Stonehaven

   STONEHAVEN, a sea-port town and burgh of barony, partly in the parish of Dunnottar, but chiefly in the parish of Fetteresso, county of Kincardine, 15 miles (S. S. W.) from Aberdeen, and 94 (N. by E.) from Edinburgh; containing 3012 inhabitants, of whom 950 are in that part of the town within the parish of Dunnottar. This place, which is situated on the eastern coast, at the influx of the river Carron into the German Ocean, and at the head of a fine bay sheltered on the north and south by lofty hills, comprises two distinct portions, called respectively the Old and the New Town. The Old Town, on the south bank of the river, consists principally of one spacious street irregularly built; it once belonged to the Earl Marischal Keith, and in 1607 was by act of parliament constituted the head burgh of the county. The New Town, which stands on the north bank of the Carron, on a peninsula formed by that river and the river Cowie, was built about the year 1760, on the lands of Mr. Barclay, of Ury, and consists of several well-formed streets diverging from a square in the centre, in which is the market-house. The two portions of the town are connected by a bridge, and constitute a continued line along the shore of the sea. The houses are well built, and in the New Town have a handsome appearance; the streets are paved, and lighted with gas by a company established in 1837; and the inhabitants are amply supplied with water. There are no manufactures of any importance. The weaving of cotton and linen, however, for the houses of Aberdeen, formerly more extensive, still affords employment to a considerable number of persons, of whom many are females. The Glenury distillery consumes about 6000 quarters of barley annually; a brewery has long been established, which supplies the adjacent districts with ale and beer; and there are some mills for the spinning of woollen yarn.

   

   The trade of the port consists principally in the importation of coal and lime, bone-dust, salt, slates and tiles, paving-stones, and groceries; and in the exportation of grain, of which nearly 14,000 quarters are annually shipped, potatoes, whisky, cured fish, timber, and live-stock. The harbour, in 1825, was placed under the direction of a board of commissioners, who expended £8000 on its improvement, by the removal of a mass of rock at the entrance, the erection of an extensive pier, and the construction of an inner harbour, in which vessels may find shelter from all storms. Lights, also, have been fixed by the Commissioners of Northern Lights, as a secure guide to the harbour, which has the advantage of being easily accessible in easterly gales. The steamers plying between Leith and Aberdeen regularly touch at the port. The exact date of the charter by which the town was erected into a burgh of barony is not known; but it is recognised as such in the act of parliament passed in 1607, transferring the seat of the sheriffdom from Kincardine to this place, which it constituted the county town. The government, under the superior, is vested in two bailies, a dean of guild, a treasurer, and three councillors, chosen by the holders of land within the burgh. The magistrates, however, exercise no jurisdiction in civil matters, and in criminal cases only in petty offences. The county buildings contain a spacious hall appropriated for holding the courts, with committee-rooms, and offices for the sheriff-clerk; and on the basement are cells for prisoners, and apartments for the keeper of the gaol. The market is held weekly, on Thursday, and is abundantly supplied with grain and provisions of all kinds. Fairs are held annually, for cattle and sheep on the Thursdays before Old Christmas-day and Candlemas; for cattle and horses on the third Thursday in June, and the second Thursdays in August and October; and for hiring servants, on the 25th of May and the 21st of November, or, if those days fall on Sunday, on the preceding Saturday. The market-house is a handsome and commodious building, erected in 1827, and comprising also a spacious hall. The post-office has two deliveries; two mails from the south, and two from the north, arriving daily. Facility of intercourse with Aberdeen, Leith, and Edinburgh, is maintained by excellent roads, and by the steamers which call at the harbour.

   See Dunnottar, and Fetteresso.