Dufftown

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DUFFTOWN

Incorporated into: 1975 Moray District Council (1996 Moray Area Council)

Official blazon

Vert, a fess dancetty Ermine between in chief a pale Or, charged of three pallets Sable, surmounted of a tower Argent, port and window Gules, all between, dexter a baton Or, charged of seven roundels Gules, and sinister a barley-ear Or, the barley grains alternately Or and Gules, both bendways all in chief; and in base an escallop Or.

And in an Escrol below the Shield which is surmounted of the coronet proper to a Police Burgh (viz. Azure, masoned Argent) is placed this Motto "Lippen".

Origin/meaning

The arms were granted on June 10, 1966.

The arms show the green field, ermine fess dancetty and golden shell from those of Duff of Braco, ancestor of the Duff Earls Fife.

The red-studded baton is the heraldic symbol of the Bachuil Mor, the famous pastoral staff of St. Moluag of Lismore, who founded a Christian settlement in Mortlach Parish (in which Dufftown lies) in 566; the remains of the Bachuil Mor were returned to its Hereditary Keeper, Baron Alastair Livingstone of Bachuil by the Duke of Argyll in 1952, but for security reasons it has been kept in Inveraray Castle.

The black and gold are for the Earls of Atholl who once owned Strathbogie and the Castle of Balvenie which is just outside the town.

The tower is the Burgh Tower, a representation of which appears on the Burgh seal; it was paid for by public subscription and built in stages as the money became available.

The barley grains represent the whisky industry of which Dufftown is a leading centre.

The motto is an old Scots word meaning "Trust".