A. THE DISTRIBUTION OF SETTLEMENTS.
The physical, economic and social conditions of the region have
been described (Part I). The main factors influencing the settlements
were the great change in agricultural practice in the 18th and 19th
centuries, the development during the former of rural industries and
during the latter of specialised urban industries, the growth during the
18th century of the white fishing and in the 19th of the herring
industries, and the opening up of communications progressively after 1745.
All these factors are individnfilly related to the geography, geology and
climate of the region. Thus the initial breakdown into fundamental
zones - Highland, Upland, Lowland and Coastline - is justified. In
each respect, in agriculture, industrial development, coastal trade, and
most noticeably in communications, there was a marked transformation in
the lowland areas, a steady concentration along the coastline, a growth
of certain nuclei in the uplands, and a relatively slower and more
scattered development in the highlands.
B. Types of building.
In addition to the factors mentioned above, the most important
influence on the development of building types has been the
availability of building materials and the methods of construction which
they made possible. The rural, village and small burgh buildings are always a demonstration of the use of local materials; this is one
aspect which distinguished them from major works of architecture. The
distribution of materials and the history of their working has been
given in detail in Part Ii. There is no doubt that they have
influenced the creation of local character, and many of the illustrations
are devoted to demonstrating this fact. Some of the principal groups
are the granite buildings of Buchan and the highlands, the old red
sandstone buildings of north west Aberdeenshire and the east of
Banffshire, the clay and boule buildings of Spey Bay, the heavy slated
buildings of east Banffshire, Foudland and western Banffshire, the tiled
buildings of the coastline and certain not very distant inland areas such
as Turriff, and the more refined yellow sandstone buildings of Moray,
built of the finest freestone in the region. While thatch was
formerly ubiquitous, there are certain contrasts between the straw thatch
of the lowlands (especially Moray) and of the fisher towns, and the
heather thatch of the uplands and highlands. The final map (Fig. 102)
has been drawn in an attempt to indicate broadly the main groups; they
overlap considerably, and the boundaries are not to be taken as exact.
C. Twentieth Century Trends.
Developments in housing during this century are in many respects
the real conclusion to the subject of this study. The houses and the
layout of settlements have a history of steady development along
traditional lines from the early 18th century to approximately the
time of the Great War. House types changed only in the way described
above; village extensions followed the pattern of the planned villages
in a natural way. Until 1914 there was little change in the use of
materials or ií/construction from the practice of the previous century.
There were some good examples of rural housing on some estates. At
Dunecht the Cowdray family were responsible for some very neat
traditional housing, partly in rows and partly in small groups. A view
of the latter (Pl. x.52) shows the tidy roadside arrangement and
the excellent stonework of the Dunecht housing.