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.

History

Kingston's past includes a large shipbuilding industry started in the 18th century by two men from Kingston upon Hull, who named the village after their home town.[1] The shipbuilding industry died off due to a combination of wooden ships being replaced by iron ones, and the course of the River Spey was always changing, bringing stones downriver and silting up the shipbuilding areas.[2] This utilised the enormous amount of timber from the local surrounding forests. In 1829, some of the village homes were lost in the great flood, the "Muckle Spate".[3]

Nature

Because of the dolphins, salmon, otters, osprey, seals and numerous waterfowl and other birds to be seen in the area, Kingston attracts birdwatchers and other nature enthusiasts. In addition to the Speyside Way, there are footpaths along the Lein, Burnside, the Browlands towards the village of Garmouth, the Spey Viaduct, and the local stone beaches. The Garmouth & Kingston Golf Club is located between the two villages.

Notable people

  • Isabel Turner (1936–2021), Canadian politician, was born in Kingston

See also

References

  1. ^ Mackay, George (2009). Scottish Placenames. London: Gresham Publishing Company Limited, The. p. 108. ISBN 1902407873.
  2. ^ Lindsay, Ann (2006). Hidden Scotland. Edinburgh: Birlinn. p. 51. ISBN 1841583480.
  3. ^ "The late storm in Scotland". The Times. No. 13990. 12 August 1829. p. 2. OCLC 646880228. The damage done to heritable as well as landed property in Garmouth and its neighbourhood is painfully immense. A considerable number of houses are entirely destroyed, while a great many others are irreparably injured.

57°40′26″N 3°06′40″W / 57.674°N 3.111°W / 57.674; -3.111