Quick Search
|
Search Results
You searched for: More Like: 'Balnagask Golf Course'
137 items
items as
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. Diversion of the River Dee
157 The Dee originally flowed northward from Wellington Bridge close by the railway arches eastwards to the sea. After years of discussion about the development of the harbour, the Aberdeen Harbour Act of 1868 allowed the Harbour Commissioners to divert the river to the south. The first turf was cut by Lord Provost Leslie on 22nd December 1869.
This photograph shows the dam built to allow the excavation of the new channel. Most of the work was carried out by hand with men using picks and shovels. There was no official inauguration of the new channel but the river was following its new course by the beginning of 1873. Deeside Hydropathic
209 Deeside Hydropathic at Murtle, five miles to the west of Aberdeen City Centre, was built for the Rev Dr Alexander Stewart in 1899. He had founded a similar establishment in 1874 at Heathcot, Kincardinshire, and the growth of business there led to the selection of this new site close to Murtle Station on the Deeside Railway. It was also seen as a convenient centre for visiting the Deeside area. The extensive grounds included a croquet lawn, bowling green and tennis courts, while the Deeside Golf Club was only a mile away. The building itself had 92 bedrooms, there were Turkish, Russian, vapour, electric and spray baths. Since hydropathy was a medical treatment consisting of the external and internal application of water, the proximity of an artesian well supplying abundant pure water was also a feature. After the first World War, the building was sold and converted into Tor-Na-Dee Sanatorium in August 1918, specialising in the treatment of tuberculosis. More recently it has been used as a convalescent hospital, but it is now being re-developed for housing. Dr Stewart was born in 1835 in Coupar, Angus and studied at Glasgow University and did the medical course at Aberdeen University. At his death in 1909, he was Minister of John Street Congregational Church in Aberdeen, having been ordained there in 1864. Victoria Park
241 In 1871 Aberdeen Town Council decided to convert nearly 14 acres of Glennie's Parks, which had been used for cattle grazing, into a public recreation ground - Aberdeen's first public park.
Aberdeen's lack of a public park up to this point had become a contentious issue. For example, newspaper reports indicate that those opposed to the Municipality Extension Act of 1871 (which extended the boundary of the city, brought the functions of the Police Commissioners under the Council and incorporated the gasworks) repeatedly suggested that the expense involved in the new bill would be better used in the creation of a much wanted public park.
It is not unreasonable to suppose that this debate, and criticism of the Council, hastened the creation of Victoria Park. While work likely begun in 1871, it was not until March 1873 that the Improvements Committee of the Council recommended that the new park should be called "Victoria Park". At the same time, they also outlined a series of 13 rules and regulations for agreement by the full Council. There does not appear to have been an official opening for the new amenity.
Glennie's Park was not the only site considered for Aberdeen's first public park. Interest in such an undertaking was increasing at the same time as work was underway to divert the River Dee and improve the harbour. The new ground created in this latter project, encompassing the old, more northerly course of the river and the Inches, was a much proposed location for a park. Following the creation of Victoria Park this newly leveled ground was instead given over for buildings related to the expanding fishing industry.
A nurseryman called Robert Walker (1848-1930), originally from Perth, was chosen out of 450 candidates to be the city's first public park keeper and appointed to Victoria Park. He was likely largely responsible for the park's initial layout and appearance. His Press & Journal obituary (21/04/1930, p.6) suggests that prior to his appointment the site was "little better than a waste space".
Walker subsequently laid out Westburn Park, Stewart Park, Union Terrace Gardens and the Promenade. He also advocated and pioneered the planting of street trees. He served the Corporation for 46 years, retiring in 1919, and must be considered one of the unsung heroes of Aberdeen history.
This photograph, taken around 1900, shows one of the main paths leading to a large granite fountain, which was designed by J.B. Pirie. It is built of 14 different types of granite and was presented by the granite polishers and master builders of the city.
Since the park is almost in the city centre, it is an oasis of peace with its mature trees and, in spring, there are masses of flowering bulbs scattered through the grass. Diversion of the River Dee
323 A photograph in Aberdeen Harbour looking east from the Inches (near the later site of Commercial Road).
The image looks across the old course of the River Dee including its spillwater channel towards Old Torry and Balnagask in the distance.
The civil engineering works shown in this photograph are thought to be part of the river diversion, creation of Albert Basin and the associated reclamation of land.
The diversion of the River Dee took place roughly between 1868 and 1873. Switchback railway
371 Ripley's Patent Switchback Railway drew a large crowd when it opened in July 1889. Built almost entirely of wood, it was situated on The Inches, on reclaimed ground, alongside the Dee, now North Esplanade West. Primitive in construction by present day standards with its straight course of 115 feet, standing 27 feet high, its three drops were 20 feet, 15 feet and 3 feet.
Local historian Ed Fowler has been in touch to suggest the background of this image has been edited to remove the industrial skyline of chimneys and works in the Poyernook area that would have formed the backdrop for this entertainment. No. 27 Tram
392 Many thanks to Silver City Vault users Dr Mike Mitchell and Brian Kennedy for providing us with information on this photo. It shows the no. 27 tram on Victoria Road with the wall of Balnagask House in the background.
The Balnagask Mains farm is partially visible to the left of the tram. The St. Fittick's Road terminus of the Torry Route is located further along Victoria Road.
The female conductor indicates the photo was taken during the Great War. The tram waits to depart for Bridge Street. Footdee From Balnagask
571 A George Washington Wilson image titled Footdee From Balnagask and numbered 139.
It shows Aberdeen Harbour Mouth photographed from the Torry side of the River Dee estuary, with Fittee in the background.
Across the water, the light, single storey building with the battlement style roof is the harbour's old custom house. In 1986 chef Didier Dejean converted this building into the Silver Darling restaurant.
Correspondent Ed Fowler suggests that the temporary structure behind the custom house was used to cast concrete blocks for an extension to the North Pier between 1869-77.
The image is also interesting for showing the industrial buildings around Footdee and Aberdeen Beach before much of its later development.
Futhermore, the tall structure on the far right looks like a taller version of the sewer ventilation shaft known as Scarty's Monument. The structure must have been shortened some time after construction. South Breakwater
625 A 1980s photograph of the South Breakwater of Aberdeen's harbour mouth. The breakwater juts out north from land off Greyhope Road. Gilcomston Dam
706 Once fed by the waters of the Denburn on its eastward course from Kingswells and Rubislaw Den, the Gilcomston Dam lay between Leadside Road and the present Osborne Place. It was in existence as early as 1673, when it is mentioned in a disposition of sale of surrounding land to the Aberdeen Corporation, and in the sale, the meal mill of Gilcomston is mentioned. The dam was drained and filled in by the Town Council in 1907 as it had become insanitary and a favourite place for drowning cats and dogs. Gilcomston Dam
707 Once fed by the waters of the Denburn on its eastward course from Kingswells and Rubislaw Den, the Gilcomston Dam lay between Leadside Road and the present Osborne Place. It was in existence as early as 1673, when it is mentioned in a disposition of sale of surrounding land to the Aberdeen Corporation, and in the sale, the meal mill of Gilcomston is mentioned. The dam was drained and filled in by the Town Council in 1907 as it had become insanitary and a favourite place for drowning cats and dogs. Pocra Quay
1242 Aberdeen Harbour entrance in around 1979. The image looks north, from Balnagask, to the North Pier and Pocra Quay with the Roundhouse, the Harbour Master's office, at the left of the photograph. The obelisk-like structure on the right of the photo is popularly known as Scarty's Monument, but is in fact a historic ventilation shaft for the sewage system. Aberdeen Harbour entrance
1245 A photograph, from around the 1970s, looking west towards the River Dee and the Tidal Harbour. It was taken from the Balnagask side of the harbour mouth with Skate's Nose Jetty is in the foreground.
An entry on Aberdeenshire Council's Historic Environment Record website indicates that the latter structure was constructed, in its current form, in 1877. River Dee channel
1255 A photograph, taken in around the 1970s, looking west up the River Dee towards Victoria Dock. The image was taken from a grassy area of Greyhope Road in Balnagask.
Mearns Quay, and its siphon house, can be seen on the right and Torry Harbour is on the left of the river. Note the beginning of the oil industry, with its storage tanks, rapidly changing this part of Aberdeen Harbour. Hall Russells shipbuilding yard
1256 A photograph, taken in around 1983, looking north west towards Hall Russells shipbuilding yard on York Place. The image was likely taken from Balnagask and shows the Tidal Harbour. Note the small pilot cutter in the foreground. Westerton of Auchmill Farm
1472 This photograph, likely by James G. Kellas and taken in around 1951, looks north west towards the farm of Westerton of Auchmill.
Its buildings are located just north east of the Northfield housing estate and remain at this location as of 2020. They are now largely bordered by Auchmill Golf Course, which also covers the previously nearby Dancing Cairns Quarry.
While the farm buildings still exist, this lane, which in the opposite direction would have lead to Westerton/Midtown Farm, has been replaced by the housing around Bonnyview Drive. Hazlehead Park
1557 The estate of Hazlehead was purchased by the Aberdeen Town Council at a cost of 40,000 pounds. Over 200 acres were originally woodland but part of this now forms a public golf course. The grounds in the vicinity of the mansion house are attractively laid out and, in the season, a wealth of bloom combines with the grassy lawns, well-trimmed walks and stately trees to make a charming picture. The Harbour
1760 An image looking north towards the Tidal Harbour from the Balnagask side of the River Dee.
The image shows the main components of Aberdeen Harbour taking shape; the River Dee, Point Law, Albert Basin and Victoria Dock at the top. Aberdeen from the Blockhouse
1778 View of New Aberdeen from the Blockhouse. Caption reads "Vue de la ville de New Aberdene du cote du Blockhause".
The image is looking north towards Aberdeen from Balnagask. |