Rosehearty

The settlement which is now Rosehearty was founded by a group of shipwrecked Danes in the 14th century. In 1424 the Fraser family built Pitsligo Castle a few hundred yards inland at Pitsligo; the castle was enlarged by the Forbes family in 1570. The remains of the castle are visible from Rosehearty. Alexander Forbes, 1st Lord Forbes of Pitsligo re-founded the settlement to encourage fishing, on the condition he was given one-fifth of the catch. Rosehearty did not officially exist until it was granted a charter in the 1680s by King Charles II. The town thrived from the fishing boom and, prior to the arrival of railways at the Broch, "was set fit to rival it". Ultimately, however, the railway…

The Lodging House, on the south side of the Square, was built in 1753 for the dowager Lady Pitsligo, while another old house, the "Jam", bears the date 1573. the work of Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, features a loft that was formerly installed in the church of Pitsligo in 1634. Described by Charles McKean as "magnificent", it was later moved and installed in the Hill Church.