Kintore between historic architecture and archaeology

If you would like to take historic architecture and archaeology into account when choosing somewhere to stay, Kintore offers several specific points of interest. The Town House tells the story of former public functions, while Kintore Parish Church reflects different building phases; the Kintore Churchyard Pictish Stone and the prehistoric sites add other perspectives. This allows you to focus on the use of buildings, image symbolism or archaeological context.

Historic buildings and their uses

The Town House in Kintore dates from 1747. It served as rooms and offices for the Burgh Council, as well as a schoolhouse, court and prison. Its history thus brings together municipal duties, education and the administration of justice in one building. This sequence of functions offers a different perspective from considering the year it was built alone.

Kintore Parish Church was built in 1819 and designed by Archibald Simpson. The church contains a sacrament house from an earlier church built on the same site around 1528. This makes it possible to compare the 1819 building with an older church on the same site; the sacrament house provides the link to the earlier church. Here, the focus is on the building’s history, whereas the Town House is particularly notable for its former uses.

The Pictish symbol stone

The Kintore Churchyard Pictish Stone is a Class I Pictish symbol stone located near the entrance to Kintore Parish Church. Its two sides show different motifs: one depicts a crescent moon and a V-rod above an animal, while the other shows a fish above a cauldron. This monument is therefore notable not only for its classification as a symbol stone, but also for the contrast between its two image compositions. Its location near the church entrance connects it spatially with the Parish Church, while its motifs form a distinct archaeological focus.

Prehistoric and Roman remains

The site of the Roman marching camp at Deer's Den lies west of Kintore town centre. The prehistoric roundhouses at Deer's Den are immediately adjacent to the camp site. They are of national importance because they can contribute to understanding Iron Age society and domestic and agricultural practices in later prehistory. These neighbouring remains offer different chronological and thematic perspectives: one on the Roman marching camp and the other on life in the Iron Age.

A monument on Tuach Hill is of national importance as a prehistoric ceremonial and burial monument; it may be a henge. Within an enclosure on Tuach Hill lie the remains of a stone circle or a similar stone setting. Only one stone is still standing upright. The possible classification as a henge remains tentative; the description of the stone setting records how much of it is still standing upright.

Further historical connections

Hallforest Castle lies outside Kintore town centre, about 1.5 km away. The castle was built in the ancient royal forest of Kintore. This combination of approximate distance and historic woodland connection adds another aspect of the town’s history to its buildings and archaeological remains.

The name Boat of Kintore also points to the area’s transport history: it comes from a former ferry that once crossed the Don. For planning a visit on foot or by bicycle, Aberdeenshire Council provides a dedicated walking and cycling map for Kintore; it is dated 13 March 2026. Alongside the historical themes, this gives you a practical planning aid without prescribing a single itinerary for visiting the individual attractions.

Discover more destinations: Gourdon, Tyrie, Chapel Of Garioch, Fettercairn, Mintlaw, Port Elphinstone, Monymusk, Tarves

For the regional travel overview: Aberdeenshire.