Fraserburgh, United Kingdom

During the 18th and 19th centuries the population of Fraserburgh was growing with peaks due to seasonal employment. From a population of an estimated 1682 in 1755, a population of about 2,000 was recorded in 1780, of whom 1,000 resided in the town proper. There were a further 200 people in the village of Broadsea.

In 1787, Fraserburgh Castle was converted to Kinnaird Head Lighthouse, Scotland's first mainland lighthouse and the first in Scotland to be lit by the Commissioners of Northern Lights.

In the 1790s, Rev. Alexander Simpson of the Fraserburgh Old Parish Church described the harbour as "small but good", writing that it had the capability to take vessels with "200 tons burden". The Reverend noted that shipbuilding had become the main industry in the town, especially after 1784, and that the locals were making donations and seeking government assistance to have the harbour enlarged.

In 1803, the original 1571 church building was replaced and enlarged, to a design by Alexander Morrice, to seat 1,000 people. The Auld Kirk was to be the standing authority in the town up until the 1840s. This period also saw the extension of the harbour, with a northern pier of 300 yards (270 m; 900 ft) being built between 1807–1812 and, in 1818, a southern pier being built following an act of Parliament.

Fraserburgh's population boomed in the early 19th century, from 2271 in 1811 to 2954 by 1831. This was primarily put down to the growth in herring fishing, which intensified in 1815. The herring season also brought with it an additional 1,200 people working in the Parish. Contemporary accounts mention the increase in general wealth brought by this increased trade spurring a change in dress and diet as well as a considerable amount of new houses being built in the town.

No less than £30,000 was spent developing the harbour between 1807 and 1840 by which time the harbour held eight vessels of 45–155 long tons (46–157 tonnes) and 220 boats of the herring fishery.

Fraserburgh Town House, which was designed by Thomas Mackenzie of Matthews and MacKenzie, was completed in 1855.

Reporting on Fraserburgh in 1913, the Annual Report of the Fishery Board states:

"An increase of 11 steam drifters. Fishermen and all others interested in herring curing have had a remarkably prosperous year."". At this time Fraserburgh, Peterhead, Wick and Aberdeen accounted for 89% of the East Coast catch.

The town has had a local lifeboat on service since 1806 which was run privately by the local Harbour Board until the first RNLI operated station opened in 1858. This was the first official RNLI station opened in Scotland.

Throughout the 20th century, Fraserburgh suffered three lifeboat disasters. First, in 1919, the 'Lady Rothes' capsized while assisting HM drifter Eminent. Coxswain Andrew Noble and Acting Second Coxswain Andrew Faquhar drowned. Second, on 9 February 1953, six crew members lost their lives when the lifeboat capsized while escorting fishing vessels to the harbour. On this occasion Coxswain Andrew Ritchie, Mechanic George Duthie, Bowman Charles Tait, Assistant Mechanic James Noble and Crew Members John Crawford and John Buchan all lost their lives - the only survivor was Charles Tait. Lastly, on 21 January 1970 while on service to the Danish fishing vessel Opal, the lifeboat The Duchess of Kent capsized with the loss of five of her crew of six. Those killed were Coxswain John Stephen, Mechanic Frederick Kirkness and crew members William Hadden, James R.S. Buchan and James Buchan.

In 2009, a local campaign was started to raise £40,000 to erect an official monument to the 14 men who lost their lives whilst serving on the Fraserburgh Lifeboat. The target was successfully achieved and the monument unveiled by Flora Fraser, 21st Lady Saltoun in August 2010.

Fraserburgh railway station opened in 1865 and closed to passengers in 1965. The railway line was built by the Formartine and Buchan Railway Company, which became part of the Great North of Scotland Railway. Trains operated to Aberdeen via Maud and Dyce, as well as a short branch line to St Combs via Cairnbulg.

In 1923, the GNSR was incorporated into the London and North Eastern Railway, which was in turn nationalised on 1 January 1948. Passenger services on the Buchan lines were withdrawn in 1965 as part of the Beeching cuts, although freight trains continued to operate Fraserburgh until 1979. The track was subsequently lifted.

Following the opening of the Borders Railway in September 2015, Fraserburgh became the most distant town in UK from the rail network, leading to calls for the lifted track to be reinstated. The nearest operating station is currently Inverurie, 35 miles (56 km) away.