In 1882-4, Frances Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland described Ballater like this:
Ballater (Gael. baile-na-leitir, ` town near the slope of the hill '), a village in Glenmuick parish, Aberdeenshire, at the terminus of the Deeside Extension section (1866) of the Great North of Scotland, 43½ miles WSW of Aberdeen by rail, and 17½ ENE of Castleton of Braemar by road. ...
It lies 668 feet above sea-level, between the wooded hills of Pananich (1896 feet) and Craigandarroch (1250), on the left bank of the Dee, which here is spanned by a wooden four-arched bridge, erected in 1834 at a cost of £2000, its two stone predecessors of 1790 and 1809 having been swept away by the great floods of 1799 and 1829. The village itself was founded about 1770, to accommodate visitors to the Pananich Mineral Wells; and, lighted with gas (1863), supplied with water from the Gairn at a cost of £2500 (1873), and since efficiently drained, it enjoys fine bracing air and an equable climate, the mean temperature being 44 -6°, the rainfall 33.40 inches. With slated houses built of reddish granite, a square in the middle, and spacious regular streets, it is a pleasant, neat, clean place, a favourite resort of summer visitors; at it are a post office, with money order, savings' bank, insurance, and telegraph departments, branches of the Union, North of Scotland, and Aberdeen Town and County banks, a local savings' bank (1821), 4 insurance agencies, the Invercauld Arms hotel, Deans's temperance hotel, and St Nathalan's masonic lodge. Fairs are held on the Tuesday of February before Aboyne, the first Tuesday of May, old style, the Wednesday of July after Brechin wool market, the second Monday and Tuesday of September, old style, and the Saturday before 22 Nov. The principal buildings are the handsome parish church (rebuilt 1875); a neat new Free church, 7 furlongs to the NW; the Barracks (1869), consisting of seven Elizabethan cottages, for the Queen's guard of honour; the Albert Memorial Hall, erected (1875) by Mr A. Gordon, at a cost of upwards of £2000, and comprising a public hall, reading, and billiard rooms, a square tower, etc.; and a new public school (1877), which, with accommodation for 260 children, had in 1879 an average attendance of 214, and a grant of £185,12s. Pop. (1841) 271, (1861) 362, (1871) 691, (1881) 759.—Ord. Sur., sh. 65,1870.
Ballater through time
Ballater is now part of Aberdeenshire district. Click here for graphs and data of how Aberdeenshire has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Ballater itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Ballater in Aberdeenshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/17411
Date accessed: 05th November 2024
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