Lotted lands and planned villages in north-east Scotland

Between 1720 and the 1850s some 490 planned villages characterized by a reg ular layout of streets, building plots and adjacent fields (or Lotted Lands ) were founded one states throughout Scotland including 100 or so in north- east Scotland. Lotted lands were fields, typically subdivided into one- or two-acre lots, which were leased to villagers to grow crops such as oats an d turnips and for grazing cattle and horses. Agricultural activities were p articularly important where labouring and domestic industries provided insu fficient employment. Working lotted lands gradually became less popular dur ing the first half of the twentieth century though they continued to exist in a few places until the 1970s.