A renowned Aberdeen writer and poet is to be honoured in her hometown with a new commemorative plaque.
Anne “Nan” Shepherd was born in February 1893 in Aberdeen and grew up at ‘Dunvegan’ 503 North Deeside Road, Cults where she lived until her death in February 1981.
Cults, Bieldside and Milltimber Community Council and Aberdeen Women’s Alliance submitted a joint nomination to Aberdeen City Council last year for a commemorative plaque for the acclaimed writer.
The plaque will be mounted at the entrance to ‘Dunvegan’.
Her three novels, The Quarry Wood (1928), The Weatherhouse (1930) and A Pass in the Grampians (1933) are set in rural communities in the north east, and are full of the earthy speech of its people and evocative description of its landscapes.
Her final published work, The Living Mountain, also reflects on her experience of walking in the Cairngorms and is a series of meditations on the mountains and the life forms within them.
Last year her national significance was acknowledged in the decision to place her image on the Royal Bank of Scotland five pound note.
Guus Glass of the Cults, Bieldside and Milltimber Community Council said: “We hope that the plaque will help to preserve her memory and inspire people to read her books.”
Heather Spence of Aberdeen Women’s Alliance said: “One of the first women to graduate from the University of Aberdeen, she inspired generations of teachers and was ahead of her time in writing about the complexities of women’s lives in the early twentieth century.”
The cost of creating and installing the plaque is being funded jointly by the two groups.. A date has yet to be set for its installation.