Dr Patrick Dun purchased the Lands of Ferryhill in 1629 for no other purpose than to bequest them, and all property thereon, by his Will to the ‘Toune of Aberdeine’ for the maintenance of 4 masters at the Grammar School.

Dr Dun bequeathed the whole of this extensive property to the Provost, Baillies and Council of Aberdeen for this specific purpose.

He directed that the rents obtained from these lands should be invested until enough money accumulated to buy another piece of land sufficient to yield, along with the original gift, a yearly revenue of 1,200 merks, this sum being sufficient to pay the basic salaries of the stipulated staff of 4 masters, including the Rector.

The Lands of Ferryhill consisted in those days of bogs fit only for rough grazing, and were described by Francis Douglas even as late as 1728 as amounting to ‘little conical hills over-run with heath and furze … the flat bottoms between them drenched with stagnant water’.

Ferryhill Place was set out by Archibald Simpson from the 1830s and was well developed with Aberdeen City Heritage Trust 12 Baseline Assessment Consultation Draft terraced properties by 1866.