| Administrative History | Huntly, capital of Strathbogie, was erected into a Burgh of Barony in 1488 by King James III (1460-1488) in favour of George, 2nd. Earl of Huntly, and in 1684 was raised to a Burgh of Regality in favour of George, 1st Duke of Gordon. A burgh of barony was presided over by a feudal superior who had authority from the Crown to administer justice and to hold barony courts dealing with crimes and matters of good neighbourhood up to 1747 and thereafter solely matters of good neighbourhood.
Huntly became a Police Burgh in 1834, and the General Police and Improvement (Scotland) Act 1862 (25 & 26 Vict., c. 101) in 1866. Burgh administration was carried out by police commissioners who were responsible for the cleansing, lighting, policing and public health of the burgh.. The first Provost of Huntly was James Bowman, previously Senior Magistrate, in 1893.
Under the Town Councils (Scotland) Act 1900 (63 & 64 Vict., c. 49) the police commissioners were replaced by Huntly Town Council in January 1901. Huntly Town Council was abolished in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65). Its powers were assumed by Grampian Regional Council and Gordon District Council. These in turn were replaced by Aberdeenshire Council in 1996 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39). |