Memories

I dare say there are quite a few people in the village these days who cannot remember Alehousewells as a green field site. There would be less who can remember life at the Ra' and when the first house you came to on the way to the village was Hazel Cottage, where Stewart Niddrie stayed at the front door and Babby Michael stayed round the back and upstairs.

Let us continue our way to the village and just for a moment turn back the clock to the time when all was bare countryside. Paradise Road, or as it was known to the locals, Dub Lane, was, early on, the main thoroughfare through the Mains of Kemnay leading over the shoulder of Paradise Hill passing through Dalmadilly on the way to Aquithie. As we approach at what is now the High Street, let us stop the clock around the early 1860's and view the scene as it was then. on our right is the steading of the Mains of Kemnay, a traditional U-shaped steading with the "midden" in front and on our left, the spanking new farmhouse of the Mains, not as it appears now but a simple "but 'n' ben" looking across the square to Maitlands shop, the nucleus of what is now the Mace store of today. Across the road and on the right, down in the hollow lies another steading of the Mains with a horse mill race behind it.

Further to the right beside the kaims, runs the recently opened Alford valley railway with the station situated behind the present Alldays store and described as a "neat little thing". Across from the station entrance a lane runs up the hill past the steading and leads up to the road passing the merchant's shop. This lane still exists between the "Lairds Throat" and St.Brydes Road. To the right of the lane the hill is completely covered in trees as far as the Kintore-Alford turnpike.

Railway mania swept the country during the 1850's and local landowners were jostling for position as to how they could best take advantage of this new means of transport. Included among those was the Laird of Kemnay, Alexander G Burnett, who had plans prepared, in 1860, of "Kemnay Feues designed for Villas etc." by James Henderson, Architect and Surveyor. This plan covered the area between the present day Station Road, Grove Road and Church Lane. One villa was situated behind the site of the war memorial looking up Monymusk Road, another between there and the site of The Cottage. Two more looked on to St.Brydes Road, and one was to the rear of the present Leslie Place site. the area between the lane, Station Road, High Street and St.Brydes Road was laid out for another three villas, while another three faced on to the High Street between the steading and Station Road. Villas were depicted on either side of the High Street leading up to the school which consisted of the newly built schoolhouse and adjoining classroom while some remnants of Alexander's Academy still existed on the site.

Alexander G Burnett may have had great thoughts for his new village, but such was not to be.