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Cottages with drystane dyke
22 Stoneyton, old Skene Road, approximately 300 yards west of Albert Street. Demolished 1875-76 to build part of Carden Place. The houses depicted in the above picture are listed in the Post Office Directory of 1873/74. The thatched building on the left was used as a blacksmiths shop and the other buildings were inhabited mostly by Rubislaw Quarry workers. They were demolished to make room for the erection of modern villas about 1879. Allenvale Cemetery from Kincorth
60 An early photograph of Allenvale Cemetery, taking shape in the middle distance, as seen from Kincorth, with Abbotswell Farm in the foreground.
A limited company called the Aberdeen Cemetery Company was established for the purpose of creating this new graveyard. A prospectus inviting public investment was published in the Aberdeen Journal of 29th January 1873. It reads as follows:
"It is well known that in Aberdeen cemetery accommodation is limited and insufficient, and it is generally admitted that its extension is necessary, and cannot much longer be delayed. It is therefore desirable to acquire additional space for that purpose, and to treat it in accordance with modern ideas and practice.
"This company has been formed for the purpose of providing an extensive Cemetery, in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen, suitable in all respects for the purposes of internment, and of easy access - but sufficiently removed from town to preserve its suburban character."
The new cemetery opened in late 1874 and, as we know, was a big hit. It was officially known as the Aberdeen Cemetery but quickly became known as Allenvale Cemetery, after the property on which it was built.
Allenvale saw major extensions in 1912 and 1932. A London syndicate purchased control of the graveyard from the Aberdeen Cemetery Company in 1958. Aberdeen Town Council subsequently took control of the cemetery in 1965 following the then owners going into liquidation and worries about Allenvale's future. Allenvale remains a fine example of a planned Victorian cemetery to this day.
Notable residents of Allenvale include John James Rickard MacLeod (1876-1935), co-discoverer of insulin, James Scott Skinner (1843-1927), fiddler and composer, and Mary Esslemont (1891-1984), the influential doctor. Though, of course, many interned at Allenvale would have their own interesting stories to tell.
In this photograph, Duthie Park, later created on the right, has yet to be landscaped. St. Machar Poorhouse, Fonthill House and Devanha House can all be seen in the distance. Honeybrae House
96 Honeybrae House. This house stood in the middle of a market garden near Morningfield Hospital about one-and-a-half miles west of Aberdeen City Centre. The lands were part of the old royal hunting forest of Stocket, given to the town of Aberdeen by Robert the Bruce. In the 17th century, it came into the ownership of the Skenes of Rubislaw and, in 1875, it was owned by Aberdeen Land Association. This two-storeyed house is most famous for its connection with the poet Lord Byron. In 1798, as a boy of about 10, he was taken there to spend a summer holiday while he was a pupil at Aberdeen Grammar School. At that time, it was probably a fairly new house, standing in its own grounds in a rural situation. He stayed there with his mother and their maid, Isabella Mitchell, before going to visit his old nurse, Agnes Gray. His room was on the first floor. By the 1830s, it was the home of a Captain John Boyd and later of market gardeners. Above the main door, there was a window whose thirteen small designed panes led it to be called 'the thirteen' window. By the 1920s, it had fallen into disrepair and the house was demolished in November 1928. The site was redeveloped for modern housing. Wallace Tower, Netherkirkgate
103 Wallace Tower in the Netherkirkgate looking towards St. Nicholas Church. The tower never had any connection with William Wallace. It is believed to have been the town residence of Sir Robert Keith of Benholm. The name "Wallace" may have been a corruption of "well-house". The Wallace Tower was re-sited at Tillydrone in the 1960s.
Correspondent Ed Fowler suggests that the ornamental building shown on the left at the end of the Netherhirkgate, next to the horse and cart, is the Dyers' Hall.
The name refers to the Dyers' or Litsters Society who were once an important and wealthy industrial group in Aberdeen. Newspaper notices suggest the building was used as a public house, where societies regularly met, and that it, and other buildings, were demolished in around 1807 to make way for a new street between Union Street and Tannery Street. Wallace Tower, Netherkirkgate
112 Wallace Tower in the Netherkirkgate looking towards St. Nicholas Church. The tower never had any connection with William Wallace. It is believed to have been the town residence of Sir Robert Keith of Benholm. The name "Wallace" may have been a corruption of "well-house". The Wallace Tower was re-sited at Tillydrone in the 1960s. Old Deeside Road
147 Local historian A.G. Duthie has been in touch to identify this image as the most easterly point of the Old Deeside Road.
The photograph is taken from the position of the modern day junction of Great Southern Road and Holburn Street. The house in the background is still visible today.
In his book The Old Deeside Road, G.M. Fraser writes, "The commencement of the old road at Hardgate is still, fortunately, to be seen, near Fonthill Road, at the group of ruinous houses connected with what was long known as Palmer's Brewery. The 'lie' of the old houses at the back of the brewery shows the run of the old road, two of the small, dilapidated buildings being clearly the eastmost houses of the old road just where it touched the Hardgate." (p. 19)
This scene was photographed for Aberdeen Public Library on 6th July 1917 by Mr. James Ritchie. Bridge of Grandholme
160 An engraving showing Grandholm Bridge over the River Don from a drawing by James Giles. The inscription in the bottom right indicates that the engraving was printed at the Deaf and Dumb Institution.
This drawing likely looks west up the river and in the middle distance shows the Cruive Dikes, a complex of weirs and sluices across the River Don built for the purpose of fishing. Remains of these are located not far to the east of the modern Diamond Bridge.
Some information on the ownership and operation of the cruives is given in the book The Annals of Aberdeen (Volume II, 1818) by William Kennedy, on pages 207-209.
In the far distance is Grandholm Bridge. Aberdeen City Council's Historic Environment Record states that the bridge was built by the firm of Leys, Masson and Company in 1810 to improve access to its Granholm Works. It was a wooden bridge with a small lodge and was known locally as the "White Bridge."
The 1810 bridge was replaced by the present steel structure, built by the Motherwell Bridge Company, in 1922. Shuttle Lane prior to slum clearance
193 This 1930s photograph shows the Shuttle Lane slum clearance area situated between East North Street and Frederick Street, before the families were rehoused on new estates.
These houses were typical of the cramped, overcrowded tenements to be found in most Scottish cities. Large families would be crammed into 1 or 2 rooms. There might have been a shared toilet on the landings or more commonly outside in the back yard.
Infectious diseases such as diptheria and scarlet fever could be spread rapidly with such close contact of families, and infant mortality was high. There was often no drying green so many tenements had iron washing poles which could be slid out of windows when needed. Each family would have their allocated day to use the wash house.
Washing clothes was a laborious affair as the mother, maybe with the assistance of an older daughter, would stoke and light the boiler, and trek back and forth with water from an outside tap. Washing would be done by hand and if the weather was bad, then it would have to be hung inside in the kitchen to dry in the heat of the coal fire.
However, it seemed that community spirit was warm and close neighbours helped each other in times of crisis. This was a bond that would be broken when families were rehoused in the modern housing estates. Stoneyton Clachan, Aberdeen. c.1875
381 This group of old houses, identified as Stonytown on some old OS maps, with ashtrees in front, stood on the north side of the road which led from the city westwards towards Skene.
This street is now called Carden Place and the houses were just west of its junction with Prince Arthur Street. They were demolished about 1879 to make way for modern houses.
The thatched building at the left was a blacksmith's and the red tiled houses were occupied by various tradespeople - gardeners, joiners and a bleacher. Plus workers at Rubislaw Quarry. The central house shows the old style outside stair leading to the upper floor.
The roadway between the cottages ran via a wooden bridge over the Denburn towards Fountainhall Road. The No2. Woodside Tram, 1900
430 The No2. Woodside Tram. Anderson Road, Aberdeen 1900.
A group of Aberdeen businessmen formed the Aberdeen District Tramways Company in 1871 and proposed a number of tram routes to run within Aberdeen. This was the beginning of the use of horse drawn trams within the city and a regular tram service started to run from St. Nicholas Street to Woodside.
The Aberdeen Corporation purchased the District Tramways in 1898 and started to electrify the tram routes and the first route to be electrified was the Woodside line in December 1899. The trams were a popular and convenient mode of travel and the tramways competed with the railways by providing a similar suburban service.
By the 1950's plans were afoot to replace all of the trams with buses as Aberdeen Transport Committee decided that a modern fleet of buses could provide quicker and more regular services at cheaper running costs. The last tram to Woodside ran in 1955.
Old Tolbooth
485 Old Tolbooth, Aberdeen, from an etching by J. Skene. This view of the Tolbooth shows the Market Cross in front of it. The Tolbooth was built in 1615. In recent times, it was converted to a museum. Double outside stairs lead up to the main entrance. On the east side was the New Inn. Most of the building is obscured by the modern Town House development. Powis Gateway, Old Aberdeen
569 Built in 1834 for John Leslie of Powis by Alexander Fraser, the towers formed the east gate and archway from College Bounds, Old Aberdeen. These oriental style towers with minarets have provoked much interest over the years. At one time there was a portrait of John Leslie dressed in Turkish costume, on the walls of Powis House, but there is no obvious connection between the estate and the Middle East. The gateway is also adorned with panels bearing the coats of arms of the Lairds of Powis.
The Estate of Powis was owned by the Frasers - their crest is shown on the towers - until the marriage of an heiress to a Leslie. Powis House was built by Hugh Leslie.
The house was the home of John Leslie, Professor of Greek at King's College. It was subsequently owned by the Burnett Family. In 1936, J.G. Burnett sold most of the estate to Aberdeen Town Council who built a housing estate in the area comprising over 300 residences.
Powis House itself reopened in 1942 as the area's Community Centre and for a while housed a branch of Aberdeen Public Library. Fountainhall Well
635 This small cistern house was erected in connection with Aberdeen's first city water supply. Water had previously been obtained from the Loch but by 1706 it had become polluted and lead pipes were laid to bring water from Carden's Haugh Well. Six cisterns or fountain-houses were built along the old Fountainhall Road and water was conveyed from these sources to the Water House in Broad Street until 1866. A new scheme was eventually introduced and in 1903 the Fountainhall Well was taken from its original site and rebuilt in Duthie Park. Mannie in the Green
638 Mannie in the Green. This well was erected in the Castlegate in 1706 in connection with the first regular water supply in Aberdeen. In 1852, it was removed to this site in the Green, where it remained until the 1950s when it was removed for storage. It was re-erected in the Castlegate in the 1970s. Gateway to Powis Lodge
654 Built in 1834 for John Leslie of Powis by Alexander Fraser, the towers formed the east gate and archway from College Bounds, Old Aberdeen.
These oriental style towers with minarets have provoked much interest over the years. At one time there was a portrait of John Leslie dressed in Turkish costume, on the walls of Powis House, but there is no obvious connection between the estate and the Middle East. The gateway is also adorned with panels bearing the coats of arms of the Lairds of Powis.
The Estate of Powis was owned by the Frasers - their crest is shown on the towers - until the marriage of an heiress to a Leslie. Powis House was built by Hugh Leslie. By the late 19th century it was owned by the Burnett family and was taken over by Aberdeen City Council in the 1930s and converted into a community centre. Stoneyton Clachan, Carden Place
728 Stoneyton Clachan. This group of old houses stood on the north side of the Skene Road, now called Carden Place, west of its junction with Prince Arthur Street. They were demolished to make room for modern villas around 1879. The cottages were mostly inhabited by Rubislaw Quarry workers. Marischal Street
732 This photograph shows Marischal Street at its junction with Regent Quay, looking north towards Castle Street.
It was built to improve the connection between the harbour and the main part of the city, which had previously only been accessible via the steep incline of Shore Brae and the Shiprow.
In 1766, the Town Council were successful in purchasing the unoccupied Lodging of the Earl Marischal of Scotland which stood on the south side of the Castlegate. It was then demolished to open up the way for the new street, named in the Earl's honour.
It was the first street in Aberdeen to be paved with dressed granite setts. Houses were built and were occupied by prosperous professional men such as Dr William Dyce; Andrew Roberston, William Young and Alexander Fraser; both to become Provosts of Aberdeen. These properties were mostly converted to commercial use in later years.
The buildings on the right were replaced by the long and narrow, neo-classical building, designed by Robert Gordon Wilson and built in 1901-02, that can still be seen today at 33 Regent Quay. Honeybrae House
816 Honeybrae House. This house stood in the middle of a market garden near Morningfield Hospital about one and a half miles west of Aberdeen City Centre. The lands were part of the old royal hunting forest of Stocket, given to the town of Aberdeen by Robert the Bruce. In the 17th century, it came into the ownership of the Skenes of Rubislaw, and in 1875, it was owned by Aberdeen Land Association. This two storeyed house is most famous for its connection with the poet Lord Byron. In 1798, as a boy of about 10, he was taken there to spend a summer holiday while he was a pupil at Aberdeen Grammar School. At that time, it was probably a fairly new house, standing in its own grounds in a rural situation. He stayed there with his mother and their maid Isabella Mitchell, before going to visit his old nurse, Agnes Gray. His room was on the first floor. By the 1830's, it was the home of a Captain John Boyd and later of market gardeners. Above the main door, there was a window whose thirteen small designed panes, led it to be called 'the thirteen' window. By the 1920's, it had fallen into disrepair and the house demolished in November 1928, and the site redeveloped for modern housing. Kennerty Smiddy, Culter
962 Kennerty Smiddy, Culter.
This building was demolished and modern housing now occupies the site. Cults Cairn
1040 Cults Cairn. This round cairn is scheduled as an ancient monument and is probably around 4,000 years old. It was originally one of three but the other two were carted away in December 1892 so that the stones could be used to repair damage to the banks of the River Dee after the massive flooding caused by the 'Muckle Spate'. At this time (1930's) the cairn was in a rural area, but it is now surrounded by a modern housing development in the area between Cults and Bieldside, 3-4 miles west of Aberdeen. It is about 20 metres in diameter and about 5 metres high on a crest overlooking the Dee valley. There was much concern in the late 1970's that the stones were being removed to create paths and rockeries. George Street
1202 This 1987 view of the west side of George Street from Schoolhill was taken prior to the demolition of most of that area to make way for the Bon Accord Centre. An official report at the time said that, although George Street had been laid out about 1810, it was a 'long straight uninspiring shopping street with no focal point'. Most of the shops could not be readilly converted into modern efficient shopping units and they lacked parking and rear servicing facilities. The upper floors contained flats which did not comply with modern housing standards in their facilities and environment. The shops had included Home Textiles, Attitude Clothes, Jaspers Knitting Wools, Granada TV, Kay Shoes and John Martin, Butcher. Donside Paper Mill
1220 Donside Paper Mill. William Falconer attends the paper reels. c.1928.
The production of paper in the area goes back as far as 1696 at Gordon mills which later changed to a cloth mill, then meal mill before returning to paper production in 1890.
Donside Paper Company Ltd. took over in 1893 with many men and women from Woodside working in the Donside Paper Mill.
In 1913 a modern newsprint machine was installed (reportedly the fastest in the country). By the mid-1900s the mill modernised further and was home to the two fastest running paper machines in the North east. Aberdeen Central Library, Information Centre reception
1443 The modern reception desk in the Information Centre as the first point of contact for visitors to the floor. Stoneyton, Old Skene Road
1451 Stoneyton, old Skene Road, approximately 300 yards west of Albert Street. Demolished 1875-76 to build part of Carden Place. The houses depicted in the above picture are listed in the Post Office Directory of 1873/74. The thatched building on the left was used as a blacksmiths shop and the other buildings were inhabited mostly by Rubislaw Quarry workers. They were demolished to make room for the erection of modern villas about 1879. |