Fraserburgh

Fraserburgh stands on the coast of Buchan, where Kinnaird Head turns towards the Moray Firth. The fishing settlement of Faithlie grew under the Frasers of Philorth, whose harbour works gave this exposed shore a sheltered landing place. In 1592 a charter of James VI gave the town its new name. Fishing boats and coastal shipping shared a small harbour enclosed by a northern breakwater and a short pier to the south. Work on a new South Pier began in 1818, when the town's first harbour commissioners also took office.

Sir Alexander Fraser's ambitions extended beyond the quays. Parliamentary authority in 1595 supported the establishment of a college, intended to bring higher learning to the north. The venture failed early in the following century, but its buildings briefly received scholars again in 1647, when plague drove King's College from Aberdeen. Fraserburgh's harbour proved the more enduring of its founder's enterprises.