Moray

Moray, council area and historic county of northeastern Scotland, extending inland from the southern shore of the Moray Firth. The council area and the historic county occupy somewhat different areas. Most of the historic county of Moray lies within the council area of the same name, but the southern portion of the county, including Grantown-on-Spey, is part of the Highland council area. The Moray council area, however, also contains most of the historic county of Banffshire.

The council area’s coast along the Moray Firth on the north is lined with beaches and sand dunes. The Rivers Spey and Findhorn issue from the hills and peat moors in the south and cross a fertile coastal plain to reach the Moray Firth. On Moray’s southern boundary the massif of the Cairngorm Mountains rises to nearly 4,000 feet (1,220 metres).

The Picts occupied the area until the 9th century ce, when Kenneth MacAlpin united their lands with those of the Scots, and the Pictish lands acquired the name of Moray. Covering a much wider area than the historic county, Moray was one of the seven traditional provinces of ancient Scotland, and it contributed two kings, Macbeth and Lulach (both 11th-century), to Scotland. The ancient province of Moray ceased to exist in the 12th century, but the town of Elgin became the site of the episcopal see of Moray in 1224. Robert I (the Bruce) of Scotland elevated the county of Moray to an earldom and bestowed it upon his nephew, Thomas Randolph, in 1312. Many of the county’s villages were ravaged during the English Civil Wars of the mid-17th century. Moray was little affected by the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, except that the arrival of railways promoted tourism and stimulated the local fishing industry. The chief antiquities in the county are the remains of the cathedral at Elgin, Kinloss Abbey (1150), and Pluscarden Priory (1230).

The Moray council area consists mainly of forests and agricultural land. Crops include cereals, potatoes, and hay. Beef cattle are bred on the plain, and sheep graze the hills. Lossiemouth and Buckie are active fishing ports. The main manufacturing sectors are food processing (including fish processing), shipbuilding, and the production of equipment for the North Sea oil industry. Moray also produces whisky, especially in the south-central Strathspey region. Salmon fishing along the River Spey, coastal resorts, and picturesque towns and countryside combine to make tourism an important part of the local economy. Elgin is the council area’s largest town and commercial and adminstrative centre. Area council area, 864 square miles (2,238 square km). Pop. (2001) council area, 86,940; (2011) council area, 93,295.