The Mearns

Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns (from A' Mhaoirne meaning "the Stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and west, and by Angus on the south.

The name "Kincardine" is also used in Kincardine and Mearns, a committee area of the Aberdeenshire Council, although this covers a smaller area than the county.

The county town was originally the town of Kincardine (not, as many believe, the village of Kincardine O'Neil, which was in the County of Aberdeen). The town of Kincardine (not to be confused with Kincardine in Fife), however, ceased to exist during the Middle Ages. The only visible sign of its previous existence is the ruin of Kincardine Castle, 2 miles north-east of Fettercairn. In 1296, King John Balliol wrote a letter of surrender from the castle to Edward I of England after a short war which marked the beginning of the wars of Scottish independence. In 1600, the Estates of Parliament ordered the government of Kincardineshire to be conducted at the Stonehaven Tolbooth. The county extended to Hill of Fare north of the River Dee, but in 1891 the Royal Burgh of Torry on the south bank of the Dee was incorporated into Aberdeen.