Newtonhill

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Newtonhill
Aberdeenshire UK location map.svg
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Newtonhill
Location within Aberdeenshire
Population3,010 (mid-2020 est.) [1]
Council area
Lieutenancy area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town STONEHAVEN
Postcode district AB39
Dialling code 01569
Police Scotland
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
57°01′55″N2°09′00″W / 57.032°N 2.150°W / 57.032; -2.150
Newtonhill village in the snow taken from the railway bridge to the north of the village Newtonhill village in the snow.jpg
Newtonhill village in the snow taken from the railway bridge to the north of the village

Newtonhill is a town in Kincardineshire, Scotland. It is popular due to its location, just six miles south of Aberdeen with easy reach of Stonehaven and with views over the North Sea.

Contents

History

The town was originally called Skateraw. Skateraw was a fishing village, and the older part of the village(Still called Skateraw) between the railway line and the sea reflects that heritage though nearly all of the old houses have been modernised and extended. An old smoke house is still visible in Skateraw Road, though it is many years since it was in use. The village had a railway station which led to the change of name from Skateraw to Newtonhill but it was closed in 1956; the signal box was still in use until May 2019 and remnants of a platform can still be seen. A feasibility study received funding in May 2018 to study the possible reopening of the station. [2]

Newtonhill is in Kincardineshire, though local government re-organisation means that the local authority is Aberdeenshire Council.

The town is situated about half a mile east of the ancient Causey Mounth road, which was built on high ground to make passable this only available medieval route from coastal points north to Aberdeen. This ancient passage specifically connected the Bridge of Dee via Portlethen Moss, Muchalls Castle and Stonehaven to the south. [3] The route was that taken by William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal and the Duke of Montrose when they led a Covenanter army of 9000 men in the first battle of the First Bishop's War in 1639. [4]

Newtonhill today is accessed by the A92 road and functions primarily as a commuter town to Aberdeen and other business hubs in the area. The town is also well served by buses run by Stagecoach Group providing regular services to Aberdeen, Stonehaven and Montrose. There are proposals to reopen Newtonhill railway station, on the main line to Aberdeen, which closed in 1956.

On 14 December 2015 the "park and choose" was opened to the west of the A92. It is served by the X7 Coastrider service. [5] The facility, which also serves the nearby village of Chapelton, allowed two bus stops at the side of the A92 to be removed. [6]

Community and amenities

Newtonhill railway viaduct Newtonhill Railway Viaduct - geograph.org.uk - 96175.jpg
Newtonhill railway viaduct

Newtonhill has a successful Boys' Brigade chess team which has won the Scottish tournament many times and have won the British grand finals the most out of all British teams.[ citation needed ]

There is an active community spirit in Newtonhill and many events are organised through the Newtonhill and District Village Association, with wider planning issues being discussed by the Community Council.

There are three commercial outlets; A Tesco Metro Store, a coffee shop - Skateraw Store and a pharmacy, which also hosts a weekly post office. There are two pubs in the town, Quoiters and The Newton Arms.

A community hall was built in the 1980s. [7] Due to a demand for more space, it was expanded and renamed the Bettridge Centre in 2003. The Centre is run by elected local residents. [8] [9] Beside this centre is Newtonhill Library. There is also the Skateraw Hall, originally provided for the residents when Newtonhill was a fishing village.

Newtonhill Primary School serves the town and surrounding hamlets of Muchalls and Cammachmore. It opened in April 1969 and had an initial roll of 144 pupils. [10] It replaced Cairnhill and Cookney schools. [11]

Geography

The Bay at Newtonhill, which features several caves Newtonhill bay.jpg
The Bay at Newtonhill, which features several caves

Newtonhill is located on the North-East coast of Scotland, approximately 9 miles south of Aberdeen and 6 miles north of Stonehaven.

The Burn of Elsick, which drains agricultural lands from the west, flows into the North Sea at Newtonhill. The White Wife is a rock formation which allows sea angling. Newtonhill also has a great scenic views of the cliffs looking on to the pebble shore, where fishing still a custom to many.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kincardineshire</span> Historic county in Scotland

Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns, is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and west, and by Angus on the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mounth</span> Mountainous region in Scotland

The Mounth is the broad upland in northeast Scotland between the Highland Boundary and the River Dee, at the eastern end of the Grampians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kincardine and Mearns</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Findon, Aberdeenshire</span> Fishing village eight miles south of Aberdeen, Scotland

Findon is a fishing village eight miles south of Aberdeen, famous for originating the smoked haddock known as Finnan haddie. The Findon moor has a number of paths through it, many of which run along the cliffs. Deer can often be seen there. Nearby features include the Portlethen Moss Nature Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downies</span> Cliff-top village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Downies is a cliff-top village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland situated on Cammachmore Bay. Historically Downies was a fishing village, until much of the local North Sea fishery collapsed from overfishing; presently Downies is chiefly a residential dormitory adjunct to the city of Aberdeen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muchalls</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Muchalls is a small coastal ex-fishing village in Kincardineshire, Scotland, south of Newtonhill and north of Stonehaven. Muchalls is situated slightly north of a smaller hamlet known as the Bridge of Muchalls. At the western edge of Muchalls is the historic Saint Ternan's Church. The rugged North Sea coastline near Muchalls features numerous cliffs, sea stacks and headlands, not infrequently in haar. The Grim Brigs headland is situated at Muchalls southern edge and Doonie Point headland is approximately 1.5 kilometres south.

The Burn of Elsick is a coastal stream in Aberdeenshire, Scotland that discharges to the North Sea. This watercourse drains primarily agricultural lands and enters the North Sea at Newtonhill.

The Burn of Pheppie is an easterly flowing coastal stream in Aberdeenshire, Scotland that discharges to the North Sea immediately north of the village of Muchalls. Draining chiefly agricultural lands, this stream has a notable lack of turbidity and a pH level of approximately 8.02. Armouring of the stream bottom consists of pebbles, many of which are quartzite in composition, leading to a golden-green effect in some locations. Other nearby watercourses discharging to the North Sea include Burn of Elsick to the north and Burn of Muchalls to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Causey Mounth</span> Ancient drovers road in Aberdeenshire, Scotland

The Causey Mounth is an ancient drovers' road over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This route was developed as the main highway between Stonehaven and Aberdeen around the 12th century AD and it continued to function as the principal route connecting these two cities until the mid 20th century, when modern highway construction of the A90 road occurred in this area. There are extant paved and usable sections of this road over part of the alignment; however, many parts of the ancient route are no more than footpaths, and in some cases the road has vanished into agricultural fields. Constructed in the Middle Ages, the Causey Mounth was created as an elevated rock causeway to span many of the boggy areas such as the Portlethen Moss. A considerable portion of the alignment of the Causey Mounth is illustrated on the UK Ordnance Survey Map, although a large fraction of the route cannot be navigated by a conventional passenger vehicle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elsick House</span> Historic house in North-East Scotland

Elsick House is a historic house in Kincardineshire, North-East Scotland. It is situated in an agricultural area about two miles from the North Sea near the town of Newtonhill; the Elsick Estate is situated within the watershed of the Burn of Elsick, a stream that traverses the estate. The house is located on the Elsick Estate, and is the present family seat of the Duke of Fife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cammachmore</span> Hamlet in the coastal region near the North Sea in Aberdeenshire

Cammachmore is a hamlet in the coastal region near the North Sea in Aberdeenshire. It lies slightly west of the A92 road and the ancient Causey Mounth passes through the community. Historic Elsick House is situated due west of Cammachmore. Other nearby historic features include Gillybrands, Saint Ternan's Church, Muchalls Castle and the Lairhillock Inn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cookney</span>

Cookney is a hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland in proximity to Netherley in the Mounth of the Grampian Highlands. The community is situated on a hilltop approximately 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Stonehaven, about 3 miles (5 km) northwest of the Bridge of Muchalls, and about 2 miles (3 km) west of Muchalls Castle. From Cookney a portion of the ancient route of the Causey Mounth is visible to the east near Whinward Farm, although the track is not truly recognizable from that distance. The Cookney Church is a prominent historic landmark of Cookney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banchory-Devenick</span>

Banchory-Devenick is a hamlet approximately two kilometres south of the city of Aberdeen, Scotland in the Lower Deeside area of Aberdeenshire. The hamlet should not be confused with the historic civil parish of the same name which spanned the River Dee until 1891, its northern part lying in Aberdeenshire and its southern part in Kincardineshire. In that year the northern part became part of the neighbouring parish of Peterculter, the southern part remaining as the parish of Banchory-Devenick. The hamlet of Banchory-Devenick is on the B9077 road, and the ancient Causey Mounth passes directly through it. An historic graveyard dating to 1157 AD is present within Banchory-Devenick. Other historic features in the vicinity include Saint Ternan's Church, Muchalls Castle and the Lairhillock Inn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Ternan's Church</span>

Saint Ternan's Church is an Episcopal church in the Diocese of Brechin, near Muchalls in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doonie Point</span>

Doonie Point is a rocky headland situated approximately 1.5 kilometres south of the village of Muchalls in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The clifftop of Doonie Point yields views to the north of Grim Brigs, Brown Jewel and the coast of Newtonhill. To the south are views of the Castle Rock of Muchalls and the rugged North Sea coastline toward Stonehaven. Notable historic structures in the vicinity of Doonie Point are the Chapel of St. Mary and St. Nathalan, Muchalls Castle and the Mill of Muchalls. This site is a recognised rock climbing venue. Doonie Point is catalogued within the marine rescue activities for this part of the coast of northeast Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cookney Church</span>

Cookney Parish Church, now business premises within a converted listed building, was a Christian place of worship in the village of Cookney, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cammachmore Bay</span> Embayment of the North Sea

Cammachmore Bay is an embayment of the North Sea between Stonehaven and Aberdeen in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The fishing village of Downies is situated on Cammachmore Bay. Cammachmore is noted for its bouldering and rock climbing opportunities.

May Craig is a rocky island situated along the North Sea coast of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. May Craig lies about one half mile south of Newtonhill and a mile northeast of the village of Muchalls. A small islet of the same name lies three miles to the north-northeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auld Bourtreebush</span>

Auld Bourtreebush is a large Neolithic stone circle near Portlethen in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is also known as Old Bourtree Bush or Old Bourtreebush. This megalithic construction is situated near the Aquhorthies recumbent stone circle and the Causey Mounth, an ancient trackway which connects the Scottish Lowlands to the highlands. It is a scheduled monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chapelton, Aberdeenshire</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Chapelton is a 810 hectares new town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, 16 kilometres south of Aberdeen. It is situated close to the A92 and Newtonhill. The town plan was led by the Elsick Development Company (EDC).

References

  1. ↑ "Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  2. ↑ Beattie, Kieran. "New £80,000 study could lead to new train stations between Laurencekirk and Aberdeen". Press and Journal. Archived from the original on 22 May 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  3. ↑ "C.Michael Hogan, Causey Mounth, Megalithic Portal, ed. by Andy Burnham, 2007". Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
  4. ↑ Archibald Watt, Highways and Byways around Kincardineshire, Stonehaven Heritage Society (1985)
  5. ↑ McLaren, Andy (1 December 2015). "Park and choose to replace A90 bus stops". Evening Express. Archived from the original on 12 December 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  6. ↑ "Park and choose facility for new town". Kincardine Observer. 9 August 2014. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  7. ↑ "£100,000 plan for Newtonhill hall". The Press and Journal. 14 December 1984. p. 27.
  8. ↑ "About Us". The Bettridge Centre. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  9. ↑ "Barratt's gift to Bettridge". Mearns Leader. 29 June 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  10. ↑ May C., Jenkins (4 October 1969). "Newtonhill has a school now - officially". Evening Express. p. 6. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  11. ↑ "Muchalls bid for school bus meets with success". The Press and Journal. 20 February 1969. p. 15.
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