Glen Dye - The Lost Communities

Glen Dye in Aberdeenshire once held several thriving communities. All that remains today are ruined buildings and field systems - evidence of runrig cultivation.  What happened?  

This film investigates the Glen Dye story.

Sources Used

Aberdeenshire Archives

Kincardineshire Valuation Books 1799-1944

Old Statistical Account: Parish of Strachan, 1793

New Statistical Account: Parish of Strachan, 1845

British Library

General Roy map. 1754

National Library of Scotland Maps.

Francis Garden Map of Kincardineshire 1774

James Robertson Map of Kincardineshire, 1822

OS Map of Kincardineshire Ist Series,1868

National Records of Scotland

Carnegie Papers NRAS 792 (Thanks to the private owners for permission to consult). 

Register of Sasines Glen Dye Estate.

Trial of James Gray JC26

Scotland’s People Census Records.

Books, Articles and Reports 

James Allardyce (ed) : The Family of Burnet of Leys with collateral branches. Spalding Club,1901

James Anderson: The Black Book of Kincardineshire, 1843

Centre for Field Archaeology: Short Notice Archaeological Survey in Glen Dye. (no166) 1994

S.G. Checkland: The Gladstones: a family biography 1764-1851, 1971.

Tom Devine: The Rise and Fall of Illicit Whisky Making in Northern Scotland c1780-1840, Scottish Historical Review,Vol 54,1975.

William Fraser: History of the Carnegies, Earls of Southesk and their Kindred.1867

G.M. Fraser: The Bridge of Dye and its Neighbours, Deeside Field, 1931

G.M. Fraser: The Old Deeside Road, 1921

Guard Archaeology: Glen Dye Moor, Banchory, Aberdeenshire: Archaeological Desk-based and Field Assessment Project 6009

Christopher Howlett: Agricultural Development and the Re-formed Rural Landscape of Kincardineshire c1750-1880, University of Aberdeen PhD 1987.

Gordon Noble: Timber, Stone, Earth and Fire. 2006

George Robertson, A General View of the Agriculture of Kincardineshire and the Mearns. 1807

Ian Shepherd and Sandra Ralston: Rural Settlement in Grampian Region, Approaches and Sources, PSAS 111,1981 

J. Sharples, D. Walker and M. Woodworth: The Buildings of Scotland: Aberdeenshire South and Aberdeen. 2015.

Richard Sheridan: The Condition of the Slaves on the Sugar Plantations of Sir John Gladstone in the Colony of Demerara. 1812-1849, NWIG 2002,Vol76

Alan Small: Cairn O’ Mount-A Pictish Routeway. Deeside Field 1974.

Loretta Timperley: A Directory of Land Ownership in Scotland c 1770. 1976

Adam Watson: Place names in much of north-east Scotland. 2013

Archibald Watt: Highways and Byways Around Kincardine.1985.

Thanks to

Feughside Community Council

Glen Dye Estate 

Mearns Community Council