Monquhitter

"MONQUHITTER, a parish, in the district of Turriff, county of Aberdeen, 6 miles (E.) from Turriff; containing, with the villages of Cuminestown and Garmond, 2074 inhabitants. The farm on which the church was originally built was termed Montquhitter, or Monquhitter, a word signifying "the place for ensnaring the deer"; or, as others think, "the moss of desolation". . . The surface to a great extent presents a series of undulations; but the scenery is in general rather uninviting. . . Of late years the aspect of the parish has been vastly improved by the extension of farming operations. . . The only mansion is Auchry, a plain edifice, purchased in 1830, with the principal part of the estate, by the present proprietor from the family of Joseph Cumine, Esq. . . He also founded the village of Cuminestown. Besides this village, the parish contains that of Garmond; and a daily post has been established at the former place by the influence of the present proprietor of Auchry: the whole of the roads in the district are in very bad condition. . . . Ecclesiastically the parish is in the presbytery of Turriff, synod of Aberdeen, and in the patronage of the Earl of Fife: the minister's stipend is about £190, with a manse, one of the most spacious in the neighbourhood and about ten acres of very excellent land. The church, which is conveniently situated near the villages, is an unadorned and uncomfortable edifice, accommodating 1000 persons; it was built in 1764, and increased by the addition of an aisle in 1792. A chapel of ease was erected in Fyvie, in 1833, for the benefit of the remote parts of that parish and Monquhitter; a district of the latter, containing 195 persons, being ecclesiastically annexed to it. There is a small episcopal chapel, a tasteful building; and the members of the Free Church have a place of worship. . . More"
[From Samuel Lewis A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland (1851) - copyright Mel Lockie 2016]