Fyvie is a village situated in the heart of Aberdeenshire countryside, sitting on the banks of the Ythan, approximately 20 miles north of Aberdeen .   In the early days of the village it was known as ‘Fywin’.   It is thought that the name Fyvie is derived from Fia-chein ‘Deer hill’ there is a low hill near with this name.    

Fyvie Castle which stands in the woods just north of the village is one of the finest baronial castles to be found in Scotland .   The castle was purchased by ‘The National Trust for Scotland ’ in 1984 and the castle, gardens and grounds are currently open to the public.   The history of Fyvie Castle can be traced back to the 12 th century when it probably existed as a tower house, Robert the Bruce is known to have held court here in the early 14 th century.  

Fyvie once had a priory dedicated to St Mary Founded in 1285 by Reginald de Cheyne.   This priory is known to have existed for nearly 300 years but all that now remains of this establishment is a cairn (Pile of stones) and a Corrennie granite cross which was erected in 1868 to mark the site of the Priory (See photo gallery).   It is thought that the Fleur-de-lys crown which is built into the rear wall of St Peter’s church came from the priory.   Also at the rear of the church built into the wall are four other interesting stones the central large long stone is thought to be part of the shaft of a Celtic cross dating from at least 1000 A.D.   The following three Pictish stones are thought to be carved from 800 A.D.   The top stone is called the ‘Rothiebrisbane Stone’ it shows a large circle with three circles inside it and above that an elaborate horse shoe symbol.   On the left hand side is the ‘Baldyquash Stone’ which shows symbols of an elephant, mirror symbols with crescent and V-rod above.   On the right hand side is the incomplete ‘Kirk yard Stone’ which shows symbols of an eagle and a double disc.   The current St Peter’s church was built in 1808 replacing a much earlier church.   In fact a church has known to exist in Fyvie since 1178 when a church is recorded as being gifted to Arbroath Abbey by King William.   Gravestones in the churchyard date back to the 16 th century and the church bell is dated 1609.   One gravestone of particular interest is the grave of ‘Tifty’s Annie’ she was Agnes Smith (Known as Nan or Annie) the daughter of the local miller William Smith of Tifty.   The mill is thought to have been built in the 16 th century one of seventeen mills known to have been built in the parish.   There is a famous ballad called ‘The Mill of Tifty’s Annie’ about Annie Smith and Andrew Lammie the trumpeter o’ Fyvie.   The miller was unhappy about his daughter’s relationship with the lowly trumpeter and locked her up in the mill.   The trumpeter reacted by climbing to the top of Fyvie castle and blew his horn toward the mill.   The Laird o’ Fyvie wanted Annie to be his mistress and he had the trumpeter enslaved and sent away to the West Indies .   A statue of him with his horn can be seen on the top of Fyvie castle.   It is said that Annie died of a broken heart on the 19 th January 1673.   A new grave stone in the shape of a Maltese cross was erected at Annie’s grave in 1859 by public subscription and a small railing was erected (see photo).   It is said that the trumpeter still haunts Fyvie castle and the sound of this trumpet means a death is forth-coming.  

The church manse also has a place in history Dr Cosmo Gordon Lang, Baron of Lambeth was born here in 1864, he later became the Archbishop of York 1908 to 1928 and the Archbishop of Canterbury 1928 to 1942.

Another interesting historical fact is Fyvie’s connection with the Scottish Crown jewels it’s said that the large pearl in the crown was found in the Ythan just a few miles downstream of Fyvie.   It was at the time the biggest pearl ever found in Scotland and was presented in 1620 to King James VI by Sir Thomas Menzies of Cults.   The River Ythan, was once famous for the pearl mussels found in its many deeper sandy pools, or pots, and was once known as "The Rich Rig of Scotland ."  

Parts of this text have been adapted from 'The Bard o' Buchan' book by Stanley Bruce Published in 2005.