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3 Mackie Place
42 This photograph shows No. 3 Mackie Place, Aberdeen, in around 1870.
The street was named after Robert Mackie, a skinner who was Convener of the Incorporated Trades.
At No. 6 Mackie Place there was a haunted house known as the 'The Castle' or 'The White House'. It was located to the south west of Nos. 4 and 5 next to the Denburn. It was the home of the Forbes family who printed the Castle Spectre magazine.
No. 6 Mackie Place was in time demolished to make way for Esslemont Avenue. Due to the demolition, the Forbes family moved across the Denburn to the property off Skene Street known as 'the Galleries' in around 1882. It stood in the ground to the rear of No. 1 Mackie Place and has also subsequently been demolished.
No. 3 Mackie Place is located to the east of Nos. 4 and 5, on the north side of the Denburn, and still stands today. Postcard of ruins of Huntly Castle
288 Located on the outskirts of Huntly, the castle stands on the south bank of the River Deveron. The castle dates from the late 12th century with a Norman Motte and Bailey , a medieval L-Plan tower house and defence earthworks of the Civil War nearby. The castle was the home of the Gordons, a powerful Catholic family who once ruled over much of the North-East. The main structure was begun by Lord Gordon in 1452, being built in the new 'Palace' style. The castle was not completed in its final form until 1597/1606. In 1650 it was visited briefly by Charles ll, on his way to Worcester, defeat and exile. After the Civil War, the castle fell into disuse and the Dukes of Gordon moved to Fochabers. Much of the impressive ruin still remains including the fine heraldic doorway. The castle is now the property of Historic Scotland, and is open to the public. Gaelic Chapel, Belmont Street
322 The Gaelic Chapel was founded in the 18th century in response to the increasing numbers of Highlanders who came to the city in search of work.
At first, they held services in the East Church of St. Nicholas but, in the 1790s, they obtained ground in the area between Belmont Street and Back Wynd, now known as Gaelic Lane.
The opening services in the new church were conducted on 30th August 1795. In 1843, at the Disruption, the whole congregation followed their minister, Rev. Hugh Mackenzie, into the Free Church.
By 1882, the church had become old and dilapidated and needed so much renovation that the congregation decided to move. The property was disposed of and was used as a printing office by G. & W. Fraser for a number of years.
The congregation moved to a church on Dee Street which had become vacant on the disbanding of the United Free Methodists and it was named St. Columba United Free Church.
In 1907, they amalgamated with the High United Free Church and moved to their church at the junction of Belmont Street and Schoolhill.
Comparing the scene shown here and large scale historic maps suggests that this is likely a view of the rear of the Gaelic Chapel buildings, looking north, potentially taken from the back of a building on Union Street. Quaker Meeting House, Gallowgate
765 Site of Mar's Castle, Gallowgate after its demolition in 1897. The building in the background was for many years the meeting place of the Society of Friends (Quakers). They also had a burial ground in this area in the 1670s. The building was acquired by John Watt and Sons, leather merchants. The upper part had louvre windows which made it suitable for drying leather.
The two doorways that remain standing in the centre of the image were part of the tenement located just north of Mar's Castle. Above the one on the left can be seen a sign indicating that this was once the pend leading to Logan's Court. In the late 19th century the address of this tenement would have been 150 Gallowgate.
The demolition of Mar's Castle, and likely this tenement too, began in January 1897. The Town Council bought the property and ordered its demolition so that the street could be widened.
This photograph was taken at the junction with Innes Street and looks east across Gallowgate. Silverhillock Farm
1482 An image looking north east showing Silverhillock Farm in the 1950s.
The property, through which flowed the Gilcomston Burn, was located at the junction of Westburn Road and Foresterhill Road.
The Royal Infirmary buildings can be seen in the background. Brae Farm
1790 This photograph was taken in 1951 by James Kellas and looks east showing, on the left, the rear of Brae Farm, located on Morningside Road, and part of 142 Morningside Avenue on the right.
There was originally a Brae Farm to the north west of this location that can be seen the Ordnance Survey map published in 1869 (Aberdeen Sheet LXXV.14). Just to the north of the old farm on the map is a single Aberdeen Water Works reservoir.
An article from The Leopard magazine by Diane Morgan (October/November 1985) explains that in 1885 an Aberdeen Corporation Water Act was passed to empower the Town Council to take eight million gallons daily from the River Dee and to build a second reservoir at Mannofield. This was to keep up with the city's rapid population increase.
To carry out the expansion, the council acquired the land adjoining the initial reservoir including the first Brae Farmhouse and its steadings. They then became known as Reservoir Cottage and Reservoir House and served as the home of the inspector of the water works. A relatively early inspector was called William Clark. On 28th February 1898 he died at the cottage aged 64. He was buried in the John Knox Churchyard (Aberdeen Weekly Journal, 02/03/1898, p.4).
Clark was likely succeeded as waterworks inspector by James Forsyth. The Forsyth family lived at the cottage well into the 20th century. James was married to Margaret (née Jaffray), who died after him on 28th July 1945, aged 85. Their second son, Sapper John Forsyth, died aged 26 at Oldmill Military Hospital on 20th April 1917. He was buried at Springback Cemetery.
The reservoirs continue to play a vital role in supplying water to Aberdeen. The cottage and house however were demolished in the late 20th century and replaced by modern water treatment buildings.
As shown on the 1901 OS map, sometime shortly after the passing of the 1885 act the Brae Farm we can see in this picture was built to the south east, where Morningside Road met Auchinyell Bridge. To the east, Aberdeenshire County Cricket Ground was also built around the same time.
This later Brae Farm was the home to the Kinnaird family for the first half of the 20th century. The heads of the family were Frank Kinnaird and Margaret Amelia Smith.
Their son Lance-Corporal A. G. Kinnaird, of the Royal Scots, was reported as a prisoner of war in Germany in June 1918. Prior to the war he had worked with the Clydesdale Bank (Evening Express, 03/06/1918 p.3).
Frank's eldest daughter, Jessie Sinclair, married James Smith Mathieson at Ruthrieston U.F. Church on 7th September 1927 (Evening Express, 08/09/1927, p.6).
A younger daughter, Edith Kinnaird, married a man from Portsmouth called Andrew Livingstone in July 1936. The marriage took place in Ruthrieston West Church and the reception was at the Caledonian Hotel (Press & Journal, 06/06/1936 p.8).
Daughters Amelia Elizabeth and Margaret Kinnaird both left Brae Farm in the 1920s (1924 and 1920, respectively) to reunite with fiancés who had travelled ahead to Canada.
Frank Kinnaird died on 12th August 1950, aged 84.
At some point during the 1930s-1950s the residential streets we know today, Morningside Avenue, Terrace and Place were constructed between the reservoir and the new farmstead. These streets take their name from Morningside Farm to the east. As can be seen in this photograph, the farm stood into the 1950s. It was eventually demolished when Morningside Avenue was extended to meet Morningside Road. The newer bungalows can be distinguished by their tiled, rather than slated roofs. Stop 5: Aberdeen's First Nursery for Working Women (1871-1874) and Night Shelter for the Homeless (1971-1986), East North Street
2304 In June 1871 a day nursery was established at 13 East North Street for the children of mothers who did laundry and cleaning jobs. It was run by the Aberdeen Association for the Poor, which nowadays is known as Voluntary Services Aberdeen and is Aberdeen's oldest charity. It was for children aged from 6 weeks to 5 years. Prices were one child 3d, nowadays 1p, two children 41/2d, for children from the same family and three for 6d. Prices were increased in 1873 as the nursery was not able to cover its running costs. This did not help and unfortunately the doors closed in May 1874 as it was not feasible for the Association to continue to run it at a loss of £60 a year. A Flower Mission was run instead where volunteers made and brought bouquets of flowers to sick women from the East End and it lasted for twenty years. In 1895-1902 nursery was re-established in the nearby 15-21 Princes Street. This is the site of the first night shelter founded by Mrs Hilda Wernham (1919-2002) in answer to what she saw as the very desperate need of the indigent population in Aberdeen. A justice of the Peace and founding member of the Cyrenians Mrs Wernham was a sparky lady with a social conscience and an ability to inspire others. She managed to persuade business people with her persistence and sense of humour to support the venture. Her enthusiasm and commitment have earned her a place in the history of Aberdeen. Her name lives on at Wernham House (pictured), the first hostel of its kind, established in 1986 at 7 Virginia Street by Aberdeen Cyrenians.
Memories:
Ina recalls Hilda Wernham
Alma's memories of Hilda Wernham and Aberdeen Cyrenians Aberdeen Cinemas: Electric / Capitol
3402 A photograph showing the Capitol façade in January 2021.
By the 1960s and 70s the Capitol was increasingly being used as a venue for live events. Michael Thomson credits its survival over the Majestic, closed down in September 1973, as due to the Capitol's superior stage facilities. The Donald family, the venue owners, had the stage enlarged in 1975.
Appearances by popular groups like the Bay City Rollers in 1974 suggested the future for the venue at the time. The Capitol also saw performances by the Rolling Stones, Roy Orbison, Queen, Boyzone and Chuck Berry among many others. The Capitol ceased showing films in 1995.
The Capitol contained a restaurant, and subsequently bar, in the cinema's former café area around this period. 1993 saw the opening of the Art Deco and cinema themed bar Oscars in this space.
The Capitol functioned as a wonderful venue giving North-East audiences the chance to see top performers for many years. It became increasingly uneconomic to run and the curtain finally came down on the venue on Monday 15th December 1997.
The building was later converted into a nightclub and restaurant called Jumping Jaks and the Chicago Rock Café that opened in around 2003. These closed down in 2008 and the Capitol laid empty for some time.
In 2013 Knight Property Group began plans to redevelop the site as a modern office complex. The £30m project retained and restored the cinema's original façade and employed an Art Deco style in its foyer entrance to reference the history of the building. The venue's auditorium that had been much altered and had fallen into disrepair was demolished. The launch of the new office complex was held on 10th June 2016. 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. 16 Schoolhill
4308 A photograph looking north at 16 Schoolhill in around 1986 or 1987.
This image is one of a series taken by Aberdeen City Council to record buildings prior to the redevelopment of the area and construction of the Bon Accord shopping centre.
This was a historic building located in the area to the north of Schoolhill, through a pend, between George Street and Harriet Street. Historic maps suggest it may have dated from the late 19th century. It appears to have survived while much of the surrounding buildings on Donald's Close were demolished in the mid-20th century.
Historic newspapers suggest the building may have once served as the premises of Messrs. Wordie and Co., carting contractors. Stables were once located to the north east of this building, to the rear of George Street. The wall partially shown on the right here would have been the entrance to the stables.
A for sale notice for whole area from the Wordie Property Company can be found in the Press & Journal of 12th September 1933, page 1.
The above company no doubt inspired the name, and carting themed signage, of the pub Wordie's Ale House which opened on Schoolhill proper, at no. 16, in around 1989 (Evening Express, 15th November 1995, page 29).
This photograph shows two liveried cars parked outside the building. This space is now occupied by the south west corner of the Bon Accord Centre. Scotstown House
4374 A postcard image looking north east towards the portico of Scotstown House. This substantial mansion stood in what is now East Woodcroft in Bridge of Don.
The house is described by David G. Miller in his book Archibald Simpson, Architect: His Life and Times 1790-1847 (2006) on pages 101-102. Miller states that the mansion was designed and erected by Archibald Simpson for the Moirs of Scotstown and Spital, the local landowners, in around the 1820s.
Simpson is also credited with its design in his obituary in The Builder magazine (8th May 1847, vol. 5, no. 222).
Miller states that the mansion was "abandoned by the Moirs and lay derelict for many years before finally being demolished in the 1930s." (Page 102).
Newspaper mentions indicate the property was in disrepair and due for demolition in the 1930s (see Press & Journal, 6th October 1933, page 3), but sources, including Aberdeen City Council's Historic Environment Record, indicate that at least part of the building stood as a ruin until full demolition in the 1980s. Rubble was subsequently removed from the location in 1999. Some garden walls remain in situ.
As indicated in the top right, this postcard was published by a person or company abbreviated to "D. F. McK." This postcard likely dates from the early 20th century. Scotstown House
4375 A postcard image looking north towards the southern elevation of Scotstown House. This substantial mansion stood in what is now East Woodcroft in Bridge of Don.
The house is described by David G. Miller in his book Archibald Simpson, Architect: His Life and Times 1790-1847 (2006) on pages 101-102. Miller states that the mansion was designed and erected by Archibald Simpson for the Moirs of Scotstown and Spital, the local landowners, in around the 1820s.
Simpson is also credited with its design in his obituary in The Builder magazine (8th May 1847, vol. 5, no. 222).
Miller states that the mansion was "abandoned by the Moirs and lay derelict for many years before finally being demolished in the 1930s." (Page 102).
Newspaper mentions indicate the property was in disrepair and due for demolition in the 1930s (see Press & Journal, 6th October 1933, page 3), but sources, including Aberdeen City Council's Historic Environment Record, indicate it stood as a ruin until full demolition in the 1980s. Rubble was subsequently removed from the location in 1999. Some garden walls remain in situ.
As indicated in the bottom left, this postcard was published by a person or company abbreviated to "D. F. McK." This postcard likely dates from the early 20th century.
The rear of the postcard features a 1909 date stamp, green half penny Edward VII postage stamp, and was sent by a "J. C. W." to a Miss M. McKenzie of 37 Summerfield Terrace, Aberdeen. |