Peterhead

History

Prior to the Reformation, the land on which the town stands, together with a sizeable amount of adjoining country, belonged to Deer Abbey. In 1560, when it was known as Peterugie, or Inverugie of St Peter, it was granted by Mary, Queen of Scots, to Robert Keith, 1st Lord Altrie, a son of William Keith, 4th Earl Marischal. the 4th Earl's nephew and successor, was constructed along the Seagate shore by Henry Middleton, under the supervision of Keith. It was protected to the north by the Old Pier, which was probably erected before 1593. The estate of the Earl Marischal was forfeited in 1716, sold to York Buildings Company, Peterhead Harbour was proving so valuable that in 1738, the Leith shipmasters attested that "the harbour of Peterhead is in our opinion the best situate of any place in Scotland for all ships trading on the north seas". Meanwhile, the enclosed lands of South Bay were being developed into "the beautifully homogeneous district of elegant houses for the accommodation of strangers and sea captains, much of which still survives". Peterhead convict prison was opened in 1888, gaining a reputation as one of Scotland's toughest prisons. The same year, Peterhead was made a head port, its limits extending southward to the mouth of the River Ythan and westward to Powk Burn. is approximately long. The Second Edition Six-Inch Ordnance Survey Map of Peterhead was drawn up when the south breakwater was only partially completed. The extensive harbour works were located near this breakwater, next to the prison. The following statistics show how Peterhead was a thriving port before the First World War: Peterhead was a Jacobite-supporting town in the Jacobite risings of 1715 and 1745. In particular, it was one of the Episcopalian north-eastern ports where…