Town in Moray, Scotland
Elgin
Its cathedral was torched by the Wolf of Badenoch, its name is on the Parthenon marbles, and its mill has made textiles since 1797.
Key information
- County
- Moray
- Nation
- Scotland
- Population
- About 23,000 (2011 Census)
- Known for
- Ruined Elgin Cathedral, cashmere, independent whisky bottling
- Famous people
- Alexander Stewart, the Wolf of Badenoch; Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin
- Football clubs
- Elgin City (the Black and Whites)
About Elgin
The cathedral the Wolf tried to burn down
In 1390, a king's son known as the Wolf of Badenoch rode into Elgin and set fire to one of the grandest churches in Scotland. He was Alexander Stewart, son of Robert II, and he was furious. The Bishop of Moray had excommunicated him over a quarrel about land and his treatment of his wife. The Wolf's answer was to burn Forres and then Elgin, cathedral included. Elgin Cathedral had been founded in 1224 and was nicknamed the Lantern of the North. It was rebuilt, and grander than before. The Reformation and neglect finished what the Wolf started. The lead was stripped from the roof in 1568, and the central tower collapsed in 1711. What survives is a spectacular ruin, with a soaring west front, the chapter house and a Pictish cross-slab inside the grounds.
A medieval street plan you can still walk
Elgin's long High Street runs east to west, lined with narrow closes and wynds that lead off it like the bones of a fish. That layout is medieval, and it has survived several centuries of rebuilding. In the middle sits the Plainstones, a paved market area, and the Muckle Cross, a market cross topped by a unicorn. The present one is a Victorian replacement for an older cross, and it is still the town's meeting point. St Giles' Church, with its columned front, closes off the street's centre. Behind it, Lady Hill rises above the rooftops, topped by a column to the Duke of Gordon and by the scant remains of a royal castle.
Why the Parthenon marbles carry Elgin's name
Elgin is not just a place name but a title. The Earls of Elgin, the Bruce family, took theirs from the town. The 7th Earl, Thomas Bruce, removed sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens in the early 1800s and shipped them to Britain. That is why the world's most argued-over sculptures are still called the Elgin Marbles, even though he had no connection with the town beyond the name. Elgin's own treasures are rather older still. Elgin Museum, opened in 1843, is among the oldest independent museums in Scotland. It is famed for the fossil reptiles that were dug out of the sandstone quarries around the town.
Cashmere, malt and Speyside's merchants
Johnstons of Elgin has made cloth by the River Lossie since 1797. It started as a woollen mill, turned to cashmere in 1851 and became known for fine knitwear, and it is still one of the town's best-known names. Elgin is also at the edge of Speyside whisky country. Gordon & MacPhail, founded in 1895, built a worldwide reputation as an independent bottler, quietly maturing and selling single malts from other distilleries. Glen Moray distillery, on the edge of town, has been making malt since the late nineteenth century. So a typical Elgin souvenir might be a cashmere scarf and a bottle of something amber.
Football by the black and white
Elgin City play at Borough Briggs, a ground tucked in beside the town centre. The club was founded in 1893 and is nicknamed the Black and Whites after its kit. It was admitted to the Scottish Football League in 2000, and the Highland League remains a fierce rival league for the north-east clubs. The area's other great sporting neighbour is the Moray coast, where golf courses and sandy beaches are a short drive away. Nearby RAF Lossiemouth, home to fast jets, keeps the skies above Elgin noisy at times.
Related articles
Scotch Whisky
Scotch whisky has to sit in an oak cask for at least three years, so every bottle on the shelf is a small act of patience, and some outlast their makers.
Food & Drink