Boddam is a coastal village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is 29 miles (47 km) north of Aberdeen and 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Peterhead. The settlement of Stirling Village lies immediately to the west. Sea cliffs rise to 200 feet (61 m), south of the village: a coastal path leads along these to the Bullers of Buchan.
While human occupation in the vicinity of Boddam is attested to from Neolithic times with the quarrying of flint deposits at the Den of Boddam[3] and in more recent times by the fortified remains near the islet of Dundonnie just south of the modern-day village, for much of the early historical period there is little or no record of habitation in the location of the fishing settlement which grew up later.
During the First World War about a hundred German prisoners were sent from Stobs Camp to work in the granite quarries nearby.[5]
Fishing
Like Peterhead, Boddam grew as a fishing town during the 18th century but until 1831, when the first of two harbours was constructed (one by William Aiton and his company)[6] to the north of the lighthouse, boats had to be hauled onto shore by hand.
Boddam Harbour with lobster potsValue of Fish Landed in Boddam 1893-1914
A marine villa, known as the Earl's Lodge, was built in 1840 for George Hamilton-Gordon, Earl of Aberdeen (later Prime Minister) and in 1842 he initiated construction of the second harbour situated next to the first, leading to a considerable increase in the local fishing industry and Registered Port status in 1845.
By the mid-1840s the population of the expanded and improved village had grown to 526 inhabitants, with 22 haddock boats and 23 larger herring boats working from the harbour for the seasonal fisheries (March to July, and July to September respectively). 12 boats were employed during the winter months in the cod and white fisheries.[7][8]
Harbour widening followed in 1878, and by 1881 there were 200 drifters based at Boddam. However, in an ironic twist this very growth led to an inevitable decline as Peterhead lying just to the north benefited from the far greater harbour space available for the continually growing fishing fleet.
On 4 October 1881 7 fisherman, including the skipper, William Walker, were lost on the "Alice" in the storm generally referred to as the Eyemouth Disaster. Their bodies were washed up in the Firth of Forth and they are buried together in Inveresk churchyard.
The area around the headland of Buchan Ness was for many centuries the point from which trading and whaling voyages departed across open ocean, bound for Archangel, Greenland and Spitsbergen amongst other destinations.[12]
Over time, many vessels had been run aground in poor weather and in 1819 petitions were sent to the Northern Lighthouse Board to erect a lighthouse in the vicinity. As Engineer to the board, Robert Stevenson decided upon the present location; the granite-built construction being completed in 1824[9] and the light established in 1827.[13]
Buchanness Lodge Marine Villa, 2010
The red band was painted in 1907 to help passing ships determine their location and for many years a foghorn (locally known as the Boddam Coo or also as the Boddam Bear, prior to reequipping in 1978) was installed, this being officially turned off in 2000.
The lighthouse is 118 ft (36 m) high,[9] flashing a white light every five seconds which with the current lamp is visible for 28 nautical miles (52 km).
The ruins are visible on the promontory of Buchanness Lodge, an Italianate marine villa built in 1840 by John Smith for Lord Aberdeen. Below the consoled pediment of the main door is inscribed procul negotiis beautus, which, roughly translated, means "lucky is the man who stays away from business".[9]
The financial performance of the branch line, and of the Cruden Bay Hotel were disappointing, and the line was closed to passengers during the Great Depression in 1932. Goods traffic continued for a time, but the entire branch line was closed completely ; Boddam Station finally being closed to all traffic on the last day of 1948.[15]
Prior to the arrival of the branch from Ellon, the Government had constructed a line covering the two and a half miles between Peterhead prison and the Stirlinghill quarries in order to obtain granite for construction of the breakwater across Peterhead Bay. At the time this was the only state-owned railway in the United Kingdom.[16]
RAF Buchan
Peterhead power station as seen from Boddam
Following the opening of the nearby radar station at RAF Buchan in 1952, a domestic site was opened on the site of the former railway terminus. The domestic site was closed in 2005 and sold to a private company.[17] The RAF Buchan operational site is retained by the Royal Air Force and known as Remote Radar Head Buchan.[18]
Peterhead Power Station
Adjacent to the north side of the village is Peterhead Power Station (generating capacity: 2,390MW, limited to 1,550MW) on which construction commenced in May 1973, being brought into operation in 1980. Originally intended as a gas-powered station, it was later converted to burn gas or oil and is currently powered by the entire gas supply of the Miller Field.[19]
Sea bass may be caught in the vicinity of the warm water outlets, to which they are attracted.
Present day
Former fishing cottages and outbuildings with converted railway wagon
Today, Boddam serves largely as a commuter settlement for Aberdeen and Peterhead although an involvement in the fishing industry still continues on a small scale, in particular for lobster.
Despite Boddam and Stirling Village possessing three hotels or inns, tourism in the area is at a low level.
The remains of Boddam Castle lie in a ruinous state, although Earl's Lodge, for many years a hotel and which had previously been gutted in a fire, was repaired as a private home in 2006.
Information boards for the castle have recently been erected and Clan Keith reunions from America have been invited to visit whilst in the area.[20]
The village has yet retained public facilities such a post office, two hotels and an inn, a library, fish and chip shop, local shop, two car garages, a public hall and a local primary school.[21]
An innovative carbon capture scheme at the power station which had previously been shelved was brought back onto the agenda in late 2007 with the hope of new jobs for the local populace.[22]
Monkey
A traditional song relates how a monkey was the only survivor from a local shipwreck and thus the villagers of Boddam could not claim salvage rights as those only applied when all had perished. One version of the first verse thus relates,
The recently renamed "Noose and Monkey" pub in Aberdeen recalls this event rather than the infamous monkey-hanging stated to have occurred in Hartlepool during the Napoleonic Wars. Indeed, Fiona-Jane Brown of the University of Aberdeen, has suggested that the Hartlepool tale actually originates from an event in Boddam in 1772. She claims that a popular song about the Boddam incident was adapted over many years as it travelled down the east coast, eventually spawning a Hartlepool version.[24]
The song relating to the latter dates no earlier than the 1850s, from famous Geordie comic singer Ned Corvan who had toured the Scottish Lowlands and may have used the Boddam tale as his basis, perhaps influenced by the intense rivalry between Hartlepool and Old Hartlepool, at the time a separate settlement, to deride the latter.
Indeed, Boddamers for many years after the event were often (and sometimes still are) taunted by the cry "Fa hangit the monkey?!" ("Who hanged the monkey?") from residents of Peterhead.[25][26][27][28]
^David Ross, The Great North of Scotland Railway: A New History, Stenlake Publishing, Catrine, 2015, ISBN 978 1 84033 701 3, page 152
^John Thomas and David Turnock, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 15, North of Scotland, David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1989, ISBN 0 946537 03 8, page 316
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