The following Information has been extracted from many sources, thanks to the various authors are duly given.
First a bit of Background.
Extract from a History of the Catholic Curch.
Yet even the powerful Marquis of Huntly found the interest of the Kirk rather uncomfortable and by the eighteenth century the family had moved to Gordon Castle at Fochabers and Strathbogie was exposed. In the eighteenth century, the main centres for Catholics were at Mortlach near Cairnie and Shenval in the Cabrach. Mortlach became the meeting place for the Vicars Apostolic before Preshome and Scalan. The Shenval was the most desolate and wild centre in the whole of Scotland and was commonly referred to as Siberia. It was a primitive existence. Abbe Paul MacPherson tells of the only winter that he spent there that the snow fell heavily on "All Souls Day" and lay until March was out at a depth of about four feet. On a sick call he had to take care that he did not fall down the chimney of a house over which he was walking. It was to the Shenval that most young priests were first sent. One such young priest on receiving his appointment from Bishop Hay remarked: "Very well, I can have no objection; it is very proper that everyone should take his turn in that place". "Stop" said the Bishop, "that is not a proper way of speaking about it; you should be willing, if necessary, to go there and labour for the rest of your life". "Of course so" said the young man, "but if that should happen, may the Lord have mercy on me."
Note:- Shenval is on the Kirkmichael map, just about the centre top/North. It is a possible Origin place for the Stewarts, besides I like the Names. Aberlour is just off the Map. John R
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Aberlour (Charlestown of Aberlour) Moray
A village in central Moray, Aberlour is situated 15 miles (24 km) south of Elgin on the right bank of the River Spey where it is joined by the Burn of Aberlour or Lour Burn. Also known more fully as Charlestown of Aberlour, it is named after Charles Grant of Wester Elchies who in 1812 laid out the village in its present plan comprising a mile-long High Street with a square to the west. The new village replaced the earlier community of Skirdustan of which the ruined St Drostan's Kirk is all that remains.
Buildings of note include the remains of the Aberlour Orphanage founded in 1875 by Canon Jupp and the Fleming Institute which was designed by William Reid and gifted to the burgh by James Fleming, a local banker. Also of interest are two bridges: an old pack-horse bridge crossing the Burn of Aberlour and, crossing the Spey, a more modern steel suspension footbridge built by James Abernethy in 1902. To the north east of the village stands Aberlour House built in 1838 to a design by William Robertson for Alexander Grant, a local farmer's son who made his fortune in the West Indies and returned to Scotland to buy the ancestral home of the Gordon's of Aberlour.
To the south, Ben Rinnes rises to a height of 840m (2755 feet). Aberlour, which has tourist facilities, is noted for its fishing on the Spey, its shortbread and the whisky produced at nearby Glenallachie Distillery within whose grounds is a well dedicated to St Drostan.
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ABERLOUR CHILD CARE TRUST
Is one of the oldest charities in Scotland. The Trust had its beginnings in 1875 in a small 4-roomed cottage on the banks of the river Lour, in Aberlour in Banffshire. The local episcopalian minister Reverend Charles Jupp, took into this cottage four "mitherless bairns" and the Aberlour Orphanage was born.
The Reverend Jupp was a born Fundraiser and was soon known as "The Beggar of the North" for his constant fundraising activities including door to door collections and the famous Jupp's Sales of unwanted clothing. So successful was he that within three years a new building had been created to accommodate 30 children at a cost of £2002 and 15 shillings.
Seven years later the Orphanage could accommodate 100 children and grew further, surviving many crises including fires and of course two world wars. The end of the second world war heralded a new attitude to residential care establishments and the Trust adapted accordingly. The use of large residential buildings became a thing of the past as it was realised that children could benefit from smaller, family type care homes. In the 1960s we took the heart-wrenching decision to sell the orphanage which was by then very old and required substantial modernisation.
By the mid 1970's we had 11 children's homes spread across Scotland and could congratulate ourselves on keeping ahead of the times. However, in the 1980's there was a further, more significant change in social welfare thinking. In particular there was a strong feeling against any kind of residential care for children and much more emphasis on looking after children within their own families and in their own communities. Adoption and Fostering were the preferred options and the Trust gradually began to change its role to that of implementing new and innovative new projects for all kinds of disadvantaged children in Scotland.
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Introduction Beechgrove Garden Program
In the first of 5 special programmes during this series, the Beechgrove team were on the road, and based not in the Beechgrove Garden in Aberdeen but in a new, emerging Community Garden in Aberlour.
The Aberlour Clocktower Garden was chosen from hundreds of applications from similar groups all over Scotland who hope to be able to build a Community Garden in their area.
Aberlour were given by far the shortest time of all the projects, they had only 6 weeks from start to finish.
All 5 projects are given a little help from the Beechgrove team, the time and talents of a designer, and a little money. The funding for these projects comes from Forward Scotland.
But apart from this basic assistance, each communityıs challenge is to design and build a Community Garden for themselves, by themselves.
One of the reasons that we picked Aberlour was because of the unusual and moving story of the site for the garden. The garden was to be built on the site of the only remaining building (the Clocktower) from the Orphanage in Aberlour.
To Christine Donnelly, from the Aberlour Childcare Trust, and organiser of the garden project, it had become apparent that the orphanage site was of great importance to many people. The following is Christine's account of the project.
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Aberlour Clocktower History
Canon Charles Jupp founded the Aberlour Orphanage in 1875 when he began his work caring for children who were destitute in Scotland. What started out as a small cottage grew into a large orphanage that housed 500 children.
In the late 60ıs the orphanage was closed in line with then current practice of small family group homes.
In 1978 a new constitution was drawn up and the newly formed Aberlour Child Care Trust was established. Since then Aberlour has developed its approach allowing the organisation freedom and flexibility to respond to the ever-changing needs of children in Scotland.
Today, Aberlour Child Care Trust is at the forefront of service provision to children and young people throughout Scotland. The reputation for quality is based on a commitment to child centered practices. Drawing on over 125 years of experience in our field we are forward thinking and innovative in our response to the needs of children in the 21st Century.
In September there is a reunion in Stirling of former residents of the orphanage. They intend to travel to Aberlour and there are various activities planned.
As the Clocktower and potential memorial garden is all that is left of the original building, we wanted to make sure that it was a place where the former residents of the orphanage and local people could be proud of. We were aware of how much this last remaining part of the old building meant to many people who lived, worked and supported the work done over the years with many children from all over Scotland.
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