Laurencekirk
Laurencekirk is a town in the historical county of Kincardineshire, Scotland, just off the A90 Dundee to Aberdeen highway, which bypassed it in 1985. It is administered as part of Aberdeenshire. It is the largest settlement in the Howe o' the Mearns area and houses the neighborhood secondary school; Mearns Academy, which was granted the Charter Mark in 2003. Its old name was Conveth, an anglification of the Gaelic Coinmheadh, describing an obligation to give complimentary food and board to passing soldiers. Laurencekirk is in the valley in between capital of Garvock as well as the Cairn O' Mount. The renowned landmark of the Johnston Tower can be seen on the height of the Garvock. Laurencekirk was, in the past, known for making snuff boxes with a special sort of airtight hinge (referred to as a "Laurencekirk hinge") invented by James Sandy. Laurencekirk Golf Club (now defunct) first showed up in the early 1900s. The club closed at the time of WW2. Lewis Grassic Gibbon created much regarding The Mearns and the surrounding area in his book Sunset Song. A tribute centre can be seen at Arbuthnott a couple of miles from Laurencekirk. Fred Urquhart worked with the land at Laurencekirk in the 2nd World War, as well as his short stories take advantage of his monitorings of country life here.