scotland. It is situated close to the mouth of the River Spey, and the coast of the Moray Firth at nearby Kingston .Garmouth has a claim to fame as the landing point of King Charles II on his return...

  • Hopeman
    Hopeman
    Hopeman is a seaside village in Moray, Scotland, on the coast of the Moray Firth, founded in 1805 to house and re-employ people displaced during the Highland clearances. The population is around 1 000 people in approximately 670 households.-The village:...

  • Ianstown
    Ianstown
    Ianstown is a small village on the Moray Firth in Scotland. It lies within the council area of Moray. Its coordinates are and its OS grid reference is .The town of Buckie lies to the west of Ianstown....

    , Inchberry
  • Keith, Kingston
    Kingston, Moray
    Kingston on Spey is a small coastal village in Moray, Scotland. It is situated immediately north of Garmouth at the western side of the mouth of the River Spey on the coast of the Moray Firth. Kingston was founded in 1784 and was named after Kingston upon Hull, in East Yorkshire.Kingston's past...

    , Kinloss
    Kinloss
    Kinloss is a village in Moray, Scotland. It is located near the shore of Findhorn Bay, around 3 miles from Findhorn and 2.5 miles from Forres. RAF Kinloss is located northeast of the village, and is transitioning to an Army barracks.The Cistercian Kinloss Abbey was created in 1150 by King David...

  • Lhanbryde
    Lhanbryde
    Lhanbryde is a village in Moray, Scotland, four miles east of Elgin. Previously bisected by the A96, it was bypassed in the early 1990s and now lies to the north of this busy trunk road....

    , Longmorn
    Longmorn
    Longmorn is a village in Moray, Scotland, famous for its malt whisky distilleries. It lies approximately two and a half miles south of Elgin on the main road from Elgin to Rothes....

    , Lossiemouth
    Lossiemouth
    Lossiemouth is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, it became an important 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...

  • Mill of Tynet, Mosstodloch
    Mosstodloch
    Mosstodloch is a small village in Moray, Scotland, lying near the A96 between Fochabers and Elgin on the west bank of the River Spey.Construction work on a bypass for Mosstodloch and the neighbouring village of Fochabers, costing £31.5m, started in February 2010 and the Mosstodloch section opened...

    ,
  • Nether Dallachy, Newmill
  • Ordiquish
  • Portgordon
    Portgordon
    Portgordon is a village in Moray, Scotland. Portgordon is a small fishing village located near Buckie. there is a small shop, a hairdresser, a school, a bowling green, a beach and a football pitch. Portgordon is also known for the seals that bathe on the rocks. there are also dolphins out there to...

    , Portknockie
    Portknockie
    Portknockie is a coastal village on the Moray Firth in northeast Scotland, in Moray. Portknockie is a coastal village on the Moray Firth in northeast Scotland, in Moray. Portknockie is a coastal village on the Moray Firth in northeast Scotland, in Moray. (Family historians will note that this...

  • Rathven
    Rathven
    Rathven is a village and civil parish in Moray, Scotland. It has a population of 12,378. The parish includes the former burghs of Buckie, Findochty and Portknockie....

    , Rafford
    Rafford
    Rafford is a village in Moray, Scotland. It is approximately 2.5 miles south-west of the town of Forres, and 5.5 miles north-east of the village of Dallas....

    , Rothes
    Rothes
    Rothes is a town in Moray, Scotland, south of Elgin and on the banks of the River Spey. The village has a population of 1209 .At the south end of the village lie the remains of Rothes Castle, which dates from the 13th century...

    , Rothiemay
  • Spey Bay
    Spey Bay
    Spey Bay is a small settlement in Moray, Scotland. It is situated at the eastern side of the mouth of the River Spey on the coast of the Moray Firth between the village of Kingston on the western side of the Spey, and the fishing port of Buckie to the east....

  • Tomintoul
    Tomintoul
    Tomintoul is a village in the Moray council area of Scotland; until 1975 it was located in the county of Banffshire.It is said to be the highest village in the Scottish Highlands, but at is still significantly lower than the highest village in Scotland .The village was laid out on a grid pattern...

  • Unthank
    Unthank, Moray
    Unthank is a village in Moray, Scotland....

    , Upper Dallachy
    Upper Dallachy
    Upper Dallachy is a small village situated in Morayshire, Scotland, approximately 3 kilometers south east of Spey Bay.The village is located next to the now-abandoned RAF Dallachy airfield, which was used frequently in World War II and was the site of a number of bombings. It is one of 4 small...

    , Urquhart
    Urquhart, Moray
    Urquhart is a small village in Moray, Scotland with a population of 420 . It is approximately five miles east of Elgin, and between the villages of Lhanbryde and Garmouth.-Barony of Urquhart History:...


Moray Council

see also Moray council election, 2007
Moray council election, 2007
Elections to The Moray Council were held on 3 May 2007, the same day as the Scottish Parliament election. The election was the first using the eight new wards created under the Local Governance Act 2004. 26 councillors were elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral...



The Moray council area was created in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994
Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994
The Local Government etc. Act 1994 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the current local government structure of 32 unitary authorities covering the whole of Scotland....

, with the boundaries of the former Moray district of the two-tier Grampian
Grampian
Grampian was a local government region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996. It is now divided into the unitary council areas of:*Moray*Aberdeenshire*City of AberdeenThe region had five districts:*Aberdeen*Banff and Buchan...

 region
Regions and districts of Scotland
The local government areas of Scotland were redefined by the Local Government Act 1973 and redefined again by the Local Government etc Act 1994....

.

Local government districts had their own directly elected councils. Therefore they were said to be part of a two-tier system of local government. This was abolished by the 1994 legislation, in favour of unitary council areas. The districts, and the regions, had been formed in 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
The Local Government Act 1973 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in Scotland, on May 16, 1975....

.

The Moray district had been formed by combining the local government
Local government of Scotland
Local government in Scotland is organised through 32 unitary authorities designated as Councils which consist of councillors elected every four years by registered voters in each of the council areas....

 county of Moray
County of Moray
Moray is one of the registration counties of Scotland, bordering Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire to the south, and Banffshire to the east...

, except Grantown-on-Spey
Grantown-on-Spey
Grantown-on-Spey is a town in the Highland Council Area in Scotland.It was founded in 1765 as a planned settlement on a low plateau at Freuchie beside the river Spey at the northern edge of the Cairngorm mountains, about 20 miles South East of Inverness .It is the main town in what was the...

 and Cromdale
Cromdale
Cromdale is a village in Highland, Scotland and one of the ancient parishes which formed the combined ecclesiastical parish of "Cromdale, Inverallan and Advie" in Morayshire....

 areas, with Aberlour
Aberlour
Aberlour , is the name of a place in Moray, Scotland, 12 miles south of Elgin on the road to Grantown. A burn , a tributary of the River Spey, and surrounding parish, are both named Aberlour, but the name is most commonly used in reference to the village which straddles the stream and flanks the...

, Buckie
Buckie
Buckie is a burgh town on the Moray Firth coast of Scotland in Moray. Buckie was the largest town in Banffshire by some thousands of inhabitants before regionalisation in 1975 removed that political division from the map of Scotland...

, Cullen, Dufftown
Dufftown
Dufftown is a burgh in Banffshire, Scotland.The town was originally named Mortlach in the Middle Ages, until the 19th century when the Earl of Fife built the town as a housing for soldiers returning home from war...

, Findochty
Findochty
Findochty is a village in Banffshire, Scotland, 4 miles east of the town of Buckie.Findochty stands on the shores of the Moray Firth. The Gaelic name of the village was recorded by Diack in his own transcription method as fanna-guchti which is unclear in meaning...

, Keith
Keith, Moray
Keith is a small town in the Moray council area in north east Scotland. It has a population of around 4,500....

 and Portknockie
Portknockie
Portknockie is a coastal village on the Moray Firth in northeast Scotland, in Moray. Portknockie is a coastal village on the Moray Firth in northeast Scotland, in Moray. Portknockie is a coastal village on the Moray Firth in northeast Scotland, in Moray. (Family historians will note that this...

 areas of the county of Banff. The Grantown-on-Spey and Cromdale areas had been combined with Kingussie
Kingussie
Kingussie is a small town in the Highland region of Scotland. It is one settlement in the Highland Council ward of Badenoch and Strathspey, and is the capital of the district of Badenoch. It lies beside the A9 road, although the old route of the A9 serves as the town's main street...

 and Badenoch
Badenoch
Badenoch is a traditional district which today forms part of Badenoch and Strathspey, an area of Highland Council, in Scotland, bounded on the north by the Monadhliath Mountains, on the east by the Cairngorms and Braemar, on the south by Atholl and the Grampians, and on the west by Lochaber...

 areas of the county of Inverness to form the Badenoch and Strathspey
Badenoch and Strathspey
Badenoch and Strathspey as a local government district 1975 to 1996Badenoch and Strathspey is a local government ward of the Highland council area and a ward management area of the Highland Council in Scotland...

 district of the Highland
Highland (council area)
Highland is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole. It shares borders with the council areas of Moray, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross, and Argyll and Bute. Their councils, and those of Angus and...

 region.

Current political composition:
Party Councillors
Independent 12
Scottish National Party 10
Conservative 2
Labour 2


Moray Council has been controlled by an Independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

/Conservative coalition since May 2007.

Parliamentary constituencies

In the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 (Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...

), the council area is covered the Moray (Westminster) constituency
Moray (UK Parliament constituency)
-Sources:* * * * * * -See also:...

.

In the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...

 (Holyrood
Scottish Parliament Building
The Scottish Parliament Building is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Edinburgh. Construction of the building commenced in June 1999 and the Members of the Scottish Parliament held their first debate in the new building on 7...

), most of the council area is covered by the Moray (Holyrood) constituency
Moray (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Moray is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...

, which is in the Highlands and Islands electoral region. The Keith
Keith, Moray
Keith is a small town in the Moray council area in north east Scotland. It has a population of around 4,500....

 area, however, is within the Gordon (Holyrood) constituency
Gordon (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Gordon was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament. It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...

, which is in the North East Scotland electoral region.


Employment

The working population of Moray in 2003 was nearly 40,000 of which around 34,000 were employees and 6,000 self-employed. Of this 34,000, 31% are employed in the public sector compared with 27% for Scotland and 25% for the UK (the RAF personnel are not included in these figures). Only 18% of jobs are managerial or professional compared to 25% for Scotland.


Economic performance

The gross value added
Gross value added
Gross Value Added ' is a measure in economics of the value of goods and services produced in an area, industry or sector of an economy...

 (GVA) in Moray was £1.26 billion, in 2003. This corresponds to an output of £14,500 per resident and was 6% below the average for Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 and 12% below that of the UK.

The diagrams show the strong reliance on the food and drink industry i.e. the distilling, canned food and biscuit manufacturing industries. The public sector is also very prominent. Of the total GVA of £1.26 billion, food and drink is responsible for 19% while 3% is the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 figure and 2% for the UK. Moray is responsible for 9% of the entire food and drink GVA of Scotland. Significant areas where Moray has a larger than average share of national markets are in tourism, forest products, textiles and specialized metal working. In contrast, however, Moray is significantly under-represented in the business services area at 15% of GVA while it is 19% for Scotland and 25% for the UK.







Earnings

Compared to Scottish or UK levels, average incomes in Moray are low. The average wage in 2003 was £286 per week which was 12% below the Scottish average and 18% below the UK (these statistics exclude the armed forces). These figures reflect the large amount of part-time employment, with fewer qualified workers and less managerial and professional jobs. 16% of residents out-commute which is relatively high and of these, two-thirds work in Aberdeen or Aberdeenshire mainly in the oil and gas industry. These out-commuters earn significantly more than local workers.

Business base

In 2004, there were around 2,500 VAT
Vat
Vat or VAT may refer to:* A type of container such as a barrel, storage tank, or tub, often constructed of welded sheet stainless steel, and used for holding, storing, and processing liquids such as milk, wine, and beer...

 registered businesses in Moray with 75% of businesses employing fewer than 5 people and about a half of firms with a turnover of less than £100,000. 60% of employees are employed in small firms compared to 48% for Scotland as a whole.

Moray's major companies export their products to other UK regions and abroad and many of the smaller companies have direct involvement with neighbouring economies in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Highland. Also, a large out-commuting workforce (estimated to be in excess of 5,000 people) derives its income from the neighbouring centres of Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

 and Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...

.



Note: 2003 and 2004 data at SCOTDAT is the most uptodate as of August 2006

Population

An inhabitant of the Moray, especially the historic Mormaer of Moray
Mormaer of Moray
The Mormaerdom or Kingdom of Moray was a lordship in High Medieval Scotland that was destroyed by King David I of Scotland in 1130. It did not have the same territory as the modern local government council area of Moray, which is a much smaller area, around Elgin...

, is called Moravian
Moravian
Moravian refers to:* a person or thing from Moravia * Moravians * Moravian language, disputed language or dialect of the Czech language* a member or adherent of the Moravian Church...

.

Unlike many other regions of Scotland which are experiencing population decline, Moray's population is expected to grow modestly to around 91,000 by 2024.
Source: General Register Office for Scotlandhttp://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/


Language

The first records on language use in the area indicate that in 1705, most of Moray except for the coast was described as "Wholly Irish & Highland Countreys" and "Ye Irish Parishes in which both languages are spoken". By 1822, Scottish Gaelic had weakened in the area, with only the far south of Moray reporting that, at best, 10% of the population were speaking Gaelic better than English. Records towards the end of the 19th century improved and show that between 1881 and 1921 the percentage of Gaelic speakers in Moray fluctuated as shown in the following table:
Year Gaelic speakers (%)
1881 2.63
1891 5.64
1901 4.48
1911 2.98
1921 2.08
1991 0.56


Since then, it has been consistently below 1%. It was largely replaced by Doric
Doric dialect (Scotland)
Doric, the popular name for Mid Northern Scots or Northeast Scots, refers to the dialects of Scots spoken in the northeast of Scotland.-Nomenclature:...

 and latterly Scottish English
Scottish English
Scottish English refers to the varieties of English spoken in Scotland. It may or may not be considered distinct from the Scots language. It is always considered distinct from Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic language....

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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