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Broughty Ferry

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Broughty Ferry
Population13,155 
OS grid referenceNO465309
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townDUNDEE
Postcode districtDD5
Dialling code01382
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland

Broughty Ferry (Scottish Gaelic: Bruach Tatha, Scots: Brochtie) is a suburb on the eastern side of Dundee, Scotland. It is located on the shore of the Firth of Tay. "The Ferry" was formerly an independent burgh from 1864 until it was annexed by the City of Dundee in 1913.

Etymology

The name Broughty Ferry may derive from Bruach Tatha meaning "Taybank" in Scottish Gaelic. A piece of folk etymology holds that the name derives from the Lowland Scots broch, meaning some form of fortification, with the 'ty' being a shortening of the name of the River Tay, and Ferry being added later in recognition of the town's role as a ferry port. However, this is unlikely, as the word order would probably be "Tay Broch", rather than "Broch Tay".

History

Broughty Castle, 2011

Evidence exists of a human settlement in pre-historic times, later developing into a prosperous fishing and whaling village, before becoming home to 19th century jute barons who had their factories in Dundee. At this time it was known as the 'richest square mile in Europe'.[citation needed]

In 1495 Broughty Castle was built and remained in use as a major defensive structure until 1932, playing a role in the Anglo-Scottish Wars and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The castle stands on a shallow tip projecting into the Firth, alongside two beaches, one of sand, the other of pebbles.

The village has two Category A listed buildings, St Stephen’s Church (the parish church of the West Ferry) and St Luke’s Church built in the 19th century. St Stephen’s has exceptionally fine Victorian windows thought to be the best collection of Edward Burne-Jones stained glass in Scotland.

Prior to the construction of the first Tay Rail Bridge in 1878, a roll-on/roll-off railway ferry linked the Edinburgh to Aberdeen railway line between Tayport and Broughty Ferry, until the construction of the rail bridge made it redundant.

On 2 December 1943, a pigeon from Broughty Ferry called Winkie was awarded the Dickin Medal for "delivering a message under exceptional difficulties and so contributing to the rescue of an Air Crew while serving with the RAF in February 1942".

On 8 December 1959 the town's lifeboat, the RNLB Mona, was lost with all hands attempting to rescue a foundering lightship.

Education

There are three primary schools located in Broughty Ferry. They are: Barnhill Primary School, Forthill Primary School and Eastern Primary School. Pupils living in the Barnhill Area will most likely go to Barnhill Primary School, pupils living in central Broughty Ferry will most likely go to Eastern Primary School and pupils living West Ferry will most likely go to Forthill Primary School. All three of these primary schools are feeder schools for Grove Academy.

Grove Academy (high school) has been rebuilt and opened in late 2009. It is currently one of the top secondary schools in Scotland. Eastern Primary School has moved into the old Grove building. Pupils who live in the Barnhill area used to get the option to attend the Angus school, Monifieth High School. As of 1 January 2009, the option for people living in the Barnhill area to attend Monifieth High School has been stopped. If any person living in the Barnhill area wishes to go to Monifieth High School, they must apply. Pupils that currently went to Monifieth High School and lived in the Barnhill area were not affected by these changes.

Facilities

Broughty Ferry has a renovated park at the beachfront which includes a number of facilities, such as crazy golf and children's go-karts. On New Year's Day there is a tradition of swimming between the piers of the harbour. A limited train service is available from the railway station.

Culture

Broughty Ferry is the setting for the Bob Servant books and BBC radio and television[2] series written by Neil Forsyth.

Sport

Broughty Ferry is home to the junior football club Broughty Athletic F.C. Broughty Athletic play at Whitton Park which is located in Arbroath Road, adjacent to Douglas Sports Centre and opposite Claypotts Castle. Broughty Athletic play in the ACA Sports East Region Premier League and many of their opponents are from Fife and the Lothians.

The majority of sports activity takes place in Dawson Park which boasts a number of fields and facilities. The park has five football pitches, a rugby union pitch, an American football pitch and several athletics facilities.

In 2006, a new all-weather pitch with floodlights was opened, and is used by the nearby Grove Academy.

Broughty Ferry is also home to two Bowling Clubs: Broughty BC and Broughty Castle BC. Both clubs are open all year round, and their outdoor bowling season runs from April to September.

Panmure Rugby FC (est.1880) has its home at Forthill Sports Club.

Broughty Ferry has two tennis clubs, one of which Broughty Ferry Tennis Club is open all year round and has six all-weather floodlit courts. The other is Forthill Tennis Club which has six courts and a playing season between April and October.

Cricket is played at Forthill Sports Club in Fintry Place, Broughty Ferry, the home of Forfarshire Cricket Club http://www.forfarshire.co.uk/. The ground, also known as Forthill, Dundee was purchased in 1880 by a group of city merchants led by George M. Cox.

Army Cadet Force

Broughty Ferry is home to Grove Blackwatch which is part of the Angus and Dundee Battalion of the Army Cadet Force. It is a youth organisation which is almost 150 years old.

Notable residents

Roger Ball
Lorraine Kelly

References

  1. ^ Scots Language Centre: Scottish Place Names in Scots
  2. ^ BBC 4: Bob Servant: Independent
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Broughty Ferry".
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