Auchterhouse
Encyclopedia
Auchterhouse is a village, community
, and civil parish
in the Scottish
council area
of Angus
, located 7.3 miles (11.7 km) north west of Dundee
, 9.5 miles (15.3 km) south east of Alyth
and 14.9 miles (24 km) south west of Forfar
. It lies on the southern edge of the Sidlaw Hills
, below Auchterhouse Hill, 1398 feet (426.1 m) high. The parish, which is coterminous with the community, had a population of 520 in 2001, and in addition to the village, includes Kirkton of Auchterhouse.
The village straddles the B954 Muirhead to Newtyle road. About 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east lies the larger village of Kirkton of Auchterhouse where Auchterhouse church and school are located.
Singer Billy MacKenzie
lived in the village from 1991 until his death in 1997. Kirkton of Auchterhouse, was the subject of the painting 'Sidlaw Village, Winter' by James MacIntosh Patrick
.
and barley
were grown, and cattle and sheep kept, while a decorated sandstone spindle whorl
found at Bonnyton, north of the village, and now kept at the McManus
in Dundee
, indicates that wool was spun into thread. A possible henge
in Dronley Wood has been revealed by aerial photography, and a stone circle
at Templelands was destroyed during railway construction in the 19th century.
A stone cairn
on West Mains Hill, excavated in 1897, was found to conceal a double burial cist
, typical of the period around 2000 BC. The cist contained burnt bones and a bronze dagger blade with ox-horn hilt
, which are now in the National Museum of Scotland
in Edinburgh
. Other cists were reportedly discovered in the 19th century, and a circular burial mound survives south of Dronley House. Cup marks
on stones were found around Auchterhouse Park.
An Iron Age
hillfort
on Auchterhouse Hill occupies a naturally defensible position, and is protected to the east and south east by a set of five ramparts and ditches. Souterrain
s, thought to have provided storage space for foodstuffs, were discovered in the 18th century near Auchterhouse Mansion and in Kirkton of Auchterhouse, and aerial photography has since revealed further sites at East Adamston, Bonnyton, Burnhead of Auchterhouse and Quarry House. Long cists, slab-lined graves in which fully extended bodies were placed, are commonly associated with the period between 1000 BC and 500 AD, and have been recorded at Auchterhouse Park, Leoch and Templeton.
A parish church, dedicated to Saint Mary
, had been founded by 1238, and Sir John Ramsay played host to both Sir William Wallace
and King Edward I of England
at Wallace Tower, now part of Auchterhouse Mansion, in 1303. In 1469 the village came under the jurisdiction of James Stewart, the Earl of Buchan
in 1469. He also held the title Lord Auchterhouse, and was the uncle of King James III
.
The adoption of new agricultural techniques in the 18th and 19th centuries led to increased prosperity in rural areas. Between 1820 and 1850 farm production in Scotland increased by 58 per cent. This new wealth was reflected in Auchterhouse with the construction of new farm buildings at Dronley, East Adamston, Eastfield, Kirkton of Auchterhouse, Leoch and Templeton. Balbeuchley was one of the earliest improved steadings in the area, built in 1802, while Balbeuchley House was built for Patrick Miller, proprietor of the Auchterhouse Estate from 1820 to 1876. The farmhouse at Pitpointie, dated 1883, was built on the site of an earlier steading for George Willsher, a Dundee wine and spirit dealer. Originally built in 1707, the water powered corn mill at Dronley was rebuilt during this period, and stone quarries were developed at Leoch and Parkside, but perhaps the greatest change to the village came with the opening of the Dundee and Newtyle Railway
, one of Scotland's first passenger lines, in 1831. Sandstone for the line was quarried at Pitpointie.
was proposed in 1825, and the first meeting of the Dundee and Newtyle Railway Company
took place the following year. Construction started rapidly, and the section from Hatton
to Balbeuchley was completed by 1827. The line opened on 16 December 1831. The coaches were, at first, drawn up the Hatton incline by a newly installed stationary engine, with horses providing the power from the top of the incline. A second stationary engine was installed at Balbeuchley the following year, and in 1833 two steam engines, the Earl of Airlie and the Lord Wharncliffe, replaced horses on the level sections. In 1834 a locomotive derailment at Pitpointie resulted in the death of John Anderson, the miller at Auchterhouse.
In 1846 the line was leased to the Dundee and Perth Railway Company
, which changed its name to the Dundee and Perth and Aberdeen Junction Railway Company two years later. The route was diverted through Dronley, avoiding the Balbeuchley incline, in 1860, resulting in Auchterhouse station being resited and a new Dronley station provided. In 1861 the line was extended from Newtyle
to Alyth
. It was absorbed by the Scottish Central Railway Company
in 1863, which in turn was taken over by the Caledonian Railway Company
in 1865. Three years later, the Hatton incline was eliminated, and a deviation built into Newtyle.
The Caledonian Railway became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company
under the Railways Act 1921
. Severe snow storms hit Angus in February 1947, and a train was snowed in at Auchterhouse for over a week. Following the damage caused by World War II
, in 1948 the United Kingdom's railways were nationalised, and the line became part of British Railways
. It survived for just seven years, with passenger services withdrawn on 10 January 1955. Freight services continued, but the Auchterhouse–Newtyle section closed in 1958, and the remaining route to Dundee ceased operation on 5 April 1965.
Community council
A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain.In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies...
, and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
council area
Council Area
A Council Area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Act.-Legislation :1889...
of Angus
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
, located 7.3 miles (11.7 km) north west of Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, 9.5 miles (15.3 km) south east of Alyth
Alyth
Alyth is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, situated under the Hill of Alyth five miles northeast of Blairgowrie. The village has a population of 2,301...
and 14.9 miles (24 km) south west of Forfar
Forfar
Forfar is a parish, town and former royal burgh of approximately 13,500 people in Angus, located in the East Central Lowlands of Scotland. Forfar is the county town of Angus, which was officially known as Forfarshire from the 18th century until 1929, when the ancient name was reinstated, and...
. It lies on the southern edge of the Sidlaw Hills
Sidlaw Hills
The Sidlaws are a range of hills of volcanic origin in the counties of Perthshire and Angus in Scotland that extend for 30 miles from Kinnoull Hill, near Perth, northeast to Forfar. Law is a Lowland Scots word of Old English origin meaning a hill which rises sharply from the surrounding land...
, below Auchterhouse Hill, 1398 feet (426.1 m) high. The parish, which is coterminous with the community, had a population of 520 in 2001, and in addition to the village, includes Kirkton of Auchterhouse.
The village straddles the B954 Muirhead to Newtyle road. About 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east lies the larger village of Kirkton of Auchterhouse where Auchterhouse church and school are located.
Singer Billy MacKenzie
Billy Mackenzie
William MacArthur "Billy" Mackenzie was a Scottish singer, with a distinctive falsetto voice best known as a member of The Associates.- Biography :...
lived in the village from 1991 until his death in 1997. Kirkton of Auchterhouse, was the subject of the painting 'Sidlaw Village, Winter' by James MacIntosh Patrick
James MacIntosh Patrick
James McIntosh Patrick, RSA was a Scottish painter, celebrated for his finely observed paintings of the Angus landscape and Dundee, Scotland, where he was based for most of his life....
.
History
The earliest human settlement discovered around Auchterhouse dates from 3500–1000 BC, in the form of stone and bronze tools used by the first farmers to clear woodland. WheatWheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
and barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
were grown, and cattle and sheep kept, while a decorated sandstone spindle whorl
Spindle (textiles)
A spindle is a wooden spike used for spinning wool, flax, hemp, cotton, and other fibres into thread. It is commonly weighted at either the bottom middle or top, most commonly by a circular or spherical object called a whorl, and may also have a hook, groove or notch, though spindles without...
found at Bonnyton, north of the village, and now kept at the McManus
McManus Galleries
McManus Galleries is a Gothic Revival-style building, located in the centre of Dundee, Scotland. The building houses a museum and art gallery with a collection of fine and decorative art as well as a natural history collection....
in Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, indicates that wool was spun into thread. A possible henge
Henge
There are three related types of Neolithic earthwork which are all sometimes loosely called henges. The essential characteristic of all three types is that they feature a ring bank and ditch but with the ditch inside the bank rather than outside...
in Dronley Wood has been revealed by aerial photography, and a stone circle
Stone circle
A stone circle is a monument of standing stones arranged in a circle. Such monuments have been constructed across the world throughout history for many different reasons....
at Templelands was destroyed during railway construction in the 19th century.
A stone cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
on West Mains Hill, excavated in 1897, was found to conceal a double burial cist
Cist
A cist from ) is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East....
, typical of the period around 2000 BC. The cist contained burnt bones and a bronze dagger blade with ox-horn hilt
Hilt
The hilt of a sword is its handle, consisting of a guard,grip and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A ricasso may also be present, but this is rarely the case...
, which are now in the National Museum of Scotland
National Museum of Scotland
The National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the Royal Museum next door, with collections covering science and technology, natural history, and world...
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. Other cists were reportedly discovered in the 19th century, and a circular burial mound survives south of Dronley House. Cup marks
Cup and ring mark
Cup and ring marks or cup marks are a form of prehistoric art found mainly in Atlantic Europe and Mediterranean Europe although similar forms are also found throughout the world including Mexico, Brazil, Greece, and India, where...
on stones were found around Auchterhouse Park.
An Iron Age
British Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
hillfort
Hillforts in Britain
Hillforts in Britain refers to the various hillforts within the island of Great Britain. Although the earliest such constructs fitting this description come from the Neolithic period, with a few also dating to the later Bronze Age, British hill forts were primarily constructed during the Iron Age...
on Auchterhouse Hill occupies a naturally defensible position, and is protected to the east and south east by a set of five ramparts and ditches. Souterrain
Souterrain
Souterrain is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the Atlantic Iron Age. These structures appear to have been brought northwards from Gaul during the late Iron Age. Regional names include earth houses, fogous and Pictish houses...
s, thought to have provided storage space for foodstuffs, were discovered in the 18th century near Auchterhouse Mansion and in Kirkton of Auchterhouse, and aerial photography has since revealed further sites at East Adamston, Bonnyton, Burnhead of Auchterhouse and Quarry House. Long cists, slab-lined graves in which fully extended bodies were placed, are commonly associated with the period between 1000 BC and 500 AD, and have been recorded at Auchterhouse Park, Leoch and Templeton.
A parish church, dedicated to Saint Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
, had been founded by 1238, and Sir John Ramsay played host to both Sir William Wallace
William Wallace
Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence....
and King Edward I of England
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
at Wallace Tower, now part of Auchterhouse Mansion, in 1303. In 1469 the village came under the jurisdiction of James Stewart, the Earl of Buchan
James Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan
James Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan , was the second son of Sir James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorne, and Joan Beaufort, the widow of James I of Scotland...
in 1469. He also held the title Lord Auchterhouse, and was the uncle of King James III
James III of Scotland
James III was King of Scots from 1460 to 1488. James was an unpopular and ineffective monarch owing to an unwillingness to administer justice fairly, a policy of pursuing alliance with the Kingdom of England, and a disastrous relationship with nearly all his extended family.His reputation as the...
.
The adoption of new agricultural techniques in the 18th and 19th centuries led to increased prosperity in rural areas. Between 1820 and 1850 farm production in Scotland increased by 58 per cent. This new wealth was reflected in Auchterhouse with the construction of new farm buildings at Dronley, East Adamston, Eastfield, Kirkton of Auchterhouse, Leoch and Templeton. Balbeuchley was one of the earliest improved steadings in the area, built in 1802, while Balbeuchley House was built for Patrick Miller, proprietor of the Auchterhouse Estate from 1820 to 1876. The farmhouse at Pitpointie, dated 1883, was built on the site of an earlier steading for George Willsher, a Dundee wine and spirit dealer. Originally built in 1707, the water powered corn mill at Dronley was rebuilt during this period, and stone quarries were developed at Leoch and Parkside, but perhaps the greatest change to the village came with the opening of the Dundee and Newtyle Railway
Dundee and Newtyle Railway
The Dundee and Newtyle Railway opened in 1831 and was the first railway in the north of Scotland. It was built to carry goods from Strathmore to the port of Dundee and was chartered with an Act of Parliament that received royal assent in 26 May 1826 and opened in 1831. The railway originally ran...
, one of Scotland's first passenger lines, in 1831. Sandstone for the line was quarried at Pitpointie.
Transport
A feasibility study to build a railway from Strathmore to DundeeDundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
was proposed in 1825, and the first meeting of the Dundee and Newtyle Railway Company
Dundee and Newtyle Railway
The Dundee and Newtyle Railway opened in 1831 and was the first railway in the north of Scotland. It was built to carry goods from Strathmore to the port of Dundee and was chartered with an Act of Parliament that received royal assent in 26 May 1826 and opened in 1831. The railway originally ran...
took place the following year. Construction started rapidly, and the section from Hatton
Hatton Castle
Hatton Castle stands on the lower part of Hatton Hill, the most easterly of the Sidlaw Hills, to the south of Newtyle in Angus, Scotland. The castle overlooks the wooded Den of Newtyle, and its views extend across Strathmore and include Ben Lawers and Schiehallion as well as the Angus and Glenshee...
to Balbeuchley was completed by 1827. The line opened on 16 December 1831. The coaches were, at first, drawn up the Hatton incline by a newly installed stationary engine, with horses providing the power from the top of the incline. A second stationary engine was installed at Balbeuchley the following year, and in 1833 two steam engines, the Earl of Airlie and the Lord Wharncliffe, replaced horses on the level sections. In 1834 a locomotive derailment at Pitpointie resulted in the death of John Anderson, the miller at Auchterhouse.
In 1846 the line was leased to the Dundee and Perth Railway Company
Dundee and Perth Railway
The Dundee and Perth Railway is a historic railway in Scotland. It was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1845.-History:Following incorproration on 31 July 1845, the line was opened on 22 May 1847...
, which changed its name to the Dundee and Perth and Aberdeen Junction Railway Company two years later. The route was diverted through Dronley, avoiding the Balbeuchley incline, in 1860, resulting in Auchterhouse station being resited and a new Dronley station provided. In 1861 the line was extended from Newtyle
Newtyle
Newtyle is a village in the west of Angus, Scotland.It lies 11 miles to the north of Dundee in the south west of Strathmore, between Hatton Hill and Newtyle in the Sidlaws. The village sits on gently sloping ground with a northwest aspect. The main communication link is the B954 road...
to Alyth
Alyth
Alyth is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, situated under the Hill of Alyth five miles northeast of Blairgowrie. The village has a population of 2,301...
. It was absorbed by the Scottish Central Railway Company
Scottish Central Railway
The Scottish Central Railway was formed in 1845 to link the Caledonian Railway near Castlecary to the Scottish Midland Junction Railway at Perth...
in 1863, which in turn was taken over by the Caledonian Railway Company
Caledonian Railway
The Caledonian Railway was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century and it was absorbed almost a century later into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, in the 1923 railway grouping, by means of the Railways Act 1921...
in 1865. Three years later, the Hatton incline was eliminated, and a deviation built into Newtyle.
The Caledonian Railway became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
under the Railways Act 1921
Railways Act 1921
The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...
. Severe snow storms hit Angus in February 1947, and a train was snowed in at Auchterhouse for over a week. Following the damage caused by World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in 1948 the United Kingdom's railways were nationalised, and the line became part of British Railways
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
. It survived for just seven years, with passenger services withdrawn on 10 January 1955. Freight services continued, but the Auchterhouse–Newtyle section closed in 1958, and the remaining route to Dundee ceased operation on 5 April 1965.
External links
- A Vision of Britain Through Time
- British History Online
- British Listed Buildings
- http://www.scrol.gov.uk/scrol/analyser/analyser?topicId=1&tableId=&tableName=Usual+resident+population&selectedTopicId=&aggregated=false&subject=&tableNumber=&selectedLevelId=&postcode=&areaText=&RADIOLAYER=&actionName=view-results&clearAreas=&stateData1=&stateData2=&stateData3=&stateData4=&debug=&tempData1=&tempData2=&tempData3=&tempData4=&areaId=054&levelId=4General Register Office for Scotland]
- Genuki
- Geograph