James Duff, the 4
th Earl of Fife, founded Dufftown or Balvenie as it was initially named, in 1817, to give employment after the Napoleonic wars. Similar to new towns of that period, Dufftown has spacious streets laid out in a regular plan. The four main streets converge on the turreted 1839 Clock Tower, originally the town jail and later the burgh chambers.
It now houses the local Tourist Information centre and small town museum, which contains material of local interest, relating to the whisky industry and to Lord Mount Stephen, a native of the parish.
The clock itself comes from Banff, a town situated on the coast of the Moray Firth about 25 miles from Dufftown. It is known locally as the clock that hanged MacPherson, an infamous freebooter from the Highland town of Kingussie. He was condemned to death at Banff in 1700 for robbing the rich and giving to the poor.
The local inhabitants raised a petition to reprieve MacPherson but when the pardon was on its way, the Sheriff of Banff, Lord Braco put the clock an hour forward to make sure he would hang. Some time later the clock was removed from Banff and installed in the Clock Tower of Dufftown.
A plaque on the Clock Tower commemorates the achievements of one of Dufftown's sons, George Stephen, who was later given the name Lord Mount Stephen. Like Many in his time he emigrated to Canada and became the co–founder and the first president of the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1990 the local Stephen Cottage Hospital celebrated its centenary.
Maurice Walsh, contemporary and friend of Neil M Gunn came to Dufftown in 1906 and found love and romance when he met one of Granny Begg's daughters. Granny Begg lived at 47 Fife Street. One of Walsh's 20 novels, all set in Scotland and Ireland, "The Hill is Mine" was based around the locality of Dufftown and shows his love for the country.
To the south–west of Dufftown stands the magnificent Ben Rinnes, from which, on a clear day, can be seen over eight counties, from Caithness to the Cairngorms and from Bennachie to Ben Wyvis. Surrounded by seven malt whisky distilleries, Dufftown is the centre of the whisky industry. Whisky is more than just an industry to the Scots, it is steeped in history and culture and for many, it is a way of life. This land, quite ironically, has seen much blood spilt over the production of the Water of Life. New laws were set out by the governing English, which made distilling illegal without a licence and payment of tax. The Red Coats were ordered to shoot any illicit distillers, unfortunately all too often whole families were involved, as for many, there was generally no other means of making a living.
There are plentiful walks in the village and its surroundings. For those interested in golf, Dufftown's course is reputed to have the highest hole in Britain, over 1000 feet above sea level. The surrounding countryside offers the opportunity to see a great variety of birds and other wildlife throughout the year, including several species that are becoming rare elsewhere. The golden eagle can be seen best from a high vantage point like Ben Rinnes, kingfisher, otter and mink can be found by the river Fiddich and the smaller isolated burns in the surrounding glens. Red squirrel and pine martin, goldcrest and tree creeper can be found in the woodlands.
Balvenie Castle is thought to have been constructed around the 13
th century. King Edward I of England was an early visitor. The Stewarts, Earls of Atholl, retained the castle from 1459 to the 17
th century. On her northern campaign against the Gordons, Mary, Queen of Scots stayed for two nights at the castle in 1562. In 1644 the Marquis of Montrose sought refuge here and it was stormed by the Royalists in 1649. Victorious Jacobites occupied the castle after the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689.
Government forces last occupied it in 1746 after the Battle of Culloden. Mortlach Parish Church is one of the oldest places of Christian worship in Scotland. The contemporary of St Columba, St Moluag, founded it in 566. It is thought to have been of great significance to the Picts as a weathered Pictish cross can be found in the graveyard. On one side there are two fish monsters a relief cross and a grotesque beast, and on the other side, a serpent, the head of a bull and a horseman. An even earlier Pictish symbol stone can be found in the vestibule of the church called the elephant stone. Having been reconstructed in 1876 and 1931, the church looks substantially modern but portions of the older building have survived.
Legend has it that King Malcolm II extended the length of the three spears of the church, a celebratory move after defeating the Danes on the haugh below the church in 1010. The north wall with its postern door has a leper's squint. The three lancet windows in the chancel probably date from the 13
th century. Later monuments include a fine heraldic gravestone dated 1417 and a recumbent effigy of Alexander Leslie of Kininvie in full armour dated 1549. In the Graveyard is the watch house, used to guard against body snatchers but now used as a heating chamber.
Auchindoun Castle is perched on a steep hillside above the River Fiddich, 1mile southeast of Dufftown. The keep stands 3 storeys high and is encircled by Pictish earthworks. The castle was built by Robert Cochran, King James III's favourite, who was hanged in 1482 by the Scottish Barons at Lauder Bridge. The castle was a stronghold of the Ogilvies and later the Gordons but was burned down during a feud with the Macintoshes in 1592.
