The Estate of Culter
From the Stastistical Account:
This parish, which originally included the lands of Maryculter on the opposite side of the river, was for long known by the name of Culter, but having had its church dedicated to Saint Peter it gradually came to be called Peterculter. The latter part of the name is said to be derived from the Gaelic compound word Qil-tir, which signifies the back part of the country, and would correctly apply to a considerable portion of the land on both sides of the Dee. By an order dated 26th November, 1890, of the Boundary Commissioners, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889, the parish had added to it the whole of the Aberdeenshire portion of Banchory-Devenick, and certain detached portions of lands common to both parishes, extending together to about two thousand three hundred and seventy four acres, and embracing the estates of Murtle, Cults, and Pitfodels, with their respective subdivisions : but as these have been treated of in the History of Banchory-Devenick, they receive no further notice in this volume. With these additions, Peterculter now extends from the boundaries of the city of Aberdeen on the east, to the boundaries of Drumoak on the west, a distance of at least eight miles.
The river Dee forms the southern boundary of the parish, with the exception of the Insch of Culter which is in Kincardineshire, having been detached through the river, when in flood many years ago, changing its natural course. The parish is rich in prehistoric remains, which are worthy of the special attention of skilled antiquarians. In the moor and woods of Countesswells are numerous tumuli or cairns, which, however, have not yet been explored. A Druidical temple in the plantation on Binghill was carefully enclosed by Mr. Watson, a former proprietor of that property. Near to it is a large cairn, traditionally stated to have been the burying-place of the Irvine family, who at an early period owned the lands. In the end of last century, during the digging up of the foundation of some old walls said to have been part of the mansion house of the Irvine family, there was found a handful of silver coins about the size of sixpences, and inscribed Davidus Rex. There is a stone circle on the farm of Eddiestone ; also a single rude stone pillar (the remains of another circle), on the farm of Milltimber.-
The most interesting relic, is the old camp or military work, which, however, has been almost eradicated by the agricultural improvements of the present century. Describing it the writer of the old Statistical Account of Scotland says, " Betwixt Oldtown and Hilltown lies a heath. On the north- west side of it, a wall and ditch run from north-east to south-west, about three-quarters of a mile along the slope of the hill," and from each end of this wall, and almost at right angles to it, "ramparts have been carried south-east towards the river Dee, which is about a mile distant from the angular points," but it is manifest that they had not been carried all the way to the river. " It is probable that there were then thickets and places of boscage on the river side, and they might have cut down trees to complete the barricade in these parts. At the north-east and south-west angles, there had been half-moon work constructed. The top of the bank is in some places eight or nine feet above the bottom of the ditch. In most places the height is about six feet, but in the course of centuries, much of the wall must have tumbled down, and much of the ditch must have been filled up." The space enclosed comprehended about forty-eight Scotch acres, and being opposite to several fords of the river was doubtless intended to cover these. Various suggestions have been put forward as to the origin of the work ; some writers asserting that it had been thrown up by the Romans on one of their northern military expeditions against the Picts.
Others argue that it is the site of Ptolemy's Devana, but more accurate research has shown that there is no foundation for such a statement. Some conclude that it is Norman, and found upon the fact that tradition has handed down its name as " Norman Dykes," that the lands adjacent are called the " Norman Faughs," and that a well close by the wall bears the title of the " Norman Well."^ A hollow close by is still called the " Bloody Stripe," where it is traditionally said that a deadly battle was fought. " Near the bridge over the Leuchar burn, at its junction with the Gormack, are the remains of a rampart, called the guard-dike. Tradition says that a strong guard of armed men was stationed here to prevent all communication between the sound and the infected, while the plague raged in Aberdeen and its environs in the middle of the seventeenth century."
Upon the top of rising ground known as the Weather, or Wedder Craig, is the " Cupstone,"indented in the shape of a bowl. It is commonly called the Doupin' Stane, from the fact that when the Magistrates of Aberdeen, in riding the outer marches of the City, arrive at this point, the old custom of doupin' the youngest burgess taking part in the ceremony is carefully observed. Tradition has preserved few legends of interest, but the one regarding the Burn Treasure may be worth recording. The Culter Burn, before it reaches the Linn of Culter, runs through a romantic hollow known as the Linn Pot, and it being reported that there was hidden in this Pot a vast store of silver, an old tenant of the farm of North Linn, who was noted for his parsimony, was seized with a strong desire to secure the treasure. His farm being near the spot alleged to contain the object of his greedy dreams, he stole out in the darkness of a wintry night intending to dam the river with beams of wood, and thus remove the treasure from the black depths of the emptied " Pot." While labouring with an energy sustained by visions of gain, he was startled by the cry that his farm was in flames, and rushed off to prevent the destruction of his humble effects, before making himself possessor of the precious metal. When he returned, alas! the dam had disappeared, and the water was again rushing over the pool in which, according to legend, the silver lies till this day.
When illicit distilling was rife in almost every part of Scotland, the parish of Peterculter was often the scene of sanguinary conflicts between daring smugglers and vigilant excisemen. Many a stirring tale could be told of struggles, seldom bloodless, between these parties, neither of whom were much afraid to meet death or take life. The proximity of the district to the city inevitably rendered it a frequent battle-ground between the representatives of the law and the evaders of it. As the great problem in smuggling was not so much to succeed in making whisky as successfully to dispose of it, the excisemen were ever careful to keep a watchful eye on the immediately surrounding districts of the town, so as to intercept the smuggling bands on their way to the city, where they found a ready sale for their illegal wares. As Peterculter lay in the route of the western smugglers it received a large amount of attention from the officials of the excise.
This parish, which originally included the lands of Maryculter on the opposite side of the river, was for long known by the name of Culter, but having had its church dedicated to Saint Peter it gradually came to be called Peterculter. The latter part of the name is said to be derived from the Gaelic compound word Qil-tir, which signifies the back part of the country, and would correctly apply to a considerable portion of the land on both sides of the Dee. By an order dated 26th November, 1890, of the Boundary Commissioners, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889, the parish had added to it the whole of the Aberdeenshire portion of Banchory-Devenick, and certain detached portions of lands common to both parishes, extending together to about two thousand three hundred and seventy four acres, and embracing the estates of Murtle, Cults, and Pitfodels, with their respective subdivisions : but as these have been treated of in the History of Banchory-Devenick, they receive no further notice in this volume. With these additions, Peterculter now extends from the boundaries of the city of Aberdeen on the east, to the boundaries of Drumoak on the west, a distance of at least eight miles.
The river Dee forms the southern boundary of the parish, with the exception of the Insch of Culter which is in Kincardineshire, having been detached through the river, when in flood many years ago, changing its natural course. The parish is rich in prehistoric remains, which are worthy of the special attention of skilled antiquarians. In the moor and woods of Countesswells are numerous tumuli or cairns, which, however, have not yet been explored. A Druidical temple in the plantation on Binghill was carefully enclosed by Mr. Watson, a former proprietor of that property. Near to it is a large cairn, traditionally stated to have been the burying-place of the Irvine family, who at an early period owned the lands. In the end of last century, during the digging up of the foundation of some old walls said to have been part of the mansion house of the Irvine family, there was found a handful of silver coins about the size of sixpences, and inscribed Davidus Rex. There is a stone circle on the farm of Eddiestone ; also a single rude stone pillar (the remains of another circle), on the farm of Milltimber.-
The most interesting relic, is the old camp or military work, which, however, has been almost eradicated by the agricultural improvements of the present century. Describing it the writer of the old Statistical Account of Scotland says, " Betwixt Oldtown and Hilltown lies a heath. On the north- west side of it, a wall and ditch run from north-east to south-west, about three-quarters of a mile along the slope of the hill," and from each end of this wall, and almost at right angles to it, "ramparts have been carried south-east towards the river Dee, which is about a mile distant from the angular points," but it is manifest that they had not been carried all the way to the river. " It is probable that there were then thickets and places of boscage on the river side, and they might have cut down trees to complete the barricade in these parts. At the north-east and south-west angles, there had been half-moon work constructed. The top of the bank is in some places eight or nine feet above the bottom of the ditch. In most places the height is about six feet, but in the course of centuries, much of the wall must have tumbled down, and much of the ditch must have been filled up." The space enclosed comprehended about forty-eight Scotch acres, and being opposite to several fords of the river was doubtless intended to cover these. Various suggestions have been put forward as to the origin of the work ; some writers asserting that it had been thrown up by the Romans on one of their northern military expeditions against the Picts.
Others argue that it is the site of Ptolemy's Devana, but more accurate research has shown that there is no foundation for such a statement. Some conclude that it is Norman, and found upon the fact that tradition has handed down its name as " Norman Dykes," that the lands adjacent are called the " Norman Faughs," and that a well close by the wall bears the title of the " Norman Well."^ A hollow close by is still called the " Bloody Stripe," where it is traditionally said that a deadly battle was fought. " Near the bridge over the Leuchar burn, at its junction with the Gormack, are the remains of a rampart, called the guard-dike. Tradition says that a strong guard of armed men was stationed here to prevent all communication between the sound and the infected, while the plague raged in Aberdeen and its environs in the middle of the seventeenth century."
Upon the top of rising ground known as the Weather, or Wedder Craig, is the " Cupstone,"indented in the shape of a bowl. It is commonly called the Doupin' Stane, from the fact that when the Magistrates of Aberdeen, in riding the outer marches of the City, arrive at this point, the old custom of doupin' the youngest burgess taking part in the ceremony is carefully observed. Tradition has preserved few legends of interest, but the one regarding the Burn Treasure may be worth recording. The Culter Burn, before it reaches the Linn of Culter, runs through a romantic hollow known as the Linn Pot, and it being reported that there was hidden in this Pot a vast store of silver, an old tenant of the farm of North Linn, who was noted for his parsimony, was seized with a strong desire to secure the treasure. His farm being near the spot alleged to contain the object of his greedy dreams, he stole out in the darkness of a wintry night intending to dam the river with beams of wood, and thus remove the treasure from the black depths of the emptied " Pot." While labouring with an energy sustained by visions of gain, he was startled by the cry that his farm was in flames, and rushed off to prevent the destruction of his humble effects, before making himself possessor of the precious metal. When he returned, alas! the dam had disappeared, and the water was again rushing over the pool in which, according to legend, the silver lies till this day.
When illicit distilling was rife in almost every part of Scotland, the parish of Peterculter was often the scene of sanguinary conflicts between daring smugglers and vigilant excisemen. Many a stirring tale could be told of struggles, seldom bloodless, between these parties, neither of whom were much afraid to meet death or take life. The proximity of the district to the city inevitably rendered it a frequent battle-ground between the representatives of the law and the evaders of it. As the great problem in smuggling was not so much to succeed in making whisky as successfully to dispose of it, the excisemen were ever careful to keep a watchful eye on the immediately surrounding districts of the town, so as to intercept the smuggling bands on their way to the city, where they found a ready sale for their illegal wares. As Peterculter lay in the route of the western smugglers it received a large amount of attention from the officials of the excise.
One of the sharpest of smuggling encounters took place not far from the eastern extremity of the old parish. As it still lingers as one of the exciting memories of the locality, and the spot where it occurred is still pointed out with a certain feeling of awe by those who remember to have heard their fathers and mothers relate the story around the glowing fire in the dark and stormy nights of winter, it may not be unworthy of a place in these Annals.
On a day in the early part of this century, a band of smugglers from near Braemar set out on their journey to Aberdeen, with a view to turning into hard cash the liquid they had manufactured during the previous month or two. They were accompanied by a considerable number of friends who acted as scouts throughout the surrounding country —for special vigilance was necessary as the cargo was valuable, consisting, as it did, of no less than ten cart loads of whisky. Their departure was timed so that they might arrive at the outskirts of the city under the darkness of night, for, while far inland, the formidable smugglers were confident of either escaping detection by the widely posted officers of the law, or of giving a quick and satisfactory account of any feeble molesting parties.
Near the city, however, where the excisemen were thickly- stationed, and in numbers equal to coping with the most numerous forces they were likely to encounter, it was extremely advisable that every favouring circumstance should be taken into account and utilised. All went well till they came to Culter, and here it seemed at first as if the powers of disorder were to lend their aid to the smugglers ; for night fell black as death, and the thunder that had been growling fitfully among the distant hills began to roll in fearful grandeur over plain and valley. It rained as if the windows of heaven were opened. No eye could pierce the darkness beyond a finger length, except when the lightning flashed for a moment in the pitchy gloom, and lit up the awestruck, yet determined, faces of the wild men of the hills. Surely only the direst necessity could bring any living being out into this arena of Nature's warfare. The superstitious Highlanders, though awed by the sublimity of the spectacle, yet felt strengthened by the belief that their passage into the city would be a safe and easy one.
The advanced scouts had reached Stonegavel Inn, where a bright light shining through the window arrested their attention. Cautiously approaching, they peered into the room, and there, with two pistols on the table before him, sat one who was known to almost every smuggler in the north, and whose name was feared and hated wherever the fame of his deeds of courage and daring had penetrated. The awe inspired by the commotion of the elements was forgotten in presence of the fear of what this stern solitary figure foreboded—for it was none other than their relentless foe, Malcolm Gillespie. They needed no complicated process of reasoning to convince themselves that the myrmidons of the fearless gauger were not far from the spot. In a moment they were retracing their steps in eager haste to warn the approaching company of their danger. It was too late, however, for the gang had reached the place where the gaugers were concealed, and already the fray was hot and furious. The smugglers had the advantage in numbers but the disadvantage in arms, for their stout cudgels, however heartily wielded, were no match for the sabres of the excisemen.
For long the battle raged, the curses of the infuriated combatants, and the howls and groans of the wounded being only momentarily drowned in the crash of the thunderclap. The outnumbered gaugers speedily reinforced, and led on by their fierce commander, fought with the tenacity and courage of demons, while the sturdy Highlanders did not belie their reputation for bravery and strength. At last, however, the smugglers were vanquished, and their precious cargo, with the horses and the carts, were left in the hands of the excisemen. Many on both sides were seriously wounded, and at least one smuggler was killed outright. Not so many years ago one of the survivors of the gang used to exhibit, with no small pride, the wound-mark of a dagger that had been driven right through the palm of his hand by the redoubtable leader of the excisemen himself.
Although compelled to denounce and condemn without stint the nefarious trade of smuggling with all its concomitant evils, one can scarcely stifle a rising regret that all the time and labour of these courageous men had only this deplorable result. While giving the highest credit to the officers of the law for their splendid pluck in the exercise of a profession that gained them almost universal detestation, and led them into constant danger of their very lives, we feel supremely proud and thankful that gallant bravery, such as that of the smuggling men of the mist in the Culter affray and others of its kind, has in other and later times not merely given a theme to writers of parochial history, but has been displayed in defence of the dearest liberties of our country, and will for ever remain among the annals of our national glory.
On a day in the early part of this century, a band of smugglers from near Braemar set out on their journey to Aberdeen, with a view to turning into hard cash the liquid they had manufactured during the previous month or two. They were accompanied by a considerable number of friends who acted as scouts throughout the surrounding country —for special vigilance was necessary as the cargo was valuable, consisting, as it did, of no less than ten cart loads of whisky. Their departure was timed so that they might arrive at the outskirts of the city under the darkness of night, for, while far inland, the formidable smugglers were confident of either escaping detection by the widely posted officers of the law, or of giving a quick and satisfactory account of any feeble molesting parties.
Near the city, however, where the excisemen were thickly- stationed, and in numbers equal to coping with the most numerous forces they were likely to encounter, it was extremely advisable that every favouring circumstance should be taken into account and utilised. All went well till they came to Culter, and here it seemed at first as if the powers of disorder were to lend their aid to the smugglers ; for night fell black as death, and the thunder that had been growling fitfully among the distant hills began to roll in fearful grandeur over plain and valley. It rained as if the windows of heaven were opened. No eye could pierce the darkness beyond a finger length, except when the lightning flashed for a moment in the pitchy gloom, and lit up the awestruck, yet determined, faces of the wild men of the hills. Surely only the direst necessity could bring any living being out into this arena of Nature's warfare. The superstitious Highlanders, though awed by the sublimity of the spectacle, yet felt strengthened by the belief that their passage into the city would be a safe and easy one.
The advanced scouts had reached Stonegavel Inn, where a bright light shining through the window arrested their attention. Cautiously approaching, they peered into the room, and there, with two pistols on the table before him, sat one who was known to almost every smuggler in the north, and whose name was feared and hated wherever the fame of his deeds of courage and daring had penetrated. The awe inspired by the commotion of the elements was forgotten in presence of the fear of what this stern solitary figure foreboded—for it was none other than their relentless foe, Malcolm Gillespie. They needed no complicated process of reasoning to convince themselves that the myrmidons of the fearless gauger were not far from the spot. In a moment they were retracing their steps in eager haste to warn the approaching company of their danger. It was too late, however, for the gang had reached the place where the gaugers were concealed, and already the fray was hot and furious. The smugglers had the advantage in numbers but the disadvantage in arms, for their stout cudgels, however heartily wielded, were no match for the sabres of the excisemen.
For long the battle raged, the curses of the infuriated combatants, and the howls and groans of the wounded being only momentarily drowned in the crash of the thunderclap. The outnumbered gaugers speedily reinforced, and led on by their fierce commander, fought with the tenacity and courage of demons, while the sturdy Highlanders did not belie their reputation for bravery and strength. At last, however, the smugglers were vanquished, and their precious cargo, with the horses and the carts, were left in the hands of the excisemen. Many on both sides were seriously wounded, and at least one smuggler was killed outright. Not so many years ago one of the survivors of the gang used to exhibit, with no small pride, the wound-mark of a dagger that had been driven right through the palm of his hand by the redoubtable leader of the excisemen himself.
Although compelled to denounce and condemn without stint the nefarious trade of smuggling with all its concomitant evils, one can scarcely stifle a rising regret that all the time and labour of these courageous men had only this deplorable result. While giving the highest credit to the officers of the law for their splendid pluck in the exercise of a profession that gained them almost universal detestation, and led them into constant danger of their very lives, we feel supremely proud and thankful that gallant bravery, such as that of the smuggling men of the mist in the Culter affray and others of its kind, has in other and later times not merely given a theme to writers of parochial history, but has been displayed in defence of the dearest liberties of our country, and will for ever remain among the annals of our national glory.