Peterculter

infobox UK place
country = Scotland
official_name= Peterculter
scots_name=
gaelic_name=
population= 4,320 (2004) [http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/files1/stats/04mid-year-estimates-settlements-table1.pdf]
os_grid_reference= NJ840007
map_type=Scotland
latitude=57.09700
longitude=-2.26570
unitary_scotland= City of Aberdeen
lieutenancy_scotland= Aberdeen
constituency_westminster= Aberdeen South
constituency_scottish_parliament= Aberdeen South
post_town= PETERCULTER
postcode_district = AB14 0xx
postcode_area= AB
dial_code= 01224

Peterculter ( /ˌpiːtɝˈkuːtɝ/ - the 'ul' is pronounced 'oo') is a village on the western edge of Aberdeen, Scotland approximately eight miles inland from the Aberdeen city centre. [United Kingdom Ordnance Survey Map, Landranger 45, Stonehaven and Banchory, 1:50000 scale (2004)] The village is situated along the northern banks of the River Dee in the vicinity of the confluences with Crynoch Burn and Leuchar Burn. Although originally a separate entity, it is now part of the City of Aberdeen local council, and is generally accepted as a suburb of Aberdeen.

The latter part of the name is said to be derived from the Gaelic compound word "Cul-tir", which signifies the back part of the country, and would correctly apply to a considerable portion of the land on both sides of the Dee.

History

Southwest of the village, near Peterculter Golf Club and approximately one mile from the village itself, is the site of a Roman encampment Normandykes. The Romans are the earliest known residents of the area from recorded historic times, and it said that these troops were under the command of Lollius Urbicus, a lieutenant of the Emperor Antoninus. Antonius Died in AD 161 [ [http://www.culter.net/history/earlydays.htm Culter.net History of Peterculter: Early Years] ] . Roman legions marched from Raedykes to Normandykes Roman Camp at the south of Peterculter as they sought higher ground evading the bogs of Red Moss and other low-lying mosses associated with the Burn of Muchalls. That march used the Elsick Mounth, one of the ancient trackways crossing the Grampian Mountains, [ [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=18037 C. Michael Hogan, "Elsick Mounth", Megalithic Portal, ed A. Burnham] ] lying west of Netherley. To the north the Romans proceeded to the next camp at Ythan Wells. [ [http://www.roman-britain.org/places/glenmailen.htm Temporary Roman Marching Camps: Ythan Wells Roman Camp] ] The Roman Camps north of Perthshire have only been known since 1793. [William Roy, "Military Antiquities of the Romans in Britain", London (1793)] [The Camps at Ardoch, Stracathro and Ythan Wells: Recent Excavations, J. K. St. Joseph, Britannia, Vol. 1, 1970 (1970), pp. 163-178] [ [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0068-113X(1970)1%3C163%3ATCAASA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-A Stracathro type Roman Camps] ]

King William the Lion bestowed the church of Kulter, “iuxta Abirdene”, upon the Abbey 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 was situated.

Alan of Soltre, chaplain, who had probably been an ecclesiastic of the hospital, or monastery of Soutra, in Lothian, 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), on the south side of the Dee, by which a chapel, erected 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

, who according to local legend leapt across the stream at that point to escape pursuing Hanoverian troops. (Given the width of the stream there, the story - which has its local variants in many different parts of Scotland - is unlikely to have much basis in fact, but that merely adds to its charm.) The original version of the statue is thought to have been a modified ship's figurehead.

Due to its proximity to Aberdeen City and being only around thirty miles from the Cairngorm National Park, Culter is a logical base for tourists. In the town itself there are chances of many local walks, including its connection to the Deeside Way.

For sport, there is Peterculter Golf Club and Culter Sports Centre. Each year, on the last Saturday in May is the Culter Gala, in the main playing field of the village; This event attracts hundreds of people.

Dialect

The local dialect is known as "Culter Spik" (pronounced Coot-ell spik) whereby words ending in "er" are pronounced as if they end in "ell". Words that don't end in "er" will sometimes have the "ell" suffix added to them also. Apart from this anomally, the rest of the dialect is more or less the same as other North-East Scots, including many elements of the Doric language. Although not commonly heard today, Culter spik (or Cootell spik) is just one of many diverse and unique dialects around the North-East of Scotland.

ee also

*Crathes Castle
*Drum Castle
*Maryculter House
*Muchalls Castle

Education

Culter School is a primary school in Peterculter dating from 1896. [ [http://www.culter.net/history/Craigton.htm Early history of Peterculter] ]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.culter.net/ CulterNET community website]
* [http://www.culterkirk.co.uk/ Peterculter Parish Church]
* [http://www.zen39731.zen.co.uk/ Peterculter Golf Club]