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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. St. Nicholas Church and Churchyard
374 St. Nicholas Kirk and graveyard, showing the new spire after the 1874 fire, which destroyed the ancient tower and steeple of the East Kirk. William Smith, son of John Smith, rebuilt both chancel and crossing between 1875 and 1877. When the present granite steeple was built, a carillon of 37 new bells was installed, cast by Van Aerschodt of Louvain, in Belgium. A further 11 bells were added in 1954, making a total of 48 bells - the largest carillon in Great Britain. St. Nicholas Church West, shown here, was built between 1751 and 1755. Designed by James Gibb, it is a classic example of an 18th century preaching kirk. Building took 4 years and it opened for public worship on 9th November 1755. St. Nicholas Kirkyard is a popular place for family historians, with its many table tombs and monuments. Amongst the famous local names are Archibald Simpson, architect, John Anderson, Wizard of the North, and William Dyce, the painter. The 1867 Aberdeen Joint Station
537 This photograph shows the eastern side of the original 1867 Aberdeen Joint Station. The railway buildings can be seen at the front with the roof rising behind.
The history of the station can be discovered in the Great North of Scotland Railway Association's publication The Joint Station: Aberdeen Station, 1867-1992 (c1992).
In reference to the 1867 station, on page 18 it states:
"Designed by the City Architect, Mr Smith, various offices and rooms occupied the east side of the station, extending in a symmetrical manner along the entire frontage, in front of which ran a macadamised roadway eighty feet broad. The building's facade was of dressed ashlar granite quarried from Kenmay, surrounded by a balustrade of dressed freestone. The arched doors were also faced with finely dressed ashlar granite, again surrounded by freestone. The remainder of the buildings was of rustic granite interlined with courses and belts of ashlar freestone from Bannockburn. The main walls, which were thirty feet high, were finished off at the ends by square turrets about twenty feet high 'built of granite rustic work which gave the whole structure a most imposing appearance'. At its highest point the roof, designed by Mr Willet the Civil Engineer for the project, was about seventy feet above ground level and was stated as being modelled on Victoria Station, London."
The cranes and construction work that can be seen on the left side of this image suggest that it might date from the beginning of the 1913-1916 construction of the new Joint Station, overseen by GNSR Chief Engineer J. A. Parker. Foundations for the new station were laid in the cab yard to the east of the old structure on 28th May, 1913. Queen's Terrace
720 Queen's Terrace, Aberdeen. c.1886 This photograph by George Washington Wilson shows the two storeyed granite-built rows of ten houses, designed in the early 1870's by J. Russell Mackenzie, architect. This terrace adjoins the earlier built Rubislaw Terrace, seen in the distance. They were built on the north side of Albyn Place, and are separated from it by balustrading and gardens.These houses, then occupied by the wealthier professional Aberdonians, including advocates, a retired colonel, a sharebroker, and the Secretary of the Great North of Scotland Railway Co. have now been mostly converted for office use. Aberdeen Harbour
2428 An early 20th century postcard showing Regent Quay and the Aberdeen Harbour Board Office. A Great North of Scotland wagon is also visible.
The prominent location of the new 4-storey Harbour Offices overlooked the Upper and Victoria Docks and the nearby Regent Bridge.
The building was designed by A. Marshall Mackenzie of the Matthews & Mackenzie architectural firm. It was built between 1883 and 1885. In addition to the Harbour Offices the building included warehouses for wholesale merchant, Messrs C. & A. Johnstone.
See the Aberdeen Journal of 19th November 1884, page 5, for an extensive description of the building as it neared completion.
The construction of the Italian renaissance style building followed the introduction of steam trawling to Aberdeen in around 1882 and the subsequent harbour boom. The building replaced an earlier Harbour Board office, which newspaper articles indicate was near the foot of Marischal Street.
One outstanding feature of the new building is the attractive clock tower. At the time of construction it was described as the only tower in the city with a granite dome. The expense and final form of the tower was a subject of great debate.
The Aberdeen Harbour Trust Port, modern successor to the Harbour Board, occupies the building to this day.
The buildings to the left of the Harbour Offices were demolished in the second half of the 20th century during an extension to Virginia Street. Mearns' Quay
3542 A photograph looking east along Mearns' Quay. Multiple trawlers with designations from Aberdeen and Great Yarmouth can be seen along the quayside.
The fishing boat Trustful (BF369) can be seen in the middle distance. The Scottish Built Ships website states that this boat was built in 1906 by Carnegie & Matthew of Peterhead.
The boat's first owner was George Mair Snr & Sons, Portknockie. By 1920 it was registered in Peterhead, for a new owner, with the number PD366. This gives a probable date for this photograph of between 1906 and 1920.
The ornate granite building on the quayside in the distance is one of two Valve House Siphon Outlets of Aberdeen Corporation Sewage Works located on either side of the River Dee.
These valve houses were vital pieces of infrastructure in the Girdleness Outfall Sewerage Works. This engineering scheme, completed in 1907, involved tunnelling under the river to provide a safer outlet for much of a growing Aberdeen's sewage.
An article on the ceremonial opening of the system featured in the Aberdeen Daily Journal of 14th November 1907 on page 7. The complete sewer was 3 1/2 miles long and a total £137,000 had been spent on it at the time of opening.
Due to Aberdeen's growing population, which was approaching 200,000 at the time, a more systematic method was needed to take the city's sewage to the North Sea, as opposed to simply using nearby rivers and burns.
The scheme, which appears to have been primarily designed by burgh surveyor William Dyack, took sewage to the North Sea at Girdleness and aimed to prevent harm to both residents of the city and visitors to the Bay of Nigg.
As the two harbour side valve houses continue to stand, the final drainage works building and the outflow pipe can still be found today to the east of Girdleness Lighthouse. Rev. George A. Johnston, B.D.
3803 A photographic portrait of Rev. George A. Johnston taken from the John Knox Parish Church Book of the Bazaar from 1910. He served as the church's minister from 20th June 1906 until he took up a position at Grange on 6th July 1909.
The souvenir fundraising book features a history of the parish church and its ministers by Alexander Gammie, Esq. ("Ecclesiasticus"). Gammie describes Johnston's ministry as follows:
"Mr. Johnston had a great reputation as a preacher before he came to Aberdeen, but he very soon quite eclipsed his past in point of popularity and influence. From the outset of his ministry he attracted immense audiences, and the church at every service was crowded to overflowing. He stood without a peer as unquestionably the most popular preacher of his day in Aberdeen. And not only did vast audiences gather Sunday after Sunday to listen to his preaching, but membership of the congregation increased at an abnormal rate until the Communion Roll reached a total of considerably over 2000 names. Mr. Johnston's ministry is, and always will be, a great tradition of John Knox's." page 38-39.
As way of example, Gammie gives an extensive account of one of Johnston's services. Gammie goes on to credit the shortness of Johnston's ministry, and eventual move to the less demanding post in Grange, to the burden of work entailed with so great a congregation.
See Gammie's full article in the Book of the Bazaar and the church's entry in his Churches of Aberdeen (1909) for more details about Johnston and the John Knox congregation. Both are available to consult at Aberdeen City Libraries. Treasure 80: The Great Wizard of the North's Hand-Book of Natural Magic by John Henry Anderson
291 Ninety years since the Aberdeen Magical Society was founded, we feature a rare edition of the Hand-book of Natural Magic written and published by the famous 'Wizard of the North', John Henry Anderson, one of the best magicians of the 19th Century.
The book reveals 128 experiments "adapted for performance at the parlour or drawing-room table or fire-side? practicable without expensive chemical or mechanical apparatus".
The book features tricks such as The Conjuror's Table, The Gun Trick, and The Self-Balancing Pail, in addition to a number of card tricks and ruses.
For nearly forty years of his life, John Henry Anderson baffled appreciative audiences with his popular performances, which often featured advanced and intricate props. The 'Wizard of the North' travelled around the world delighting audiences in many countries, including Australia and America.
John Henry Anderson died in February 1874 and was buried alongside his mother Mary Robertson, in Mither Kirk graveyard in Aberdeen. He had many imitators and the great Houdini himself said he was one of his mentors. Houdini paid his respects to John Henry Anderson when he visited the Granite City in 1909.
In 1930, the Aberdeen Magical Society arranged to have the gravestone of Professor Anderson restored "as a mark of respect to this past-master in the art of conjuring entertainment" (Press and Journal, 8 August 1930).
Explore the life and work of the great wizard, and find out more about Aberdeen Magical Society in our interactive exhibition on the touchscreens in Central, Airyhall, Tillydrone and Mastrick libraries. Gateway of Marischal College
432 This image was digitised from Artistic Aberdeen: A Sketch Book (1932) by W. S. Percy.
The book describes the scene as follows:
"Gateway of Marischal College, one of the noblest features in many ways of Aberdeen's most notable building, a building which in certain of its aspects and composition has no equal in the world. Built of grey almost white granite, the college is the apotheosis of the city's main constructional substance. It's bright light beauty, has inspired many poets, including the late Thomas Hardy. The great window above the gateway is a masterpiece of the stained glass art of the great Scottish worker in this medium, Douglas Strachan."
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