Buchan is a coastal district in the north-east of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, bounded by the Ythan and Deveron rivers. It was one of the original

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

of the

Kingdom of Alba The Kingdom of Alba (; ) was the Kingdom of Scotland between the deaths of Donald II in 900 and of Alexander III in 1286. The latter's death led indirectly to an invasion of Scotland by Edward I of England in 1296 and the First War of Scotti ...

. It is now one of the six

committee area Many large local government councils in the United Kingdom have a system of area committees or area boards, which involve local people and organisations in decisions affecting council spending within their area. They cover a geographical are ...

s of

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

Etymology

The genesis of the name ''Buchan'' is shrouded in uncertainty, but may be of

Pictish Pictish is an extinct Brittonic Celtic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from late antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited number of geog ...

origin. The name may involve an equivalent of Welsh ''buwch'' meaning "a cow". American academic Thomas Clancy has noted cautiously the similarity between the territory names ''Buchan'' and '' Marr'' to those of the Welsh commotes ''

Cantref Bychan A commote (, sometimes spelt in older documents as , plural , less frequently )'' Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales. The word derives from the prefix ("together" ...

'' and ''

Cantref Mawr Cantref Mawr was a cantref in southwest Wales. It was of strategic importance in medieval Wales as the location of the main seat of the princes of Deheubarth Deheubarth (; , thus 'the South') was a regional name for the Welsh kingdoms, realms o ...

'', meaning "small commote" and "large commote", respectively.

History

Buchan Ness and its lighthouse - geograph

The first documentary record of Buchan is a reference in the ''

Chronicle of the Kings of Alba The ''Chronicle of the Kings of Alba'', or ''Scottish Chronicle'', is a short written chronicle covering the period from the time of Kenneth MacAlpin (Cináed mac Ailpín) (d. 858) until the reign of Kenneth II (Cináed mac Maíl Coluim) (r. 971� ...

'' to the death of King

Indulf Ildulb mac Causantín, Anglicisation, anglicised as Indulf or Indulph, nicknamed An Ionsaighthigh, "the Aggressor" (died 962) was king of Alba from 954 to 962. He was the son of Constantine II of Scotland, Constantine II; his mother may have b ...

at the hands of Vikings in Buchan in 962, a death separately recorded in a 12th-century king list as taking place at Cullen. Cullen is to the west of the River Deveron, in an area where the

Earls of Buchan The Mormaer () or Earl of Buchan () was originally the provincial ruler of the medieval province of Buchan. Buchan was the first Mormaerdom in the High Medieval Kingdom of the Scots to pass into the hands of a non-Scottish family in the male li ...

held land as late as the 13th century, suggesting that Buchan's boundaries at this time extended as far west as the

River Spey The River Spey () is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At it is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom and the third longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is an important location for the traditions of salmon fishing an ...

. In

times, Buchan was located within the kingdom of Cé. There is considerable ancient history in this geographic area, especially slightly north-west of

Cruden Bay Cruden Bay is a small village in Scotland, on the north coast of the Bay of Cruden in Aberdeenshire, north of Aberdeen. Just west of Slains Castle, Cruden Bay is said to have been the site of a battle in which the Scots under King Malcolm II ...

, where the

Catto Long Barrow Cairn Catto is a Neolithic long cairn near the village of Longside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1973. Description Cairn Catto is located southeast of Longside, in ...

and numerous

tumuli A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...

are found. At one time, the district of Buchan comprised all the land between the Don and Deveron, but now the land between the Don and the Ythan is known as

Formartine Formartine ( meaning "Martin's land") is a committee area in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This district extends north from the River Don, Aberdeenshire, River Don to the River Ythan. It has a population of 36,478 (2001 Census). The committee area w ...

, so ''Buchan'' has taken on a restricted sense.

Features

View to Mormond Hill White Horse figure - geograph

The Buchan area has a population of 39,160 (2001 census) and an area of . It contains the town of

Peterhead Peterhead (; , ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 19,060 at the 2022 Census for Scotland, 2022 Census. It is the largest fishing port in the United Kingdom for total landi ...

and is adjacent to the committee and administrative areas of

Banff and Buchan Banff and Buchan is a committee area of the Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland, covering an area along the northern coast of the council area. The main towns are Banff and Fraserburgh. Fishing and agriculture are important industries, together with ...

and

is the largest town in Buchan and Aberdeenshire; the principal whitefish-landing port in Europe; and a major oil industry service centre. Equally important is the nearby gas terminal at

St Fergus St Fergus is a village in the Buchan area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. St Fergus lies from the North Sea coast and north-west of Peterhead. The Parish of St Fergus includes the remains of Inverugie Castle and Ravenscraig Castle. The church i ...

Remote Radar Head Buchan Remote Radar Head Buchan or RRH Buchan is an air defence radar station operated by the Royal Air Force. It is located at Stirling Hill, south of Peterhead on the Aberdeenshire coast of northeast Scotland. The unit is based at the operations sit ...

, an RAF air-defence radar unit, is located near Peterhead. Attempts are being made to counter the negative effects of several recent key company closures and economic threats. Inland, the area is dependent upon agriculture, and many villages have seen a decline in population and services. Issues affecting Banff and Buchan also apply here, as does the future of the oil and gas industry. Part of Buchan benefits from EU aid coverage. Opportunities exist through the Buchan Local Action Plan to safeguard and enhance the economic future of Peterhead and Buchan. The

Formartine and Buchan Way The Formartine and Buchan Way is a long-distance trail in Scotland, extending from Dyce north to Peterhead and Fraserburgh in the Buchan and Formartine districts of Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It follows the track of a former railway line, the Fo ...

runs through Buchan.

References

Bibliography

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External links

1714 map showing Buchan1745 Map showing the sheriffdom of Aberdeen (Buchan and Mar)1745 Map showing the sheriffdom of Aberdeen (Buchan and Mar)
{{Authority control Provinces of Scotland Committee areas of Aberdeenshire