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Features: Scottish Parishes » Historic Shires » Aberdeenshire » New Deer

New Deer Villa by Bill Harrison
New Deer Villa © 2016, Bill Harrison

NEW DEER PARISH

TABLE OF CONTENTS


ALTERNATE NAMES AND SPELLING:

Auchreddy


LOCATION

Location Description:

New Deer is a parish in the district of Buchan, Aberdeenshire. It is bounded by Tyrie, Strichen, Old Deer, Ellon, Tarves, Methlick, Fyvie, Monquhitter, King Edward, and Aberdour. (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:

Auchriddie, Brucklay, Cairnbanno, Kirkton, Maud or New Maud, New Deer


PARISH TIMELINE

PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:

  • Diocese: Aberdeen
  • Deanery: Buchan

POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:

  • Synod: Aberdeen
  • Presbytery: Deer

PAROCHIAL OVERVIEW:

The parish of Auchreddy was disjoined from Deer in 1622. It was at first placed in the Prebytery of Turriff but was ere long annexed to that of Deer.

Disjoined Quoad Sacra Parishes:
Maud. The parish of Maud was disjoined from Deer and New Deer on 15 July 1889.
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.

New Deer (QO)

  • John Brown, 1620
  • William Jaffray, 1626
  • Alexander Douglas, 1650
  • Gilbert Clerk, 1654
  • David Sibbald, 1682
  • John Webster, 1707
  • George Mair, 1722
  • William Taylor, 1737
  • Hugh Taylor (son of William, above), 1773
  • James Welsh, 1830
  • John Wallace, 1782
  • George Forbes Innes Philip, 1879
  • William Adams, 1897
  • Matthew Welsh Neilson, 1924

Maud (QS)

  • William Duncan Frater, 1878
  • William Cowie, 1883
  • William Simpson, 1919

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. 1684-1725; M. 1690-1723; D. 1690-1700
  • (2) B. 1729-1819; M. 1742-1822; D. 1784-92
  • (3) B. and M. 1820-54

OPR and RD Numbers
Date RangeNameNumberType
1684-1854New Deer225OPR
1855-1967New Deer225RD
1968-1971Maud225RD
1972-2006Maud312RD
2009Aberdeenshire, Maud312RD
2026(New Deer) Aberdeenshire Council; Deer Community Council
2026(Maud) Aberdeenshire Council; Central Buchan 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: 2,313
  • 1801: 2,984
  • 1811: 3,100
  • 1821: 3,211
  • 1831: 3,525
  • 1841: 3,756
  • 1851: 3,973
  • 1861: 3,736
  • 1881: 4,898
  • 1901: 3,706
  • 1911: 3,508

RESIDENTS


Common Surnames:

Bruce, Davidson, Fowlis, Henderson, Milne, Robertson, Smith, Stephen, Taylor, Wilson

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.

  • George HAMILTON-GORDON, Earl of Aberdeen

Other land-owners:

  • DINGWALL, of Brucklaw
  • (Captain) FERGUSON, of Pitfour
  • GORDON, of Cairnbanno and New Deer
  • GORDON, of Murtle
  • GORDON, of Nethermuir
  • SIMPSON, of Colleyhill

Other residents:

By the Reverend Mr Hugh Taylor.
"The amount of the present population is 2800 souls, of whom 1324 are males, and 1476 females. These are all of the Established Church, except 156 Seceders, 40 Episcopalians, and 6 Roman Catholics. Tradesmen and mechanics, excluding apprentices, are as follows: 20 merchants, 28 tailors, 27 weavers, 25 wrights, 19 smiths, 17 shoemakers, 7 masons, 2 dyers, and 1 physician.

The people are remarkably sober and humane, and very diligent in their callings. There is but 1 licensed public house, and but little frequented, except by travellers. The industry of those in the farming line here, as in most places, is not always attended with that success which might be wished. Seasons and circumstances, for some years, have been much against them."
(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 9, p. 184
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 12, p. 175

See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.


Photo credits: (Featured) New Deer Villa, © 2022 Bill Harrison, 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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