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 areas 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'' and '' Cantref Mawr'', 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'' to the death of King Indulf 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 held land as late as the 13th century, suggesting that Buchan's boundaries at this time extended as far west as the River Spey. 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, where the Catto Long Barrow 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 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. Remote Radar Head Buchan, 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