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).

Relationships with other parishes

Within Culsalmond, parish

Within Culsalmond, parish