Angus, Scotland facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Angus Aonghas
Flag Coat of arms Council logo
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	Scotland
Lieutenancy area	Angus
Admin HQ	Forfar
Government
• Body	Angus Council
Area
• Total	842 sq mi (2,182 km2)
Area rank	Ranked 10th
Population  (2020)
• Total	116,040
• Rank	Ranked 17th
• Density	137.74/sq mi (53.181/km2)
GSS code	S12000041
ISO 3166 code	GB-ANS

Angus (Scots: Angus; Scottish Gaelic: Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agriculture and fishing. Global pharmaceuticals company GSK has a significant presence in Montrose in the east of the county.

Angus was historically a province, and later a sheriffdom and county (known officially as Forfarshire from the 18th century until 1928), bordering Kincardineshire to the north-east, Aberdeenshire to the north and Perthshire to the west; southwards it faced Fife across the Firth of Tay; these remain the borders of Angus, minus Dundee which now forms its own small separate council area. Angus remains a registration county and a lieutenancy area. In 1975 some of its administrative functions were transferred to the council district of the Tayside Region, and in 1995 further reform resulted in the establishment of the unitary Angus Council.

History

Etymology

The name "Angus" indicates the territory of the eighth-century Pictish king of that name.

Prehistory

The area that now comprises Angus has been occupied since at least the Neolithic period. Material taken from postholes from an enclosure at Douglasmuir, near Friockheim, about five miles north of Arbroath has been radiocarbon dated to around 3500 BC. The function of the enclosure is unknown, but may have been for agriculture or for ceremonial purposes.

Bronze Age archaeology is to be found in abundance in the area. Examples include the short-cist burials found near West Newbigging, about a mile to the North of the town. These burials included pottery urns, a pair of silver discs and a gold armlet. Iron Age archaeology is also well represented, for example in the souterrain nearby Warddykes cemetery and at West Grange of Conan, as well as the better-known examples at Carlungie and Ardestie.

Medieval and later history

The county is traditionally associated with the Pictish territory of Circin, which is thought to have encompassed Angus and the Mearns. Bordering it were the kingdoms of Cé (Mar and Buchan) to the North, Fotla (Atholl) to the West, and Fib (Fife) to the South. The most visible remnants of the Pictish age are the numerous sculptured stones that can be found throughout Angus. Of particular note are the collections found at Aberlemno, St Vigeans, Kirriemuir and Monifieth.

Angus is first recorded as one of the provinces of Scotland in 937, when Dubacan, the Mormaer of Angus, is recorded in the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba as having died at the Battle of Brunanburh.

The signing of the Declaration of Arbroath at Arbroath Abbey in 1320 marked Scotland's establishment as an independent nation. Partly on this basis, Angus is marketed as the birthplace of Scotland. It is an area of rich history from Pictish times onwards. Notable historic sites in addition to Arbroath Abbey include Glamis Castle, Arbroath Signal Tower museum and the Bell Rock Lighthouse, described as one of the Seven Wonders of the Industrial World.

Geography

Craigowl Hill, highest of the Sidlaws, in southern Angus

Angus can be split into three geographic areas. To the north and west, the topography is mountainous. This is the area of the Grampian Mountains, Mounth hills and Five Glens of Angus, which is sparsely populated and where the main industry is hill farming. Glas Maol – the highest point in Angus at 1,068 m (3,504 ft) – can be found here, on the tripoint boundary with Perthshire and Aberdeenshire. To the south and east the topography consists of rolling hills (such as the Sidlaws) bordering the sea; this area is well populated, with the larger towns. In between lies Strathmore (the Great Valley), which is a fertile agricultural area noted for the growing of potatoes, soft fruit and the raising of Aberdeen Angus cattle.

Montrose in the north east of the county is notable for its tidal basin and wildlife. Angus's coast is fairly regular, the most prominent features being the headlands of Scurdie Ness and Buddon Ness. The main bodies of water in the county are Loch Lee, Loch Brandy, Carlochy, Loch Wharral, Den of Ogil Reservoir, Loch of Forfar, Loch Fithie, Rescobie Loch, Balgavies Loch, Crombie Reservoir, Monikie Reservoirs, Long Loch, Lundie Loch, Loch of Kinnordy, Loch of Lintrathen, Backwater Reservoir, Auchintaple Loch, Loch Shandra.

Demography

Population structure

In the 2001 census, the population of Angus was recorded as 108,400. 20.14% were under the age of 16, 63.15% were between 16 and 65 and 18.05% were aged 65 or above.

Of the 16 to 74 age group, 32.84% had no formal qualifications, 27.08% were educated to 'O' Grade/Standard Grade level, 14.38% to Higher level, 7.64% to HND or equivalent level and 18.06% to degree level.

Language in Angus

The most recent available census results (2001) show that Gaelic is spoken by 0.45% of the Angus population. This, similar to other lowland areas, is lower than the national average of 1.16%. These figures are self-reported and are not broken down into levels of fluency.

Meanwhile, the 2011 census found that 38.4% of the population in Angus can speak Scots, above the Scottish average of 30.1%. This puts Angus as the council area with the sixth highest proficiency in Scots, behind only Shetland, Orkney, Moray, Aberdeenshire, and East Ayrshire.

Historically, the dominant language in Angus was Pictish until the sixth to seventh centuries AD when the area became progressively gaelicised, with Pictish extinct by the mid-ninth century. Gaelic/Middle Irish began to retreat from lowland areas in the late-eleventh century and was absent from the Eastern lowlands by the fourteenth century. It was replaced there by Middle Scots, the contemporary local South Northern dialect of Modern Scots, while Gaelic persisted as a majority language in the Highlands and Hebrides until the 19th century.

Angus Council are planning to raise the status of Gaelic in the county by adopting a series of measures, including bilingual road signage, communications, vehicle livery and staffing.

Community council areas

As of 2018^[update] Angus is divided into 25 community council areas and all apart from Friockheim district have an active council. The areas are: Aberlemno; Auchterhouse; Carnoustie; City of Brechin & District; Ferryden & Craig; Friockheim & District; Glamis; Hillside, Dun, & Logie Pert; Inverarity; Inveresk; Kirriemuir; Kirriemuir Landward East; Kirriemuir Landward West; Letham & District; Lunanhead & District; Monifieth; Monikie & Newbigging; Montrose; Muirhead, Birkhill and Liff; Murroes & Wellbank; Newtyle & Eassie; Royal Burgh of Arbroath; Royal Burgh of Forfar; Strathmartine; and Tealing.

Parliamentary representation

UK Parliament

Angus is represented by three MPs for the UK Parliament.

• Angus – covers most of the council area, is represented by Dave Doogan of the Scottish National Party.
• Dundee East – mainly covers Dundee, however a small portion of eastern Sidlaw and Carnoustie areas are part of the constituency, is represented by Stewart Hosie of the Scottish National Party.
• Dundee West – mainly covers Dundee, however a small portion of western Sidlaw area is part of the constituency, is represented by Chris Law of the Scottish National Party.

Scottish Parliament

Angus is represented by two constituency MSPs for the Scottish Parliament.

• Angus North and Mearns – covers the north of Angus and a southern portion of Aberdeenshire, is represented by Mairi Gougeon of the Scottish National Party.
• Angus South – covers the south of Angus, is represented by Graeme Dey of the Scottish National Party.

In addition to the two constituency MSPs, Angus is also represented by seven MSPs for the North East Scotland electoral region.

Transport

The Edinburgh-Aberdeen railway line runs along the coast, through Dundee and the towns of Monifieth, Carnoustie, Arbroath and Montrose.

There is a small airport at Dundee, which at present operates flights to London and Belfast.

Settlements

Montrose

Arbroath is the largest town in the modern county, followed by Forfar, the county town and administrative centre, and Montrose.

Largest settlements by population:

Historic parishes

c.1854 Angusshire (Forfarshire) Civil Parish map.

Forfarshire was divided into parishes, some of which share the name with current settlements:

Education

Secondary schools in Angus:

• Arbroath Academy
• Arbroath High School
• Brechin High School
• Carnoustie High School
• Forfar Academy
• Monifieth High School
• Montrose Academy
• Webster's High School

Places of interest

• Aberlemno Sculptured Stones
• Arbroath Abbey
• Barry Mill
• Brechin Cathedral
• Brechin Castle
• Brechin Round Tower
• Caledonian Railway (Brechin)
• Cairngorms National Park
• Corrie Fee National Nature Reserve
• Eassie Stone
• Edzell Castle
• Glamis Castle
• Glenesk Folk Museum
• House of Dun
• Loch of Kinnordy Nature Reserve
• Meffan Institute
• Monboddo House
• Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre
• Montrose Basin Nature Reserve
• Montrose Museum

Sister areas

• – Yantai, Shandong, China.

Surnames

Most common surnames in Angus (Forfarshire) at the time of the 1881 United Kingdom census:

1. Smith
2. Robertson
3. Anderson
4. Stewart
5. Scott
6. Mitchell
7. Brown
8. Duncan
9. Milne
10. Thomson

See also

In Spanish: Angus (Escocia) para niños