Let us tarry a little longer in the kirktown of Kemnay, or, as it was described in an article in 1859, 'the village of Kemnay.' In those far off days before the advent of supermarkets and the like, every parish and community was dependant on its artisans for its very existence.
Where would the folk be without the souter to look after their soles, the tailor to clad them, the joiner to serve their needs from cradle to grave or the blacksmith who literally kept the wheels of life turning?
The kirktown in the 19th century, as it doubtless had done since time immemorial, consisted of the kirk and manse, the smiddy and the joiner's workshop while down the road was the farm of Kirkstyle. The dwellings and steadings of both the smith and the joiner were strung along the kirk side of the road, and consisted of small thatched dwellings with the joiner's workshop, a wooden building with a pan tiled roof at the east end of these buildings. The smiddy stood across the road originally also with a tiled roof, and the sole remnant today is the iron roofed store on the corner of the Kirkstyle Garage feu. George Andrew came to Kemnay from Auchterless in 1808 with his wife and young family and laboured in the smiddy for the rest of his long life, dying in 1862 at the age of 88. A man who took a keen interest in the community, he was an elder of the parish kirk and was for a time Chairman of the Parochial Board. James Forbes, an employee of George Andrew took over the smiddy and served as smith in these days before welding or powered machinery. He built a small house for his retirement on part of the croft lands, across the kirk road from the smiddy house and named it Tornahaish after the land of his birth.
Robert W Duncan took a lease of the smiddy and croft on James Forbes' retirement in 1907. Another man with interests outside the smiddy he was an elder of the kirk, Sunday School superintendent and also sang in the choir. According to Bob Melvin who stayed up Parkhill, Rob had a great voice, and was aye singin at his work and ye wid hear his voice comin waftin up Parkhill atween the dirlin o the haimmer on the anvil. Bob was a gey ill trickit loon and he goes on to say; Rob was my Sunday school teacher, an he hidna a hair on's heid, bit some on the back of his neck. Ae Sunday I was stannin ahint him fan we were singin a hymn, and I raxed up an pu'd a hair oot o the back o's neck. Rob jist turned roon and gave me the afu'st fussle in the lug wi his open han, turned back an cairriet on singin. Nivver a wird spoken then or aifterwards aboot it, bit my lug dir'ilt for the rest o the session. Rob was well known for his prowess on the horticultural scene and at one time had a garden extending to nearly an acre across from the kirk, where Wood Gardens now stands.
In due course Rob's son John took over the smiddy at a time of great change in the agricultural community. Horse power was changing to mechanical power with the resultant need for different skills and implements. John installed an electrical powered hammer along with various other power tools in an effort to keep abreast of these changing times but sadly he had to retire early due to ill health. Following his retirement in 1962 the smiddy was demolished leaving only the horse shoeing shed which remains today to provide a reminder of these long gone days.