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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. The Longacre
1941 Longacre, off Broad Street, in 1884. The street was demolished for the extensions to Marischal College.
This drawing served as the frontispiece image of the following publication: Centenary of the Consecration of the Right Reverend Samuel Seabury, D.D., first Bishop of Connecticut., Authorised Report of Proceedings in Scotland and Elsewhere, 1884 (John Avery & Co., 1885).
To the far left of the image can be seen the old St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. Gammie's Churches of Aberdeen (1909), tells us that this was opened for service on 13th September 1795.
It was built on the site of Bishop John Skinner's house, the upper two floors of which had served as the congregation's meeting place. On 14th November 1784 this was the scene of the consecration of Dr. Samuel Seabury as the first Bishop of Connecticut.
The chapel was bought by the Wesley Methodists in 1818 and served as Aberdeen's centre of Methodist activity until 1873. Prior to demolition it is thought to have been used as a warehouse and this would account for the crane like tool protruding from the window in this image. A Night-Watchman, 1857
2004 A portrait of an Aberdeen man dressed in uniform. He has a lantern hanging from his jacket and may be leaning on a large cudgel.
This image is used in the book The Diced Cap: The Story of Aberdeen City Police (1972). It features on a plate, opposite page 32, and is captioned as "Watchman 1857".
On page 45, The Diced Cap quotes a report on the state of Aberdeen's law enforcement from 1859 by Scotland's first H. M. Inspector of Constabulary, Colonel John Kinloch of Logie, Kirriemuir.
The highly critical report includes the following passage: "The Constables are divided in the old fashioned way into 'Day Constables' and 'Night-Watchmen'; the latter being so far consider an inferior class that they have less pay and are not thought worth of putting into uniform like the Day Constables, being provided only with a great-coat, flat bonnet, and a big stick!" (The Diced Cap, page 47)
The figure shown in this image very much fits Kinloch's description of Aberdeen's Night-Watchmen. Stop 1: Marion Douglas, Lady Drum (1577-1633) and Katherine Forbes, Lady Rothiemay (1583-1652), The Town House
2300 On the ground floor of the Town House on each side of the walls hang the mortification boards. These boards form a public record of the mortifications or legacies given by wealthy citizens to Aberdeen Town Council for various charitable purposes. Many of the donors are women and two are of particular interest - Lady Drum and Lady Rothiemay. They were early philanthropists, aware of older women and girls living in circumstances locally much less favourable than themselves.
Lady Drum left money to provide a home for poor widows and aged virgins. This home known as "Lady Drum's Hospital" was built c1677 in what became known as Drum's Lane, just off Upperkirkgate and today a plaque marks its site. Lady Rothiemay had a turbulent life. Her husband and son were killed in a feud with a neighbouring family and she attempted to avenge their deaths. She was imprisoned in Edinburgh. Once released she lived in Aberdeen and founded Lady Rothiemay's School for Girls, in which she took a personal interest. The school moved several times, from Guestrow finally to Littlejohn Street. It was closed in 1873 when School Boards were set up to oversee primary education for the under twelves, following the Education Act of 1872
Treasure 33: The Pedigree of the Cruickshanks of Stracathro
2321 Among the Local Studies collection of family trees is a chart from 1847 entitled Pedigree of the Cruickshanks of Stracathro. The title initially referred to the Cruickshanks of Langley Park but this has been scored out and replaced with Stracathro. A pedigree is a form of genealogical table. Collections of pedigrees were first made in the 15th century and, according to The Oxford Companion, were "a matter of aristocratic pride and of practical necessity for legal purposes". The term pedigree comes from the French 'pied de grue', meaning crane's foot, due to the resemblance of the genealogical lines to the thin legs and feet of the bird.
The pedigree of the Cruickshanks was compiled by E. G. G. Cruickshank, who features in the 10th generation detailed on the table.
The pedigree begins with the earliest ancestor at the top of the document with lines dropping down to succeeding generations. Each generation is given a Roman numeral and individuals within each generation are assigned Arabic numbers. The pedigree begins with "John Cruickshank first in Strathspey m. Mary Cumming of Elgin" and extends down to an incomplete 12th generation. The individuals in the 11th generation were mostly born in the 1870s.
The information listed on a family tree is dependent on the sources available and the purpose for which it was created. The information given on the Cruickshank's pedigree varies but typically includes an individual's date of birth, marriage details and date of death. Additional information is also supplied as is the case with the 7th generation of Cruickshanks - Margaret Helen is described as the daughter of Rev. Gerard of Aberdeen, author of a book whose title is unreadable, and sister to a Colonel Gerald. Details of army service are supplied for some individuals and many of the Cruickshanks were involved in the administration of India or served in the army there.
The tiny handwriting, use of abbreviations and sparse punctuation makes the document challenging to read so familiarity with the subject matter and names of places is useful. A later interpreter of the document has made a number of annotations in pencil. For example, one of the later additions points to an individual and reads "Is this W. Robertson of Auchinroath? Yes!"
In addition to a listing of descendants the pedigree is annotated with a number of original notes and a description of a coat of arms. The latin motto of Cavendo tutus translates as 'Safe through caution'. One note, quoting "an old paper", describes from where the family came prior to being in Strathspey. A note on the other side of the chart states that "distinguished Officer and Author the late Colonel Stewart of Garth" links the family to the Royal Family of Stewart and suggests the name of Cruickshank derives from "some deformity in the first cadet of the house."
Attached to the document is a letter dated 23 October 1927 from a Jim Bulloch to City Librarian G. M. Fraser. Bulloch explains that he got the pedigree from a Mr. Mackintosh of Elgin, thinks it is quite rare and that the library might like it for its collection. It has stayed in the Local Studies collection to this day.
The Gazetteer for Scotland website states that in 1775 Patrick Cruickshank, listed at No. 11 of the 7th generation, bought the estate of Stracathro in Angus. The property was subsequently inherited by his brother Alexander Cruickshank (1764 - 1846). Alexander hired the Aberdeen architect Archibald Simpson to build Stracathro House between 1824 and 1827. The Palladian Scottish country house still exists today.
University College London's Legacies of British Slave-ownership website indicates that Patrick and Alexander, and two other Cruickshank brothers, owned plantations on the Caribbean island of St Vincent that used slave labour. See Alexander Cruickshank's entry in the database here: 'Alexander Cruikshank of Stracathro', Legacies of British Slave-ownership database, http://wwwdepts-live.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/8590 [accessed 9th June 2020]. In 1833 when Britain abolished the ownership of slaves the government granted £20 million in compensation to former slave-owners. Alexander Cruickshank made three claims for compensation, two of which were successful.
In 1874, Stracathro House and estate were sold to Sir James Bannerman, Lord Provost of Glasgow, and father of Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. The country house was later used as a World War II hospital and owned by Tay Health Board before being sold to private owners in 2003. Co-Wheels Electric Car on Queen Street
2773 This photograph taken on 14th July 2018 shows a Co-Wheels electric car at a charging station on Aberdeen's Queen Street. The south side of Marischal College is in the background.
Co-Wheel's are a social enterprise whose website describes themselves as "the only independently-owned national car club, providing low emission, hybrid and electric cars on a pay-as-you-go basis for organisations and communities across the UK" (accessed 03/08/2018). The Development of Marischal Square and Broad Street (23/08/2015-20/04/2018): 13
3063 View from the small car park off Broad Street on the south side of the site. Provost Skene's House on the left, partly obscured by portable cabins. Marischal College on the right with Greyfriars' Church on the extreme right. 09/02/2016. The Development of Marischal Square and Broad Street (23/08/2015-20/04/2018): 30
3080 Pedestrian turns off Carnegies Brae, by Marks and Spencers, into Flourmill Lane. Patterned cladding on the Marriot Residence Inn dominates the scene. 23/05/2017. Point Law
3575 Taken at the edge of Point Law, this image features the junction of Albert Quay and Point Law.
A large expanse of quayside can be seen, along with the ferry terminal in the centre of the image. Two men walk north-west, next to the terminal.
Beyond this central subject, one can see a floating dock with the city's name in bold letter on the side.
The City of Aberdeen accepted their first plan for a floating dock on 12th July 1909, according to the Aberdeen Daily Journal of the following day. It would be docked just off Pocra Quay.
It can therefore be inferred that the image was captured no earlier than 1910; the floating dock in the background is most likely the very first one built for Aberdeen City Harbour. 42 St. Paul Street (paint works)
4340 A photograph showing buildings at 42 St. Paul Street 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 image shows part of the wall of the former paint works at the corner of St. Paul Street and Drum Lane. The latter alley led south east to Upperkirkgate and would have been located to the right of the frame. On the opposite side of the street shown here was St. Paul Primary School.
Looking east, the spire of the Mitchell Tower of Marischal College can be seen in the background.
These buildings were demolished to make way for the Bon Accord Centre. The only part of St. Paul Street which remains today is a small section coming west off the Gallowgate, providing access to a Bon Accord Centre service area and parking for the Portland Club. The shopping centre covers the majority of the former site of the street. Aberdeen Market 11 - Taste of Hong Kong
4387 A Roddy Millar photograph of the seating area of the Taste of Hong Kong café in the Aberdeen Market building.
This image shows the day-to-day lay-out of the café and its distinctive wall mural featuring an iconic Hong Kong junk boat.
Taste of Hong Kong offered highly rated Asian cuisine to their customers and continue to do so. The restaurant now operates just off Union Street at 28 Adelphi. It is one of several businesses to find success after the closure of the market building.
Photograph taken on 27/02/2019. Treasure 24: Aberdeen Mechanics Institute
195 2015 marks 170 years since the founding stone of Aberdeen Mechanics' Institute was laid. The history of this well-known building in Aberdeen's landscape has however often been forgotten. We hold a small collection of posters and flyers relating to the Institute and its courses and lectures in our Local Studies collection.
The School of Arts of Edinburgh, established in 1821, was the world's first Mechanics' Institute. Two years later, the Aberdeen Mechanics' Institute was established "for the purpose of affording to Mechanics, and others employed during the day, the means of acquiring such knowledge as may be of practical utility to them in their several professions, or which may be useful for cultivating their minds by extending their acquaintance with the phenomena of nature and the arts of life" (A. Yeats, Secretary. Aberdeen Journal, 14 February 1844).
The Mechanics' Institute soon became a very important educational force in the city. It also provided educational advantages for those who otherwise would never have had the opportunity or the means of acquiring them.
Initially a place of entertainment, the Mechanics' Institute subsequently became a public library on the adoption of the Public Libraries Act (1884). The Library was the most valuable asset of the institution and was viewed as a necessity, providing significant educational opportunities to its members.
For a period of nearly 60 years, the Mechanics Institute played a major role in influencing the culture and education of the people of Aberdeen.
See the whole digital exhibition (the link will open in a new browser window). Treasure 27: City of Aberdeen Meteorological Records
200 The state of our weather is a regular topic of conversation whether it's a lovely sunny day or a dark, dreich day. November brought the first snow of the season to Aberdeen in 2015 so we have taken this opportunity to look at historical weather records in our collections and see if our winters used to be warmer, colder, snowier, or wetter than today's!
This table of weather statistics for December 1925 is contained in a large volume of titled 'City of Aberdeen Meteorological Records'. The records were obtained from Aberdeen University Observatory, King's College by the Medical Officer of Health (MOH), Dr Matthew Hay, for publication in his Monthly and Yearly Reports on the Health of the City.
Although this volume covers the period from January 1900 until the Monthly Records were discontinued in September 1931, Dr Hay also included meteorological data in his earlier reports and the later MOH annual reports also contained summaries of the data.
The University Observatory was created around 1868 on the upper storeys of the Cromwell Tower. The Meteorological Observer was William Boswell until 1902. He was succeeded by George Aubourne Clarke the following year. Their equipment included a telescope, thermometer screen and an anemometer. The Observatory was one of the Government's Meteorological Office weather stations and was taken over by the Air Ministry in 1921 but closed down in 1947.
The data in each table includes temperature, relative humidity, rainfall (snow or hail is indicated by the letters S or H), hours of sunshine, and wind direction and velocity.
This table from December 1925 shows that there was some snow in the first and third week but both Christmas Day and Hogmanay were the two sunniest days of the month with between 3 and 4 hours of sunshine each.
Today we are used to regular weather forecasts broadcast and printed in the media. The official body responsible for weather forecasting in Britain is the Met Office. Their website at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/ provides not only current forecasts and explanations of weather phenomena but also historical information on Britain's weather.
Check this link to see how many times there has been snow at Christmas in Aberdeen between 1942 and 2007. Aberdeen experienced 15 White Christmases as snow fell on 25 December. The likelihood of snow falling - and lying - in December has decreased in recent years due to the effects of Climate Change. Nowadays, Britain is much more likely to experience snow between January and March. Treasure 85: Diary of the Battle of the Somme, July-Sept. 1916, by Corporal H. Robertson
297 To mark Remembrance Day on 11 November, we are exhibiting one of the most poignant and remarkable treasures in our collection - the diary of Corporal Harry Robertson featuring a first-hand account of life in the trenches during World War One.
The diary was gifted to former City Librarian William Critchley by Harry Robertson when they met in Motherwell, Scotland. As Robertson had fought in the 1st Battalion of Gordon Highlanders, he suggested that Aberdeen Public Library may be the best place to preserve it.
Robertson was born in Greenock in 1893 and went on to become an analytical chemist with Glasgow City Analysts and Glasgow's Royal Technical College prior to the First World War. In August 1914, he enlisted in the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) and trained with them at Dunbar and York, transferring to the Gordon Highlanders in June 1915. He rose through the ranks to become Sergeant at General Headquarters 3rd Echelon in Rouen in November 1916, where he remained until the end of the war. He was demobilized in March 1919.
In the diary, Corporal Robertson shares his experiences during the 'Big Push' and the Battle of Bazentin Ridge (14-17 July 1916). It was a British victory, but at a huge cost with over 9000 British casualties and losses. The 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders were part of the 76th Brigade, 3rd Division, XIII Corps of the British Army, commanded by Lieutenant-General Walter Congreve.
View our Treasures exhibition on the interactive screen to read more detailed extracts from the diary and gain an insight into the moving and often traumatic experiences of soldiers on the front line. Broad Street
430 This image was digitised from Artistic Aberdeen: A Sketch Book (1932) by W. S. Percy.
The book describes the scene as follows:
"Broad Street, a vista which in years not very far off, may again under go change. This was formerly named the Broadgate, but this part of it now, as compared with the plaza in front of Marischal College from which the drawing has been done, is rather ironical. The part seen in the drawing is also entirely given over to the municipal offices; at the end is the Town House, the tower of which can be seen. On the left are the offices of the Aberdeen Journals Limited." City of Aberdeen. At Aberdeen, the 21st day of February, 1817 years (1 of 2)
511 This is the front page of a two-sided broadside style pamphlet. The back page can be seen here.
This broadside refers to a meeting on 21st February 1817 of Aberdeen's bureaucrats. Attending the meeting were creditors - individuals and organisations providing loans - and their debtors, the treasurers of Aberdeen. The meeting had been called by a letter dated to the 8th February. The Lord Provost, Alexander Fraser (1775-1840), chaired the meeting. The Lord Provost reiterated the contents of the letter, that the treasurers felt bound to provide a detailed statement of their accounts to the creditors. They also iterated their desire to establish an independent committee to assist in the auditing of their accounts.
The treasurers felt it necessary to reassure the attending creditors. The treasurers had previously borrowed money from the creditors to fund the formation of Union Street and King Street. For some years in the run up to this meeting, the treasurers had been unable to pay the creditors the required five-per-cent interest on the money borrowed for this project. (Alexander Munro, Memorials of the Alderman, Provosts, and Lord Provosts of Aberdeen, 1272-1893 (1897), 265-267).
Thus, presumably, the creditors were nervous over the security of their debts. A lack of trust between the creditors and debtors exists. The Lord Provost, speaking on behalf of the debtors, sought to rectify this through making the treasurers scrutable. A motion was moved by a Mr Crombie to give the independent committee (of trustees) the power to sell property belonging to the treasurers in order to pay the treasurers' debts. This motion was unanimously approved by the meeting. The broadside concludes by listing the trustees as treasurers in order to pay the treasurers' debts. City of Aberdeen. At Aberdeen, the 21st day of February, 1817 years (2 of 2)
512 This is the back page of a two-sided broadside style pamphlet. The front page can be seen here.
This broadside refers to a meeting on 21st February 1817 of Aberdeen's bureaucrats. Attending the meeting were creditors - individuals and organisations providing loans - and their debtors, the treasurers of Aberdeen. The meeting had been called by a letter dated to the 8th February. The Lord Provost, Alexander Fraser (1775-1840), chaired the meeting. The Lord Provost reiterated the contents of the letter, that the treasurers felt bound to provide a detailed statement of their accounts to the creditors. They also iterated their desire to establish an independent committee to assist in the auditing of their accounts.
The treasurers felt it necessary to reassure the attending creditors. The treasurers had previously borrowed money from the creditors to fund the formation of Union Street and King Street. For some years in the run up to this meeting, the treasurers had been unable to pay the creditors the required five-per-cent interest on the money borrowed for this project. (Alexander Munro, Memorials of the Alderman, Provosts, and Lord Provosts of Aberdeen, 1272-1893 (1897), 265-267).
Thus, presumably, the creditors were nervous over the security of their debts. A lack of trust between the creditors and debtors exists. The Lord Provost, speaking on behalf of the debtors, sought to rectify this through making the treasurers scrutable. A motion was moved by a Mr Crombie to give the independent committee (of trustees) the power to sell property belonging to the treasurers in order to pay the treasurers' debts. This motion was unanimously approved by the meeting. The broadside concludes by listing the trustees as treasurers in order to pay the treasurers' debts. Royal Lunatic Asylum - Elmhill House
525 A plan of the main floor of the proposed building designed by architect William Ramage (1819-1866) as an extension for Aberdeen's Royal Lunatic Asylum. The building became known as Elmhill House and was completed in 1866.
This ground plan, marked as no. 11, illustrated the Interim report to the managers of the Royal Infirmary and Lunatic Asylum of Aberdeen (1858). A copy of this pamphlet is held in the Local Studies collection of Aberdeen City Libraries. The interim report primarily consists of text by Ramage outlining his amended plans for the building. The amendments were informed by his visits, alongside a Dr. Jamieson, to "several of the most important Asylums in the Kingdom".
Ramage refers to an accompanying set of four plans. The interim report only features this plan and a sketch of the main elevation. The comments from the committee, that introduce and follow Ramage's report, written by convener David McHardy, indicate that the two illustrations from the pamphlet were drawn up at the committee's request and are separate from those plans mentioned by Ramage.
Elmhill House was designed by Ramage in an Italian villa style with an E-plan layout, as shown here. The building had three storeys above ground and a basement. The entry on Aberdeen City's Historic Environment Record indicates it was built to alleviate overcrowding at the main Royal Lunatic Asylum buildings at Cornhill. It was intended to be for the care of private patients able to pay a guinea a week or more.
The above site also explains that the building was badly damaged by bombing in World War 2. Though much of the Elmhill House can still be seen at the time of writing in 2023. The building appears to be in use as private housing.
The accompanying description in the interim report indicates that this plan contains "accommodation suitable for sixty-six patients of both sexes." We can also see facilities for a superintendent, a matron, pantries, dining rooms, day rooms, baths, toilets and a large hall. |