Rafford Village Hall’s committee organise boundary setting walk as part of 75 birthday celebrations
Villagers and visitors celebrated 75 years since a community building first opened - with a trip back in time.
Throughout 2025, the Rafford Village Hall committee is organising events to recognise the dedication and vision of the rural community - including the re-enactment of the 'Beating of the Bounds’.
Committee secretary and organiser, Anne Parkinson, confirmed the three-mile tour on Sunday, May 11 followed in the footsteps of lively characters styling themselves as Rafford Town Council in 1840, exploring the history of local mills, inns, ferm touns and markets.
She explained: “There was a recent focus on Rafford’s history, recalling an event from 1840 when, on noting the Riding of the Marches by Forres Town Council, local characters chose to host their own march around Rafford.
“The walking party made for a memorable afternoon as residents were also joined by a contingent from Moray Field Club.”
The route included schools, farms and homesteads, the sites of former mills, smithies and churches.
“We deviated into Granary Farm to admire an old cart and the solid farm buildings,” said Anne, “including the bothy and goose barn. It was here that John Cruickshank invented his self-delivery reaping machine and where locally horses were fed on crushed whins.
“On approaching a key marker stone, we were delighted that the youngest walker, Harris Cathro, took on the important role of addressing ‘douping’ the stone with a stick, in time-honoured tradition. The great responsibility was placed on his shoulders to recall the position of the boundary stone for future generations.”
The tour proceeded to Rafford’s old cemetery where the walkers were joined by Robert Hay, historian and author of ‘Lochnavando No More’.
“Robert has undertaken detailed research into the history of the local estate of Altyre,” explained Anne. “He challenged us to consider the dedication of the early chapel in Rafford, whilst reminding us that the village lay close to an ancient routeway across Moray.”
The procession headed back to Moor of Granary. Personal stories were revealed along the way and, by the time crofts at Woodside were in sight, they realised that several attendees shared close connections to them, particularly the site formerly occupied by William Fraser who left his name carved on a lintel.
The final leg of our tour brought the party to the Old Smithy at Granary to hear tales of a mischievous monkey and a visiting cobbler.
The excursion finished with refreshments and an exhibition of local maps, photographs and documents in the village hall. Attendees also received an illustrated souvenir booklet printed by David Ritchie.
Anne said: “As T. L. Masson wrote in 1889 when he produced his history of Rafford, ‘No serious effort has been made to collect the thoughts, impressions and individual recollections of the past’.
“Our walk around Rafford confirmed the importance of bringing people together to share the incidental stories and family lore that rarely feature in history books.”
She finished: “Our next challenge is to examine the census records and support inquiries from far and wide. We are keen to research further the community history and welcome contributions for our hall archive.”
Contact Anne via raffordvillagehall@gmail.com or write to Rafford Village Hall, IV36 2RU to share village family histories.
