Peterculter

"PETERCULTER, a parish, in the district of Aberdeen and county of Aberdeen, 7 miles (W. S. W.) from Aberdeen; containing 1259 inhabitants. This place is said to have derived the latter portion of its name, a compound of the Gaelic terms Cul, signifying "a back", and Tir, "a country or district", from its situation on the side of the river Dee; and the former portion of its name, from the dedication of its old church and wells to St. Peter. The church anciently belonged to the monks of Kelso. The place lays claim to a remote antiquity, and is supposed, upon unquestionable authority, to have been a Roman station. . . The Dee is subject to frequent inundations; and in the summer of 1829 the water rose to such a height as greatly to damage the crops growing near its banks, and to sweep down many stacks of hay. The salmon-fisheries on this river, previously very lucrative, have been much injured by the introduction of stake-nets at its mouth, and now scarcely remunerate the labour of the fishermen. . . The scenery is boldly diversified, and in many places enriched with thriving woods and plantations, and the tastefully embellished demesnes of gentlemen's seats, imparting to it a highly pleasing aspect. . . There is no regular village in the parish; but several of the inhabitants are engaged in different branches of manufacture. On the burn of Culter, near its influx into the river Dee, is a snuff manufactory. . . Ecclesiastically this place is within the bounds of the presbytery and synod of Aberdeen: the minister's stipend is £196, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £11 per annum; patron, R. W. Duff, Esq., of Fetteresso and Culter. The church, beautifully situated on the bank of the Dee, was built in 1779; it is a neat substantial structure, and contains 550 sittings. 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]