Parish of Tyrie

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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1791-99: Tyrie 1834-45: Tyrie

Tyrie, a parish of Buchan, N Aberdeenshire, whose church stands close to the northern border, 3½ miles S of Rosehearty and 5 SW of Fraserburgh, under which there is a post office. Containing also the town of New Pitsligo, the parish is bounded N by Aberdour and Pitsligo, E and SE by Rathen, Fraserburgh (detached), Aberdour (detached), and Strichen, S by New Deer, and W and NW by Aberdour. It utmost length, from NE to SW, is 7⁵/₈ miles; its breadth varies between 1¼ and 3³/₈ miles; and its area is 17½ square miles or 11,193⁴/₅ acres, of which 11¾ are water. Streams there are none of any size; but the drainage of the northern district goes to the Water of Philorth, and of the rest of the parish to either North or South Ugie Water. The surface is somewhat hilly, declining near the parish church to 148 feet above sea-level, and rising thence to 411 feet near Blackrigg, 454 near Monkswell, and 651 at the Hill of Turlundie. Granite is the predominant rock; and the soil on the hills is comparatively shallow, in the valleys is generally deep, and, except where mossy or moorish, is mostly a fertile reddish coloured loam. Great improvements have been effected during the last sixty years in the way of draining, reclaiming, fencing, and building. Several tumuli, cairns, and Picts' houses have been demolished, as well as a mote-hill near the parish church, in whose porch is the 'Raven Stone,' which formed the foundation stone of the ancient church. That church, St Andrew's or the White Kirk of Buchan, is said to have been founded about the year 1004, when a Mormaer of Buchan had routed a Danish host on the neighbouring hills. Boyndlie, noticed separately, is the only mansion; and the property is mostly divided among three. Giving off its south-western portion to the quoad sacra parish of New Pitsligo, Tyrie is in the presbytery of Deer and the synod of Aberdeen; the living is worth £203. The present church, built in 1800, contains 400 sittings. Tyrie public and Boyndlie Episcopalian schools, with respective accommodation for 156 and 129 children, had (1884) an average attendance of 89 and 68, and grants of £87, 7s. 6d. and £58, 4s. Valuation (1860) £6206, (1885) £10,300, 11s. 2d. Pop. (1801) 1044, (1831) 1613, (1861) 3043, (1871) 3446, (1881) 3391, of whom 871 were in the ecclesiastical parish.—Ord. Sur., shs. 97, 87, 1876.

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Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer