Longside
| Longside | |
|---|---|
 Main Street, Longside (the A950 road), looking east |
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 Longside
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| Longside shown within Aberdeenshire | |
| Population | 960 (2012) |
| OS grid reference | NK036474 |
| Council area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PETERHEAD |
| Postcode district | AB42 |
| Dialling code | 01779 |
| Police | Scottish |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
| Website | aberdeenshire.gov.uk |
Longside is a village located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland and consists of a single main street. It lies seven miles inland from Peterhead and two miles from Mintlaw on the A950. Its population in 2001 was 721. The River Ugie flows through it.
It lies in the centre of what was the ancient parish of Longside, which was established in 1641 and covered an extensive area. There are a number of listed buildings in the village. During the first World War the most northerly Royal Navy air station was based within the parish and there was also an active airfield used during World War II on a different site close to the village.
Amenities include a local Parish Church, a primary school, and a junior football club, Longside F.C.. There is also a golf club, Longside Golf Club, which was opened in 1979 and its course was extended to 18 holes in 1996. There are also local shops; businesses; a community hall; and tennis courts.
There is considerable evidence of prehistoric activity in the nearby area, most notably in the form of the Catto Long Barrow and numerous tumuli.
The records of the Parliament of Scotland shows an act was passed in November 1641 to allow the erection of a kirk at Longside. A church had previously been sited in Longside dating back to 1620.
Almost a century later following the Penal Act of 1746, the Episcopal Church at Longside was burnt down by the Hanoverians. Rev John Skinner of Longside spent six months in prison after evading a strict Penal Act of 1748 which decreed that Episcopalian Ministers could only preach to his own family. Skinner had tried to circumvent the Act by preaching from his cottage window to a congregation outside. Skinner is buried in the parish churchyard and his grave is marked by a monument.
The grave of Jamie Fleeman (1713–1778) who was better known as 'the Laird of Udny's Fool' is also at Longside and a monument to mark his grave was erected in 1861. He was born in Longside and died at nearby Kinmundy. His notoriety in the area is best exampled by his mention in the New Statistical Account of Scotland 1845, where under Section II, eminent characters, it states:
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