| Details |
A canal milestone of the Aberdeenshire Canal Navigation, or Aberdeen-Inverurie Canal. It is numbered No. 15, and is a rounded column, 0.30m in diameter and 0.5m high, with a rounded top on which the mileage is inscribed on a sloping circular panel. This canal ran from Port Elphinstone, just south of Inverurie, to Aberdeen harbour, following a course 18.25 miles (29km) in length above the right-hand bank of the River Don. The Act of Parliament that sanctioned its construction in 1796 declared its purpose as being to 'promote the improvement and better cultivation of the inland parts of the country'. The canal opened in 1805. It operated until 1854, when it was replaced by the Aberdeen to Inverness line of the Great North of Scotland Railway, which was built along roughly the same alignment, obliterating much of its course. Although the milestone is no longer in its original position beside the canal, it seems unlikely that it has been moved more than 500m at most. It now stands within the north angle of the front garden of Bridgend House (NJ71NE0157), on the northern outskirts of Kintore. The monument is of national importance as representing one of only a handful of surviving elements (including at least two other milestones, in or near their original positions) of what was at one time a significant economy artery, serving the agricultural hinterland of the city of Aberdeen. Its importance is further enhanced by the documentary evidence that also exists regarding the legal and commercial history of the canal during its period of use.
|
Historic Environment Records (HER)