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Features: Scottish Parishes » Historic Shires » Aberdeenshire » Clatt

Clatt Auld Kirk by Bill Harrison
Clatt Auld Kirk © 2017, Bill Harrison

CLATT PARISH

TABLE OF CONTENTS


LOCATION

Location Description:

Clatt is a parish in the western extremity of the district of Garioch, Aberdeenshire. It is bounded by the parishes of Kinnethmont, Leslie, Tullynessle, Auchindoir, and Rhynie. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).

Shire, District, and Region Timeline:

  • Shire: Aberdeenshire (Before 1707)
  • County: Aberdeen (After 1707)
  • District: Alford (Before 1930)
  • Landward District: Huntly (1930-1975)
  • Region: Grampian (1975-1996)
  • District: Gordon (1975-1996)

Cities, Towns, Villages, and Hamlets:

Clatt


PARISH TIMELINE

PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:

  • Diocese: Aberdeen
  • Deanery: Mar

POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:

  • Synod: Aberdeen
  • Presbytery: Alford

PAROCHIAL OVERVIEW:

The church of Clatt was dedicated to St Luag. Clatt was a prebend of Aberdeen. A Fair of St Luag was held at Clatt.

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND CLERGY:

Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.

  • James Strachan, 1567
  • William Thomson, 1574
  • Robert Innes, 1579
  • Walter Richardson, 1580
  • John Gordon, 1594
  • Robert Youngson, 1599
  • William Stevenson, 1624
  • George Gairdyne, 1633
  • Thomas Gairdyne (son of George, above), 1669
  • Thomas Robertson, 1682
  • Alexander Leask, 1708
  • Patrick Reid, 1723
  • Robert Findlay, 1760
  • William Gordon, 1797
  • Robert Cook, 1820
  • James Walker, 1844
  • Robert M'Kerron, 1867
  • George Alexander Selbie, 1884
  • Andrew Gray, 1909
  • Alexander William Watt, 1922

(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)


RECORDS

Parochial Registers:

Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.

  • (1) B. 1680-1819; M. 1784-98; D. 1784-90
  • (2) B. 1707-24; M. 1707-54
  • (3) B. and M. 1820-54; D. 1823-54

OPR and RD Numbers
Date RangeNameNumberType
1680-1854Clatt180OPR
1855-1967Clatt180RD
2009Aberdeenshire, Insch318RD
2026Aberdeenshire Council; Tap O'Noth Community Council

(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)

Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)

Population:

Statistics from informal and official censuses

  • 1755: 559
  • 1791: 425
  • 1801: 433
  • 1811: 494
  • 1821: 551
  • 1831: 535
  • 1841: 524
  • 1851: 543
  • 1861: 511
  • 1881: 453
  • 1901: 425
  • 1911: 434

RESIDENTS


Common Surnames:

Anderson, Brown, Duncan, Gordon, Ingram, Reid, Smith, Stewart, Thomson, Watt

Land-owners, teachers, and other professionals:

Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.

  • James Adam GORDON, Esq., of Knockespoch
  • Sir Andrew Leith HAY, of Rannes

Other residents:

By the Reverend Mr Robert Findlay.
"The population of this parish has decreased considerably within these 40 years; chiefly owing to some families, who had small farms, removing to the manufacturing towns, where they find a more easy and comfortable way of living. At Whitsunday 1792, when the incumbent completed his last course of visiting and catechising, the number was 213 males, 212 females, 425 total. Of these the number of communicants is about 200; the number of inhabited houses, and families, is 89.

Almost all the inhabitants occupy farms. The artificers, or trades people, such as wrights, tailors, smiths, &c. are merely sufficient to supply the inhabitants with their respective sorts of work. Some are paid by the day, or piece; others have what is called custom work. All have as much land as enables them to keep a cow or two, and a yard, or garden.

All the residing inhabitants are of the Established Church, excepting one Roman Catholic, whose wife and family are Presbyterians. The people, in general, are sober, intelligent, and industrious; charitable, according to their circumstances, and regular in attending upon the ordinances of religion; though it is to be regretted, that, in this last respect, that the gentry are far from being exemplary, to those whom they deem much their inferiors. It is so far fortunate, however, that the vulgar, as they are called, do not imitate their betters, otherwise we should have very thin churches."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)


NOTES:

Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 8, p. 535
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 12, p. 846

See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.


Photo credits: (Featured) Clatt Auld Kirk, © 2022 Bill Harrison, used under Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 2.0, (Related Resources) Aberdeenshire Locator Map, © 2005, Brythones, used under Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related Resources
Map of Scottish highland clans and lowland families
Aberdeenshire locator map
See more maps at Wikimedia Commons
Glossary
  • Burghs:
  • Royal - Towns on royal lands
  • Regality - Towns granted to noblemen/landowners
  • Barony - Towns granted to tenant-in-chief (laird)
  • Police - Towns with elected officials
  • Small - Population under 20,000
  • Large - Population over 20,000
  •  
  • Chapel-of-Ease: Small church for those living far from the main church
  • Collegiate church: See What is a Collegiate Church?
  • Commune kirk: Owned by a larger church
  • Court of Teinds: Controlled funds for support of clergy
  •  
  • Friars:
  • Black - Dominican
  • Grey - Franciscan
  • Red - Trinitarian
  • White - Carmelite
  •  
  • Iron chapel: Building made of corrugated galvanized iron
  •  
  • Landward District: Rural part of a district
  •  
  • Mensal: Source of income to support clergy member (Roman Catholic)
  •  
  • OPR: Old Parochial Register
  •  
  • Pre-Reformation: Before 1560
  • Prebend: Source of income to support a clergy member
  •  
  • QO: Quoad Omnia - Civil and church control
  • QS: Quoad Sacra - Church control only
  •  
  • RD: Registration District - Civil control
  •  
  • Tryst: Large-scale market or fair, particularly for livestock
  •  
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