Banff

Banff lies on Banff Bay at the mouth of the River Deveron in northeastern Scotland, facing Macduff across the water. The coastal plain behind the town supports farming and fishing, and the river gives access to the interior of Banffshire. The bay offered shelter but lacked a deep natural harbour until later works improved the entrance.

A castle existed by the twelfth century, and Malcolm IV stayed at Banff under a charter of 1163. The town became a royal burgh in 1372, giving its merchants legal privileges and a share in overseas trade. Salmon was among its principal exports, shipped from the Deveron by the fifteenth century. Fishing, agriculture and trade with the Low Countries supported the burgh.

During the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, Banff remained the county town and a centre for local government, courts and markets. The old castle decayed, while merchants and landowners built town houses along the main streets. A harbour was constructed near the river mouth in 1775, improving the export of grain, fish and cattle.