As described in Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, 1882-1885, by Francis H. Groome
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.
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.
A page from Francis H. Groome's 'Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland' (1882-1885), the last major gazetteer produced for Scotland. This page contains entries for Aberiachan, Aberlady, Aberlady Bay, Aberlemno, Aberlour.
Francis H. Groome's 'Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland' (1885) is still regarded as the best single gazetteer on Scotland and remains the standard work of reference in libraries lucky enough to have a copy. Published in six volumes by Thomas Jack (Grange Publishing Works) of Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885, the Ordnance Gazetteer includes information on towns and villages, in addition to a range of geographical features. It includes statistical, biographical and historical information and provides a unique integrated record of the state of the nation at that time.
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