Towns > Peterhead (and Buchan) > 1853 - Peterhead almanac and directory

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tisfaction of one of the governors, who had never
aj)proved of the bargain, and who, on putting the
resignation into the charter chest, marked on the
back of it 'a miraculous escape,' and so it fortunately
turned out, for in 1775 the rents rose to £870, in
1794 to £1040, in 1815 to £2000/' and at present
the rents of the Hospital lands in Peterhead are
ujiwards of £2,500 exclusive of Feu Duty, which
amounts to a considerable sum.
In 1593, George Keith, Earl Marischall, Baron of
the Burgh of Keith Inch, alias Peterhead, entered into
a contract of Feu with the then residents, which may
be said to be the origin of the Town of Peterhead.
The derivation of its name is doubtful, and etymo-
logists are not at one on the subject ; some seem to
think the name Peterhead [Petri Promontoriiim) is
derived from a promontory upon which that part of
the town called Keith Inch, sometimes called the
Quenzie, (from the French word coin, which signifies
a corner) at present stands, which is supposed had
been dedicated to the Apostle Peter ; otjiers are of
opinion that the Greek word Petros and the French
w^ord Pierre, each signifying a rock, and the town
having that for its foundation, may have given rise
to the name ; while a third class of etymologists sup-
pose the name to be derived from a Highland Chief-
tain of the name of Peter, who is said to have lost
his head in an attempt to rob and plunder the parish.
To substantiate this last opinion there is a farm near
Peterhead called Auchtygall, which, in the Gaelic
language, signifies the place where the Highlanders
made a stand ; and Cairngall, in Longside parish, is
said in the same language to signify the place of an
encampment. The town in old charters is called
Petcrugie, and in more recent times Keith Inch, but
that name is now given only to a small portion of it.