Topographical, statistical, and historical gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 1
(393) Page 311
Download files
Complete book:
Individual page:
Thumbnail gallery: Grid view | List view
DEE
311
DEE
entire course, from the origin of Sauch burn till the
embouchure of the river, is about 46 miles. In
floods, the Dee sometimes rises 8 feet above its or-
dinary level. As the grounds around its sources
abound in mosses, its waters are of so dark a hue
as to render it difficult — in places where there is not
a considerable current — to distinguish between a pool
and a shallow. Its salmon, too, are of a darker
colour, and much fatter than those of most rivers
in the south of Scotland. The Dee is navigable to
Tongueland, or about 7 miles from the Solway; and
but for its cataracts, or with the aid of a canal to
enable vessels to surmount them, might be the me-
dium of an inland navigation to the very centre of
the stewartry.
DEER, or Old Deer, a parish partly in Aber-
deenshire, partly in Banff, situated almost in the
centre of Buchan ; extending in length 12 miles from
north to south, and in mean breadth 5i miles. It is
bounded by Strichen parish on the north ; by Long-
side on the east; by Cruden and Ellon on the south;
and by New Deer on the west. The high road from
Aberdeen to Frazerburgh cuts it longitudinally ; and
it is intersected by the road from Banff and Old
JMeldrum to Peterhead. It is watered by two rivu-
lets, — the Deer and the Strichen, — which afterwards
form the Ugie. The surface consists of irregular
ridges of rising ground, running in various directions,
and forming a number of valleys of unequal extent.
The tops of some of these ridges are covered with
heath, some with plantations, and many of them are
cultivated. Round the village is a plain of consid-
erable extent, ornamented with the woods and plea-
sure-grounds of Pitfour. A considerable quantity of
home-grown flax, spun into fine yarn, is annually
exported; and a large bleachfield with extensive
machinery exists here in the neighbourhood of
Stewartfield. Besides the village of Old Deer, there
are also other two populous villages : Stewartfield
and Fetterangits : which see. There are large
quarries of excellent limestone, of which nearly 20,000
bolls are annually sold. On the south-west of the par-
ish is great abundance of quartz or feld-spar, and pieces
of the purest rock-crystal are met with occasionally.
A fine dark blue, and a very white granite, are used
for building. There are several Druidical circles,
and the ruins of a small irregular village, supposed
to have been inhabited by the Druids. Population,
iu 1801, 3,552; in 1831, including that part of the
parish which is in Banffshire, 4,110. Houses, in
1831, in Aberdeenshire, 863; in Banffshire, 124.
Assessed property in Aberdeenshire, £5,866 ; in
Banffshire, £977 The village of Deer is pleasantly
situated on the north bank of the Deer; 10i miles west
of Peterhead, 4 south of New Deer, and 26 north of
Aberdeen. Not far from this village stand the re-
mains of the abbey of Deer, built in the beginning
of the 13th century by Cummyn, Earl of Buchan,
for some monks of the Cistertian order. It has been
an extensive building, but is now very much in ruins.
The revenues of this place at the Reformation were
in money £805 8s. 6d. ; wheat 14 bolls; bear 13
chaldrons, 10 bolls; meal 65 chaldrons, 7 bolls, 1
firlot, 3 pecks. In 1587, the lands belonging to it
were erected into a temporal lordship in favour of
Robert, son of William, 6th Earl Marischal, by the
style and title of Lord Altrie This parish, for-
merly a prebend of Aberdeen, is in the presbytery
of Deer, and synod of Aberdeen. Patron, the
Crown. Church built in 1789; sittings 1,150. Sti-
pend ±'219 2s. 8d. ; glebe 29J acres of good land.
Unappropriated teinds £67 14s. A portion of the
parish of St. Fergus was annexed to it in 1618
There is an Episcopalian congregation at Old Deer,
which has existed since before the Revolution. Cha-
pel built in 1766 ; sittings 500. Stipend £82, with
a manse There is also an Independent church at
Old Deer, established in 1801. Chapel built in
1801 ; seats 300. Stipend £68, with manse and
garden.— At Clola there is an Original Seceder con-
gregation, estabUshed in 1769; church built in 1784;
sittings 392. Stipend £70, with manse and glebe.
— At Stewartfield there is a United Secession con-
gregation, established in 1821 ; church erected in
1822 ; sittings 440. Stipend £90, with manse and
glebe. — According to a census taken by the parish-
minister in 1835-6, the population amounted to 4,488,
of whom 1,731 were in communion with the Estab-
lishment, and 642 with other denominations. — There
are 3 parochial schools. The 1st master has a sa-
lary of £31 6s. 7id., with £24 10s. fees; each of
the others has £10, with about £20 fees.
DEER (New - ), an extensive parish in the north-
east of Aberdeenshire. It is of an oblong form, ex-
tending from north to south 14 miles, and, at a me-
dium, 6 miles from east to west. The surface is
flat, there being scarcely a hill or even a spot that
may be called an eminence. Towards the north-east
and south-east the appearance, for 7 or 8 miles, is
almost one continued corn-field, interspersed with
pieces of sown grass and turnip, and terminated by
a gently rising ground in the form of an amphithe-
atre ; towards the west the soil is shallow, and the
surface covered with heath. The public road from
Aberdeen, by Udny and Tarves, divides the parish
from south-east to north-west. Limestone abounds.
About 2 miles from the church stands an old castle
called Fedderatt, which appears to have been a place
of considerable strength. It is surrounded partly by
a morass, and partly by a fosse ; and has been acces-
sible by a drawbridge, part of which still remains.
Water has been conveyed to it by means of pipes,
pieces of which have, at different times, been torn
up by the plough. There are a few remains of
Druidical temples : and several tumuli, which have
been opened and found to contain urns enclosed in
stone-coffins. On a field called Aiky or Oaky-brae,
Edward Bruce, brother of King Robert Bruce, de-
feated the Cummyns, Earls of Badenoch, in the year
1308. Aiky market, which is held on the 2d Tues-
day, Wednesday, and Thursday, in July, O. S., is
said to have been established in commemoration of
this battle, and to be held on the spot where it was
fought. Population, in 1801, 2,984; in 1831, 3,525.
About 313 of the population are in the village of
New Deer. Assessed property, in 1815, £4,719.
Houses, in 1831, 765 This parish, anciently called
Auchreddy, was disjoined from Old Deer in the be-
ginning of the 1 7th century. It is in the presbytery
of Deer, and synod of Aberdeen. Patron, the
Crown. Stipend £219 2s. 8d. ; glebe £20. Unap-
propriated teinds £737 17s. 6d. By a census made
by the parish-elders in the end of 1835, the popula-
tion was estimated at 3,622, of whom 3,008 were in
connexion with the Establishment, and 614 with
other denominations. A census by the Dissenters
returned the population at 3,712. Old parish-church
built in 1622 ; sittings 900 A chapel was erected
at Savock, in the south part of the parish, and 6
miles from New Deer, with sittings for 658, in 1834.
— There is a United Secession congregation at New
Deer, and another at Savock. The former had a
church built in 1828; sittings 310; the church be-
longing to the latter was built in 1804; sittings 380.
The stipend of the former is £75, with a manse and
glebe. There is also a United Secession congrega-
tion at Whitehill ; sittings 450. Stipend £90, with
a manse There are 3 parochial schools ; salary of 1
each master £21 7s. 9d. ; school-fees collectively £62
10s. There were also, in 1834, 8 private schools.
311
DEE
entire course, from the origin of Sauch burn till the
embouchure of the river, is about 46 miles. In
floods, the Dee sometimes rises 8 feet above its or-
dinary level. As the grounds around its sources
abound in mosses, its waters are of so dark a hue
as to render it difficult — in places where there is not
a considerable current — to distinguish between a pool
and a shallow. Its salmon, too, are of a darker
colour, and much fatter than those of most rivers
in the south of Scotland. The Dee is navigable to
Tongueland, or about 7 miles from the Solway; and
but for its cataracts, or with the aid of a canal to
enable vessels to surmount them, might be the me-
dium of an inland navigation to the very centre of
the stewartry.
DEER, or Old Deer, a parish partly in Aber-
deenshire, partly in Banff, situated almost in the
centre of Buchan ; extending in length 12 miles from
north to south, and in mean breadth 5i miles. It is
bounded by Strichen parish on the north ; by Long-
side on the east; by Cruden and Ellon on the south;
and by New Deer on the west. The high road from
Aberdeen to Frazerburgh cuts it longitudinally ; and
it is intersected by the road from Banff and Old
JMeldrum to Peterhead. It is watered by two rivu-
lets, — the Deer and the Strichen, — which afterwards
form the Ugie. The surface consists of irregular
ridges of rising ground, running in various directions,
and forming a number of valleys of unequal extent.
The tops of some of these ridges are covered with
heath, some with plantations, and many of them are
cultivated. Round the village is a plain of consid-
erable extent, ornamented with the woods and plea-
sure-grounds of Pitfour. A considerable quantity of
home-grown flax, spun into fine yarn, is annually
exported; and a large bleachfield with extensive
machinery exists here in the neighbourhood of
Stewartfield. Besides the village of Old Deer, there
are also other two populous villages : Stewartfield
and Fetterangits : which see. There are large
quarries of excellent limestone, of which nearly 20,000
bolls are annually sold. On the south-west of the par-
ish is great abundance of quartz or feld-spar, and pieces
of the purest rock-crystal are met with occasionally.
A fine dark blue, and a very white granite, are used
for building. There are several Druidical circles,
and the ruins of a small irregular village, supposed
to have been inhabited by the Druids. Population,
iu 1801, 3,552; in 1831, including that part of the
parish which is in Banffshire, 4,110. Houses, in
1831, in Aberdeenshire, 863; in Banffshire, 124.
Assessed property in Aberdeenshire, £5,866 ; in
Banffshire, £977 The village of Deer is pleasantly
situated on the north bank of the Deer; 10i miles west
of Peterhead, 4 south of New Deer, and 26 north of
Aberdeen. Not far from this village stand the re-
mains of the abbey of Deer, built in the beginning
of the 13th century by Cummyn, Earl of Buchan,
for some monks of the Cistertian order. It has been
an extensive building, but is now very much in ruins.
The revenues of this place at the Reformation were
in money £805 8s. 6d. ; wheat 14 bolls; bear 13
chaldrons, 10 bolls; meal 65 chaldrons, 7 bolls, 1
firlot, 3 pecks. In 1587, the lands belonging to it
were erected into a temporal lordship in favour of
Robert, son of William, 6th Earl Marischal, by the
style and title of Lord Altrie This parish, for-
merly a prebend of Aberdeen, is in the presbytery
of Deer, and synod of Aberdeen. Patron, the
Crown. Church built in 1789; sittings 1,150. Sti-
pend ±'219 2s. 8d. ; glebe 29J acres of good land.
Unappropriated teinds £67 14s. A portion of the
parish of St. Fergus was annexed to it in 1618
There is an Episcopalian congregation at Old Deer,
which has existed since before the Revolution. Cha-
pel built in 1766 ; sittings 500. Stipend £82, with
a manse There is also an Independent church at
Old Deer, established in 1801. Chapel built in
1801 ; seats 300. Stipend £68, with manse and
garden.— At Clola there is an Original Seceder con-
gregation, estabUshed in 1769; church built in 1784;
sittings 392. Stipend £70, with manse and glebe.
— At Stewartfield there is a United Secession con-
gregation, established in 1821 ; church erected in
1822 ; sittings 440. Stipend £90, with manse and
glebe. — According to a census taken by the parish-
minister in 1835-6, the population amounted to 4,488,
of whom 1,731 were in communion with the Estab-
lishment, and 642 with other denominations. — There
are 3 parochial schools. The 1st master has a sa-
lary of £31 6s. 7id., with £24 10s. fees; each of
the others has £10, with about £20 fees.
DEER (New - ), an extensive parish in the north-
east of Aberdeenshire. It is of an oblong form, ex-
tending from north to south 14 miles, and, at a me-
dium, 6 miles from east to west. The surface is
flat, there being scarcely a hill or even a spot that
may be called an eminence. Towards the north-east
and south-east the appearance, for 7 or 8 miles, is
almost one continued corn-field, interspersed with
pieces of sown grass and turnip, and terminated by
a gently rising ground in the form of an amphithe-
atre ; towards the west the soil is shallow, and the
surface covered with heath. The public road from
Aberdeen, by Udny and Tarves, divides the parish
from south-east to north-west. Limestone abounds.
About 2 miles from the church stands an old castle
called Fedderatt, which appears to have been a place
of considerable strength. It is surrounded partly by
a morass, and partly by a fosse ; and has been acces-
sible by a drawbridge, part of which still remains.
Water has been conveyed to it by means of pipes,
pieces of which have, at different times, been torn
up by the plough. There are a few remains of
Druidical temples : and several tumuli, which have
been opened and found to contain urns enclosed in
stone-coffins. On a field called Aiky or Oaky-brae,
Edward Bruce, brother of King Robert Bruce, de-
feated the Cummyns, Earls of Badenoch, in the year
1308. Aiky market, which is held on the 2d Tues-
day, Wednesday, and Thursday, in July, O. S., is
said to have been established in commemoration of
this battle, and to be held on the spot where it was
fought. Population, in 1801, 2,984; in 1831, 3,525.
About 313 of the population are in the village of
New Deer. Assessed property, in 1815, £4,719.
Houses, in 1831, 765 This parish, anciently called
Auchreddy, was disjoined from Old Deer in the be-
ginning of the 1 7th century. It is in the presbytery
of Deer, and synod of Aberdeen. Patron, the
Crown. Stipend £219 2s. 8d. ; glebe £20. Unap-
propriated teinds £737 17s. 6d. By a census made
by the parish-elders in the end of 1835, the popula-
tion was estimated at 3,622, of whom 3,008 were in
connexion with the Establishment, and 614 with
other denominations. A census by the Dissenters
returned the population at 3,712. Old parish-church
built in 1622 ; sittings 900 A chapel was erected
at Savock, in the south part of the parish, and 6
miles from New Deer, with sittings for 658, in 1834.
— There is a United Secession congregation at New
Deer, and another at Savock. The former had a
church built in 1828; sittings 310; the church be-
longing to the latter was built in 1804; sittings 380.
The stipend of the former is £75, with a manse and
glebe. There is also a United Secession congrega-
tion at Whitehill ; sittings 450. Stipend £90, with
a manse There are 3 parochial schools ; salary of 1
each master £21 7s. 9d. ; school-fees collectively £62
10s. There were also, in 1834, 8 private schools.
Set display mode to: Large image | Transcription
Images and transcriptions on this page, including medium image downloads, may be used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence unless otherwise stated.
Gazetteers of Scotland, 1803-1901 > Topographical, statistical, and historical gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 1 > (393) Page 311 |
---|
Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/97442262 |
---|
Description | Volume first. A-H. |
---|---|
Attribution and copyright: |
|
More information |