Fraserburgh (/ˈfreɪzərbərə/; Scottish Gaelic: Baile nam Frisealach),[2] locally known as the Broch,[3] is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with a population recorded in the 2011 Census as 13,100.

[citation needed] The town takes its name from the Fraser family, who bought the lands of Philorth in 1504 and brought about major improvements in the area over the next century.

Sir Alexander Fraser built a port in the town in 1579, obtained a charter establishing it as a burgh of barony in 1588 and secured the right to change the name from Faithlie to Fraserburgh in 1592.

[citation needed] During the 18th and 19th centuries the population of Fraserburgh was growing with peaks due to seasonal employment.

Alexander Simpson of the Fraserburgh Old Parish Church described the harbour as "small but good", writing that it had the capability to take vessels with "200 tons burden".

The Reverend noted that shipbuilding had become the main industry in the town, especially after 1784, and that the locals were making donations and seeking government assistance to have the harbour enlarged.

[12][13] Second, on 9 February 1953, six crew members lost their lives when the lifeboat capsized while escorting fishing vessels to the harbour.

On this occasion Coxswain Andrew Ritchie, Mechanic George Duthie, Bowman Charles Tait, Assistant Mechanic James Noble and Crew Members John Crawford and John Buchan all lost their lives - the only survivor was Charles Tait.

Lastly, on 21 January 1970 while on service to the Danish fishing vessel Opal, the lifeboat The Duchess of Kent capsized with the loss of five of her crew of six.

Those killed were Coxswain John Stephen, Mechanic Frederick Kirkness and crew members William Hadden, James R.S.

[14] In 2009, a local campaign was started to raise £40,000 to erect an official monument to the 14 men who lost their lives whilst serving on the Fraserburgh Lifeboat.

Trains operated to Aberdeen via Maud and Dyce, as well as a short branch line to St Combs via Cairnbulg.

[citation needed] In 1923, the GNSR was incorporated into the London and North Eastern Railway, which was in turn nationalised on 1 January 1948.

Passenger services on the Buchan lines were withdrawn in 1965 as part of the Beeching cuts, although freight trains continued to operate Fraserburgh until 1979.

[citation needed] Following the opening of the Borders Railway in September 2015, Fraserburgh became the most distant town in UK from the rail network, leading to calls for the lifted track to be reinstated.

[23] Fraserburgh has a number of sporting facilities including a swimming pool, ten-pin bowling alley, tennis courts, martial arts dojo, skatepark and football pitches.

In 2018 the club won the Bon Accord Cup for a third time, in a re-vamp T20 competition, at Mannofield Cricket Ground, beating Gordonians.

A new, more modern, school was built in the 1950s, and the original building was repurposed to house the academy's art and drama departments.

Additionally, there are also congregations of Baptists, Roman Catholics, Scottish Episcopalians, Evangelists, Congregationalists, Brethren, Jehovah's Witnesses and Salvationists.