Culsh Monument

Grey Granite and Rufus recently had time to kill in New Deer and decided to visit the Culsh Monument. Unfortunately, it was an extraordinary hot day, the temperature was 22.5c in mid afternoon and the heat haze reduced what would otherwise have been spectacular views over the Howe of Buchan from the monument.

Grey Granite thought that the monument to William Dingwall Fordyce was actually in the burial ground. From the approach to the burial ground gates high above the village the monument looks exactly like a kirk spire at the top of the graveyard. The graveyard has a disused lodge, dated 1841, and several yew trees.The almost leafless beech trees created a welcome dappled shade in the kirkyard. Grey Granite couldn't help wondering if, despite the grandeur of the monument, William Dingwall Fordyce is any better remembered today than any of his humbler contemporaries in the kirkyard. The monument seems to be universally known as simply 'The Culsh Monument'. However, three street names in Rosehearty celebrate Sir Dingwall Fordyce of Brucklay Castle, the laird to whom the fishermen famously applied for permission to build their hall in Fordyce Street.

The 1876 monument to William Dingwall Fordyce on the summit of Culsh Hill directly above the graveyard.

 The 80' high monument is constructed of dressed ashlar, a spiral staircase leads to the viewing platform directly below the spire but can no longer be entered. William Dingwall Fordyce  was the first MP for Aberdeenshire. A Liberal, he was a benevolent, improving conditions for his tenants by introducing insurance for their cottages and increasing their mobility by running weekly carriages to Banff, Aberdeen and Peterhead. He was also largely influential in ensuring that the  Buchan Railway was extended north beyond Ellon.

During the construction of the monument the remains of a prehistoric stone circle were removed and used in the foundations of the New Deer Manse. The strange construction seen in above supports an information board describing the view over the Howe of Buchan

Looking over New Deer from the monument. St Kame's Church Tower can just be seen above the trees.



Mormond Hill in the distance, the ruins of Fedderate Castle can just be made out marooned in a barley field just behind the tree branch. The castle dates from 1474 was one of the last places to hold out for James V11 after the Battle of Cromdale and suffered a siege as a result. Later attempts were made to blow the castle up in the cause of agricultural improvement.



Rufus admiring the view from the steps of the monument