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Union Bridge
58 The Denburn looking southward towards and beyond Union Bridge, with the old Bow Brig in the distance and the houses adjacent. The Bow Brig featured largely in the social life of the inhabitants of the area. Note the bleaching green on the right of the print. Illustration taken from a plate drawn by Sir John Carr, 1807 Statue of Queen Victoria
73 A photograph showing the statue of Queen Victoria at the junction of Union Street and St. Nicholas Street. The building in the background is the Clydesdale Bank that stands next to M&S today. This fine Italian renaissance style building was originally constructed for the Town and County Bank and opened for business in May 1863.
The statue of Queen Victoria was made from marble and was sculpted by Banff born Alexander Brodie (c.1829 - 1867). The origin of this statue is closely related to another Aberdeen monument, the 1863 memorial statue of Prince Albert by Baron Marochetti, now standing, or rather sitting, in the area in front of the Central Library.
Marochetti's statue was augurated by Queen Victoria herself on 13th October 1863 and this was said to the first time the Queen had appeared at a public demonstration following the death of Albert in 1861. The Marochetti statue was the subject of great local controversy and there were various plans for an alternative, superior, memorial to the late Prince Consort. It was at a related meeting that a chap called Alexander Donald, from the Royal Tradesman of Aberdeen, moved "That a colossal statue in marble, of Her Majesty, be erected at the corner of St. Nicholas Street."
The endeavour was taken on by a variety of prominent citizens and funding was raised by public subscription. Brodie, the selected sculptor, worked on an 11-ton block of Sicilian marble for two years to complete the statue. The finished piece is 8 foot 6 inches in height and, at the request of Queen herself, depicts Victoria in Scottish regal attire. The statue stands on a substantial plinth of pink Peterhead granite.
The statue was unveiled and inaugurated on 20th September 1866 by Albert-Edward Prince of Wales, later to be King Edward VII and the subject of another of Aberdeen's notable statues. During his speech at the ceremony, the Prince said "Gentlemen, it has afforded me the greatest satisfaction to attend here today, by the wish of Her Majesty, and at your invitation, for the purpose of inaugurating a statue of the Queen, my dear mother. Her Majesty has desired me to express to you how much she appreciates the motives which have led the people of Aberdeenshire to give this lasting evidence of their attachment and loyalty to her person, of which she has so many proofs, and whose sympathy in her great sorrow has touched her so deeply."
During his visit, the Prince of Wales also received the Freedom of the City and attended the Royal Horticultural Society's Autumn Show, which was then going on in the Music Hall. An extensive account of the unveiling, the Royal visit and the town's celebrations is given in the Aberdeen Journal of 26th September 1866.
After some time at this location, the statue's marble began to show weathering due to the frost and so it was moved to the vestibule of the Town House in 1888, where it remains to this day. It stands at the foot of the building's splendid main stairway. The plaster model of Brodie's statue has also been on display in the Music Hall for many years.
A new bronze statue of an older Victoria, by sculptor Charles Bell Birch, was erected at the St. Nicholas Street location on 9th November 1893 and "the Queen" became a regular meeting place for generations of Aberdonians. To make way for the extension of Marks & Spencer, the 1893 statue moved to its current site at Queen's Cross on 22nd January 1964. Victoria now stands looking east towards Balmoral. Union Bridge
77 Union Bridge, on Union Street was built around 1800 and straddled the Denburn. The large building is the Palace Hotel, built in 1874, which burnt to the ground on the 31st October 1941 and was subsequently demolished after the end of the Second World War. Union Bridge
81 Union Bridge, Aberdeen, from Bridge Street, looking east. The spires at the left belong to Kirk House, later a restaurant and bar, and to St. Nicholas Church. The corner of the Palace Hotel is just visible at the right. Union Terrace Gardens
89 Union Terrace Gardens looking towards the Union Bridge. The spires of Belmont Congregational Church are on the left. The gardens were laid out in 1891-3. The chimney belonged to Hadden's textile factory in the Green. Union Bridge from Windmill Brae
123 This photograph by George Washington Wilson, looking towards Union Bridge, shows the old red-tiled roofed houses in the Windmill Brae area in the 1850s. Most of these were swept away with the construction of the railway and the building of Bridge Street around 1865-1867.
The house at the left, on the corner of Union Terrace, was owned by Harry Lumsden of Belhelvie and later by the Northern Club. Its site became part of that occupied by the Northern Assurance Company offices.
The spire of the Triple Kirks and the tower of the South Parish Church are visible in the background. Bridge Street, Aberdeen. c.1890
201 Bridge Street, Aberdeen. This George Washington Wilson image shows a horse drawn bus on Bridge Street travelling towards Union Street. The stairs leading to the upper deck can be seen, and the iron wheels must have been very noisy on the cobbled streets. The bus is just passing the American Store whose premises were 'To Let', and Galloway and Sykes, cabinet makers - the latter firm are only listed at 50 Bridge Street between 1887 and 1889. Union Street looking west from Union Bridge
216 Union Street looking west from Union Bridge, showing the Palace Hotel on the left. The hotel was built in 1874 for Messrs Pratt and Keith, milliners, who occupied the street level area.
In the 1930s the hotel had one of the most famous restaurants in Aberdeen and could boast of a Gleneagles trained French chef.
It operated as one of a chain of LNER hotels. Its upper stories were destroyed by fire on 31st October 1941, with loss of life. Six female servants, including two sisters died in the fire. The building was entirely demolished after the war and C&A clothing shop was built on the site. Union Bridge and the Trinity Hall from Union Terrace Gardens
238 Union Bridge and the Trinity Hall from Union Terrace Gardens. Trinity Hall was the home of the Incorporated Trades until they moved to their new Hall at the junction of Holburn Street and Great Western Road. This building, designed by John and William Smith in 1846, was incorporated into Littlewoods Store and the Trinity Shopping Centre. Union Bridge looking towards the Palace Hotel
285 Union Bridge looking towards the Palace Hotel, built in 1874 for Messrs Pratt and Keith, milliners, who occupied the street level area. It operated as one of a chain of LNER hotels. Its upper stories were destroyed by fire on 31st October 1941, with loss of life and the building was entirely demolished after the war. The site was later occupied by the C and A store. The Castle Street / Rosemount / Mile End horsedrawn omnibus
357 The Castle Street / Rosemount / Mile End horsedrawn omnibus.
This photograph looks north towards the houses where Beechgrove Terrace becomes Kings Gate. The Green
424 The Green. The house occupied by John Buchan, baker, at the foot of the Back Wynd stairs leading up to Union Street was demolished in 1914. In the late seventeenth century the house was owned by George Aedie. Although Boots the Chemist have since relocated elsewhere, the stairs which replaced these are still often referred to as the Boots Stairs because there was an entrance to their premises on the left.
The golden teapot sign that belonged to John Adam's tea and coffee shop disappeared when the shop closed.
Correspondent Ed Fowler investigated the 1904 Post Office directory for Aberdeen to discover more information about the businesses visible in the image. John Adam's premises, with its golden teapot at 64 The Green, can be see on the far right. The tea merchant lived in Hammerfield House, 349 Great Western Road.
The next two entrances to the left, 66 and 68, are for the tenements above the shops. To the left of them at 70 The Green is a drapers called P. & C. Adams. The business also had premises at 47 George Street. Denburn
493 The Denburn Valley and Mutton Brae prior to the construction of Rosemount Viaduct. The Triple Kirks are visible in the middle of the image and Union Bridge can seen in the background. The Puffing Briggie
532 A scene of change and renovation in the Denburn Valley. The image looks south from Union Bridge over the suburban platforms of the old Aberdeen Joint Railway Station. The old station's large, curved roof can be seen in the background.
The area we are looking at has seen much change since this time. It is now largely covered by the 1960s retail development on the south side of the bridge, the later Trinity Centre, the development of Wapping Street and Denburn Road, and the building of Atholl House. Though many of the buildings of note we can see in this image are still visible today.
The tall buildings on the far right are the rear of those on Bridge Street. The small street in front of them, going up to Guild Street, is the start of College Street. It is now a partially pedestrianised lane that goes under Wapping Street. The building at the top of this street is the classical style suburban ticket office, built 1909 and now home to Tiffany Hair & Beauty.
Going west along Guild Street's two span road bridge we come to the Great North of Scotland Railway Company's headquarters. This was designed by architects Ellis & Wilson and built in 1894. It is now part of the Station Hotel, along with number 78 next door. The building retains many of its original features. The Guild Street entrance to the Trinity Centre now runs along the western side of this building.
The image also shows features that are no longer present. The covered walkway that can be seen on the near right of the image enabled direct access from the station's central platform to the Palace Hotel on Union Street. The hotel was owned by the Great North of Scotland Railway Co. (GNSR). The walkway was vaulted to pass over the tracks at sufficient height.
Consulting The Joint Station: Aberdeen Station, 1867-1992 (c1992), this image probably dates from 1912 when, in additional to commencing the reconstruction of the Joint Station, the GNSR also laid new loading docks and carriage storage siding in the Hadden Mills site (left of image). This was to ensure that the main station buildings were used purely for passenger traffic.
The walkway that linked Windmill Brae and the Green, known affectionately as the Puffing Briggie, can be seen in the centre of the image. It looks like a section on the left has been temporarily demolished as part of the ongoing work.
The sidings on the extreme left were used for cleaning carriages in the later 20th century. One of our correspondents recounts using the often-unattended carriages, accessible when entering the station from the Green, as an unusually exciting and plush playground during their youth in the late-1940s. Railway tracks outside the Joint Station
543 View along the railway tracks looking towards the Puffin' Briggie and Union Bridge. The Trinity Hall is on the right of the photograph. The Denburn
558 The Denburn showing the railway lines and the extension to the Union Bridge which now carries shop units. The Joint Station
595 The first Aberdeen Joint Station, opened November 1867, taken from the south before the building of Pirie's works or the laying out of Poyernook. In the background are Union Bridge and the spire of St. Nicholas as it was before the fire of 1874. The Guild Street Bridge can also be seen just behind the station building.
The newer Aberdeen Joint Station was built on the same site in 1913-16. Union Bridge
598 A George Washington Wilson photograph of Union Bridge, Union Street. Signs for James Lorimer & Son and James Lumsden & Co. are visible on nearby buildings. Union Street
634 Towards the middle of the picture can be seen the distinctive square tower of John Smith's West St. Nicholas Kirk House built 1830-31. This drawing is prior to major developments to the junction with Union Terrace, the street on the left of the image.
Note the absence of The Northern Assurance Building on the corner. The building commonly called "The Monkey House" was built in 1885 by architect A. Marshall Mackenzie.
The building at the junction in this drawing is likely the townhouse of the Lumsden family of Belhevie. This would become the first home of the Northern Club in 1854.
In the centre of the image, on the left after Union Bridge, is the Aberdeen Hotel designed by Archibald Simpson and started in 1817. |