Foveran

"FOVERAN, a parish, in the district of Ellon, county of Aberdeen, 12 miles (N. by W.) from Aberdeen; containing, with the village of Newburgh and the barony of Knockhall, 1620 inhabitants. This place was formerly remarkable for its castle, called Foveran. . . Agriculture is steadily pursued, and considerable traffic is carried on at the fishing-village and maritime port of Newburgh. . . The mail-road from Aberdeen to Peterhead intersects the parish, and has several branches, one of which, called the Fiddes road, joins the Udny turnpike- road, opening up important facilities of intercourse with that part of the county. . . About twenty head of fat-cattle are shipped every week at the port, for the London market; and lime, coal, timber, bones, &c., are imported. The annual value of real property in the parish is £5713. Foveran is ecclesiastically in th presbytery of Ellon, synod of Aberdeen, and in the patrtonage of the Crown: the minister's stipend is £193, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £11 per annum. The church is a plain substantial edifice, built in 1794, and accommodating 700 persons; it contains two handsome marble monuments to the family of Robertson of Foveran, and another, of very superior character, designed by Bacon, to the Udny family. . . The parochial school affords instruction in the usual branches; the master has a salary of £28, with about £31 fees. There is also a school at Cultercullen, in the wester quarter, with an endowment of £8 per annum, and a free house, and piece of land. . . About half a mile north of Newburgh are the ruins of the castle of Knockhall, built in the year 1565, and accidentally burnt in 1734: it was the seat of the family of Udny, whose ancient burial-ground, also in the neighbourhood of the village, contains the remains of an old chapel generally called Rood Church. . . More"
[From Samuel Lewis A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland (1851) - copyright Mel Lockie 2016]