St Cyrus

St Cyrus or Saint Cyrus (Scots: Saunt Ceerus),[1] formerly Ecclesgreig (from Scottish Gaelic: Eaglais Chiric) is a village in the far south of Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

For the saint, see Cyrus and John.

St Cyrus
  • Scottish Gaelic: Eaglais Chiric
  • Scots: Saunt Ceerus

St Cyrus church
St Cyrus
Location within Aberdeenshire
OS grid referenceNO7171
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMontrose
Postcode districtDD10
Dialling code01674
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

General information

Traditional salmon fishing with nets is still conducted from St Cyrus beach. Two ice houses that used to provide ice for packing salmon before transporting to market can still be seen. One is to the north end of the beach on the donkey track just below the Woodston Fishing Station, the other is further south next to Kirkside [this is now a private dwelling], not far from the St Cyrus National Nature Reserve Visitor Centre.

St Cyrus National Nature Reserve
Main article: St Cyrus National Nature Reserve

St Cyrus National Nature Reserve (NNR) is situated between the village of St Cyrus and the North Sea. The Reserve comprises 92 hectares (230 acres) of coastal habitat in the northern third of Montrose Bay and is managed by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). The cliffs and dunes provide a nationally important habitat for flowering plants and insects,[2] many of which grow at their northern limit in Britain. The reserve is one of the most important botanical sites on the north-east coast of Scotland, supporting over 300 plant species.[3]

St Cyrus NNR is also one of the best-known bird sites in Angus and Kincardine, with over 70 different species of bird being recorded there. These include waders such as redshank, oystercatcher, common sandpiper and curlew. The cliffs also provide a home for buzzard, kestrel and peregrine falcon. Furthermore, the prevalence of gorse shrub provides a nesting place for such small perching birds as whitethroat, stonechat and yellowhammer.[3]

With the abundance of wildflowers, St Cyrus NNR is also an important site for butterflies, moths and grasshoppers. One species of particular note is the Small blue butterfly, a UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species at its northern habitat limit. There have also been over 200 species of moth recorded on the reserve.[3]

St Cyrus NNR is also part of the St Cyrus and Kinnaber Links Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Area prehistory

There are known prehistorical archaeological sites in the general coastal area of St Cyrus. Examples of these features include Gourdon Hill[4] to the north and the Stone of Morphie,[5] both situated slightly to the west of the A92 road alignment.

History
Watch House at Kirkside Cemetery

The remains of the Kaim of Mathers is located on rock pinnacles on the northernmost part of the beach. Built by the Berkeley (or Barclay) family, it was used as a refuge by David de Berkeley from the vengeance of the king when, around 1420, he was part of a group who murdered the local sheriff, John Melville of Glenbervie.[6][7]

St Cyrus was on the Montrose to Inverbervie branch line of the North British Railway. Freight traffic was withdrawn from this line in 1966 as part of the Beeching cuts but the passenger service had ceased in 1951 ten years before Dr Beeching joined British Railways. Evidence for the line can still be seen in the viaduct over the North Esk river to the south of St Cyrus and the remains of some railway embankments and road bridges to the north.

A Home Chain Low radar station was once situated on the cliffs immediately to the south of the village. A blockhouse can still be seen at its location.

Notable residents

Geography

Services

St Cyrus has a primary school with a Nursery Class and P1 to P7 classes.

St Cyrus has its own telephone exchange (code ESSTC). The exchange is fully enabled for BT ADSL, both fixed speed and ADSL Max flavours.

St Cyrus has a public hall located not far from the store on the A92. It was used for meetings of the local community council[8] until it disbanded in 2015, and a range of other activities. There is a sports pavilion at the local park, with an all-weather pitch and bowling green.

The Mearns Leader is the local weekly newspaper and The Courier is the regional newspaper, which is supplemented by a local community radio station, Mearns FM, that broadcasts from nearby Stonehaven.[9] The station is not-for-profit, and is volunteer run under a Community Radio Licence.[10] The Facebook page 'What's on St Cyrus' is the local social media page.

Transport

St Cyrus is on the A92 road that runs from Fife to Stonehaven where it joins the A90 and continues to Aberdeen and beyond.

St Cyrus is on National Cycle Route 1 - Shetland to Dover.

The nearest railway stations are at Montrose, 5 miles (8.0 km) away, Laurencekirk, 7 miles (11 km) away and Stonehaven, 18 miles (29 km) away.

Buses (Nos 107, 113, 117 & X7) run between Montrose, St Cyrus and other coastal settlements up to Stonehaven and onward to Aberdeen.[11]

The nearest airport is at Aberdeen approximately 40 miles (64 km) to the north.

Demography
St Cyrus Population 1801 to 2006
YearPopulation
20111100[12]
20061085[12]
1991851[13]
19311173[14]
19211306[15]
19111222[16]
19011228[17]
18911327[18]
18811487[19]
18711585[20]
18511579[21]
18411164[22]
18211641[23]
18011622[24]
17551271[25]
  • St Cyrus Church
  • The visitor centre at the Saint Cyrus National Nature Reserve
  • St Cyrus ancient kirkyard
  • St Cyrus Beach

References
  1. The Online Scots Dictionary
  2. "Scottish Natural Heritage". Retrieved 1 July 2007.
  3. "The Story of St Cyrus National Nature Reserve" (PDF). Scottish Natural Heritage. 2008. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  4. RCAHMS archaeological database: Gourdon
  5. C.Michael Hogan, Stone of Morphie, 2007, The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham
  6. Electric Scotland - Barclays
  7. Geograph - Kaim of Mathers
  8. "Aberdeenshire Community Councils".
  9. "Mearns FM".
  10. Mearns FM launch Press Release
  11. "Local Bus Timetables".
  12. "Aberdeenshire Council Small Area Population Estimates".
  13. "General Records Office for Scotland - 1991 Census - Index of Populated Areas in Scotland" (PDF).
  14. "Online Historical Population Reports - Preliminary report, Scotland, 1931 - Shire of Kincardine".
  15. "Online Historical Population Reports - Census of Scotland, Table 19, 1921 - Shire of Kincardine".
  16. "Online Historical Population Reports - Census of Scotland, Table VII, 1911 - Shire of Kincardine".
  17. "Online Historical Population Reports - Population, Scotland, Vol. I, 1901 - Shire of Kincardine".
  18. "Online Historical Population Reports - Population report, Scotland, Vol. I, 1891 - Shire of Kincardine".
  19. "Online Historical Population Reports - Population report, Scotland, Vol. I, 1881 - Shire of Kincardine".
  20. "Online Historical Population Reports -1871 Education Statistics - Shire of Kincardine".
  21. "Online Historical Population Reports -1851 Census - Shire of Kincardine".
  22. "Online Historical Population Reports -1841 Census - Shire of Kincardine".
  23. "Online Historical Population Reports -1821 Census - Shire of Kincardine".
  24. "Online Historical Population Reports -1801 Census - Shire of Kincardine".
  25. "Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland - St Cyrus".
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