An historic seaport and fishing village on the North Sea coast of Aberdeenshire, Gourdon lies a mile (1.5 km) to the south of Inverbervie and 10 miles (16 km) north of Montrose. Fish houses and curing sheds line the quay of this still thriving settlement whose fishermen trawl for whitefish, gill-net for cod and fish with the creel for shellfish. An old salthouse, where salt from Cheshire was stored for use in the preservation of herring, is decorated with a mural by local school children and nearby is the Farquhar Monument erected to the memory of Lt. William Farquhar RN, who was lost at sea off the coast of China in 1864. Gourdon harbour was built in two phases, the first to a design by Thomas Telford in 1819, the second seaward extension being added in 1842. At that time Gourdon was also a busy port exporting grain and importing coal and lime. A Lifeboat station operated here from 1878 until 1969 and between 1865 and 1966 the village was linked to Montrose and Inverbervie by railway. The last working flax-spinning mill in mainland Britain operated in the village's Selbie Works until 1997. Gourdon flax yarns were used to make high quality linen goods and tarpaulins and jute yarns were used in a wide range of products from car seats to carpets.
Use the tabs on the right of this page to see other parts of this entry
If you have found this information useful please consider making
a donation to help maintain and improve this resource. More info...
