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Site of the Burgh of Rattray. Its earliest mention was in connection with a gift of wax to St Mary's Chapel between 1214 and 1233. The parishes of Crimond and Lonmay formed the Lordship of Rattray that was part of the pre-feudal Lordship of Buchan, held by Celtic mormaers (regional rulers) for several centuries before William Comyn acquired the lands through his marriage to Margaret, heiress of the last Celtic earl, circa 1211-14. Following the harrying of Buchan by Robert the Bruce in 1308, part of the forfeited Comyn estate was granted to Archibald Douglas. Reference in a document of 1324 to a harbour suggests a Comyn sea-going settlement, possibly a burgh, by the mid 13th century. It was created a Royal Burgh in March 1563, but by 1654 the harbour was silting up and by 1732 there was hardly a vestige of the town remaining. In 1888 only one house remained and it was used as a cattle shed. It would appear likely that the burgh extended between the church and the castle, and that the existing road may be on or near the line of the original road or path. In the medieval period the Loch of Strathbeg was an inlet of the sea, sheltered by a single bar to the northeast and entered at the east point, nearest to Castle Hill. The final blocking of the inlet occurred in 1720 in a single storm. Dune accretion continued such that the present shoreline is further east than in the medieval period. By 1888 only one house remains, that being used as a cattle shed. Large scale trial trenching was carried out between 1985 and 1990 which revealed a complex suite of evidence of medieval date, extending for 55m from the Chapel of St Mary (NK05NE0002) to the Castle Hill (NK05NE0004). The work revealed possible medieval occupation floors. and the range of pottery found during the excavation shows that the burgh was active throughout the 13th-15th Centuries. A pottery kiln was found near the chapel with some kiln furniture, and pottery at all stages of production. The trenching in 1988 near the base of the castle mound recorded traces of Bronze Age cultivation and a burnt wooden hurdle (possibly from a wattle field boundary beneath the medieval dune. They were dated to 1520 - 1260 BC. Metal-detecting, by permission of Historic Scotland, between 2001-2007 has recovered a number of artefacts in the fields to the north and east of the church. These include coins, buckles, buttons, hooks, part of a spoon, a glass bead, lace chapes and bronze handles.
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Historic Environment Records (HER)