Newtonhill

Newtonhill is a commuter village in Kincardineshire, Scotland. It is popular due to its location, just six miles south of Aberdeen with easy reach of Stonehaven and with views over the North Sea.

Newtonhill
Newtonhill
Location within Aberdeenshire
Population3,140 (mid-2016 est.)[1]
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSTONEHAVEN
Postcode districtAB39
Dialling code01569
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
Newtonhill village in the snow taken from the railway bridge to the north of the village

History

The village was originally called Skateraw. Skateraw was a fishing village, and the older part of the village between the railway line and the sea reflects that heritage though nearly all of the old houses have been modernised and extended. An old smoke house is still visible in Skateraw Road, though it is many years since it was in use. The village had a railway station which led to the change of name from Skateraw to Newtonhill but it was closed in 1956; the signal box was still in use until May 2019 and remnants of a platform can still be seen. A feasibility study received funding in May 2018 to study the possible reopening of the station.[2]

Newtonhill is in Kincardineshire, though local government re-organisation means that the local authority is Aberdeenshire Council.

The village is situated about half a mile east of the ancient Causey Mounth road, which was built on high ground to make passable this only available medieval route from coastal points north to Aberdeen. This ancient passage specifically connected the Bridge of Dee via Portlethen Moss, Muchalls Castle and Stonehaven to the south.[3] The route was that taken by William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal and the Duke of Montrose when they led a Covenanter army of 9000 men in the first battle of the First Bishop's War in 1639.[4]

Newtonhill today is accessed by the A92 road and functions primarily as a commuter town to Aberdeen and other business hubs in the area. The village is also well served by buses run by Stagecoach Group providing regular services to Aberdeen, Stonehaven and Montrose.

Community and amenities
Newtonhill railway viaduct

Newtonhill has a successful Boys' Brigade chess team which has won the Scottish tournament many times and have won the British grand finals the most out of all British teams.

There is an active community spirit in Newtonhill and many events are organised through the Newtonhill and District Village Association, with wider planning issues being discussed by the Community Council.

There are three commercial outlets; A Tesco Metro Store, a coffee shop - Skateraw Store and a pharmacy, which also hosts a weekly post office. There are two pubs in the village, Quoiters and The Newton Arms.

A town hall was built in 1986. Due to a demand for more space, it was replaced with the Bettridge Centre in 2003. The Centre is run by elected local residents.[5] Beside this centre is Newtonhill Library. There is also the Skateraw Hall, originally provided for the residents when Newtonhill was a fishing village.

Newtonhill Primary School serves the village and surrounding hamlets of Muchalls and Cammachmore.

Geography
The Bay at Newtonhill, which features several caves

Newtonhill is located on the North-East coast of Scotland, approximately 9 miles south of Aberdeen and 6 miles north of Stonehaven.

The Burn of Elsick, which drains agricultural lands from the west, flows into the North Sea at Newtonhill. The White Wife is a rock formation which allows sea angling. Newtonhill also has a great scenic views of the cliffs looking on to the pebble shore, where fishing still a custom to many.

Local Radio

Alongside the commercial enterprise of the local newspaper, The Mearns Leader, Newtonhill has a Local Community Radio Station in Mearns FM.[6] Broadcasting from nearby Stonehaven in the Town Hall, Mearns FM helps to keep Newtonhill up to date with local and charity events, as well as playing a wee bit of music. Staffed completely by volunteers, Mearns FM is run as a not for profit organisation, broadcasting under a Community Radio licence, with a remit to provide local focus news events and programming. Jointly funded by local adverts and local and national grants. Mearns FM has one of the largest listening areas of any Community Radio Station owing to the Mearns' distributed population, Mearns FM was set up to try to bring these distant communities together.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Mid-2016 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  2. Beattie, Kieran. "New £80,000 study could lead to new train stations between Laurencekirk and Aberdeen". Press and Journal. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  3. C.Michael Hogan, Causey Mounth, Megalithic Portal, ed. by Andy Burnham, 2007
  4. Archibald Watt, Highways and Byways around Kincardineshire, Stonehaven Heritage Society (1985)
  5. "About Us". The Bettridge Centre. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  6. http://mearnsfm.org.uk/
  7. Mearns FM launch release
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.