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The history of Glenbardie commences in 1869 when a James Ross Farquharson, Esq of Invercauld entered into a building feu charter with James Proctor of Kirkville in the County of Aberdeen, for the sum of fourteen pounds and eight shillings annually, as feu duty for the acre of ground. It would appear that Mr Proctor became unable or unwilling to honour his commitment under the charter, as his payments lapsed in 1881.
In 1906, John Thompson Rennie paid the outstanding debt of £96.15s, plus interest and entered into a new lease with Alexander Haldane Farquharson, Esq appertaining to “one acre imperial measure of land lying on the north side of the turnpike road from Ballater to Braemar, bounded on the west by the property of Aspen Bank, let on long lease to the Reverend Professor Black, and on the east by ground feud to Doctor James Neil”. This ground is where Fasnadarrach, the former Church of Scotland manse was subsequently built.
Glenbardie was probably built during 1907 and its name comes from the summer sheiling (pasture) of that name on the eastern side of Glen Gairn between Craig of Prony and the Hill of Candacraig. The sheiling, whose drystone dykes (walls) are still prominent today, lies at a height of some 1400 feet and covers approximately 400 acres. In years gone by, it was occupied during the months of June, July and August. The name “Bardy” or “Bardie” could well be derived from the Donside word “Bardoch”, meaning Glen of Dykes, but this is pure conjecture.
The man who had the house built, John Thompson Rennie, was a ship owner and this would explain the existence of a traditional “Widow’s Tower”. This was the tower that the ship owner’s wife would use as a lookout to watch for her husband’s ship arriving safely in port. Legend has it that if the ship did not return, then the widow would spend the rest of her days grieving in the tower. Houses with genuine widow’s towers are common in such nautical areas as the Firth of Clyde and the East Coast of America, but are few and far between in Upper Deeside!
Glenbardie has changed hands a number of times over the years. The second owner was Principal Stewart of Robert Gordon’s College in Aberdeen. The Stewarts were followed by the McCormacks, the Matthews, the Littlejohns and the Campbells. In 1974, Glenbardie was purchased by Isobel and Hugh Craigie, who ran it as a very successful guest house, and subsequently run as such by Audrey and Duncan Macrae until 1999. Incidentally, Duncan Macrae was the author of this history and is himself a naval architect who worked in the Far East for 26 years and still lives in the village. | 
