Aberlour

History

A site noted as Abirlaur is shown in this location on maps in Joan Blaeu's Atlas of Scotland, from 1654. The current village, Charlestown of Aberlour, was "founded by Charles Grant of Elchies in 1812 – with the name of Charlestown of Aberlour after his son Charles." It is commonly referred to simply as Aberlour. A grant of land from Charles Grant senior feued 100 plots along the south bank of the river and saw the start of the High Street (formerly Main Street) and parish church. The three locations are close enough in definition for there to be little distinction between them. The village was granted its feu charter in 1814 and began to operate its own markets. Whisky was a major industry even then and once the 1823 Excise Act was passed and a longer warehousing process introduced it began to take on the more mature characteristics that are familiar today. The first Aberlour distillery was established shortly after the Act became law, by the owner of a gentleman's estate where Aberlour House is situated. Soon after the property changed hands, that distillery was demolished. In 1879, local resident James Fleming (1830-1895, built a new Aberlour distillery alongside the Lour Burn; which is now owned and operated by the Pernod Ricard group of companies. Fleming was also a bank agent and became a significant resident and generous benefactor in the village, providing its first purpose-built meeting place, The Fleming Hall (1889), followed by The Fleming Cottage Hospital (1900), and - as a safe pedestrian crossing over the fast-flowing river Spey - The Victoria Bridge, completed in 1902 and known locally as the Penny Bridge. According to the 1846 A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, "This parish, formerly called Skirdustan, signifying, in the Gaelic tongue, 'the…

Most-observed species

• Eurasian red squirrel

  Sciurus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Mammalia
  530
• Heather

  Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull · Magnoliopsida
  514
• Snowdrop

  Galanthus nivalis L. · Liliopsida
  487
• Broom

  Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link · Magnoliopsida
  435
• Gorse

  Ulex europaeus L. · Magnoliopsida
  421
• western honey bee

  Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 · Insecta
  386
• Ribwort Plantain

  Plantago lanceolata L. · Magnoliopsida
  358
• Foxglove

  Digitalis purpurea L. · Magnoliopsida
  348