Macduff Slate was sourced from numerous quarries located within a narrow swathe of ground extending from Hill of Kirkney to Hill of Tillymorgan, roughly 7 km south of the town of Huntly in Aberdeenshire, and from several quarries in Banffshire. In the past, Macduff Slate was sometimes referred to as Aberdeenshire Slate and some of the slate was known by the name of the local area from which it was sourced (e.g. Foudland Slate). The stone consisted originally of mud that was deposited on a sea floor during the Neoproterozoic Era (c. 600 million years ago), when Scotland was south of the Equator at roughly the same latitude as Patagonia is today. Metamorphism during the Caledonian Orogeny (c. 470 million years ago) produced a planar metamorphic fabric in the stone, along which it now splits readily. Macduff Slate was used locally and regionally, mainly for roofing but also for masonry. Macduff Slate is not quarried for building stone today.

Building Stone ID 10,105