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Features: Scottish Parishes » Historic Shires » Aberdeenshire » Strichen

Bridge Street, Strichen by Jim Bain
Bridge Street, Strichen © 2006, Jim Bain

STRICHEN PARISH

TABLE OF CONTENTS


LOCATION

Location Description:

Strichen is a parish in Buchan, Aberdeenshire. It is bounded by Aberdour, Fraserburgh, Rathen, Lonmay, Old Deer, New Deer, and Tyrie. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).

Shire, District, and Region Timeline:

  • Shire: Aberdeenshire (Before 1707)
  • County: Aberdeen (After 1707)
  • District: Deer, or Buchan (Before 1930)
  • Landward District: Deer (1930-1975)
  • Region: Grampian (1975-1996)
  • District: Banff and Buchan (1975-1996)

Cities, Towns, Villages, and Hamlets:

Mormond, New Leeds, Strichen

Estates:

Auchinanne, Auchintumb, Auchmacleedie, Braco, Craighill, Hatton, Kersehill, Marno, Middlemuir, Montsolie


BOUNDARY & NAME CHANGES

The parish of Aberdour had a detached part which was situated on the north border of the parish of Strichen. On the east of this detached part lay a detached part of the parish of Fraserburgh, which also adjoined the parish of Strichen. These two detached parts were transferred to the parish of Strichen. See affected properties and landholders. (1892: Boundary of counties and parishes in Scotland as settled by the Boundary Commissioners under the Local Government Act, 1889, by Hay Shennan)


PARISH TIMELINE

PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:

  • Diocese: Aberdeen
  • Deanery: Buchan

POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:

  • Synod: Aberdeen
  • Presbytery: Deer

PAROCHIAL OVERVIEW:

A chapel was built here in 1620 by Thomas Fraser of Strichen. The parish of Strichen was disjoined from Rathen and Philorth in 1627. There was within the bounds a Well of Our Lady.

Disjoined Quoad Sacra Parishes:
Kininmonth. The parish of Kininmonth was disjoined from Lonmay, Longside, Deer, Strichen, and Crimond, on 9 March 1874. There was a Well of St John at Kininmonth.
New Pitsligo. The village of New Pitsligo was founded on 12 September 1787 by Sir William Forbes of Pitsligo, Bart., who was superior of the lands. At Cavoch within the bounds, a chapel was built in 1799. The parish of New Pitsligo was disjoined from Tyrie, Aberdour, Strichen, and New Deer, 9 March 1853, mainly through the generous aid given by Sir John Stuart Forbes of Pitsligo, Bart.

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND CLERGY:

Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.

Strichen (QO)

  • William Scott, 1627
  • Alexander Ross, 1662
  • James Whyte, 1669
  • James Whyte, 1694
  • Thomas Udny, 1701
  • John Smith, 1748
  • William Anderson, 1785
  • Alexander Simpson, 1807
  • John Webster, 1852
  • Alexander Gray, 1858
  • Charles Stewart, 1862
  • Richard Goodwillie, 1888
  • Andrew James Aiken Falconer, 1920
  • Charles M'Glashan, 1925

Kininmonth (QS)

  • Charles Cordiner, 1846
  • Alexander Leslie, 1865
  • Robert Pryde, 1872
  • Peter Grant, 1877
  • James Smith, 1886
  • John Dalglish Carmichael, 1912
  • George Petrie, 1918

New Pitsligo (QS)

  • Alexander Farquhar, 1799
  • John Sharp, 1804
  • John Sharp (son of John, above), 1837
  • Robert Gibb Forrest, 1865
  • John M'Gregor Ferguson, 1869
  • John Smeaton Loutit, 1875
  • John Catto, 1880
  • Alexander Reid Craib, 1886
  • John MacWilliam, 1913

(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)


RECORDS

Parochial Registers:

Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.

  • (1) B. 1672-1748; M. 1679-1748
  • (2) B. 1748-1819; M. 1749-1819; D. 1721-1819
  • (3) B. M. and D. 1820-54

OPR and RD Numbers
Date RangeNameNumberType
1672-1854Strichen241OPR
1855-1967Strichen241RD
2009Aberdeenshire, Fraserburgh311RD
2026Aberdeenshire Council; Strichen and District Community Council

(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)

Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)

Population:

Statistics from informal and official censuses

  • 1755: 1,158
  • 1831: 1,802
  • 1841: 2,012
  • 1861: 2,409
  • 1881: 2,351
  • 1901: 2,033
  • 1911: 2,085

RESIDENTS


Common Surnames:

Brown, Henderson, Kinghorn, Milne, Mitchell, Park, Robertson, Smith, Stephen, Thomson

Land-owners, teachers, and other professionals:

Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.

  • Thomas Alexander FRASER, Lord Lovat
  • William LAW, Schoolmaster (circa 1701)
  • Alexander M'NAB, of Middleton Kerse

Other residents:

By the Reverend Mr William Anderson.
"The number of inhabitants is 1400. In 1776, a list was taken and they amounted to 1100. The increase is owing to a village which has been lately built, and to dividing the farms. There are a good many weavers, and other tradesmen in it; and the lint-mill, bleachfield, and other improvements, which are going on in the neighbourhood, afford constant employment to labourers, so that it is in a thriving state, and increasing. It has a charter for a weekly market. There is a post-office in it, and good roads to it in every direction. The people are, in general, sober and industrious, go neat and clean, and are of an extremely obliging benevolent disposition."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)


NOTES:

Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 7, p. 416
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 12, p. 687

See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.


Photo credits: (Featured) Bridge Street, Strichen, © 2022 Jim Bain, used under Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 2.0, (Related Resources) Aberdeenshire Locator Map, © 2005, Brythones, used under Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related Resources
Map of Scottish highland clans and lowland families
Aberdeenshire locator map
See more maps at Wikimedia Commons
Glossary
  • Burghs:
  • Royal - Towns on royal lands
  • Regality - Towns granted to noblemen/landowners
  • Barony - Towns granted to tenant-in-chief (laird)
  • Police - Towns with elected officials
  • Small - Population under 20,000
  • Large - Population over 20,000
  •  
  • Chapel-of-Ease: Small church for those living far from the main church
  • Collegiate church: See What is a Collegiate Church?
  • Commune kirk: Owned by a larger church
  • Court of Teinds: Controlled funds for support of clergy
  •  
  • Friars:
  • Black - Dominican
  • Grey - Franciscan
  • Red - Trinitarian
  • White - Carmelite
  •  
  • Iron chapel: Building made of corrugated galvanized iron
  •  
  • Landward District: Rural part of a district
  •  
  • Mensal: Source of income to support clergy member (Roman Catholic)
  •  
  • OPR: Old Parochial Register
  •  
  • Pre-Reformation: Before 1560
  • Prebend: Source of income to support a clergy member
  •  
  • QO: Quoad Omnia - Civil and church control
  • QS: Quoad Sacra - Church control only
  •  
  • RD: Registration District - Civil control
  •  
  • Tryst: Large-scale market or fair, particularly for livestock
  •  
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