authoritative work on the _History of British Birds_. James Clerk
Maxwell, who did so much for the advancement of modern Physics, was for
a few years professor of Natural Philosophy in Marischal College. Dr
Alexander Forsyth, minister of Belhelvie, invented the percussion lock,
and Patrick Ferguson, a native of Pitfour, invented the breech-loading
rifle.
The county is remarkable for families with pronounced hereditary
intellectual gifts. The most noted case is that of the Gregories, who
sprang from John Gregory, minister of Drumoak. It has produced fourteen
Professors in British universities, skilled in Mathematics, Astronomy,
Chemistry and Medicine. One of them was the inventor of the reflecting
telescope. The Reids, the Fordyces, the Johnstons are other cases less
remarkable, but still exceptional.
Philosophy is a sphere in which the Aberdonian has left his mark.
The greatest local name in this regard is that of Thomas Reid, who
created the Scottish school in opposition to David Hume, and whose
_Inquiry into the Human Mind on the principles of Common Sense_ was
written while he was a Professor at King’s College. Born at Strachan
on the south side of the Dee, he was for a time parish minister of
New Machar. Later he migrated in 1763 to Glasgow, as successor to
Adam Smith. His _Intellectual and Active Powers_ was written after
his retirement in 1780. Other philosophical writers worthy of mention
are, Dr George Campbell, who, besides his dissertation on _Miracles_,
wrote a _Philosophy of Rhetoric_; Dr James Beattie, whose _Minstrel_
is still read and whose _Essay on Truth_ had a great contemporary
reputation; Dr Alexander Bain, an analytical psychologist, whose books
_The Senses and the Intellect_ and _The Emotions and the Will_ contain
the most complete analytical exposition of the mind. Bain was the first
Professor of Logic at Aberdeen, and in conjunction with his pupil Croom
Robertson started the philosophical Review called _Mind_.
[Illustration: Professor Thomas Reid, D.D.]
The sphere of imaginative literature is not the Aberdonian’s sphere.
Criticism, Philosophy, History, Science are more in his way, and yet
a few names can be given as of some note in pure literature. Foremost
in time and unrivalled in his own department is Barbour, Archdeacon
of Aberdeen (1357). He studied at Oxford, and was contemporary with
Wycliffe and Chaucer. His great work is _The Brus_, the most national
of all Scottish poems. It is instinct with the spirit of freedom, of
chivalry and romance, and details the struggles, the perils, and the
marvellous escapes of his hero Robert the Bruce, with great simplicity,
vividness, and directness. Alongside of him we may place John Skinner,
author of _Tullochgorum_, _The Ewie wi’ the Crookit Horn_, and other
well-known songs. A native of Birse and for long episcopal minister
at Longside, he was the father of Bishop Skinner. His fame rests on
_Tullochgorum_, which Burns pronounced to be the best of Scotch songs.
Dr W. C. Smith, the author of _Olrig Grange_ and _Borland Hall_, was
born and educated in Aberdeen. Dr George Macdonald, poet, novelist, and
critic, author of _Alec Forbes_ and other novels embodying local colour
and illustrating Aberdeenshire life and dialect in the early part of
last century, was a native of Huntly. The best known poet connected
with Aberdeen is Byron, who spent some years of his boyhood in the city
and short periods of the summer on Deeside. These visits to Ballater
are reflected in his poem on Loch-na-gar and elsewhere in his work. He
left Aberdeen at the age of 10 in 1798 and never saw it again.
History is a subject that has appealed to Aberdonians. Dr David
Masson’s monumental work on Milton must be mentioned. Other historians
are Joseph Robertson, John Stuart, John Hill Burton, Bishop Burnet,
who wrote the _History of his Own Time_, Sir John Skene, and Robert
Gordon of Straloch, antiquarian and map-maker, as well as his son
James, minister of Rothiemay and historian of the early years of the
Troubles. The first Principal of the University, Hector Boece, wrote
histories somewhat credulous and imaginative but quite authoritative
where his own times are concerned.
Of painters connected with the district may be mentioned Jamesone,
Dyce, and Phillip called “of Spain” from his success with Spanish
subjects. Architecture claims Gibbs, whose Radcliffe Library at Oxford,
and London churches such as St Martin’s-in-the-Fields, still stand a
testimony to his art; the Smiths and Archibald Simpson have already
been mentioned. Sculpture owns the two Brodies and Sir John Steell.
Scholars like Wedderburn and Ruddiman, Cruden of _Concordance_
reputation, Dr James Legge, the Orientalist, and Professor Robertson
Smith, born in the Donside parish of Keig, editor of the _Encyclopaedia
Britannica_, Professor of Arabic at Cambridge, and one of the most
learned pundits of his time—are but a few representatives of a long
list.
The thirst for education and the well-taught parish schools of the
county contributed to bring about such results. The doors of the
University have for centuries been opened by bursaries to the poorest
boys, and in this way many who were endowed with capacity above
ordinary entered the learned professions and rose to eminence.
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.
[Illustration: 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) conduce to 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 in Scotland—_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.)
[Illustration: Birsemore Loch and Craigendinnie, Aboyne]
[Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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.)
[Illustration: 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.)
[Illustration: The Doorway, Huntly Castle]
[Illustration: 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 the
birth-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 manufacture of 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.)
[Illustration: The White Horse on Mormond Hill]
[Footnote 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.
=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.)