One of the landmarks in Wrack Woods is the Ice House, built as the refrigerator for Duff House. The exact date of building is not known but it was before 1800. Today it doesn’t look as though it would keep anything frozen or cold for very long, but when it was fully in use it was the best technology of the time. Built into the side of a hill (probably for ease of construction) it had several features to help it keep food cold.
Today, there is a modern grilled skylight so that the inside of the Ice House can easily be seen, but back when it was in use it would have been fully covered in probably at least 3 feet of earth, the dome shape of the storage compartment providing the strength; secondly the trees provided shade so the hottest sun was never on it; and importantly it had two “air-lock” compartments – three doors, while many of it’s contemporaries only had two. At the bottom was a drain, for the melted ice to be let out; and food could either be laid on the ice – or between layers of ice; or it could be hung from above or held above the ice from some foods that just needed to be cool.
We know that the Head Gardener in the 1870’s, Mr Mackie, kept a master list of what foods were stored where and when in the Ice House; that straw was put between different foods so that they could be split, and that access from the passageway was by ladder into the egg shaped storage compartment.
It is likely ice would be taken from the river and used in the ice house, where it would last for up to two years. By the second half of the nineteenth century, the ambient temperatures were slowly rising in general, and this may also have been the cause of the start of the demise of another source of ice.
Extract from 1763 map of Macduff
We know that in 1874 the “Cuddy” – the donkey – and it’s cart, were taken up to Star Loch for ice. Star Loch was one of two lochans on the top of Doune Hill but these no longer exist. Being still water, and higher, this would freeze more readily than the river water. Star Loch is named on some of the older maps that include Doune Hill.
The cuddy seemed to be an integral part of life at Duff House and was used for several jobs – even taking ice as far as Innes House (between Lhanbryde and the coast)! There is a photo of a donkey at Duff House – perhaps the same one that we know was walked up to Doune Hill!
Photo from early 1900’s showing a tethered donkey at the front of Duff House
https://banffmacduffheritagetrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ice_House_at_Duff_House.jpg11841500Ian Williamshttps://banffmacduffheritagetrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Two-Towns-Big-Ideas-PB-Grant-Fund-Logo-300x281.jpgIan Williams2022-03-07 17:40:522022-03-07 17:40:55Ice and the Cuddy
In 1923 a new drill hall was suggested for Banff and by 8th May 1925 it was ready to be formally opened by Major-General A.B. Ritchie, C.B., C.M.G., commanding the 51st (Highland) Division, Perth. He stated that Banff had the honour of being the first provincial regiment of artillery formed in Scotland, with the exception of Midlothian. He also explained that the Territorial Army was of great importance as the regular army had been reduced by twenty percent.
In times past, the Drill Hall had been at 6 Castle Street in Banff, where Trend D.I.Y. is now.
This new hall was on Old Market Place and had an orderly room, officers’ room and a large billiard and recreation room on the ground floor. On the first floor, instructors’ quarters were provided.
There was also a drill hall, extending in to Princess Royal Park of 85 feet by 40 feet. To the south of the drill hall there was Princess Royal Park, which allowed the battery horses to be exercised and gun tests to be carried out.
In the 1930s there are descriptions of the hall being decorated with garlands, flags, balloons and flowers, along with novel lighting effects for balls, held annually by the 223rd Banffshire Battery R.A. (T.A.). Around 2 -300 people attended these from across the North-east. In the Press of the time, you can find a list of everyone who attended.
During WW2, the hall was used as headquarters for training purposes. A soldier in The King’s Own Scottish Borderers described how the company of soldiers were sent to Banff and used the Drill Hall as their headquarters while being “accommodated in the spacious and elegant confines of Duff House” and others were located at Banff distillery which had been closed, although the whisky was still in the bonded warehouses. James McQuarrie described how “We had to run about three-quarters of a mile down to the sea shore, dive in and then run back again. It made us fit.”
By 1968 drill halls across the North-east were sold to the councils and in the case of Banff Drill Hall, it was to be used for education purposes and so it became the Community centre. Many local people will have fond memories of attending youth clubs and other clubs there or picking up skis from their store before heading off to the Lecht or Cairngorms.
https://banffmacduffheritagetrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Banff-Drill-Hall-map-1940.png213354Banff Preservation and Heritage Societyhttps://banffmacduffheritagetrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Two-Towns-Big-Ideas-PB-Grant-Fund-Logo-300x281.jpgBanff Preservation and Heritage Society2022-02-26 16:41:032022-03-05 15:38:32Banff Drill Hall
It was just a normal Saturday for me. My mother woke me up in time for my school hockey match – a home game against Fraserburgh Academy. I struggled out of bed and looked sleepily out of the window. Dark clouds were scudding across the sky and rivulets of rain trickled down the windowpane. Not a day for hockey or football but, unless the visiting teams had phoned to cancel the fixture, their hired bus would already be on its thirty mile journey to Banff Academy. I would have to turn up at the school in order to find out.
Standing at the unsheltered bus stop, with the wind whipping around my legs and the rain soaking my thin trench-coat, I was sure that the whole thing would have been called off. But as I rushed up the school brae, I saw, to my horror, a blue Alexander’s bus sitting at the gate. Our opponents had arrived! “The match is off” was the cry, as I staggered into the cloakroom. Our teachers had apparently decided that even we hardy northeast scholars could not be expected to play football and hockey in such weather. That was a relief! The not-so-good news was that there had been no time to cancel our school lunch, which was an integral part of the sporting arrangements in this rural part of the world. After all, we sometimes had to travel forty miles or more to our matches, and a school dinner was part of the deal.
It was probably a mistake to make us hang around just for the sake of a school lunch. But the food had been bought, the cook had arrived and it seemed the sensible thing to do. How were our teachers to know that an extremely deep depression situated off the coast of Norway was rapidly heading our way? Our school hall was completely surrounded by classrooms and, in this cosy cocoon, we entertained our visitors while the meal was being prepared. It wasn’t until we ventured out to the canteen that the full force of the storm hit us. We hastily gobbled up our mince and tatties, gathered our things together and set out for home.
My friend and I raced down to the ‘Plainstones’ to catch the 12 o’clock bus. Wet and windblown, we sank into our seats; but our relief was short-lived. The bus driver didn’t appear to be taking his usual route. The river Deveron had burst its banks, he explained, and he would have to take us through the private grounds of Duff House.
Collie Gate – opposite to Collie Lodge now the cobbles in St Mary’s Car Park – was the entrance into the Duff House estate.
The caretaker at the lodge opened the big wrought-iron gates for us and we headed for the bridge over the already swollen river. We should have turned left along the coast road but huge waves, created by the wind and exceptionally high tide, were crashing over the sea wall and rebounding off the steep hillside at the opposite side of the road.
The blue line being the route the bus took, through the private roads of Duff House, as Bridge St, Bridge Road and Princess Royal Park were underwater!
Instead we turned right along the ‘Howe’, a tree-lined country road popular with Sunday strollers. Not today, though! The wind screeched through the bare branches of the birches, beeches, elms and rowans, bending them over until they were almost horizontal. We crouched in our seats, terrified that, at any moment, a tree might get uprooted and come crashing down on top of us. Once the driver had negotiated the corner at the cemetery, we knew we were out of the woods and that home was only a few minutes away.
My mother wasn’t too surprised when the electricity went off in mid-afternoon. “Power cables”, she said – in a knowledgeable sort of way. At teatime, the gas for the cooker fizzled out as well. Only a few years after my mother had acquired her fancy new domestic appliances, we were plunged back into the middle ages, with only a few candles and a coal fire for comfort. At bedtime, I had to find the way to my attic room in the dark. The wind was still rattling the panes of the dormer window and I pulled the covers over my head to shut it out.
Sunday morning brought a curious calm. Under a pale grey, watery sky, we ventured out to inspect the damage. At the harbour, almost half the town seemed to be staring in bewilderment at a fishing boat sitting lopsidedly in the middle of the street. Further along the road, the sea had completely undermined the foundations of the petrol station, which now dangled precariously on the rocks. And the coastal road, which we should have travelled along the day before, resembled a boulder field.
It is the custom for people to be drawn together at such times, united in commiseration or in simple curiosity. And so, small groups of local folk were dotted here and there along the sea-front, viewing the devastation with disbelief. On our meanderings, we discovered that the gasometer in Banff had been washed into the sea, which explained our lack of gas.
Shows the gasometer that used to be at Banff Harbour.
I also met some of the football boys, who had missed the last bus out of Banff at lunchtime on Saturday. They had apparently decided to walk back home and had been forced to struggle over the Hill O’Doune to escape the rising tide. Crawling on hands and knees, clinging on to bushes and to each other, they managed to avoid being blown away and reached the relative safety of Macduff with nothing more than a few scratches and a thorough soaking.
By evening the electricity supply had been restored but, with no prospect of gas in the forthcoming weeks, my mother’s shiny ‘New World’ cooker now supported a pair of decidedly ‘old world’ Primus stoves. With our immediate needs taken care of, our thoughts now turned to the outside world. We had been cut off from the rest of civilization for two whole days and we had no idea how the rest of Britain had fared.
It was Monday morning before we became aware of the full impact of the storm. Newspapers and radio reported that; in East Anglia, 2,500 square miles of land lay under water and 307 people had perished in the floods at King’s Lynn; one sixth of the Netherlands was also under water with more than 2000 lives lost. In the south-west of Scotland, 133 people had been drowned when the British Rail ferry, Princess Victoria, had sunk in Belfast Lough on her crossing from Stranraer to Larne. Much closer to home, six men of the Fraserburgh lifeboat drowned when their boat was caught by a giant wave and capsized at the harbour mouth. The seas were so fierce that it was impossible for any of the witnesses to enter the sea to rescue them. For us and others around Britain, the forces of nature had taken their toll.
https://banffmacduffheritagetrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Feature-image-with-caption.jpg6951119Ian Williamshttps://banffmacduffheritagetrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Two-Towns-Big-Ideas-PB-Grant-Fund-Logo-300x281.jpgIan Williams2022-02-07 19:30:102022-02-07 19:30:14The Great Storm 31st Jan 1953
In the Museum of Banff there is a new exhibit, a map of Banff in 1826. This is a coloured map with great details of the town shown, including who owned parts of the town, at the time. Large areas of Banff were owned by the Earl of Seafield but areas were owned by organisations such as the “Gardeners Society” and “St John’s Lodge” At this time Banff is almost two separate towns – the Sea town, the area from St. Catherine Street North and the rest of the town, covering Low Street, High Street and the surrounding area. It stops short of Duff House and its grounds. This can be compared in the museum with a 1756 plan of the town and an 1823 map, by John Wood. These maps were produced by independent map makers or land surveyors, before the days of the Ordnance Survey.
The 1826 map was created by Alexander Irvine Ross, a land surveyor from Mains of Tyrie. He was involved in the production of a series of maps created by James Robertson (1783 – 1879) of the shires of Aberdeenshire, Banff and Kincardine in 1822. James Robertson was referred to as “the Shetlander who mapped Jamaica and Aberdeenshire”. Alexander Irvine Ross also produced a four sheet map covering Aberdeenshire and Banff in 1826, mentioned in the New Statistical Account, written by the Reverend Francis William Grant in 1845. This possibly refers to the maps which were published in John Thomson’s Atlas of Scotland, 1832.
The map came in to the possession of the late Bob Carter who donated it to Banff Preservation and Heritage Society. It was in poor condition and in need of conservation work. The map was cleaned and relined by the High Life Highland Conservation Service, with a grant from the Area Initiatives Fund. This meant that a unique and valuable part of Banff’s history has been preserved for future generations. The map is best viewed in person at the museum but if that’s not possible it can be seen on our website – https://www.bphsmob.org.uk/collection/various_items/1724_1826_Map.html
This was the day of a huge milestone in the history of Banff and Macduff, an event that was intended to, and did, cut through the normal competition between the two towns.
“In the evening a huge bonfire was lighted on the Hill O’Doune, when there was a further opportunity for a public demonstration and general jubilation. During the afternoon a very large quantity of brushwood was carted to the hill, and was piled on top of several barrels of tar and paraffin. At seven o’clock the match was applied by Mrs West [wife of the Provost of Macduff]. A very large number of of the inhabitants of both communities assembled to witness the conflagration, which, fanned by a strong breeze, soon assumed considerable dimensions. The fire burned furiously till a later hour.” “A large number of rockets were sent off from the hill, and the opinion was generally expressed that it was a long time since so hearty enthusiasm was displayed.”
The event earlier in the day had been enough not just to give rise to the bonfire, but an impromptu closing of the schools, flags and bunting were erected all over both towns and shops closed – what was reported as “a general holiday was observed for the rest of the day.”
And the event that caused this: the extremely generous donation by the Duke and Duchess of Fife, of Duff House and a large part of the estate, to the two town councils. This had been announced at a meeting that morning of both town councils. During 2021 there has been some mention of the written terms of this gift, and perhaps 2022 will give rise to more discussion, but the undertaking of Provost Alexander of Banff, made as part of his acceptance of the gift, may also be relevant.
Provost Alexander described in glowing terms the house and grounds, and then goes on to say: “Then we have the invaluable fact of the subject of the gift being absolutely unrestricted in its administration.” Such a term does indeed exist in the written Gift, but so too do the underlying purposes of the Gift by the Duke, and these are fully acknowledged by Provost Alexander. He describes in some detail some of the plans as of that time for the grounds, “golf courses, bowling greens, tennis courts, and croquet lawns” which he sees fully in accordance with the “heads of pleasure grounds and places of recreation” as laid out in the Gift. “I feel with the exercise of sound judgement … we will be able to complete a scheme (in the formation of which we are unfettered) which will adequately accomplish the objects underlying His Grace’s munificence.”
Hence, certainly in 1906, the Town Councils involved had a clear understanding of the purpose of the house and land gifted to them, and appeared to have every intention of doing just that.
Postcard from the first years of the 20th century showing the Duff House gates on the Banff side of the bridge, the drive to Duff House and “Canal Park” to it’s right.
There is on other interesting aspect too. The written acceptance of the Gift includes that the two town councils “respectfully request the gracious permission of Her Royal Highness [the, Duchess, Princess Louise] to the Canal Park being henceforth known as the Princess Royal Park.” Although such permission was granted, it seems this aspect of the Town Council’s undertakings haven’t been honoured in all of the present day wording by Aberdeenshire Council!
https://banffmacduffheritagetrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Macduff-Doune-Hill-from-Banff-Beach-card.jpg7611073Ian Williamshttps://banffmacduffheritagetrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Two-Towns-Big-Ideas-PB-Grant-Fund-Logo-300x281.jpgIan Williams2022-01-10 15:33:502022-01-10 15:33:54Bonfire on Doune Hill
In 1873 a young local man became an apprentice gardener in Banff, living in the Bothy just behind the Vinery in what is today known as Airlie Gardens, but used to be one of the kitchen gardens for Duff House and the Lord Fifes. Forty years later the same man was in New York, still working in the same industry, but now owning two acres of downtown Manhattan.
John Donaldson had decided he wanted a career in gardening and seemed to take it quite seriously. After a year at Duff House learning his trade, he took a job at Vogrie House near Edinburgh, and from there to a larger estate in Yorkshire, before moving to one of the largest nurseries in the UK at the time, Veitch Nurseries based in London. After a spell at Regents Park Zoo (then called the Zoological Gardens), with his wife he emigrated to New York in 1893. He learnt more of the nursery trade with two large nurseries there, before starting his own business on Long Island, growing flowers, particularly carnations and lillies. We even know some of the preferred varieties that he grew, which of course were those popular amongst the rich of New York. At the beginning of the twentieth century New York, a very crowded place, was a very smelly place, and flowers were one of the means that the better off could do to have a better smelling atmosphere!
Many of these were sold on the street at flower markets in New York, but wanting to improve sales and provide more certainty, John became one of the founders of the “New York Cut Flower Exchange”. By 1912 he became the President of that organisation. This still exists, centred around W 28th Street, between Manhattan and Greenwich Village, not far from the Empire State building (although that was only built in 1931).
Today it may seem strange, but of the two acres he owned in Manhattan, flowers were still being grown. John lived there himself, and had only six other houses on what amounted to 28 city lots; the rest of the land was still productive, although he also had a nursery at Elmhurst, about 3 miles to the east on Long Island.
He started to sell some of the Manhattan lots; one was sold for $60,000 in about 1912 – equivalent today of about US$ 2 million!
There is much more research to complete, but John Donaldson of Banff is one local lad that certainly did make his way in the world.
https://banffmacduffheritagetrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/John-Donaldson-in-1912.jpg832591Ian Williamshttps://banffmacduffheritagetrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Two-Towns-Big-Ideas-PB-Grant-Fund-Logo-300x281.jpgIan Williams2021-12-12 17:03:592021-12-12 17:04:38From Banff to New York with flowers
Recently, reading a local diary yet to be published, the writer makes an observation about his day of Sunday 2nd August 1874: “pretty well churched today”! In all the writer had attended five services that day, three in Banff, one in Macduff, and one in the open air in the Duff House Park. This “revival” was due to a mission to the area by two American evangelists, Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey. Mr Moody was the preacher and Mr Sankey was reported as an especially good singer. The visit is also referred to in the biography of the Rev Bruce of Banff.
Rev Dr Bruce, Banff Minister 1873 to 1925, painted 1924 by Souter (now in the care of Aberdeenshire Museums Service)
Combining these two sources it seems the visit started with a service in Banff Parish Church. As their skills as orators and singers had been widely broadcast since they had been in Edinburgh and then Glasgow for over 3 months, it seems the church was packed out – more than packed out as “half of them did not get in”. In the afternoon Sankey gave a recital, but there were so many people that most “heard little of him” – plus the fact it was a really windy day!
Then it was back to Banff Church, before going to Duff House Park. At that time the grounds to the north of Duff House – between the House and what is now New Road, but then was the private Duff House drive – were more open; there was no golf course and less trees, so perhaps it was here that the assembly was held. Fifteen thousand people are said to have attended.
And once again back to the church. Rev Bruce describes Mr Sankey’s singing as having a “sweetness of the fine baritone voice, combined with a certain manliness of tone and look, simply overpowered the people. My choir broke down and could not sing… The whole congregation were so subdued that we called on two members to offer up short petitions, and then Mr Sankey sang his second solo:
There were ninety and nine that safely lay,
In the shelter of the fold,
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the Gates of Gold.
Away on the mountains wild and bare,
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.”
Rev Bruce had never in his life seen “a congregation so swayed and moved, liked a field of corn beneath a breeze of wind.” “We remained for five minutes in silent prayer and then recovered ourselves.” One or more of the above services (although definitely not the morning one which was definitely in the “established” church) or perhaps during the following week, was also held in the Trinity Church, then a Free Church – now part of the River Churches.
Continuing to pick out some of the interesting wild flowers that used to be, and still are, in Duff House woods; plus a rare addition in more recent years!
Arum Maculatum – Common Cuckoo Pint. This has been seen in a number of places around the woods which is not surprising as it was deliberately introduced. One reason for this could be that the root forms an excellent flour which can be used for starch; indeed many centuries ago the church insisted it was used to whiten and stiffen altar cloths; similarly it was used for gentleman’s collars. A common name for the plant is “Lords and Ladies”, because there are both female and male elements on the stalk of flowers and berries – known as a spadix; the same derivation as the “pint” in the name, being short for the word “pintle”, a word referring to the male sex organ. There is one major drawback of the plant – it is extremely poisonous to humans and many animals; but not to birds who eat the ripe berries and spread seeds. This picture was painted in 1836.
Arum Maculatum otherwise known as Cuckoo Pint
Sometimes the leaves are not spotted and these are known as Arum Immaculatum!
Doronicum Paralianches – Leopard’s Bane. This is a large plant up to about a metre tall, and it’s bright yellow flowers – some of the earliest in the year – can be up to two inches across. It is another flower that was reportedly introduced into Duff House woods; whether this was because it’s flowers can be used to help bruises, even eaten, or massaged into the skin, to relieve pain and inflammation – or because of it’s aromatic and bright appearance is not known. This watercolour was done in 1841.
Doronicum Paraliaches
Trachystemon Orientalis – Abraham Isaac Jacob. An interesting name, one that supposedly derives from the feature that the flower has three colours in one. This photo is courtesy of Peter Llewellyn. The flower starts showing in late spring. This plant is native to eastern europe where it is very common; it is quite possible that the Duff House woods patch is the most northerly example – although a few smaller patches are also reported locally. It is first recorded anywhere in the UK in 1868, but not listed by 1907 as being in this area. In the last 12 years the patch near the Mausoleum has been seen to double in size, so clearly it likes the conditions there! This may be a sign of the temperate climate of this part of the Deveron valley and/or global warming!
https://banffmacduffheritagetrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Duff-House-and-woods.jpg17282304Ian Williamshttps://banffmacduffheritagetrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Two-Towns-Big-Ideas-PB-Grant-Fund-Logo-300x281.jpgIan Williams2021-10-17 16:34:002021-10-17 16:38:27Wildflowers around Duff House - part 2
One of the consequences of having woodland, is that wildflowers find their way to grow. During the late nineteenth century a number of lists of wildflowers around Banff were given, mostly under the auspices of the Banffshire Field Club, but they admit these were just partial surveys. The local historian Allan Mahood, in his 1919 book, provides a chapter on local wildflowers, contributed to by several knowledgeable botanists. They conclude that the area around Banff has an unusually great “profusion, variety and charm” of its wild flowers. There is also a comment that there may not be rare plants – which may be true except for one exception – a plant perhaps not identified until more recently (see Part 2).
The examples below are just a few noteworthy wildflowers in the Duff House woods – most accompanied by images of some nineteenth century water colours of the plants.
Impatiens Roylei – or I. glandulifera – better known as the Himalayan Balsam. It was introduced into the UK in 1839 as a garden plant, and by early in the twentieth century a small patch was noted next to the Gelly Burn, near to where it joins the Deveron. A hundred years later and there are patches on both sides of the river, and not just by the banks, but even at an elevation of about 20 metres above the river. This has perhaps taken place because the plant can shoot it’s seeds up to 7 metres distance, which are easily transported on water as they are viable for about two years. This plant is now listed as an invasive species, overbearing many native plants; it seems to be slowly expanding locally. The picture is taken from Favourite (Garden) Plants in 1897 – not a favourite garden plant nowadays, not even a favourite wild flower!
Better known today as Himalayan Balsam – an invasive species that used to be a garden plant
Allium Paradoxum – few flowered leek. Anyone that has walked through Duff House woods in June and July can hardly of missed the garlic smell in the area south of the Mausoleum. Follow the footpath just on the river side of the Mausoleum, and this leads you down to “Hospital Island”, a Leper Hospital many years ago. Garlic is a traditional natural remedy to ease the symptoms of leprosy; and few flowered leek is also called few flowered garlic. It is not known if that is the reason there is so much of this plant, completely covering Hospital Island and now spread to the surrounding woods. Two things to note; Hospital Island is not really an island any more as the channel has silted over; but this 1908 postcard shows it really did used to be. Secondly, please note it is illegal to replant because of it’s extreme spreading habit!
Few Flowered Leek
Mercurialis Perennis – Dog’s Mercury. This is, and was reported to be, very abundant in the low lying part of Duff House woods; it is very tolerant of shade and grows to about one foot (35cm) in height. It may not be considered to be the prettiest of plants, with just some very small greenish flowers. It has at least two special features however: firstly it is hermaphrodite – more accurately dioecious – as it has both male and female versions of the plant. Secondly and most important, it has nothing to do with “dogs”, and is highly poisonous to both dogs and humans, causing vomiting, jaundice, coma and eventually death. The word “dog” in this context means “false”. The painting, male on the left, female to the right, was done in 1831.
https://banffmacduffheritagetrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Duff-House-and-woods.jpg17282304Ian Williamshttps://banffmacduffheritagetrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Two-Towns-Big-Ideas-PB-Grant-Fund-Logo-300x281.jpgIan Williams2021-09-20 22:18:002021-10-17 16:35:42Wildflowers around Duff House - part 1
We know in the 17th century there was hardly a tree around Banff, and Lord Fife – mostly the 2nd Earl Fife – planted large plantations in the late 18th century, proving that with the right care trees can flourish in Banffshire. However, in addition to the major plantations intended for commercial reasons and to provide building materials for the locals, James Duff also stocked the immediate surroundings of Duff House – what he called his “Pleasure Grounds”, from the original entrance (now in St Mary’s car park) all the way through to Bridge of Alvah. Today we benefit from his collection in what we call Wrack Woods.
By 1819, two of the many visitors, in this case Robert Southey the Poet Laureate who visited with his friend Robert Telford – the architect for the expansion of Banff Harbour – described Wrack Woods: “the trees are surprisingly fine, considering how near they grow to the North Sea.” In fact, just a few years earlier, it had been described that Duff House grounds contained every type of tree known in the UK.
A description of many of the trees in Duff House grounds was written a hundred years later, in 1919, by Allan Mahood. He lists many of the trees near to the main track through what used to be the Pleasure Grounds – but gifted by the Duke of Fife twelves years earlier for the recreation of the local residents.
There was a huge Ash tree near Collie Gate – opposite what is now known as Collie Lodge, today marked by an area of stone setts; reportedly used to hang a spy in 1746 by the army on the way to Culloden. There were many Elm trees, including the much rarer Wych Elm. Beech trees, normal and copper versions; Sycamore including a variegated version. Several Maple varieties including Norway and small leaved Maple. Lime, various species of Oak, a line of very tall white Poplars just near Collie Gate and more unusual balsam Poplar with golden leaves down near the river. Several of these trees have not been found in the woods today.
There are still plenty of Horse Chestnuts in the woods, but there used to be Sweet Chestnuts although reportedly the fruit never ripened. But there were also less usual trees: a Dwarf Elder (known as “Danewort”), Noble Fir, Cypress, Douglas Fir, Himalayan Cedar; the list goes on. There is even a Sequoia Gigantea – still there today near Bridge of Alvah.
There were also several trees known as “Lord Fife’s Mapples” – in fact what was known then as the Pyrus Aria, now the Sorbus Aria. This is the Whitebeam; the exact variety is not known, but to bear fruit that is compared to apples suggests it may have been what was at that time the new cultivar “Magnifica”, with extra white undersides of leaves as described, and with larger fruit.
Clearly the Duff House woods were a magnificent arboretum and truly Pleasure Grounds!
Banff Preservation and Heritage Society and Museum of Banff
