New Deer

New Deer (Scottish Gaelic: Achadh Reite) is a settlement in Aberdeenshire, North East Scotland that lies in the valley of Deer. It was founded after monks from Deer Abbey, Old Deer built a chapel at Auchreddie, which translates as "field of the bog myrtle". Around 1507 the register of Deer Abbey lists its lands in the "new paroche of Deir". The name Auchreddie has dropped in significance over the years, however the southern end of the village is still known by this name.

In 1805 New Deer was extended to the north by the third James Ferguson of Pitfour (1735–1820), the elder brother of Patrick Ferguson.

There are three churches in the village, only one of which (St Kane's) still functions as a religious establishment; it belongs to the Church of Scotland. One is now used as a gym hall of the primary school and the other has been built into flats. In 2014 Mintlaw Community Church as part of an outreach to the community started to hold a weekly Sunday Morning Service in former church building in Main Street.

St Kane's opened a church centre in 2003, next door to the church. The building was previously a long-running local general store and accompanying house. The centre includes a café and is used for various community activities.

New Deer (St Kane's) Primary School sits behind the main church, in the centre of the village.

The public hall, opposite the church centre, is run on a not-for-profit basis and hosts various activities including mother-and-baby groups and exercise classes, as well as being a venue for theatrical productions.

Stands on a hill to the north of the village and commemorates William Dingwall Fordyce. Local Brucklay estate landlord, Fordyce was an Aberdeenshire MP MP. Constructed in 1877, the monument is 80 feet (24 m) high and was designed by James Matthews. Historic Scotland designated it as a Category B listed building in April 1971.

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Wikipedia