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Grid square: NO7156

There are unique aspects to grid square NO7156 which include aspects of geology, history and sociology.
The underlying geology is a product of volcanoes from the Montrose Volcanic Centre during the Devonian Period. The exact location of this source of lava is unknown at the present time, but partly because there is no evidence of it on land, it is thought to lie somewhere under the North Sea. The lava flows are mostly thin in nature but, as an accumulated deposit, are estimated to be of considerable depth. The main rocks are andesite and basalt with vesicles created by escaping gas, which were often filled later with agates, calcite and zeolites. Locally the country rock, known as scurdy stone, was used as a rough building material, and it can still be found in old buildings and garden walls.

The geology of the grid square NO7156 is very influential in shaping the topography, with the ridge of high ground inland of Ferryden being formed by hard and durable lava which runs in an east-west trending line from Scurdie-Ness to Craig and Rossie Moor. A fault line runs along the line of the southern side of Montrose Basin toward Scurdie Ness, and the River South Esk has exploited this natural line to form its estuary to the sea.

The theme of change is a widely recurring one in NO 7156, and it certainly applies to Rossie Island. Rossie Island is the modern name for the medieval and holy island of Inchbrayock, with the derivation of the word “inch” indicating that it was once an island. This low-lying, alluvial island was formed by the deposition of muddy sediments in the widest part of the estuary, where the water is relatively slow-moving. This process is continuing at the present time, as can be seen by the gravel deposits known as The Scaup in the South Esk, downstream of the road bridge and beside Rossie Island. The naturally formed Rossie Island has been connected to the mainland since the early 1970s, when, due to human intervention, a huge engineering project filled the channel of the Inch Burn with sediment that had been reclaimed from the mouth of the estuary in connection with the development of a North Sea oil and gas base at Ferryden. (The new quays were named by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1975.) Although Rossie Island, or the former holy island of Montrose and Craig, has not geographically been an island since the early 1970s, it is still referred to as such in much the same way as the Isle of Thanet, for example, is still called by that name though it is no longer an island.

Medieval landholders of the area, like Hugo de Malherb and Henry de Rossy, were effectively feudal landlords who held most of the wealth, status and power in the area. Others following them, such as Sir David Wood, Comptroller of Scotland; Patrick Scott; Hercules Ross; and Col. MacDonald, all followed in that tradition. There was little middle class for much of the area’s history, and the majority of the population lived in poor circumstances. Hercules Ross developed his Rossie estate, including the area of grid square NO 7156, by inviting fishers from Banff to create a white fish business in Ferryden. Those that came lived virtually as an extended family, and they had their own customs and practices that made them outsiders in the wider area of agriculture. The Ferryden fishers worked hard and in dangerous conditions, but by such features as their surnames, clothes, work, accent, superstitions, and religious adherence to the Free Church of Scotland, they were easy to identify, and they stood out as outsiders. At that time the early Free Church ministers of Craig parish, such as Rev. Dr Brewster and Rev. Dr Hugh Mitchell, were revered by the fisherfolk of Ferryden, though curiously their superstitious beliefs impelled them to avoid ministers of the church, for as much as the sight of one on their way to work was a portent of bad luck and a poor catch. When Rev. William Diack M.A. retired in 1970 from the established Church of Scotland at Kirkton of Craig and Maryton, the church in Ferryden became the main place of worship south of the river, and today that compass has widened with new alliances to the north that include the parishes of Montrose, Hillside and Dun.
A new site for the Craig War Memorials was created at the King George V Playing Field on land given by George G. Oglivie of Dunninald Mains and later Barns of Craig. On the 16th of July 1949, King George V Playing Field was opened by the Earl of Airlie, with the prayer of dedication being given by Rev. William Murray Diack, M.A. of Craig Parish Church, who, as on many occasions, was accompanied by his wife, Margaret.

The ferry from Ferryden to Montrose existed for many hundreds of years, and it not only carried famous visitors like Thomas Pennant in 1775 and Robert Burns on 13th September 1787, but it also carried boatloads of Ferryden commuters and factory workers to Montrose without accident or death on a daily basis. Since the building of bridges to Montrose from the south, the ancient ferry service that had operated at least from 1178 fell into disuse and finally ended in the 1930s.

An important central place in Ferryden is the pier, which no longer has a discrete identity but has been incorporated into the quayside of Montrose Port; half of the old pier is used by the community, while the other half is reserved for the use of Seagreen’s support base for their offshore wind farm, the largest in Scotland. The historic harbour area of Ferryden and Montrose has long seen crafts of many types sail its waters, but changing times have brought about a great change in the size, nature and purpose of the ships visiting the harbour. The variety of ships has included Viking longships, the sloop HMS Hazard that was captured by Jacobites and others, including the French ship La Fine that was sunk by HMS Milford, a 40-gun man-of-war. Montrose was once a whaling and fishing port, but whaling ended in 1839; in more recent times the Ferryden fishing fleet routinely anchored in the estuary off Ferryden. Today the inshore fishing of lobsters and crabs is carried out on a daily basis by the boats of Usan Fisheries that operate from Ferryden Pier. For many years, North Sea supply boats like Big Orange XVIII, or "the Big O", ran regular trips to the offshore rigs, though that business has now passed its peak. In more recent times, however, Seagreen has mirrored that former supply trade from its Ferryden base with trips to the Seagreen Wind Farm, the largest wind farm in Scotland. General cargo ships carrying potatoes, grain and timber have long been a staple of trade, and they have contributed to the thriving nature of the Port of Montrose. The Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose, which was launched on the Clyde on July 31, 1992, bid her affiliated town of Montrose a fond farewell from theth to the 14th of March 2023. HMS Montrose was launched on July 31, 1992, at Yarrow Shipbuilders on the Clyde, and since that time she has sailed over 400,000 miles. Sadly, her final visit to Montrose signalled the end of that long journey, as, after leaving Montrose, she was to be onwards bound for decommissioning and the breakers' yard. Commander Claire Thompson O.B.E., R.N., commanding officer of HMS Montrose, said that “I can’t think that there would have been a better port visit for our ship.”
The railway between Arbroath and Montrose was somewhat late to be opened in 1883 because of the difficulty of blasting cuttings through the volcanic rock at Usan and Craig and also building the Ferryden and South Esk Viaducts. Today, the only section of single-track line from London to Aberdeen lies in this grid square and the adjoining grid squares between the Cotton of Usan and Montrose. Although the single line restricts the movement of trains, it is considered to be too expensive to dual the line, and although change has been an ongoing theme of grid square NO7156, this may be a change too far.

Adrian L Diack MA (Hons)

NO7156 : Volcanic rock on the foreshore at Ferryden, Angus[NO7156 : The changing names of the Free Church of Craig, Ferryden, AngusNO7156 : The opening of King George V Playing Field, Craig, Montrose AngusNO7156 : Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher named Inchcape Quay, FerrydenNO7156 : Ferryden Pier connection to Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm