Turriff Travel Guide - Scotland

The historic town of Turriff sits at the confluence of the Idoch Water and the River Deveron. Ossian, the Gaelic poet, first mentioned it in the 6^th century, describing it as the capital of the Pictish prince Lathmon. Little is known of its early history but it is believed that St Congan founded a monastery near here in the 8^th century.
The Old Church was built by the 11^th century and in 1179 the Knights Templar, an order of the military monks, were given land in Turriff to set up their second establishment in Scotland. The monks were responsible for recruiting a great many people to fight in the Crusades.

Turriff gained burgh status in 1512 but the town first came to national prominence as one of the main centres of the Covenanter Rebellion of the mid 17^th century. The first skirmish of the Covenanters War took place at nearby Towie Barclay Castle in April 1639 and in May of that year, a major battle known as the Trot of Turriff saw the Covenanters put to flight by Royalist cannons.

Over the succeeding centuries Turriff developed as an important market place for the farming hinterland. Great Feeing Markets were held in the town throughout the 19^th century where farm workers sought work from the local estate owners and the produce of the area was sent all over the UK after the railway arrived in 1857.

In 1913 Turriff became known throughout the UK when a local farmer, Robert Paterson refused to join Lloyd George's new National Health Insurance scheme. One of his cows was impounded and Sherriff Officers tried to auction it in the town to cover the National Insurance payments Paterson owed but a riot ensued and they were chased out of town. Attempts to auction the "Turra Coo", as it became known, in Aberdeen were similarly unsuccessful and eventually neighbouring farmers bought the "Coo" and presented it back to Paterson after a procession through the streets of Turriff.

Today Turriff is still the main shopping centre for the surrounding farmlands and hosts the annual two–day Turriff Show held at the beginning of August. It is one of the largest annual events in Grampian and incorporates one of the largest agricultural shows in Scotland, attracting over 50,000 visitors each year.