Findhorn

: "For other meanings of Findhorn, see Findhorn (disambiguation)"Findhorn is a village in Moray, Scotland. It is located near the end of a small peninsula on the eastern shore of Findhorn Bay and immediately south of the Moray Firth. Findhorn is 3 miles (5km) northwest of Kinloss, and about 5 miles (9km) by road from Forres.

The Findhorn Foundation, an educational charity and the associated ecovillage are located to the south of the village.

History

Original Settlement

The existing settlement is the second village to bear this name, the original having been a mile to the northwest of the present position and inundated by the sea. This transposition was not an overnight catastrophe but a gradual withdrawal from the earlier site during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Some sources (e.g. Graham), claim it is the third village to bear the name, perhaps erroneously assuming that the seventeenth century destruction of the nearby Barony of Culbin by shifting sands resulted in an earlier relocation.

Although surely Gaelic in origin the derivation of the word "Findhorn" is not absolutely clear. It may be a corruption of Invererne and mean 'at the mouth of the river Erne' or "Fionn-Dearn", "the white river Dearn", or perhaps "Fionn" simply referred to the white sands and breaking waves which dominate the shores.

Major Seaport

In the seventeenth century Findhorn was the principal seaport of Moray and vessels regularly sailed to and from all parts of the North Sea and as far as the Baltic Ports. Changes to the narrow and shallow entrance to the Bay created obstacles to navigation and as the size of trading vessels increased so the volume of trade to the village declined.

Findhorn Bay witnessed a brief episode in the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion. In March 1746 the French brigantine "Le Bien Trouve" entered the tidal waters with dispatches for Bonnie Prince Charlie but her departure, with the Prince’s aide-de-camp on board, was delayed by the arrival of two British men-o’-war. Unable to enter the shallow bay, the two warships lay in wait in the Firth. Somehow "Le Bien Trouve" slipped out and away to safety on a dark night. The name is recalled in the modern-day training gig of the same name which is based at Findhorn.

Fishing Village

During the nineteenth century fishing predominated. During the 1829 floods known as "The Muckle Spate" five Findhorn fishing boats rescued Forres residents and for a few years (1860-9) there was a branch railway line to the village to take advantage of the herring fleet.

Modern Times

The early twentieth century saw a decline in fishing as the traditional two-masted zulus were in their turn being replaced by larger vessels. Some of the craft, 'temporarily' beached on the western shore of the Bay whilst their crews fought in the First World War, were never used again. The wreckage is still visible at low tide. The shore-based salmon fisheries lasted until the 1980s but they too are no more. Today the village is a dormitory suburb and leisure craft dominate the moorings.

The Crown and Anchor Inn, dating from 1739, is the oldest surviving structure in the village. Other prominent buildings of note include Findhorn House built in 1775, which is the home of the Royal Findhorn Yacht Club, The Kimberley Inn, the James Milne Institute, The Universal Hall at the Findhorn Foundation and the ice house Heritage Centre.

References

Graham, C. (1977). Portrait of the Moray Firth. London. Robert Hale.

Cochrane, R.G. & Shand, W. (1981). Findhorn: A Scottish Village. Findhorn Press.

Lauder, T.D. (1873). An Account of the Great Floods of August 1829. J. McGillivary.

McKean, Charles (1987). The District of Moray: An Illustrated Architectural Guide. Scottish Academic Press.

Sellar, W.D.H. (editor) (1993). Moray: Province and People. Scottish Society for Northern Studies.

Ross, Sinclair (1992). The Culbin Sands: Fact and Fiction. University of Aberdeen.