Tomintoul
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| Tomintoul | |
| Scottish Gaelic: Tom an t-Sabhail | |
  Tomintoul shown within Scotland |
|
| Population | 322 (Census 2001) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| Council area | Moray |
| Lieutenancy area | Moray |
| Constituent country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BALLINDALLOCH |
| Postcode district | AB37 |
| Dialling code | 01807 |
| Police | Grampian |
| Fire | Grampian |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| European Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | Moray |
| Scottish Parliament | Moray |
| List of places: UK • Scotland | |
Tomintoul (Scottish Gaelic: Tom an t-Sabhail, meaning Hillock of the Barn) is a village in the Moray council area of Scotland; until 1975 it was located in the county of Banffshire.
It is said to be the highest village in the Scottish Highlands, but at 345 m (1,130 ft) is still significantly lower than the highest village in Scotland (Wanlockhead, in Dumfries and Galloway).
The three hotels, restaurant, cafe, museum and handful of shops are scattered around the picturesque central square. Its current appearance is an improvement on that in 1860, when Queen Victoria recorded that it was "the most tumbledown, poor-looking place I ever saw".
The village was laid out on a grid pattern by the 4th Duke of Gordon in 1775. It followed the construction, twenty years previously, of a military road by William Caulfield – now the A939. By 1841 the parish reached a population of 1,722. In 1951 this had fallen to just 531. The 2001 census reveals a village population of 322 with the total parish population now unavailable.
The 2004 film One Last Chance starring Kevin McKidd and Dougray Scott was filmed in the village and the areas around it.
Despite its small size, it is on the famed Whisky Trail, which also includes Dufftown, Keith, Tomnavoulin, and Marypark.
[edit] Local personalities
The artist and writer Mary Barnes died there in 2001 after living there for some time.
[edit] Infamous personalities
- "Lord" Tony Williams
The Gordon Arms Hotel saw significant improvement in the 1990s when it was lavished with funds from the self styled Lord Tony Williams. 'Lord' Williams spent at least £1 million on improving the hotel, and invested yet more money in other projects within the village. The money proved illusory: rather than a wealthy peer of the realm Williams was a former Deputy Director of Finance in the Metropolitan Police and had used his talents to defraud them of £4.5 million. He was sentenced to seven years imprisonment. After his arrest a 10 metre fibreglass Zulu was discovered in the hotel beer cellar - its purpose was never determined.
- Percy Toplis - The "Monocled Mutineer"
Percy Toplis took refuge in the area in 1920 before being discovered by a local farmer. He made his escape, shooting and wounding the farmer and a police constable while doing so. Within a week he was shot dead by police in England
- James Stuart
Chiefly of interest to genealogists, James Stuart (1791-1874), a local farmer at Lynchork (pronounced "Linnahork") appears in a number of birth, baptism, death and Kirk Session records in this and surrounding parishes as the admitted or reputed father of children of his female servants.
[edit] External links
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