Rosehearty ( gd, Ros Abhartaich) is a settlement on the

Moray Firth The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotl ...

coast, four miles west of the town Fraserburgh, in the historical county of

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

in Scotland. The burgh has a population of approximately 1,300 with about 25 per cent of pensionable age.

Etymology

The name ''Rosehearty'' was documented in 1508 as Rossawarty and is derived from

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

''ros'', meaning "cape, headland", and the personal name ''Abhartach''.

History

The settlement which is now Rosehearty was founded by a group of shipwrecked Danes in the 14th century.''Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Graphic and Accurate Description of Every Place in Scotland''
Frances Hindes Groome (1901), p. 1383 In 1424 the Fraser family built Pitsligo Castle a few hundred yards inland at Pitsligo; the castle was enlarged by the Forbes family in 1570. The remains of the castle are visible from Rosehearty. Alexander Forbes, 1st Lord Forbes of Pitsligo re-founded the settlement to encourage fishing, on the condition he was given one-fifth of the catch. Rosehearty did not officially exist until it was granted a charter in the 1680s by King Charles II. The town thrived from the fishing boom and, prior to the arrival of railways at the Broch, "was set fit to rival it". Ultimately, however, the railway gave Fraserburgh the edge, and Rosehearty's fishing industry ended.

Geography

Rosehearty Beach forms a crescent shape stretching east from the harbour to a group of rocky outcrops. Several rock formations in the area are known as ''Long Craig'', ''Hungry Hoy'', ''The Pen'', ''Mounsie Weat'', ''Tamhead'', ''Warey Craigs'' and ''Damar''.

Architecture

The Lodging House, on the south side of the Square, was built in 1753 for the dowager Lady Pitsligo,Rosehearty The Lodging House
- Canmore.org.uk while another old house, the "Jam", bears the date 1573. The Hill of Rosehearty Church, constructed in 1890, the work of Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, features a loft that was formerly installed in the church of Pitsligo in 1634. Described by Charles McKean as "magnificent", it was later moved and installed in the Hill Church.

Facilities

There is one shop, a butcher, a hairdresser and two hotels in the village. A new modern Rosehearty Primary School was built in 2007 and accommodates seven classrooms, an ICT computer suite and a games hall with retractable theatre seating and complementary acoustics and lighting. The school caters for approximately 140-160 pupils in total.

Notable people

Rosehearty is the birthplace of: * Hugh Mercer (1726–1777), British/American soldier and physician * Sir Walter Murdoch (1874–1970), Australian essayist and academic * Lawrence Ogilvie (1898–1980), plant pathologist

Gallery

File:Rosehearty c 1905.jpg, Reproduction of a watercolour painting of Rosehearty, 2 September 1905 (Robert Weir Allan) Image:Rosehearty pier before 1895.JPG, ''The Grey North Sea'' oil painting by Archibald Reid (1844–1908) of Rosehearty's pier ''before'' the pier extension in about 1895 that included the new lighthouse known as ''Tam Hied''

References

External links

Community website
Towns in Aberdeenshire Populated places established in the 14th century Populated coastal places in Scotland {{Aberdeenshire-geo-stub