Merston
Merston # CLS S NO329113 1 40m
de firmis terrarum de Marestoune 1451 ER v, 466 [a defined quantity of oats ‘from fermes of lands of Merston’; followed by Muirfield CLS]
pro firmis terre de Marestoune 1454 ER v, 683
Mairstone 1475 x 1485 Laing 1876, 417 [in parish of Collessie]
(lands of) Martoun 1542 RMS iii no. 2762 [see discussion, below]
Mairstoun 1565 RMS iv no. 1591
Maristoun 1575 x 1585 Laing 1876, 420 [Lindores Abbey land in CLS]
Merston 1832 RHP4397
Sc mair + Sc toun
‘Mair’s farm’; for a discussion of the office of mair, see Mairsland AMY, above. In August 1542 James V feued to John Turpy an eighth of Ballomill CLS, to which were thirled the lands of Drumtenant CLS, Merston and Easter Fernie MML (RMS iii no. 2762). Laing states that Merston was in his time ‘the property of David Maitland Makgill Crichton Esq.’ (1876, 449).
It is now called Peterhead, which first appears in 1722 (see s.n.). Neither Merston nor Peterhead appears on Ainslie/Fife (1775).
This place-name appeared in printed volume 4