As a settlement, New Deer stretches back into the mists of time.

The monks of the original Celtic monastery of Deer (at Old Deer circa 570AD) extended their influence westward when Kane our patron saint built a chapel on the knoll at New Deer, or Auchreddie as it was then known. The remains of a later chapel stand within the old kirkyard opposite the Parish Church in the present day village, and it is believed the original chapel occupied this same site.

In Gaelic the name Auchreddie means "field of the bog myrtle". The myrtle plant had sacred links for many primitive religions, and it may be assumed the land below the knoll was rough scrub on which this plant grew. The small settlement of Auchreddie grew up around the chapel.

As elsewhere in the old parish of Deer, the later chapel probably dates from the 13th century following the building of a new Abbey of St. Mary of Deer near Old Deer village in 1218.

By 1507 the register of Abbey lands lists lands in the "new" paroche of Deir separate from those in the old paroche, and the names Old Deer and New Deer come into use.

The present village dates from 1805, when the old village was extended northwards by the third James Ferguson of Pitfour (1735-1820). Ferguson built a number of new villages in his development of the expanding family estate and, like the others, New Deer would have been built primarily to house estate workers.

His new "planned" villages were built with streets radiating outward from a central Square or Village Green, but being an extension of the earlier settlement, New Deer departed from the format and the new houses formed a long main street stretching up towards Culsh.

Today's population of New Deer village is around 750.

School

New Deer Primary School, behind the church, has a roll of around 160.The school in earlier times included a secondary department. Along with Whitehill school a couple of miles to the north, New Deer sent young folk of quality throughout the Empire.

Many former pupils endowed the school with prizes and bursaries and New Deer became one of the most generously endowed schools of the country.

Public Hall

The Public Hall opposite the Parish Church is community owned, and run by a committee appointed by the Community Association. The hall serves as a centre for many events throughout the year.

Services

In Main Street is Kindness' bakers' shop behind which is a bakery employing some sixty people. The bakery has over 400 product lines which are sold throughout the north-east.

Building Contractor Alex Lovie & Son has some two dozen employees and is also located in Main Street. Other Businesses in the village include the post office, grocers, butcher, baker, chemist, two hairdressers, painter/decorators, builder, joiner, plumbers, funeral director, a motor garage, and a plant hire firm. The village also has a branch of the Clydesdale Bank, a doctors surgery and a veterinary surgery.