Laurencekirk is a town in the historic county of Kincardineshire, Scotland, simply off the A90 Dundee to Aberdeen highway, which bypassed it in 1985. It is administered as part of Aberdeenshire. It is the largest negotiation in the Howe o' the Mearns location and houses the local senior high school; Mearns Academy, which was awarded the Charter Mark in 2003. Its old name was Conveth, an anglification of the Gaelic Coinmheadh, referring to a responsibility to offer free food as well as board to passing troops. Laurencekirk is in the valley between the Hill of Garvock and also the Cairn O' Mount. The renowned site of the Johnston Tower can be seen on the peak of the Garvock. Laurencekirk was, in the past, recognized for making snuff boxes with an unique sort of airtight hinge (referred to as a "Laurencekirk hinge") designed by James Sandy. Laurencekirk Golf Club (now obsolete) first appeared in the very early 1900s. The club closed at the time of WW2. Lewis Grassic Gibbon wrote much regarding The Mearns as well as the surrounding area in his publication Sunset Song. A homage centre can be seen at Arbuthnott a couple of miles from Laurencekirk. Fred Urquhart worked on the land at Laurencekirk in the Second World War, and also his narratives make use of his monitorings of country life here.