New Leeds: The small Scottish village inspired by Yorkshire
You’ve heard of York and New York, but have you ever heard of New Leeds? We wander around the small Scottish village which takes its name from our fine city.
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00:00You've heard of Leeds and York, and you've heard of New York, but have you ever heard
00:07of New Leeds?
00:10Approximately 400 miles north of Leeds in Yorkshire is this small Scottish village,
00:15which can be found in Aberdeenshire.
00:18It's located in the north-east of Scotland, and is around 10 miles from Peterhead, 6 miles
00:23from Fraserburgh, and around 5 minutes drive up from Mintlaw on the A952.
00:29New Leeds was founded by Alexander Fraser, who was the 8th Lord Fraser of Stricken in
00:35the late 18th century.
00:37Alexander's aim for the village was for it to grow large enough to rival Leeds as a place
00:42of wool and clothing manufacture, but his flax-growing and linen-weaving ambitions were
00:47not realised.
00:48By the early 1900s, New Leeds suffered a decline in population, with many of its dwellings
00:54abandoned.
00:55An Aberdeenshire Council document suggests New Leeds was known as a place of sin and
01:00misery, and another account suggested it was a poor place with a haunt of poachers and
01:05smugglers, as well as being home to a joiner who slept in a coffin.
01:10These days it's a far more peaceful and picturesque place, which acts as a commuter village for
01:16Aberdeen and Fraserburgh.
01:18The differences between Leeds and New Leeds are considerable, most notably as Leeds is
01:23home to around 800,000 people.
01:26New Leeds is home to around 40 dwellings, a van sales and repair shop, and has street
01:31names including Leeds Terrace, St Mary Terrace, Mann Street and Mormon View.
01:37Leeds is of course home to hundreds of schools and churches, whereas there's just the one
01:42primary school around a mile south from here, and the New Leeds Church, which was built
01:46around 1854, has now been converted into a private house.
01:51New Leeds has a large playground in the centre of the village, and it has its own war memorial.