Is this a view of the Herring Queen procession, predecessor of the Scottish Week celebrations or as the sign on the lead float says ‘God Save the Queen’ is it from some royal celebration? Also, can anyone able to identify the dark building in the left background? Does anybody have more details on the actual event?

 Although other, similar, photographs of this view exist it is believed that this may be the earliest photograph of Peterhead’s Old Parish Church otherwise known as ‘The Muckle Kirk’. The view is taken looking towards the east with Erroll Street between the church and the buildings on the left and Maiden Street along the other side of the church. The church was built in 1805 at a cost of £3575, 12s. 6d. The church spire stands at a height of 36 metres just 2 metres shorter than that of the spire at the Townhouse located at the top of Broad Street.

 Peterhead is known throughout the world as ‘The Blue Toon’, the people of Peterhead are also known as ‘Blue Mogganers’.
The legend of how this came about goes that a ship was wrecked on the Skerry Rocks, just off shore from the harbour. The canny local folk managed to pull the wreck ashore only to discover that the cargo was wool - bright blue wool! So the grannies got out their whalebone needles and knitted new socks for the all their ‘quines’ and ‘loons’. With everyone in the town wearing these blue socks, the people became known as ‘Blue Mogganers’ and the town as the ‘Blue Toon’.

An early photograph taken at the top of Queen Street, looking towards, what was then, the wide open spaces of Balmoor.

Here is a view across Peterhead Bay looking toward the town and with the spires of The Old Parish Church and The Townhouse clearly visible. The view was taken from above the, now long demolished, brickworks and from about where the entrance to the Heritage Centre off South Road is currently located. Does anyone have any information on old brickworks and its workers?