The Story So Far...
The Story So Far…
Cruden Bay is fortunate to have dedicated local historians and authors who have documented our village’s rich heritage in deep detail—and if you’re looking for comprehensive historical accounts, their research and books are second to none.
Our focus on crudenbay.life is a little different. As we showcase the vibrant places, events, and attractions that make our village special today, the past naturally weaves its way into the narrative. Over time, we’ve shared these local moments as short, readable tales scattered across the site.
We’ve curated them all here into a single, easy-to-browse collection—a casual storytelling companion to the village, designed for locals and visitors alike to enjoy a good yarn about the place we call home.
“Lilts Frae Cruden Bay”
Thanks to Sylvia Munro for the loan of James Ogston's 1911 Poetry Book "Lilts Frae Cruden Bay". The book has poems of local interest as well as poems from further afield, such as Rothiemay, Huntly and Hill of Fare, Banchory. The book has a number of Cruden Bay photo...
Railway Poster
A RAILWAY POSTER EXHIBITION A delightful poster of Cruden Bay by Frank H. Mason. This was one of the exhibits at the L.N.E.R.’s recent exhibition of Railway Poster Art at the Burlington Galleries, Burlington Gardens, Piccadilly. This was the first exhibition of its...
Sunday School Picnic – early 1900’s
Bill Phillips I've no info on this one at all, it was among some Cruden Bay photos that were given to me a few years ago. The building behind them looks very much like the village hall. Martha Wells I have this photograph. That's my mother, second row from the front,...
Cruden Bay – By Alex. Inkson McConnochie.
Alan Croxford Cruden Bay. By Alex. Inkson McConnochie. CRUDEN Bay! How strangely the name sounds to one who knew it when, in a manner, it did not exist. True, there has been, of course, “time immemorial” a bay at Cruden, but the Cruden Bay of holiday resort is a...
Isobel Gregory Illustrations
Elizabeth Oates I have been looking back at some watercolours by my friend Isobel Gregory. We sold all the original paintings then produced the first Cruden Bay Calendar 2009. Isobel Gregory Art & Crafts Grandma Griggly seashore crafts [Best_Wordpress_Gallery...
The importance of Lascar Sailors in the early 1900’s
Image created for creatative purposes by Cruden Bay Life This article explores how early-20th-century British newspapers, including the Daily Mirror, portrayed Lascar seamen—sailors from South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Africa—as visibly out of place in Britain. A...
A Royal Visit to Cruden Bay
This is Princess Beatrice (Youngest of Queen Victoria's Children) and her Husband Prince Henry of Battenberg. Their wedding day was 23rd July 1885. On the 18th September 1885 they came and stayed for two nights with Lord Erroll at Slains Castle, Cruden Bay. They...
Charles Gore Hay (1852 to 1927)
Acknowledgement: This work makes use of material from research by Mike Shepherd and Dacre Stoker, published by Cruden Bay Life. The Last Lord of Slains: Charles Gore Hay and the Tragic Twilight of a Highland CastleStanding upon the jagged, salt-sprayed cliffs of...
William George Hay and Elizabeth FitzClarence (1801 – 1856)
Acknowledgement: This work makes use of material from research by Mike Shepherd and Dacre Stoker. Image created by Cruden Bay Life Royal Scandal, Grand Illusions, and Pink Granite: The Lives of William George Hay and Lady Elizabeth FitzClarence The nineteenth-century...
James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll (1726-1778)
A Royalist Giant with a Rebel Heart: The Life of James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll The history of 18th-century Scotland is often written in the stark colors of political division—Jacobite versus Hanoverian, rebel versus loyalist. Yet, few individuals embody the complex,...
Mary Hay -14th Countess of Erroll (1685-1758)
Acknowledgement: This work makes use of material from research by Mike Shepherd and Dacre Stoker, published by Cruden Bay Life. The High Constable’s Secret War: The Life and Legacy of Mary Hay, 14th Countess of Erroll The Crucible of Lineage: Heritage and the Drummond...
Lady Anne Drummond (1656–1719)
The Naturalist Spymaster of New Slains Castle Lady Anne Drummond (1656–1719): The Naturalist Countess who Masterminded Scotland's Jacobite Espionage Lady Anne Drummond, Countess of Erroll, was one of the most remarkable figures of early eighteenth-century Scotland,...
Francis Hay (1564–1631), 9th Earl of Erroll
Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll: A Life of Faith, Rebellion, and Reconstruction Among the turbulent nobility of late sixteenth and early seventeenth-century Scotland, few figures epitomise the high-stakes intersection of religious conviction, treasonous intrigue, and...