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.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
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.