Spring in Fettercairn
Copyright 1992 Catriona Fraser
Limited Edition of 100
The village of Fettercairn was once the property of the Earl of Sutherland, but it was taken away by King David II, who gave it to Walter Leslie of Rothes in 1345. It was subsequently taken back by the Crown and re-issued on several occasions to Adi Hepburn, to Walter Ogston and finally to the Earl of Middleton. Fettercairn itself has probably been inhabited since before the Scots settled in the area, as numerous Pictish stones dot the nearby area and two stone forts (The Brown and White Cathertons) are but a few miles from Fettercairn, near the neighboring village of Edzell.
The village is small and most of the houses group around a Market Cross. One relic which remains of those days on the Market Cross is the ring to which criminals were chained.
Fettercairn is also home to the world's second oldest Scotch distillery. Also near the village is the old castle of Kincardine, once a Royal Court, where Finella hid after the murder of Kenneth III. It was also here that Baliol surrendered his Crown and Kingdom.
