Rothienorman

Population1,080 (mid-2020 est.)^[1]OS grid referenceNJ721358Council areaLieutenancy areaCountryScotlandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townINVERURIEPostcode districtAB51Dialling code01651PoliceScotlandFireScottishAmbulanceScottish UK ParliamentScottish Parliament 57°24′45″N 2°27′56″W / 57.412386°N 2.465594°W / 57.412386; -2.465594

Rothienorman is a village in Aberdeenshire in north east Scotland.

The local economy is based primarily on farming, whilst services are provided by a mobile Post Office van, village shop, the Rothie Inn hotel and barber, which has just recently closed down.

Rothienorman House

Rothienorman Castle became Rothienorman House and then Rothie House. It was subjected to major rebuilding c. 1800 and was baronialised 1862 (architect James Matthews). c.1912 it was owned by Reginald Crawford-Leslie whose family home it was until just after WW2. It belonged to the Crawford family and Henry Nigel Crawford was the last laird of Rothienorman succeeding his brother Jock who was killed in action. The estate consisted of 2,700 acres (11 km²), including the village of Rothienorman. The family name used to be Leslie, became Crawford-Leslie and was then shortened to Crawford. The Leslie family purchased Rothienorman in 1723.^[2][3] The Crawfords had to sell Rothie in 1951 because of death duties incurred during the war. The estate was broken up and the house was stripped by land agents for quick money. The surviving Crawfords now live in New Zealand. The house was still occupied in 1945 but the roof was removed;^[4] the house is now overgrown with ivy and is in a bad state of repair.^[5]

Railway

Rothienorman was on the Inveramsey - MacDuff Branch Railway which opened in 1857 and closed to passengers in 1951.

Fraser Trailers

From the mid 20th century until its closure in 2004, the village was also home to one of the most well-known agricultural equipment manufacturers in the UK at the time - Fraser Brothers, which then became Fraser Agricultural (Rothienorman) Ltd.

Fraser produced everything from linkboxes, feed mixers, grain bruisers & ring feeders to manure spreaders as well as bale, silage & grain trailers, muck spreaders and vacuum slurry tankers, all in a wide range of sizes. Products were shipped all across the UK & Ireland and further afield. There were occasional large orders from abroad such as at least 22 trailers being ordered for a farming estate in Papau New Guinea in 1980.

In its final few years, the company became part of the SBF group who then started producing Grays of Fetterangus equipment at the factory. Grays were known for their rollers, bale handling and soil working implements.

The group entered financial difficulty in the early 2000s when Fraser was liquidated to keep the company afloat. The group survives today as Sellars Agricultural Ltd. providing sales, service and parts for Claas among other suppliers such as Stewart trailers of Inverurie.

Much of the former factory has now been demolished with new houses built on the site. Some streets bear the name of the factory that once stood there such as 'Fraser Court' and 'Fraser Way'.

Twenty-first century developments

Recent changes (2009) see Indy Car Sales closing down, the Post Office under threat of closure and the new primary school close to capacity. The Bowling Club has been rebuilt and a new community centre as well. There is a local dog park at the north end of the village and a new community garden at the south entrance.

In recent years there has also been a restaurant called The Steadin that has opened. This addition to Rothienorman came almost at the same time as the building of the Scotia Homes which has been dubbed by the villagers as "The new houses."

The primary school in Rothienorman features an astro turf football pitch which is frequently used by the youth of Rothienorman and surrounding areas. Rothie Rovers play at Forgue Road in the village and joined the North Region Junior Football Association in 2020.

References