Peterculter ( sco, Petercouter), also known as Culter (Scots: ''Couter''), is a suburb of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, about inland from Aberdeen city centre. Peterculter is on the northern banks of the River Dee, near the confluences with Crynoch Burn and Leuchar Burn. Following the 1996 Scottish council boundary changes it became part of the

City of Aberdeen gd, Comhairle Cathair Obar Dheathain , native_name_lang = , other_name = , image_skyline = Town House, Municipal Offices and Court Houses in Aberdeen.jpg , image_caption ...

's Lower Deeside ward. Communication mast on Ardbeck Hill Peterculter - geograph

The latter part of the name is said to come from the Gaelic compound word "Cul-tir", which signifies the "back part" of the country.

History

About south west of the Peterculter is the site of the Roman marching camp at Normandykes. King

William the Lion William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

bestowed the church of Kulter, "iuxta Abirdene", upon the

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

and monks of St Mary of Kelso, about 1165–1199. The gift was afterwards confirmed by Mathew, Bishop of Aberdeen, within whose diocese the church sat. Alan of Soltre, chaplain, who had probably been an ecclesiastic of the hospital, or monastery of Soutra, in

Lothian Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Sco ...

, was presented by the Abbot of Kelso, to the vicarage of the church of Culter, 1239–1240. In 1287–1288, an agreement was made between the Abbot and Convent of Kelso and the brotherhood of the Knights of Jerusalem, regarding the Templars’ lands of Blairs and Kincolsi (Kincousie, now Kincaussie), on the south side of the Dee, by which a chapel, built by the Templars at their house of Culter, was recognised as a church, with parochial rights, for the inhabitants of the said lands. It was this agreement that changed the existing parish of Culter into two separate parishes with two separate names, the other being Maryculter.

Attractions

High up on the steep, rocky bank of the ''Culter Burn'' near the western exit of the town was a colourful and well-tended kilted wooden figure holding a broadsword and

targe Targe (from Old Franconian ' 'shield', Proto-Germanic ' 'border') was a general word for shield in late Old English. Its diminutive, ''target'', came to mean an object to be aimed at in the 18th century. The term refers to various types of shi ...

(shield) that represents

Rob Roy Macgregor Robert Roy MacGregor ( gd, Raibeart Ruadh MacGriogair; 7 March 1671 – 28 December 1734) was a Scottish outlaw, who later became a folk hero. Early life Rob Roy was born in the Kingdom of Scotland at Glengyle, at the head of Loch Katrine, a ...

, who according to local legend leapt across the burn at that point to flee pursuing Hanoverian troops (Given the width of the stream there, the story - which has its local variants in many parts of Scotland - is unlikely to have much basis in fact). The outlaw Gilderoy is a more likely historical figure for the story. The original statue is thought to have been a modified ship's figurehead. The statue was replaced in 2017 by a resin effigy, wearing ancient Macgregor tartan. Due to its nearness to Aberdeen City and being only about from the Cairngorm National Park, Culter is a base for tourists. In the town itself there are chances of many local walks, including its connection to the Deeside Way at the site of the former

Culter railway station Culter railway station was opened on 8 September 1853 by the Deeside Railway and served the town of Peterculter that is locally known as Culter. The Deeside Railway was taken over by the Great North of Scotland Railway, GNoSR and in 1894 Culter ...

, as well as the forest area known locally as 'Sandy Hilly', or 'The Muggie Widds' (St. Margaret Woods), the entrance to which sits beside the Bucklerburn region. For sport, there is Peterculter Golf Club and

Culter Sports Centre Culter may refer to: * Culter, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom * ''Culter'' (fish), a genus of cyprinid fish * Culter F.C., a junior football club from the village of Peterculter, Aberdeen, Scotland * Culter School, a primary school ...

. Each year, on the last Saturday in May is the Culter Gala, in the main

playing field Play is a range of Motivation#Incentive theories: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, intrinsically motivated activities done for recreational pleasure and enjoyment. Play is commonly associated with children and juvenile-level activities, but m ...

of the town; this event draws hundreds of local townsfolk.

Education

Culter School is a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

in Peterculter dating from 1896.Early history of Peterculter

Notable people

* Alexander Cuming, explorer. * William Duff, minister and psychologist *

Oswald Lumsden Oswald Farquhar Lumsden (26 June 1874 — 8 April 1948) was a Scottish people, Scottish first-class cricketer and an officer in the Indian Civil Service. The son of the advocate James Forbes Lumsden, he was born in June 1874 at Peterculter, Pe ...

, cricketer * William Lumsden, cricketer *

John Mortimer Sir John Clifford Mortimer (21 April 1923 – 16 January 2009) was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author. He is best known for novels about a barrister named Horace Rumpole. Early life Mortimer was born in Hampstead, Londo ...

, cricketer * Nan Shepherd, writer, whose portrait currently appears on a Scottish £5 note. *

Peter Donald Thomson Peter Donald Thomson (1872–1955) was a Scottish minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1934. Life He was born in Glasgow. He was educated at Hermitage Academy in Helensburgh. He studied divini ...

, moderator of the Church of Scotland.

Notes

External links