Fraserburgh University

{{Short description|Shortlived university in Scotland}}{{Use British English|date=January 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}{{Infobox university | name = University of Fraserburgh | image = College Bounds, Fraserburgh - geograph.org.uk - 4522303.jpg | image_alt = Facing down two lane street with a row of bungalows on the right | caption = College Bounds, a possible site of the university. | type = Ancient University | established = 1592 | closed = 1617 | founder = Sir Alexander Fraser | religious_affiliation = Church of Scotland | city = Fraserburgh | state = Aberdeenshire | country = Scotland | campus_type = University town }}

The '''University of Fraserburgh''' was a short-lived university founded in 1592 in Fraserburgh, Scotland by Sir Alexander Fraser of Philorth. Despite ambitious plans and parliamentary support, the university ultimately failed to develop fully and closed in 1617.

== History ==

=== Background === In 1588, Sir Alexander Fraser had obtained a charter to have Faithlie, as it was then known, be established as a burgh of barony.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Parsons |first=Tracey |title=Fraserburgh harbour – a short history - Fishing News |url=https://fishingnews.co.uk/features/fraserburgh-harbour-a-short-history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250714112532/https://fishingnews.co.uk/features/fraserburgh-harbour-a-short-history/ |archive-date=14 July 2025 |access-date=2025-11-25 |website=fishingnews.co.uk |language=en }}</ref> Four years later it was renamed Fraserburgh, and became a Burgh of royalty, despite protests from Aberdeen over what they viewed as an infringement on their rights.<ref name=":4" />

=== Establishment === In 1592,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fraserburgh |url=http://www.fraserburgh.org/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524161103/http://www.fraserburgh.org/index.html |archive-date=24 May 2013 |access-date=2024-09-30 |website=www.fraserburgh.org}}</ref> Fraser was granted a charter to establish a university or college there,<ref>{{Cite journal |year=1989 |title=University News |journal=Aberdeen University Review |publisher=Aberdeen University Press |volume=53 |pages=173 |lccn=16018960}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Oram |first1=Richard D. |author-link=Richard Oram |title=Historic Fraserburgh: Archaeology and Development |last2=Cathcart |first2=Ali |last3=Martin |first3=Paula |last4=McKean |first4=Charles |last5=Neighbour |first5=Tim |publisher=Council for British Archaeology |year=2010 |isbn=9781902771793 |pages=32}}</ref> with the general assembly of the town quickly supporting it, offering the patronage of two of the town's churches (Tyrie and Rathen).<ref name=":4">{{Cite ODNB |title=Fraser, Sir Alexander, of Philorth (1537?–1623), founder of Fraserburgh |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-10099 |access-date=2024-05-18 |date=2004 |language=en |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/10099 |last1=Wells |first1=R. P. }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Thomson |first=Thomas |title=Acts and Proceedings of the General Assemblies of the Kirk of Scotland, Church of Scotland General Assembly |publisher=University of Edinburgh Press |year=1845}}</ref> King James conferred onto it all the privileges that other universities were usually granted.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scottish Education - Schools and University |url=https://www.electricscotland.com/education/edu10.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250707082631/https://www.electricscotland.com/education/edu10.htm |archive-date=7 July 2025 |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=www.electricscotland.com}}</ref> It is possible that Earl Marischal's personal rivalry with Fraser resulted in him founding Marischal College in Aberdeen.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Reid |first=Steven John |date=November 2007 |title=Aberdeen's 'Toun College': Marischal College, 1593–1623 |url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/E0020157X07000054 |url-status=live |journal=The Innes Review |language=en |volume=58 |issue=2 |pages=173–195 |doi=10.3366/E0020157X07000054 |issn=0020-157X |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240722074505/https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/E0020157X07000054 |archive-date=22 July 2024|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The university was confirmed on 16 December 1597 by parliament,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rait |first=R.S. |author-link=Robert Rait |url=https://archive.org/details/universitiesabe00raitgoog |title=The universities of Aberdeen |year=1895 |pages=263-4 |language=en-gb}}</ref> who agreed to reimburse the costs of establishing it, since Fraser had expended much of his fortune on the scheme. The general assembly of Fraserburgh granted land to Fraser for the university.<ref name=":4" />

Charles Ferme, an alumnus of the University of Edinburgh who had previously been made Minister of Philorth in 1598 (as Fraser had insisted that whoever took the charge as minister would also have to be the principal),<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-08 |title=History - Fraserburgh Old Parish Church |url=https://fraserburgholdparishchurch.org.uk/history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241001212727/https://fraserburgholdparishchurch.org.uk/history/ |archive-date=1 October 2024 |access-date=2024-10-01 |language=en-GB}}</ref> was made the principal of the university in 1600,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Charles Ferme (1565 or 6-1617) - Our History |url=https://ourhistory.is.ed.ac.uk/index.php?title=Charles_Ferme_(1565_or_6-1617) |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240722075630/https://ourhistory.is.ed.ac.uk/index.php?title=Charles_Ferme_(1565_or_6-1617) |archive-date=22 July 2024 |access-date=2024-05-18 |website=Our History (University of Edinburgh)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Grant |first=Sir Alexander |author-link=Sir Alexander Grant, 10th Baronet |url=https://archive.org/details/storyuniversity04grangoog/page/n302/mode/2up |title=The Story of the University of Edinburgh during its First Three Hundred Years |publisher=Longmans, Green, and Co. |year=1884 |location=London |pages=303}}</ref> which was at this point a "spacious quadrangular building", three stories in height, located to the west of the town.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fraserburgh, College Bounds {{!}} Canmore |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/20777/fraserburgh-college-bounds |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240722075945/https://canmore.org.uk/site/20777/fraserburgh-college-bounds |archive-date=22 July 2024 |access-date=2024-05-18 |website=canmore.org.uk |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=S. |url=https://archive.org/details/topographicaldic01lewi |title=A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland |year=1846 |pages=471}}</ref> However, after Ferme was sent to prison for taking part in the disastrous General Assembly of Aberdeen in 1605, the university, now without a principal, fell into abeyance that same year. There is no record of what teaching took place during this period;<ref>{{Cite web |last=Donald |first=Stuart |title=Scotland's First Fifth University? |url=http://archives.aodiocese.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Fraserburgh-University-1.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240722081805/http://archives.aodiocese.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Fraserburgh-University-1.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2024 |access-date=2024-07-22|website=aodiocese.org.uk}}</ref> however, it has been assumed the teaching was similar to that at Marischal College.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Anderson |first=Peter John |author-link=Peter John Anderson |title=Publications: Issue 4 |date=January 1889 |publisher=New Spalding Club |pages=78–79 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Later history === In 1609, Ferme was restored to his parish and college, where he continued to teach until his death in 1617.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite ODNB|last1=Gordon|first1=Alexander|last2=MacDonald|first2=Alan R.|title=Ferme [Fairholm], Charles (1565/6–1617), Church of Scotland minister and university principal|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-9342|access-date=2024-10-12|date=2004|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/9342|author-link=Alexander Gordon (Unitarian)}}</ref> The writings by Ferme (such as the lost ''Lectiones in Esterem'' and the surviving ''Analysis logica in epistolam apostoli Pauli ad Romanos'') indicate that teaching did take place, with John Adamson noting "with what zeal he taught at Fraserburgh". After the death of Ferme, the college fell into decay, having lost out to Marischal College, and consequently closed for good.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last1=Ferme |first1=Charles |author-link=Charles Ferm |url=https://archive.org/details/logicalanalysiso00ferm |title=A logical analysis of the Epistle of Paul to the Romans |last2=Alexander |first2=William Lindsay |author-link2=William Lindsay Alexander |publisher=Wodrow Society |year=1850 |pages=19–22 |translator-last=Skae |translator-first=William}}</ref>thumb|Fraserburgh South Kirk, site of Moses Tablet|alt=Grand nineteenth century church During the 1647 plague breakout in Aberdeen, King's College was temporarily moved to the old college buildings.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bulloch |first=John Malcolm |author-link=John Malcolm Bulloch |title=A History of the University of Aberdeen, 1495-1895 |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |year=1895 |isbn=9781022269729 |pages=118}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Fraserburgh (The Broch) |url=https://www.scottish-places.info/towns/towndetails173.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529054644/https://www.scottish-places.info/towns/towndetails173.html |archive-date=29 May 2022 |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=The Gazetteer for Scotland |language=en-gb}}</ref>

The college buildings had been mostly demolished by the early 18th century, with the tower being demolished as early as the late 17th century.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Aberdeenshire Council Historic Environment Record - Aberdeenshire - NJ96NE0028 - FRASERBURGH |url=https://online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/smrpub/master/detail.aspx?refno=NJ96NE0028 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240722081004/https://online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/smrpub/master/detail.aspx?refno=NJ96NE0028 |archive-date=22 July 2024 |access-date=2024-05-18 |website=online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk}}</ref> A house to the west of the town was said to have been built with materials taken from the college, with four of the stones bearing inscriptions.<ref name=":1" /> In the mid 19th century, Reverend A. Gruar Forbes described the remains of the college:<ref name=":5" />

{{Quote|text=The old tower can scarcely be said to be still extant. It has been reduced to a heap, and is almost covered with soil and herbage. Last time I saw it there was a couple of goats feeding on the top of it.|author=|title=|source=}}

The 1869 and 1874 Ordnance Survey maps of Fraserburgh note the "Site of College" on the west end of the town,<ref>{{Cite web |title=View map: Ordnance Survey, Aberdeenshire III.1 (Fraserburgh) - Ordnance Survey 25 inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1855-1882 |url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/74479967 |access-date=2025-08-29 |website=maps.nls.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1874 |title=Aberdeenshire, Sheet III, Surveyed 1869 |url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/74425306 |url-status= |access-date=2025-06-10 |website=maps.nls.uk |publisher=Ordnance Survey}}</ref> which later became known as College Bounds.<ref>{{Cite web |title=View map: Ordnance Survey, Aberdeenshire III.1 (Fraserburgh) - Ordnance Survey 25 inch 2nd and later editions, Scotland, 1892-1949 |url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/82859463 |access-date=2025-08-29 |website=maps.nls.uk}}</ref> The only surviving part of the college is the Moses Tablet (also known as the Moses Stone),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Doors Open Days {{!}} Fraserburgh South Church |url=https://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/regions/aberdeenshire/fraserburgh-south-church |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241125155208/https://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/regions/aberdeenshire/fraserburgh-south-church |archive-date=25 November 2024 |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=www.doorsopendays.org.uk}}</ref> which was previously set in the wall above the door of the parish school when it was built in 1787, and is now built into the interior wall of the vestry in the Fraserburgh South Parish Church,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fraserburgh, Seaforth Street, South Parish Church {{!}} Canmore |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/173562/fraserburgh-seaforth-street-south-parish-church#799948 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://megalodon.jp/2026-0225-0544-04/https://canmore.org.uk:443/site/173562/fraserburgh-seaforth-street-south-parish-church |archive-date=24 February 2026 |access-date=2025-06-10 |website=canmore.org.uk |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=FRASERBURGH SOUTH CHURCH OF SCOTLAND LB31878 |url=https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/apex/f?p=1505:300:::::VIEWTYPE,VIEWREF:designation,LB31878 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250610110233/https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/apex/f?p=1505:300:::::VIEWTYPE,VIEWREF:designation,LB31878 |archive-date=10 June 2025 |access-date=2025-06-10 |website=Historic Environment Scotland}}</ref> having been relocated inside the building in October 1969, a move funded by the town council.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Granite |first=Grey |date=2013-08-11 |title=Walking The Line: Fraserburgh South Church, the Moses Stone and Fraserburgh University |url=https://greygranitewalkingtheline.blogspot.com/2013/08/fraserburgh-south-church-moses-stone.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805095008/https://greygranitewalkingtheline.blogspot.com/2013/08/fraserburgh-south-church-moses-stone.html |archive-date=2024-08-05 |access-date=2024-05-18 |website=Walking The Line}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Looking Back: Moses Stone |url=https://www.lifeandwork.org/features/looking-back-moses-stone-fraserburgh |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303013404/https://www.lifeandwork.org/features/looking-back-Moses-Stone-Fraserburgh |archive-date=3 March 2024 |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=www.lifeandwork.org |language=en}}</ref>

== Legacy == In the Fraserburgh South Parish Church, there is a plaque commemorating the university's existence (alongside the Moses Tablet).<ref name=":2" /> Due to a lack of archaeological excavations, the precise location and nature of the college buildings remains unknown.<ref name=":3" />

== Notable people ==

=== Staff ===

* Charles Ferme

=== Students ===

* William Rires

== References == <references />{{Defunct universities and colleges in the United Kingdom|state=collapsed}} Category:Universities in Scotland Category:Defunct universities and colleges in Scotland Category:Ancient universities of Scotland Category:Educational institutions established in the 16th century Category:Fraserburgh Category:1592 establishments in Scotland