Local Heroes (and Villains)
James Gordon (1617-1686)
James Gordon, fifth son of the famous antiquary and geographer Robert Gordon of Straloch, was minister at Rothiemay from 1641 to 1680.
Continuing his father's work, he produced invaluable maps
including Edinburgh (1647) and Fife and Kinross (1642).
In 1661 he drew a map of Old and New Aberdeen and to accompany it wrote
"A Description of Bothe
Touns of Aberdeene":-
"The citie standeth upon
thrie hills.
The most northerlie and the highest of the thrie is the
Gallowgait-hill, most ordinarlie callit the Windmilne-hill, because of
the wind milne situated upon the tope thereoff. The next is callit the
Castell-hill, from the castell which stood sometymes upon pairt of it.
The third is callit St. Katherine-hill, from a chappell bearing that
name of old standing on the tope of it. The citie itselff is situated
betwixt thes thrie, or at least the best pairt of it; the swelling of
thes hills hardlie to be decerned by such as walk along the streets,
yit theyr hight is verie apparent to such as are without the toune. It
is easie to conjecture that the closses, lanes and streets, have not
been at the first building chaulked out or designed by any geometricall
rule. The buildings of the toune are of stone and lyme, rigged above,
covered with slaits, mostlie of thrie or four stories hight, some of
them higher. The streets are all neatlie paved with flint stones, of a
gray kind of hard stone not unlike to flint. The dwelling houses are
cleanlie and bewtifull and net, both within and without, and the syde
that looks to the street mostlie adorned with galleries of tymber which
they call forestaires."
He also wrote a "History
of Scots Affairs between 1637 to 1651".
In 1680 he gave over the ministry to his son Ludovic, but he remained
at Rothiemay until his death in 1686.