View source for Old Deer

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name                    = Old Deer
| scots_name                       = Auld Deer
| gaelic_name                      = Dèir
| country                          = Scotland
| population                       = 152
| population_ref                   = ([[2011 United Kingdom census|2011]])
| static_image_name                = Old Deer.jpg
| static_image_caption             = Abbey Street in Old Deer, with the parish church in view
| coordinates                      = {{coord|57|31|9|N|2|2|12|W|display=inline,title}}
| os_grid_reference                = NJ976477
| unitary_scotland                 = [[Aberdeenshire]]
| lieutenancy_scotland             = Aberdeenshire
| post_town                        = PETERHEAD
| postcode_area                    = AB
| postcode_district                = AB42
| constituency_westminster         = [[Gordon and Buchan (UK Parliament constituency)|Gordon and Buchan]]
| constituency_scottish_parliament = [[Aberdeenshire East (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Aberdeenshire East]]
}}
'''Old Deer''' ({{langx|sco|Auld Deer}},<ref>[http://www.scotslanguage.com/books/view/1/823/Names%20in%20Scots%20-%20Places%20in%20Scotland Scots Language Centre: Scottish Place Names in Scots]</ref> {{langx|gd|Dèir}}) is a parish and village in the district of [[Buchan]], [[Aberdeenshire]], Scotland. The population in 2011 was 152. The village lies on the [[A950 road|A950]], beside the Deer or [[South Ugie Water]], {{convert|10.1|mi}} west of [[Peterhead]] and {{convert|2|mi|0}} from [[Mintlaw]].
Industries include [[distilling]], [[brewing]], and the manufacture of woollens, and there are quarries of granite and limestone.
The village of [[New Deer]] (formerly called Auchreddie) lies about {{convert|7|mi}} west of the older village;{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} to the north of New Deer is the ruined [[Fedderate Castle]].
== Etymology ==
The name ''Deer'' is likely to be of [[Pictish]] origin.<ref name="Hough" /> The name involves the element ''*deru'' meaning "oak" (c.f. [[Gaelic language|Gaelic]] ''dair'' or ''darach''; c.f. [[Welsh language|Welsh]] ''derw''; compare ''[[Dairsie]]'').<ref name="Hough">{{cite book |last1=Izdebska |first1=Daria |last2=Hough |first2=Carole |title=The Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199656431 |page=72 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W2FQCwAAQBAJ |access-date=3 May 2020}}</ref>
==History==
The parish records spell the name in various other ways such as Deare, Diere and Dier.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cruden |first1=George |title=The statistical account of Scotland. Drawn up from the communications of the ministers of the different parishes |date=1791 |publisher=W. Creech |location=Edinburgh |pages=[https://archive.org/details/statisticalacco12sincgoog/page/n482 469]–483 |edition=Vol XVI |url=https://archive.org/details/statisticalacco12sincgoog |access-date=15 February 2019}}</ref>
[[Columba]] and his nephew [[Drostan]] founded a monastery here in 719,{{sfnp|McKean|1990|p=86|ps=none}} of which no trace remains. The ''[[Book of Deer]]'' is a most interesting relic of the monks, which was discovered in 1857 in the [[Cambridge University]] library by [[Henry Bradshaw (scholar)|Henry Bradshaw]]. It was probably stolen during the [[Wars of Scottish Independence]] by English troops. It is a small manuscript of the ''[[Gospel]]s'' in the [[Vulgate]], fragments of the liturgy of the [[Celtic Christianity|Celtic church]], and notes, in the Gaelic script of the 12th century, referring to the charters of the ancient monastery, including a summary of that granted by [[David I of Scotland]]. These are among the oldest examples of [[Scottish Gaelic]]. The manuscript is also adorned with Gaelic designs. It had belonged to the monks of Deer and been in the possession of the University Library since 1715. It was edited by [[John Stuart (genealogist)|John Stuart]] for the [[Spalding Club]], by whom it was published in 1869 under the title ''The Book of Deer'' (''{{lang|gd|Leabhar Dhèir}}'' in Gaelic).{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}
In 1218 [[William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan|William Comyn]], earl of Buchan, founded the [[Deer Abbey|Abbey of St Mary of Deer]], now in ruins, {{convert|3/4|mile|km|abbr=on}} farther up the river than the monastery and on the opposite bank. Although it was erected for [[Cistercians]] from the [[priory]] of [[Kinloss Abbey|Kinloss]], near [[Forres]], the property of the Columban monastery was removed to it. The founder (died 1233) and he and his countess were buried in the church. The parish is rich in antiquities, but the most noted of them is the Stone of Deer, a sculptured block of [[syenite]], which stood near the abbey; it was destroyed in 1854.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morison |first1=John |title=The new statistical account of Scotland |date=1845 |publisher=William Blackwood and Sons |location=Edinburgh and London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/b21365805_0012/page/138 138]–165 |edition=Vol XII |url=https://archive.org/details/b21365805_0012 |access-date=15 February 2019}}</ref>
Deer Parish Church dates to 1788. Its tower, with pyramid spire, was designed by George Reid. Internal fittings were by [[Alexander Marshall Mackenzie]]. Ruins of its predecessor survive in the grounds.{{sfnp|McKean|1990|p=88|ps=none}}
Across Abbey Street is St Drostan's Episcopal Church, dating to 1851. Its roof has a [[bellcote]] at its western end.{{sfnp|McKean|1990|p=89|ps=none}}
==Aikey Brae stone circle==
[[File:Aikey Brae Stone Circle - geograph.org.uk - 1774962.jpg|thumb|Aikey Brae stone circle]]
[[Aikey Brae stone circle]] lies between [[Maud, Aberdeenshire|Maud]] and Old Deer on the summit of Parkhouse Hill. It is a [[recumbent stone circle]] and was most recently excavated by Chris Ball and Richard Bradley in 2001. It is a [[scheduled ancient monument]].<ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=SM2 |desc=Parkhouse Hill stone circle (Aikey Brae) |access-date=8 March 2019}}</ref>
==Notable people==
*[[David B. Henderson]], one of only two foreign-born Speakers of the [[United States House of Representatives]].
==See also==
* [[Abbot of Deer]]
* [[Deer Abbey]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Old Deer|volume=20|page=69}}
*{{citation |last=McKean |first=Charles |author-link=Charles McKean|title=Banff & Buchan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X5ZMAAAAYAAJ |year=1990 |publisher=[[Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland]] |isbn=978-1-85158-231-0}}
{{refend}}
== External links ==
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04674b.htm Abbey of Deer] - Article in the Catholic Encyclopedia
* [http://www.olddeer.org.uk/ Old Deer Community Website]
{{commons category}}
{{Buchan, Aberdeenshire places|state=uncollapsed}}
{{Aberdeenshire places|state=collapsed}}
{{authority control}}
[[Category:Villages in Aberdeenshire]]
[[Category:Stone circles in Aberdeenshire]]
[[Category:Buchan]]