Angus
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Angus
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(Click on the picture to see a larger one) Angus is our home county and was our first county kit. About half way up the east coast of Scotland, Angus is bounded by Kincardineshire to the north and Perthshire to the west, with the Tay estuary forming its southern boundary. Angus was in the heartland of the ancient kingdom of the Picts and it was here, at Dunnichen near Forfar, that the Battle of Nechtansmere took place in 685 between a Pictish army under King Bruide and Northumbrian invaders led by King Egfrith. The Picts' triumph effectively ended Northumbrian expansion northwards and probably ensured Scotland's future as an independent nation. Today, one can still see many excellent examples of Pictish standing stones - the group at Aberlemno is particularly fine. Later, in 1320, the stirring Declaration of Arbroath, affirming Scotland's freedom, was approved at Arbroath Abbey. At about the same time, Glamis Castle, the most famous castle in the county, was being built; family home of HM The Queen Mother and birthplace of Princess Margaret, Glamis is also renowned for its ghosts and its Shakesperian connection with Macbeth. Forfar was once famed for its witches and, indeed, employed a professional witchfinder at one stage. In the town's Meffan Museum you'll find the Witch's Bridle, a grisly iron collar with a blunt spike which was forced into the unfortunate witch's mouth to stop her screaming while she was being burned at the stake. Although its population is only about 7,000, Brechin is the only "city" in Angus as it has a little cathedral, initially founded in the 13th century. Standing pencil-slim beside the cathedral is a round tower, the oldest in Scotland (there only is one other, at Abernethy), built by Culdee monks in about 1000 AD. More than almost any other county, Angus is a microcosm of Scotland, with rich farmland in Strathmore, wide sandy beaches and fishing towns in the east, highland mountains and glens to the north, and several very typical Scottish towns (and football teams!) dotted here and there. There's even an industrial city (Dundee) to the south, although it's no longer actually in Angus. The county is also renowned for its gastronomic delicacies - Angus beef, Forfar bridies, and Arbroath smokies to name but three. Family names connected with the county include Carnegie, Guthrie, Gardyne, Lindsay, Lyon, and Graham, and for many years the powerful Red Douglas family held the earldom of Angus. Having said that, the most common surname in the local telephone directory is Smith! Our kit of Angus is stitched on Linda 27-count evenweave and includes 29 colours, 19 buildings, boats, place names, compass and crest, and has a stitched area of 14� x 13� inches (375 x 350mm). The stitch count is 200 x 187.
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