A busy street.

These old fishermens' cotttages line one side of Harbour Street in the village of Port Erroll, a fishing community established in the 1840s by William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll. Initially the fishing boats were launched from the beach of Cruden Bay but a functional harbour was added at the mouth of the Water of Cruden in the 1870s.

The houses are constructed from a fine red granite that came from the quarry at Stirlinghill, a few miles south of Peterhead. Quarrying and crafting of high-quality "Peterhead granite" from Stirlinghill developed on a commercial scale during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was used not only locally but also much further afield in many public, private and church buildings. In London, for example, it was used in Australia House, the former Stock Exchange building, India Office, Covent Garden, the Carlton Club and the original fountains in Trafalgar Square designed by Charles Barry and built by McDonald & Leslie, of Aberdeen.