Roman legions marched by Netherley traversing the route from Raedykes to Normandykes as they sought higher ground evading the bogs of Red Moss and other low-lying mosses associated with the Burn of Muchalls. Elsick Mounth is one of the ancient routes crossing the Grampian Mountains, lying west of Netherley. Alexander Silver, a wealthy East India trader, built Netherley House, a mansion house in Netherley in the late 18th century; he and his son George Silver were noted agricultural innovators of their era.