New Leeds
| New Leeds | |
| Aberdeenshire | |
|---|---|
 War Memorial at New Leeds | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NJ996546 |
| Location: | 57°34’55"N, 2°0’29"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Peterhead |
| Postcode: | AB42 |
| Dialling code: | 01346 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Aberdeenshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Banff and Buchan |
New Leeds is a planned village in the Buchan district of Aberdeenshire, situated three miles east of Strichen at the foot of Mormond Hill.[1]
Nowadays New Leeds serves chiefly as a dormitory village for Aberdeen and Fraserburgh.
Transport
New Leeds is adjacent to the A952 road, which links with the A90 trunk road north to Fraserburgh and south to Aberdeen and beyond. Regular bus services operate to Fraserburgh and Aberdeen, and an on-demand Dial-a-bus service is also available.[2]
The nearby Mormond railway station closed in 1979, and now offers an access point to the Formartine and Buchan Way, the long-distance path that follows the route of the former railway.
Landmarks
On the slopes of Mormond Hill above the village is the White Stag of Mormond, a hill figure marked with quartz stones, first laid out by Mr F. W. Cordiner of Cortes to mark his wedding in 1870.[3]
A more modern landmark is the pair of wind turbines erected in 2008 at Redbog, half a mile north of the village. A further turbine at nearby West Cockmuir is planned.[4]
Schools
Primary education is provided at Kininmonth School,[5] a mile south of the village, whilst secondary pupils travel to Mintlaw Academy, four miles away.
History
New Leeds was founded in the late 18th century by Alexander Fraser, 8th Lord Fraser of Strichen (fl. 1764),[6] whose ambition was that the village would grow to rival Leeds in Yorkshire as a place of wool manufacture.[7] Such ambitions were not to be realised, and by 1912 the village was suffering declining population, with many dwellings abandoned.[8]
References
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Leeds New Leeds) |
- ↑ New Leeds, Gazetteer for Scotland
- ↑ Public transport information, Aberdeenshire Council
- ↑ White Horse and Stag on Mormond Hill, Peterhead and Buchan Tourism Initiative
- ↑ Buchan Area Committee Report – 21 April 2009, Aberdeenshire Council
- ↑ Kininmonth Primary School, school website
- ↑ Fraser of Strichen and later of Lovat, Baronage
- ↑ Descriptive Gazetteer entry for Strichen, A Vision of Britain through Time
- ↑ Lotted lands and planned villages in north-east Scotland, Douglas G. Lockhart
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