25. THE CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF ABERDEENSHIRE.

(The figures in brackets after each name give the population in 1911, and those at the end of each section are references to pages in the text.)

=Aberdeen= (161,952). From being entirely built of granite, Aberdeen is best known as “The Granite City.” The light grey stone gives the town a clean look which strikes visitors from cities built of brick or of sandstone. Its many handsome public buildings, banks, offices, churches and schools, all solid and substantial, and of great architectural interest, are undoubtedly finer than those of any other town of the same size in the kingdom.

The first historical reference to it is in the twelfth century; later a charter was obtained from King William the Lion, granting the city certain trading privileges. Long before Edinburgh and Glasgow had begun to show signs of rising to greatness, Aberdeen was a port of extensive trade, but its growth was slow until the dawn of the nineteenth century. In 1801, its population was only 27,608; in 1831 this figure had doubled, and in recent years, owing chiefly to the phenomenal growth of the fishing industry, its progress has been rapid.

Aberdeen has long been a great educational centre. Its Grammar School claims to have existed in the thirteenth century.Its first University, King’s College in Old Aberdeen, was founded in 1494 by Bishop Elphinstone, and its second, Marischal College in New Aberdeen, by Earl Marischal in 1593. These were united in 1860 as the University of Aberdeen. Since that time the buildings of both Colleges have been largely added to, and the number of professorships greatly increased. Its students in the different faculties, Arts, Medicine, Science, Law and Divinity are little short of 1000.

The Old Grammar School, Schoolhill

Being the only really large town in the county, and for that matter in the whole north of Scotland, it tends to grow in importance, and its business connections are ever extending. It is the focus of the trawling industry, and of the granite trade; while the agricultural interests of the county look to Aberdeen as their chief mart and distributing medium. Its secondary schools, its technical college, its agricultural college, its University, all help to swell its population by bringing strangers to reside within its boundaries. In itself it is clean, healthy and attractively built, while its fairly equable climate, its relatively low rain-fall (29 inches) and its equally low death-rate (14·2 per 1000) conduceto its popularity as a residential town. Being the northern terminus of the Caledonian Railway, and having excellent service to London by the West Coast, the Midland, and the East Coast routes, it obtains a large share of the tourist traffic; and the sportsmen who fish in the Aberdeenshire rivers or shoot grouse in the Aberdeenshire moors must all do more or less homage to the county town.

The chief street of the city is Union Street created a century ago at a cost which was considered reckless at the time but which has been more than justified by the results. This first improvement scheme, which has been followed up by others in recent times, was the work of men with a wide outlook. Prominent among the Provosts of enlightenment was Sir Alexander Anderson, whose name is now at the eleventh hour stamped in memory by the Anderson Drive—a fashionable west-end thoroughfare. Union Street is the backbone from which all the other thoroughfares radiate. It is broad and handsome and the buildings that face each other across it are as a rule worthy of the street. Union Bridge, one of Fletcher’s graceful structures, with a span of 130 feet, makes a pleasing break in the line of buildings and permits a view north and south along the Denburn valley. The northern view, which shows Union Terrace and Union Terrace Gardens with handsome public buildings, both in the foreground and in the background, is undoubtedly one of the finest in the city. The Duthie Park on the north bank of the Dee, the links that fringe the northern coast, the picturesquely wooded amenities of Donside, above and below Balgownie Bridge, the quaint other world air of Old Aberdeen with its lofty trees, its grand cathedral and the ancient crown of King’s College, these are all elevating and meliorating influences that help to keep in check the commercial spirit that rules about the harbour-quays and the fish-market.

Aberdeen can boast of four daily newspapers besides several weeklies. It claims the honour of having the oldest newspaper inScotland—_The Aberdeen Journal_—established in 1748. (pp.3,8,11,13,20,24,37,38,39,66,68,75,80,83,85,89,91,92,94,95,101,102,107,108,109,111,126,145,162,164,165,169,172,173.)

=Aberdour= (549) is a small village on the coast half-way between Troup Head and Rosehearty. Sometimes called New Aberdour to distinguish it from the parish, the village came into existence in 1796. The parish is very ancient. Its church, now in ruins, was dedicated to St Drostan, the disciple and companion of St Columba. Aberdour is the birth-place of Dr Andrew Findlater, once Head-master of Gordon’s Hospital (now College), Aberdeen, and first editor of Chambers’s _Encyclopaedia_. (pp.39,62,105,119,164.)

=Aboyne= (1525), properly called Charlestown of Aboyne in compliment to the first Earl of Aboyne, is a picturesquely situated village on Deeside with a high reputation for its bracing climate. Near it is Aboyne Castle—for centuries the family seat of the Marquis of Huntly. In the vicinity are Lochs Kinnord and Davan. At Dinnet are beds of kieselguhr. (pp.2,8,24,31,88,117,119,162.)

=Alford= (pa. 1464), on Donside, is the terminus of the branch railway from Kintore and the centre of a rich agricultural district called the Vale of Alford. In the neighbourhood are several interesting castles—Terpersie, Kildrummy and Craigievar. From Alford the main Donside road leads up the valley to Strathdon and Corgarff, from which there are passes both to Deeside and to Speyside. (pp.27,71,113,115,134,160,162.)

=Ballater= (1240), a small town beautifully situated on the north side of the river Dee, in a level space enclosed by high mountains, is 660 feet above sea-level. From Ballater coaches drive daily to Braemar, passing Balmoral Castle half-way. (pp.2,8,18,24,27,33,154,162,164,176.)

Birsemore Loch and Craigendinnie, Aboyne

Mar Castle

=Braemar= (502), properly Castleton of Braemar, is the highest village in the county, being 1100 feet above sea-level. It stands at the junction of the Clunie and the Dee, and is finely sheltered in a hollow amongst the surrounding mountains. Braemar is a fashionable health resort. Some 10,000 strangers visit it annually. At the beginning of the nineteenth century it was not much more than a Highland clachan. Now it has

Ballater, view from Pannanich

spacious hotels with electric light and all modern conveniences on a luxurious scale. Six miles distant is the famous Linn of Dee. The Duke of Fife’s Highland residence, Mar Lodge, as well as Mar Castle and Invercauld House, the home of the Farquharsons, are all in the vicinity. From Braemar the ascent of Ben-Macdhui is usually made, and sometimes also Loch-na-gar. A road leads from Braemar up the valley of the Clunie and over the Cairnwell to Blairgowrie. (pp.8,21,22,33,66,68,75,112,161,162.)

=Byth= (360), usually New Byth, is a village three miles from Cuminestown, and founded in 1764. It is a bare and treeless district. Near it are the hills of Fishrie with a large number of crofts given off by the Earl of Fife in 1830 to poor people evicted from other estates at a time when the fashion began of amalgamating small holdings in larger farms. (pp.91,124,163.)

=Collieston= is a fishing village circling round a romantic bay near the parish church of Slains. Here in 1588 one of the ships of the Spanish Armada (_Santa Catherina_) was wrecked. The fishermen still call the creek St Catherine’s Dub. Several small cannon have been recovered from the pool. Eighty years ago, Collieston enjoyed a certain notoriety for smuggling, and the graveyard of Slains close by contains evidence of the deeds of violence that the contraband trade brought about. (pp.38,48,54.)

=Culter=, eight miles west of Aberdeen, celebrated for its paper-mills, which date back to 1750. This paper-mill, the first of its kind in the north, manufactured superfine paper and in particular the bank-notes of the Aberdeen Bank. (p.89.)

=Cuminestown= (466), a village on the north side of the Waggle Hill in Monquhitter, was established by Joseph Cumine of Auchry in 1763. Joseph Cumine was a pioneer in agricultural improvement. He planted trees and started the manufacture of linen. About a mile distant is the smaller village of Garmond. The villages were once much more populous in the days when the spinning of flax and the knitting of stockings were rural industries. (p.40.)

Braemar from Craig Coynach

=Ellon= (1307), a thriving town on the Ythan, is the junction for the Cruden and Boddam Railway. It has a shoe factory and large auction marts for the sale of cattle. The Episcopal Church—St Mary’s on the Rock—was designed by George Edmund Street and is a handsome building in Early English style. A prominent divine in the pre-Disruption controversies, Dr James Robertson, was parish minister of Ellon from 1832 to 1843. Later he became a professor in Edinburgh University. Ellon is a place of great antiquity. It was the seat of jurisdiction of the Earldom of Buchan, and there the earls held their Head Court. (pp.29,41,163,164,171.)

=Fraserburgh= (10,570) is the third largest town in the county. It is a busy, thriving place, being the great centre of the herring fishing industry in Scotland. It was founded by Sir Alexander Fraser, one of the Frasers of Philorth (now represented by Lord Saltoun). The Frasers are said to have come into England with the Normans. A royal charter was granted in 1546 erecting “Faithlie” as it was then called into a free burgh of barony with all the privileges. Sir Alexander Fraser was a great favourite with James VI and was knighted at the baptism of Prince Henry, 1594: he was a man of enterprise; he built the town and the harbour and erected public buildings. He received from King James the privilege of founding a University in Fraserburgh, and a building was set apart for this institution. Not only so but a Principal was appointed in 1600. The College may have been active for a few years, but very little is known of its history. During the plague which raged for two years at Aberdeen, the students of King’s College went for safety to Fraserburgh in 1647 and, it is supposed, occupied the old College buildings. A street in the town is still called “College Bounds.” (pp.8,38,59,61,76,94,95,101,102,163,164,169.)

The Doorway, Huntly Castle

The Bass, Inverurie

=Huntly= (4229), the largest inland town of the county, is situated at the confluence of the Deveron and the Bogie. It is the centre of an extensive agricultural district—Strathbogie—and has woollen and other manufactures. In the vicinity are the ruins of Huntly Castle, the property of the Duke of Richmond and Gordon. The first Lords of Strathbogie, being opposed to Bruce’s claims of kingship, were disinherited and their lands bestowed on Sir Adam Gordon, whose descendants became Earls of Huntly, Marquises of Huntly and Dukes of Gordon. The old castle of Strathbogie was destroyed after the battle of Glenlivet in 1594, but rebuilt as Huntly Castle in 1602. Huntly is thebirth-place of Dr George Macdonald, poet and novelist. (pp.29,31,91,160,162,164,176.)

=Insch= (616), a village on the Great North Railway, with Benachie on one side, and the Culsalmond and Foudland Hills on the other. The vitrified fort of Dunnideer is in the vicinity. (pp.119,164.)

=Inverurie= (4069), a royal burgh at the confluence of the Ury and the Don. The workshops of the Great North of Scotland Railway were removed from Kittybrewster to Inverurie some years ago, thereby increasing the population of the burgh. It is one of the Elgin parliamentary burghs. The Bass of Inverurie is a conical mound, long considered artificial, but now ascertained to be a natural formation due to the action of the two rivers. Inverurie has paper manufactures. In the neighbourhood is Keith Hall, the seat of the Earl of Kintore. (pp.27,71,80,108,109,113,132,137,160,162,164,165,169.)

=Kemnay= (948), about five miles up Donside from Kintore, is well known for its extensive granite quarries, which sent stones to build the Forth Bridge and the Thames Embankment. Near it is Castle Fraser, one of the finest inhabited castles of the county. Fetternear, once the county seat of the bishops of Aberdeen, is on the opposite side of the river. (p.83.)

=Kintore= (818) is a royal burgh of great antiquity. A mile to the west are the ruins of Hallforest, destroyed in 1639. Kintore has, in its vicinity, several “Druidical” circles and sculptured stones. (pp.27,49,108,136,160,162,164,169.)

=Longside= (392) dates from 1801. A woollen factory brought for a time prosperity to the village, but this has been given up and the population dwindles. Rev. John Skinner, the author of _Tullochgorum_, was for over sixty years minister of the Episcopal Church at Linshart, close to the village of Longside. Here also was born Jamie Fleeman, “the laird of Udny’s fool,”a half-witted person whose blunt outspoken manner and shrewd remarks are still widely remembered. (pp.163,176.)

=Maud= is the point where the Buchan railway bifurcates for Peterhead and Fraserburgh. Maud is a centre for auction sales of cattle. (p.164.)

=Mintlaw= (377) was founded about the same period as Longside and the fortunes of both villages, which are three miles apart, have been similar. (p.163.)

=Newburgh= (537), on the estuary of the Ythan, was at one time notorious like Collieston for smuggling. Ships of small burden still come up to its wharf at full tide and sometimes proceed as far as Waterton. The bed of the estuary of the Ythan is covered with mussels, much used in the past as bait by the local fishermen, as well as for export to other fishing stations. The revenue from this source has greatly fallen off in recent years—line-fishing having suffered from the rise of trawling. (p.48.)

=New Deer= (675) is a village established about 1805. Brucklay Castle, the seat of the Dingwall-Fordyce family, recently converted into a mansion of the old Scottish castellated style, and surrounded with tasteful grounds, is now one of the most charming edifices in the district. A mile to the west is the ruined castle of Fedderat. (p.138.)

=New Pitsligo= (pa. 2226) is a village in the neighbourhood of the sources of the Ugie, and extending for a mile in two parallel streets along the eastern slope of the hill of Turlundie. It stands 500 feet above sea-level. The village takes its name from Sir William Forbes of Pitsligo, who founded it in 1787. Here a linen trade was at one time carried on; this gave place to hand-loom weaving and ultimately to lace-making. The Episcopal Church was designed by G. Edmund Street, and it is said to be one of the best examples of his work in Scotland. The manufactureof moss-litter from the peat in the neighbourhood was recently started. (pp.91,163.)

=Old Deer= (179) is prettily situated on the South Ugie. The district has memories of St Columba and St Drostan. In the neighbourhood are the ruins of a Cistercian Abbey, and “Druidical” circles. (pp.2,105,113,115,117,123.)

=Old Meldrum= (1110) was erected by charter into a burgh of barony in 1672. It is well known for its turnip-seed. It used to employ many persons in handloom weaving and in the knitting of stockings. Both industries have fallen to decay, and the population tends to dwindle. There is a long-established distillery in the town. (pp.108,112,163,164.)

=Peterhead= (13,560), the most easterly town in Scotland, is built of red granite. A century ago it was a fashionable watering-place, and used to be a whaling station. Now its chief industry is the herring fishing. South of the town a harbour of refuge is being constructed by convict labour, from the convict prison close by. The harbour of refuge will cost, it is said, a million of money and its construction will occupy 25 to 30 years. A linen factory once existed here, as also a woollen factory, which exported cloth to the value of £12,000 a year. Both became extinct, but the woollen industry was revived and still prospers. Another prominent industry is granite polishing. At Inverugie Castle was born Field-Marshal James Keith, whose statue stands in front of the Town-House. The “Pretender” landed at Peterhead on Christmas Day, 1715. Peterhead was erected into a burgh of barony in 1593 by Earl Marischal, the founder of Marischal College, Aberdeen. It continued to be part of the Earl’s estates till the rebellion of 1715, when the lands were confiscated. The Peterhead portion is now the property of the Merchant Maiden Hospital of Edinburgh. (pp.8,29,38,39,41,57,66,68,76,83,94,95,101,102,111,163,164,169,171.)

=Rosehearty= (1308) is a misspelt Gaelic name of which _Ros_, a promontory, and _ard_, a height, are undoubted elements. The little town stands on the shore a mile north of Pitsligo[1]. There is a tradition that in the fourteenth century a party of Danes landed and took up residence here, instructing the inhabitants, who were mostly crofters, in the art of fishing. (pp.62,162.)

The White Horse on Mormond Hill

[1]Alexander Forbes, fourth and last Lord Pitsligo (1678-1762) was a warm supporter of the exiled Stuarts and took part in both rebellions. After Culloden, he remained in hiding, his chief place of concealment being a cave in the rocks west of Rosehearty.M. A.

M. A.

=Strichen= (1094) was formerly called Mormond, from the hill at the base of which the village stands. This hill owing to the comparatively level character of the surrounding country is a conspicuous feature in the landscape for miles. On the south-western side, the figure of a horse is cut out in the turf, the space being filled up with white stones. This “White Horse” occupies half an acre of ground and is visible at a great distance. On the south side of the hill an antlered stag on a larger scale is figured in the same manner. This was done so late as 1870. (pp.11,16,38,91,158.)

=Torphins= (455), a rising village on Deeside, much resorted to by Aberdonians in the summer months. (p.106.)

=Turriff= (2346) is situated on a table-land on the north of the burn of Turriff near its junction with the Deveron. Turriff is midway between Aberdeen and Elgin; hence the couplet—

Choose ye, choise ye, at the Cross o’ TurraEither gang to Aberdeen or Elgin o’ Moray.

Choose ye, choise ye, at the Cross o’ Turra

Either gang to Aberdeen or Elgin o’ Moray.

Turriff is very ancient, being mentioned in the _Book of Deer_, under the name of Turbruad, as the seat of a Celtic monastery dedicated to St Congan, a follower of St Columba. The double belfry of the old church (date 1635) is really a piece of castellated architecture applied to an ecclesiastical edifice. The churchyard gateway is also Early Scottish Renaissance. (pp.11,31,40,110,112,119,163,164.)

Fig. 1. Area of Aberdeenshire compared with that of ScotlandFig. 2. Population of Aberdeenshire compared with that of ScotlandFig. 3. Comparative density of Population to square mile

Fig. 1. Area of Aberdeenshire compared with that of Scotland

Fig. 2. Population of Aberdeenshire compared with that of Scotland

Fig. 3. Comparative density of Population to square mile

Fig. 4. Proportion of cultivated and uncultivated areas in Aberdeenshire—practically 50%Fig. 5. Proportionate area of Crops in Aberdeenshire (1909)

Fig. 4. Proportion of cultivated and uncultivated areas in Aberdeenshire—practically 50%

Fig. 5. Proportionate area of Crops in Aberdeenshire (1909)

Fig. 6. Proportionate area of Crops, Pasture and Woodlands in Aberdeenshire (1909)Fig. 7. Proportionate numbers of live-stock in Aberdeenshire (1909)

Fig. 6. Proportionate area of Crops, Pasture and Woodlands in Aberdeenshire (1909)

Fig. 7. Proportionate numbers of live-stock in Aberdeenshire (1909)

Fig. 8. Quantity of Fish (all kinds) landed in Aberdeenshire as compared with that of Scotland (1909), almost 50%Fig. 9. Quantity of Herrings landed in Aberdeenshire as compared with that of Scotland (1909)

Fig. 8. Quantity of Fish (all kinds) landed in Aberdeenshire as compared with that of Scotland (1909), almost 50%

Fig. 9. Quantity of Herrings landed in Aberdeenshire as compared with that of Scotland (1909)

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