Mintlaw: the largest village on the Formartine Buchan Line

The railway line skirted the  northern edge of Mintlaw, the largest village on the Formartine  Buchan Line. The station was situated about half a mile to the west of the village, along what became Station Road, and was more convenient for the estates of Aden and Pitfour than for the villages. Housing, commercial and industrial developments have spread from the Station to the village. Currently a new housing development is extending Mintlaw to the north of the Line. The Line passed under the main Fraserburgh to Ellon road which  since the removal of the road bridge it is necessary to cross with care by the Happy Plant Garden and Gift Centre.

 Mintlaw village was established by James Ferguson MP around 1813 at the cross roads of  the  Aberdeen to Fraserburgh and Banff to Peterhead Turnpikes. This was the year in which the stretch of turnpike from Ellon to Fraserburgh was opened. The section of the Peterhead to Banff turnpike which runs through Mintlaw and towards which  James Ferguson, a County Turnpike Trustee, subscribed £300 had been completed in 1807. Stands of trees, particularly beeches dated from this period still line approaches to  the village.

 The crossroads became the centre of the diamond shaped village 'square'  which as traffic has increased has become an uncomfortable hybrid between a traditional  square surrounded by inns and shops and a traffic island.

The Mintlaw War Memorial now stands in the centre of the traffic island, it was originally positioned in front of the Pitfour Arms and commemorates the dead of both World Wars. The cost of the War Memorial, erected after WW1 was met by public subscription which amounted to £242.9s.2d  It has been claimed that the base of the memorial was originally the base of one of the many statues in the Pitfour Estate.

Looking south from the middle of the Square which as always has  attractive floral displays  towards the Pitfour Arms and South Street

  The central position of the village between Fraserburgh, Ellon, Peterhead and Banff made it a convenient place passengers to be given  a break from what was, by modern standards, an uncomfortable and slow journey. In South Street  rest houses were available for passengers to break their journeys but by the 1840s these  superseded by the facilities of the Pitfour Arms Hotel in the Square. For  a time this could claim to be the busiest inn the parish and was the first inn to be built in the village.

The Village Hall on the South side of the Square was built in the late 19th century following a bequest and from local merchant Sylvester Davidson and donation from Charles Farquhar the bank agent. In August 1921 Towards the end of his Lairdship the last of the Ferguson Laird's of Pitfour, George Arthur Ferguson and his wife Nina Maria held belated Diamond Wedding celebrations in the hall. Until very recently  there was been no church in Mintlaw, increasing the importance of the  hall as a meeting place.

Tea time commuter traffic heading along Station Road

Mintlaw was one of the communities to benefit from the generosity of James Mitchel, factor at Pitfour who left a bequest for the establishment of girls' schools in local communities including Mintlaw. The Mintlaw school was functioning by 1840, the mistress was provided with a two storey house and an annual salary of £15. Mitchel also provided a house for the master of the parish school. Mintlaw Primary School with its distinctive checked frontage, originally a junior secondary school,  opened on Longside Road in 1962 replacing an older school on Station road. A second new  school, Pitfour Primary School opened in 1978 and Mintlaw Academy opened in 1981.