1882 - 1885 Gazetteer

As described in Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, 1882-1885, by Francis H. Groome

A fishing village in south-east Aberdeenshire, Johnshaven lies at the foot of a cliff on the North Sea coast, 4 miles (7 km) southwest of Inverbervie.

In 1722 it was reckoned to be "amongst the first fishing towns of Scotland" according to the author of the Statistical Account of the Parish of Benholm. By the 1770s the number of Johnshaven fishermen had been reduced as a result of a disaster at sea and locals being press-ganged to join the Navy.

In the 1790s a sailcloth factory was established and locals earned additional income from spinning thread from flax and knitting stockings from wool. Today, the lobster and crab landed here find their way to restaurants around the world. Putting and tennis facilities are available in the Wairds Park and the village has hotel accommodation as well as caravan and camping sites. Nearby Lathallan School, a prep school transferred here from Fife in 1951, occupies Brotherton Castle which was built in 1850 by a Dundee jute manufacturer.