Saints in Scottish Place-Names
Funded by a Leverhulme Trust Project Grant
St Sairs, settlement Culsalmond
Grid reference
NJ 634 324 (accurate position)
Six-figure easting & northing
363400 832400
Latitude
57.38077976931481
Longitude
-2.6087847504523665
Altitude (metres)
175
County
Aberdeenshire
Nearby places
St Sairs Market Stance, Culsalmond (0.14 miles)
Hill of Kilmidden, Culsalmond (0.88 miles)
Lady's Well, Culsalmond (0.93 miles)
Culsalmond, parish (0.98 miles)
Lawrence Road, Culsalmond (1 miles)
Object Classification
Settlement
Is linear feature?
No
Notes
St Sairs lies at the south end of a long curved field called St Sairs Market Stance, where the fair of St Serf was held on the Wednesday after the last Tuesday of June, i.e. close to the feast of St Serf, 1st July,. The fair was granted in 1591 to John Gordon of Newton (Newtoun) along with lands and rights in the parish of Culsalmond, with 'a fair called St Serf's Fair to be held annually on the lands of Wrangham' (et fori vocat. Sanct-Sairffis-fair tenend. annuatim super dict. terras de Wranghame) (RMS v no. 1964). Wrangham lies a short distance south of St Sairs. It is worth noting that the fact that the fair was held on or near St Serf's day does not show that the parish kirk was dedicated to that saint. And in any case, St Serf's Fair was transferred to this parish from Monkegie, as noted by Mackinlay (1914, 489): ‘Sanct Serw altar in the paroche kyrk of Monkegie’ is named in a deed of date 1481. St Serve’s Hill, south of the church, was the stance where St Serve’s Fair was held till the market was removed to the parish of Culsalmond’ (citing Dr Davidson, Inverurie and the Earldom of the Garioch, p. 122).
Names
1 head-name linked to this place ?St Sairs
Head name
St Sairs
Place
St Sairs, settlement Culsalmond
Certainty that this name applies to this place
Certain
The status of this name is
Current
Is this a current OS form? ?
Yes
Is this the original referent of the place?
Yes
Is the association of this name to this object hypothetical?
No
St Sairs 1843, OS 6 inch first edn.
Historic formSt Sairs Head nameSt Sairs PlaceSt Sairs, settlement Culsalmond Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain SourceOS 6 inch first edn. Date of citation1843 x 1882 Notes on the context of this place-nameMid to late 19th c. |
Source code
OS 6 inch first edn.
Source title
Ordnance Survey 6 Inch to the Mile, First Edition
Notes
Mid to late 19th c.
Saints in this place-name
Serf (ns) (certain)
Serf of Culross (certain)