View source for St Cyrus

{{for|the saint|Cyrus and John}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                          = Scotland
| official_name                    = St Cyrus
| gaelic_name                      = Eaglais Chiric
| scots_name                       = Saunt Ceerus
| static_image                     = TGOC 2011 Strathmore (gp156).jpg
| static_image_caption             = St Cyrus church
| coordinates                      = {{coord|56.775|-2.4158|display=inline,title}}
| os_grid_reference                = NO7171
| population                       = {{Scottish locality population|name|POP=St Cyrus}}
| population_ref                   = ({{Scottish settlement population citation|year}})<ref>{{Scottish settlement population citation}}</ref>
| post_town                        = Montrose
| postcode_district                = DD10
| postcode_area                    = DD
| dial_code                        = 01674
| map_type                         = Scotland
| unitary_scotland                 = [[Aberdeenshire]]
| lieutenancy_scotland             = [[Kincardineshire]]
| constituency_westminster         = [[West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (UK Parliament constituency)|West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine]]
| constituency_scottish_parliament = [[Angus North and Mearns (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Angus North and Mearns]]
}}
'''St Cyrus''' or '''Saint Cyrus''' ({{langx|sco|Saunt Ceerus}}),<ref>[http://www.scots-online.org/dictionary/read.asp?letter=S&CurPage=7 The Online Scots Dictionary]</ref> formerly '''Ecclesgreig''' (from {{langx|gd|Eaglais Chiric}}) is a village in the far south of [[Aberdeenshire]], Scotland.

==General information==
Traditional salmon fishing with nets is still conducted from St Cyrus beach.  Two ice houses that used to provide ice for packing salmon before transporting to market can still be seen.  One is to the north end of the beach on the donkey track just below the Woodston Fishing Station, the other is further south next to Kirkside [this is now a private dwelling], not far from the St Cyrus National Nature Reserve Visitor Centre.{{Citation needed span|text=|date=September 2021}}

==St Cyrus National Nature Reserve==
{{Main|St Cyrus National Nature Reserve}}
St Cyrus [[National nature reserve (Scotland)|National Nature Reserve]] (NNR) is situated between the village of St Cyrus and the [[North Sea]]. The Reserve comprises {{convert|92|ha|acre}} of coastal habitat in the northern third of Montrose Bay and is managed by [[Scottish Natural Heritage]] (SNH).
The cliffs and dunes provide a nationally important habitat for [[flowering plant]]s and insects,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nnr-scotland.org.uk/reserve.asp?NNRId=29|access-date=2007-07-01|title =Scottish Natural Heritage }}</ref> many of which grow at their northern limit in Britain. The reserve is one of the most important botanical sites on the north-east coast of Scotland, supporting over 300 plant species.<ref name=story>{{cite web|url=https://www.nature.scot/sites/default/files/2018-02/The%20Story%20of%20St%20Cyrus%20National%20Nature%20Reserve.pdf|title=The Story of St Cyrus National Nature Reserve|publisher=Scottish Natural Heritage|access-date=2019-03-28|date=2008}}</ref>

St Cyrus NNR is also one of the best-known bird sites in Angus and Kincardine, with over 70 different species of bird being recorded there. These include waders such as [[Common redshank|redshank]], [[Eurasian oystercatcher|oystercatcher]], [[common sandpiper]] and [[Eurasian curlew|curlew]]. The cliffs also provide a home for [[common buzzard|buzzard]], [[common kestrel|kestrel]] and [[peregrine falcon]]. Furthermore, the prevalence of [[Ulex|gorse]] shrub provides a nesting place for such small perching birds as [[Common whitethroat|whitethroat]], [[European stonechat|stonechat]] and [[yellowhammer]].<ref name=story/>

With the abundance of wildflowers, St Cyrus NNR is also an important site for butterflies, moths and grasshoppers. One species of particular note is the [[Small blue]] butterfly, a UK [[Biodiversity Action Plan]] (BAP) species at its northern habitat limit. There have also been over 200 species of moth recorded on the reserve.<ref name=story/>

St Cyrus NNR is also part of the St Cyrus and Kinnaber Links [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] (SSSI).

==Area prehistory==
There are known prehistorical [[archaeological]] sites in the general coastal area of St Cyrus. Examples of these features include Gourdon Hill<ref>[http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/pls/portal/newcanmore.details_gis?inumlink=36841 RCAHMS archaeological database: Gourdon]</ref> to the north and the [[Stone of Morphie]],<ref>[http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=8404 C.Michael Hogan, ''Stone of Morphie'', 2007, The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham]</ref> both situated slightly to the west of the [[A92 road]] alignment.

In 2004, CFA Archaeology, conducted archaeological investigations, in advance of the construction of the Aberdeen to Lochside Natural Gas Pipeline, next to the village. There they discovered the remains of three ring-ditch [[Roundhouse (dwelling)|roundhouses]] which they [[Radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon dated]] to the Late [[Bronze Age Britain|Bronze Age]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Vol 70 (2017): Excavation of Prehistoric Roundhouses and Post-Medieval Kilns at Drumyocher and Hospital Shields, Aberdeenshire {{!}} Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports|url=http://journals.socantscot.org/index.php/sair/issue/view/99|access-date=2021-09-01|website=journals.socantscot.org}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:St Cyrus war memorial.jpg|thumb|left|St Cyrus war memorial]]
[[File:Old manse, St Cyrus.jpg|thumb|Old manse, St Cyrus]]
[[File:Old Schoolhouse, St Cyrus.jpg|thumb|Old Schoolhouse, St Cyrus]]
[[File:Old St Cyrus Parish Church.jpg|thumb|Old St Cyrus Parish Church]]
[[File:Watch House at Kirkside Cemetery, St. Cyrus - geograph.org.uk - 668934.jpg|thumb|240px|Watch House at Kirkside Cemetery]]
The remains of the Kaim of Mathers is located on rock pinnacles on the northernmost part of the beach.  Built by the Berkeley (or Barclay) family, it was used as a refuge by David de Berkeley from the vengeance of the king when, around 1420, he was part of a  group who murdered the local sheriff, John Melville of [[Glenbervie]].<ref>[http://www.electricscotland.com/history/nation/barclay.htm Electric Scotland - Barclays]</ref><ref>[https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/55561 Geograph - Kaim of Mathers]</ref>

The ruins of Old St Cyrus Church lie in the churchyard and are used as a burial vault for the Porteous family. The manse dates from the early 18th century and was remodelled at ground floor in the late 19th century. The current parish church dates from 1787 but was heavily remodelled around 1870 (including a spire).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.scottishchurches.org.uk/sites/site/id/1483/name/St+Cyrus+Parish+Church+St+Cyrus+Grampian | title=St Cyrus Parish Church - St Cyrus, Grampian - Places of Worship in Scotland &#124; SCHR }}</ref>

The old schoolhouse (run by the church and next to the manse) dates from around 1800. This was replaced by a new school south of the church in the early 20th century.

[[St Cyrus railway station]] was on the Montrose to [[Inverbervie]] branch line of the [[North British Railway]].  Freight traffic was withdrawn from this line in 1966 as part of the [[Richard Beeching|Beeching]] cuts but the passenger service had ceased in 1951 ten years before Dr Beeching joined British Railways.  Evidence for the line can still be seen in the viaduct over the North Esk river to the south of St Cyrus and the remains of some railway embankments and road bridges to the north.

A [[Chain Home Low]] radar station was once situated on the cliffs immediately to the south of the village.  A blockhouse can still be seen at its location.

===Notable residents===
* [[Alexander Keith (minister)|Alexander Keith, D.D.]]
* [[Thomas Keith (surgeon)]] son of the above
* [[George Beattie (poet)|George Beattie]]

==Geography==
{{Geographic Location
|title = '''Destinations from St Cyrus'''
|Northwest = 
|North     = [[Laurencekirk]]
|Northeast = [[Johnshaven]]
|West      = [[Marykirk]]
|Centre    = St Cyrus
|East      = [[North Sea]]
|Southwest = 
|South     = [[Montrose, Angus|Montrose]]
|Southeast = [[North Sea]]
}}

==Services==
St Cyrus has a primary school with a Nursery Class and P1 to P7 classes.

St Cyrus has its own [[telephone exchange]] (code ESSTC). The exchange is fully enabled for [[BT Group|BT]] [[ADSL]], both fixed speed and [[ADSL Max]] flavours.

St Cyrus has a public hall located not far from the store on the A92. It was used for meetings of the local community council<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/communitycouncils/kincardine.asp|title =Aberdeenshire Community Councils }}</ref> until it disbanded in 2015, and a range of other activities.  There is a sports pavilion at the local park, with an all-weather pitch and [[bowling|bowling green]].

The ''[[Mearns Leader]]'' is the local weekly newspaper and [[The Courier (Dundee)|The Courier]] is the regional newspaper, which is supplemented by a local community radio station, [[Mearns FM]], that broadcasts from nearby Stonehaven.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://mearnsfm.org.uk/|title =Mearns FM }}</ref>  The station is not-for-profit, and is volunteer run under a [[Community Radio Licence]].<ref>Mearns FM launch [http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1250858?UserKey= Press Release]</ref> The Facebook page 'What's on St Cyrus' is the local social media page.

===Transport===
St Cyrus is on the [[A92 road]] that runs from [[Fife]] to [[Stonehaven]] where it joins the [[A90 road|A90]] and continues to [[Aberdeen]] and beyond.

St Cyrus is on National Cycle Route 1 - [[Tain]] to [[Dover]].

The nearest railway stations are at [[Montrose, Angus|Montrose]], {{convert|5|mi|km}} away, [[Laurencekirk]], {{convert|7|mi|km}} away and [[Stonehaven]], {{convert|18|mi|km}} away.

Buses (No.107 and the [[X7 Coastrider]])  run between Montrose, St Cyrus and other coastal settlements up to Stonehaven and onward to Aberdeen.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/publictransport/timetables/service.asp|title = Local Bus Timetables}}</ref>

The nearest airport is at [[Aberdeen Airport|Aberdeen]] approximately {{convert|40|mi|km}} to the north.

==Demography==
[[File:St Cyrus Population.png|thumb|St Cyrus Population 1801 to 2006]]
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Population
|-
| 2011 || 1100<ref name="aberdeenshire.gov.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/statistics/population/smallarea.asp|title =Aberdeenshire Council Small Area Population Estimates }}</ref>
|-
| 2006 || 1085<ref name="aberdeenshire.gov.uk"/>
|-
| 1991 || 851<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/files/index-pop-tab1.pdf|title =General Records Office for Scotland - 1991 Census - Index of Populated Areas in Scotland }}</ref>
|-
| 1931 || 1173<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/PageBrowser2?ResourceType=Census&SearchTerms=st%20cyrus&simple=yes&path=Results&active=yes&titlepos=0&mno=243&pageseq=41|title =Online Historical Population Reports - Preliminary report, Scotland, 1931 - Shire of Kincardine }}</ref>
|-
| 1921 || 1306<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/PageBrowser2?ResourceType=Census&SearchTerms=st%20cyrus&simple=yes&path=Results&active=yes&treestate=expandnew&titlepos=0&mno=168&tocstate=expandnew&display=sections&display=tables&display=pagetitles&pageseq=133&zoom=5|title =Online Historical Population Reports - Census of Scotland, Table 19, 1921 - Shire of Kincardine }}</ref>
|-
| 1911 || 1222<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/PageBrowser2?ResourceType=Census&SearchTerms=st%20cyrus&simple=yes&path=Results&active=yes&treestate=expandnew&titlepos=0&mno=157&tocstate=expandnew&display=sections&display=tables&display=pagetitles&pageseq=180&zoom=4|title =Online Historical Population Reports - Census of Scotland, Table VII, 1911 - Shire of Kincardine }}</ref>
|-
| 1901 || 1228<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/PageBrowser2?ResourceType=Census&SearchTerms=st%20cyrus&simple=yes&path=Results&active=yes&treestate=expandnew&titlepos=0&mno=110&tocstate=expandnew&display=sections&display=tables&display=pagetitles&pageseq=50&zoom=4|title =Online Historical Population Reports - Population, Scotland, Vol. I, 1901 - Shire of Kincardine }}</ref>
|-
| 1891 || 1327<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/PageBrowser2?ResourceType=Census&SearchTerms=st%20cyrus&simple=yes&path=Results&active=yes&treestate=expandnew&titlepos=0&mno=63&tocstate=expandnew&display=sections&display=tables&display=pagetitles&pageseq=141&zoom=5|title =Online Historical Population Reports - Population report, Scotland, Vol. I, 1891 - Shire of Kincardine }}</ref>
|-
| 1881 || 1487<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/PageBrowser2?ResourceType=Census&SearchTerms=st%20cyrus&simple=yes&path=Results&active=yes&treestate=expandnew&titlepos=0&mno=54&tocstate=expandnew&display=sections&display=tables&display=pagetitles&pageseq=139&zoom=4|title =Online Historical Population Reports - Population report, Scotland, Vol. I, 1881 - Shire of Kincardine }}</ref>
|-
| 1871 || 1585<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/PageBrowser2?ResourceType=Census&SearchTerms=st%20cyrus&simple=yes&path=Results&active=yes&treestate=expandnew&titlepos=0&mno=51&tocstate=expandnew&display=sections&display=tables&display=pagetitles&pageseq=293&zoom=4&rotate=90|title =Online Historical Population Reports -1871 Education Statistics - Shire of Kincardine }}</ref>
|-
| 1851 || 1579<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/PageBrowser2?ResourceType=Census&SearchTerms=st%20cyrus&simple=yes&path=Results&active=yes&titlepos=0&mno=38&pageseq=96|title =Online Historical Population Reports -1851 Census - Shire of Kincardine }}</ref>
|-
| 1841 || 1164<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/PageBrowser2?ResourceType=Census&SearchTerms=st%20cyrus&simple=yes&path=Results&active=yes&titlepos=0&mno=19&pageseq=42|title =Online Historical Population Reports -1841 Census - Shire of Kincardine }}</ref>
|-
| 1821 || 1641<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/PageBrowser2?ResourceType=Census&SearchTerms=st%20cyrus&simple=yes&path=Results&active=yes&titlepos=0&mno=7&pageseq=553|title =Online Historical Population Reports -1821 Census - Shire of Kincardine }}</ref>
|-
| 1801 || 1622<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/PageBrowser2?ResourceType=Census&SearchTerms=st%20cyrus&simple=yes&path=Results&active=yes&titlepos=0&mno=2&pageseq=541|title =Online Historical Population Reports -1801 Census - Shire of Kincardine }}</ref>
|-
| 1755 || 1271<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.electricscotland.com/history/gazetteer/vol6page308.htm|title =Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland - St Cyrus }}</ref>
|}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:St Cyrus Church Montrose.JPG|St Cyrus Church
File:St Cyrus NNR Visitor's Centre.jpg|The visitor centre at the Saint Cyrus [[national nature reserve (United Kingdom)|National Nature Reserve]]
File:St Cyrus Ancient Nether Kirkyard at Dusk.JPG|St Cyrus ancient kirkyard
File:St Cyrus Beach - geograph.org.uk - 6349.jpg|St Cyrus Beach
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[http://www.scottish-places.info/towns/townfirst4156.html Overview of St Cyrus]

{{Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire places|state=uncollapsed}}
{{Aberdeenshire places|state=collapsed}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Aberdeenshire|Saint Cyrus]]
[[Category:Parishes in Kincardineshire]]