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The Knowes War Memorial

Monument
The Knowes War Memorial
Photo: Leslie Barrie, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Original Geograph photograph · Report the wrong picture

What is recorded here

Macduff's war memorial is a 70-foot granite tower completed in 1922 on the summit of the Knowes. Its foundation stone was laid in April 1920 by Princess Arthur of Connaught, Duchess of Fife. Two elderly local masons built the commanding landmark, whose internal stairs rise above panels naming the town's dead from both…

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Macduff's war memorial is a 70-foot granite tower completed in 1922 on the summit of the Knowes. Its foundation stone was laid in April 1920 by Princess Arthur of Connaught, Duchess of Fife. Two elderly local masons built the commanding landmark, whose internal stairs rise above panels naming the town's dead from both world wars.

Why it was made

Macduff chose a tall lookout-like tower to commemorate townspeople killed in the First World War, later adding names from the Second World War to the granite panels.

People and events

Princess Arthur of Connaught laid the foundation stone on 15 April 1920, and masons Alexander Brown and Magnus Johnstone carried out the demanding stone work.

How it worked

An octagonal five-stage tower, barred openings, a crenellated crown and an internal concrete stair make the memorial both a distant landmark and a place that can be entered.

What remains

The complete tower stands on the Knowes above Macduff, with Kemnay granite name panels, its interior floors and stairs, a flagstaff and a survey point at the summit.

Why it mattered

Visible across town and coast, the structure turned communal loss into Macduff's defining skyline feature and preserved the work of two local craftsmen who knew the dead.

Sources for this account

Sources checked 16 August 2026.

From OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) n1164878943

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Recorded date
1920
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Photo credits
  • Leslie Barrie, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Bill Harrison, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Peter Bond, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Colin Kinnear, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • JThomas, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • djmacpherson, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Anne Burgess, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
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