About Kemnay

Kemnay, the village on the Don...

... is some sixteen miles from Aberdeen and as the crow flies four miles south-west of Inverurie, the nearest town. It is reached from Aberdeen on the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road turning off at Broomhill roundabout onto the road which passes through the village by Monymusk and then to Alford.

It is thought that the name Kemnay was derived either from the Celtic words meaning bend and river for it is on the bend in the Don, or from the kames which were the moraines left here by the retreating glaciers at the end of the Ice-age. The beginnings of the settlement remain a mystery but the many archaeological features such as stone circles and Roman encampments nearby indicate a long period of habitation.

One of the earliest existing buildings, Kemnay House, was started in the mid-sixteenth century and restored and extended in 1638. The population of Kemnay was small until the early years of the last century when it was about 600 and the village began to develop, the population reaching about 3000 by the end of the century. The Quarry producing the famous Kemnay granite was opened in 1830, became commercial under John Fyfe in 1858 and the stone was used in many famous buildings including Princes Street Edinburgh, the Forth Railway Bridge, the Thames Embankment, the London Cenotaph and Marischal College Aberdeen. The main product now is 'Fyfestone' a reconstituted granite facing block.

To read more articles about the history of Kemnay see our "local history" section.

With the advent of the North Sea oil industry the village was virtually doubled in size by the building of 640 prefabricated timber houses and the population, now over 4000, is largely employed in Aberdeen and its surrounds.

The railway from Aberdeen to Alford with a station in Kemnay was completed in 1859 and served the village well for many years. However, it was closed to passenger traffic in 1950 and all that now remains are railway bridges and embankments.

The population of Kemnay continues to increase, there are new houses being built and occupied and the plans are for a further 100 by the year 2001 and yet another 100 by 2006. This need for more houses is not necessarily to accommodate incomers but to house the children of families who have moved in over the years to work in the oil industry. The surgery has been extended and now provides a modern comfortable centre for patients and staff. The Jehovah's Witnesses have a new meeting room but the Academy urgently needs more space if it is to fulfill its designated role as a Community School.

So far the only evidence of increased facilities to cater for all the new residents is the Village Hall extension due for completion in March 1999. Additional sporting facilities in terms of another football pitch and of course a swimming pool are desperately needed. Such local facilities continue to become increasingly important as car use becomes more expensive even for those who own one and public transport is so limited.