Slains and Forvie
Slains is a parish at the south-eastern extremity of Buchan, Aberdeenshire. It is bounded on the east by the German Ocean (North Sea), and on other sides by the parishes of Foveran, Logie Buchan, and Cruden. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Bogbrae, Brownhill, Colliston or Collieston, Mill of Brogan, New Clochtown, Oldcastle
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
The parishes of Slains and Forvie were united about 1573.
Slains. The church of Slains was dedicated to St Ternan. It belonged to the Knights of the Order of the Temple (Knights Templar). The present church was built in 1800. At Leask (now Pitlurg) within the bounds are the remains of a chapel of St Adamnan.
Forvie. The old church of Forvie, whose ruins are now half buried in blown sand, was dedicated to St Adamnan.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
Slains (QO)
Forvie (QO)
(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
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.
| OPR and RD Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Range | Name | Number | Type |
| 1707-1854 | Slains | 239 | OPR |
| 1855-1967 | Slains | 239 | RD |
| 2009 | Aberdeenshire, Ellon | 316 | RD |
| 2026 | Aberdeenshire Council; Slains & Collieston 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)
Statistics from informal and official censuses
Cruickshank, Kennedy, King, Mitchell, Phillips, Ritchie, Robertson, Sangster, Stott, Walker
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.
By the Reverend Mr Alexander Farquhar.
"The population of this parish in April 1791 was 1117 souls, of whom 524 are males, and 593 are females. There are 5 merchants, 60 farmers, 7 ale-sellers, 5 smiths, 2 carpenters, 5 square-wrights, 7 weavers, 10 shoemakers, 14 tailors, 6 millers, and 146 seamen and fishermen, of all descriptions. Males in the town of Collistown and Oldcastle, 146; females, 173. These all make their living by the sea, except a trifle that the women make in winter, or during stormy weather, by working stockings for the Aberdeen manufacturers.
There are at present 7 ale-houses or tippling houses, but two of them are so only occasionally. Their effect upon the morals of the people is in general very immaterial. There are no uninhabited houses in the parish, nor have any additional ones been built for years past."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)
Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 5, p. 275
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 12, p. 598
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
