Population 322 (Census 2001) Country Scotland Post town BALLINDALLOCH Local time Sunday 5:38 PM Council area Moray UK parliament constituency Moray | OS grid reference NJ165185 Sovereign state United Kingdom Postcode district AB37 Dialling code 01807 Scottish parliament Moray Lieutenancy areas Moray, Banffshire | |
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Weather 11°C, Wind SW at 26 km/h, 51% Humidity | ||
Tomintoul (/ˌtɒmᵻnˈtaʊl/; from Scottish Gaelic: Tom an t-Sabhail, meaning "Hillock of the Barn") is a village in the Moray council area of Scotland; until 1975 it was in the county of Banffshire.
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Map of Tomintoul, Ballindalloch, UK
It is said to be the highest village in the Scottish Highlands, but at 345 m (1,132 ft) is still much lower than the highest village in Scotland (Wanlockhead, in Dumfries and Galloway).
The village was laid out on a grid pattern by the 4th Duke of Gordon in 1775. It followed the construction, twenty years previously, of a military road by William Caulfeild – now the A939. By 1841 the parish reached a population of 1,722. In 1951 this had fallen to just 531. The 2001 census reveals a village population of 322 with the total parish population now unavailable.
The 2004 film One Last Chance starring Kevin McKidd and Dougray Scott was filmed in the village and the areas around it.
Despite its small size, it is on the famed Whisky Trail, which also includes Dufftown, Keith, Tomnavoulin, and Marypark. The surrounding countryside forms the Glenlivet Estate
Tomintoul Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in 1897. The club and course disappeared at the time of WW2.
Local personalities
The artist and writer Mary Barnes died there in 2001 after living there for some time.
The immunologist Prof Kenneth Boyd Fraser FRSE retired to Tomintoul and died there.
Infamous personalities
The Gordon Arms Hotel saw significant improvement in the 1990s when it was lavished with funds from the media-styled 'Lord Tony Williams'. It is a myth that villagers referred to Tony Williams as 'Lord': this was a media invention. 'Lord' Williams spent at least £1-million on improving the hotel, and invested yet more money in other projects within the village. However, rather than a wealthy peer of the realm, Williams was a former Deputy Director of Finance in the Metropolitan Police and had used his talents to defraud them of £4.5-million. He was subsequently sentenced to seven years imprisonment. After his arrest, a 10-metre fibreglass Zulu was discovered in the hotel beer cellar – its purpose was never determined.
Percy Toplis took refuge in the area in 1920 before being discovered by a local farmer. He made his escape, shooting and wounding the farmer and a police constable while doing so. Within a week, he was shot dead by police in England.
Chiefly of interest to genealogists, James Stuart (1791–1874), a local farmer at Lynchork (pronounced "Linnahork") appears in a number of birth, baptism, death and Kirk Session records in this and surrounding parishes as the admitted or reputed father of children of his female servants.
Grigor Willox was a reputed white witch who lived in Tomintoul in the 18th century. He was said to derive his powers from two amulets: a brass hook from a kelpie's bridle and a mermaid's crystal. Among his alleged powers were making cows produce milk, curing barren women, and detecting thieves.