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Red Cross Ambulance
364 A photograph from the presentation of a new ambulance by Aberdeen District engineering and shipbuilding firms to the Scottish Branch of the Red Cross Society on Monday 29th January 1917.
The vehicle, funded by subscription, was for use in Aberdeen and was handed over to Colonel J. Scott Riddell, the Red Cross Commissar. He can be seen fourth from the left in the group on the right.
The leftmost figure of that grouping is Lord Provost James Taggart. He presided over the presentation event that took place in the Red Cross Transport Headquarters on Holburn Street, visible here in the background. Taggart was a granite sculptor by trade and had a works nearby at 92 Great Western Road.
The location of this photograph is at the junction of Justice Mill and Holburn Street. A branch of the Summerhill Farm Dairy is visible in the background.
An account of the presentation and a list of subscribers can be read on page 3 of The Aberdeen Daily Journal for 22nd January 1917. Jack's Brae
710 A photograph looking north west up Jack's Brae, from its junction with Upper Denburn, in the Rosemount area. Jack's Brae was named after the owner of property there. This photograph likely dates from the mid-to-late 19th century.
The Ordnance Survey town plan of Aberdeen, 1:500 scale, surveyed in 1866-67 depicts a "Coffee Roasting and Grinding Works" at the top of Jack's Brae at its junction with Leadside Road. A large chimney of these works can be seen on the right side of this image in the distance.
These works were the premises of John Strachan. In the Aberdeen Post Office Directory for 1867-68, Strachan is described as follows:
"Strachan, John, coffee roaster, coffee, sugar, and sugar grinder, Jack's brae" (page 213).
Aberdeen City Council's Historic Environment Record describes the site thusly:
"Site of meal mills, built in the 18th - 19th Centuries and demolished in the 1980s. The works was two-storey with a basement, comprising a 9-bay range with a single kiln and a three-storey with attic 5 by 6-bay block of later date. There were also two 2-storey store blocks. The mill was originally water powered, later electrically driven. The OS 1st edition map depicts a coffee roasting and grinding works here; they are annotated as corn mills on the OS 25in map published 1924." (link here).
The business was known as John Strachan & Sons and the works as Gilcomston Mill. The business was started in around 1852 and John Strachan was succeeded as its proprietor by his son James Strachan (1838-1914). His obituary can be found in the Evening Express of 28th December 1914, page 5. His son, John Strachan, was later to become the business's managing director. The obituary of this later John Strachan can be found in the Press & Journal of 1st July 1935, page 8.
At the time of writing in 2022, the site is occupied by a residential complex called Strachan Mill Court - no doubt named after the coffee roasting and milling enterprise. Lower Justice Mill, Union Glen
810 Justice Mills of one kind or another are first mentioned in the 1300s, and were the site of a famous battle. In their final form, an Upper Justice Mill occupied a site later partially covered by the Odeon Cinema building, while the Lower Mill stood in Union Glen, at the bottom of the steep slope with its mill dam above and behind it (see water wheel centre left). The left hand part of the building and the wheel were removed when the cinema was built, the dam was drained and a thoroughfare created into Union Glen, but the central and right hand parts survived, albeit derelict, into the 1960s.
The wagon in front of the buildings is painted with the business name James Alexander & Son, Grain Merchants. The 1866-67 Ordnance Survey large scale town plan of Aberdeen indicates that Lower Justice Mill was a corn mill.
A black cat can also be seen in the centre right of the image and a woman carrying some type of load is in front of the waterwheel.
Correspondent Geoffrey Mann has been in touch to inform us that in 1793 there was a miller at the Justice Mills called George Reid. This information was found from an Old Machar baptismal record for his and Margaret Smith's (his wife) daughter Elizabeth.
Coincidentally, there was another George Reid (1826-1881) who was a partner in the prominent seedsmen and agricultural implement makers, Messrs Benjamin Reid & Co., who had their Bon-Accord Works just to the east of the Justice Mills. The obituary of this later George Reid from The Aberdeen Journal 16/07/1881 states that at the time his death he lived with his two sisters in Justice Mill Lane. Tilling-Stevens petrol electric bus
1050 In 1901, Aberdeen Suburban Tramway Company proposed a system of tram routes running from the city to the suburban areas of Bucksburn and Bieldside. These came into operation in 1904. In 1914, the Company decided to acquire three Tilling-Stevens petrol electric buses to augment their tram service. These vehicles had a petrol engine which was used to drive a dynamo which, in turn, fed an electric motor driving the wheels. It was claimed that they were cheaper to use and easier for tram drivers to learn to operate. They were double deck open top rear entrance vehicles with benchseats inside for 20 passengers and slatted wooden seats for 18 passengers on the upper deck. Their maximum permitted speed was 12 mph. All three buses were converted to charabanc bodies in 1921, and were sold in 1927. Lower Justice Mill
1258 Lower Justice Mill, Union Glen. Justice Mills of one kind or another are first mentioned in the 1300s, and were the site of a famous battle. In their final form, an Upper Justice Mill occupied a site subsequently partially covered by the Odeon Cinema, while the Lower Mill stood in Union Glen, at the bottom of the steep slope with its mill dam above and behind it (see water wheel centre left). The left hand part of the building and the wheel were removed when the cinema was built, the dam was drained and a thoroughfare created into Union Glen, but the central and right hand parts survived, albeit derelict, into the 1960s. Bucksburn Farm
1492 This image has not yet been indexed. Use the Comments button below the image to enter information about the photograph.
Please note: we will not include any personal information provided unless you indicate that you wish to be acknowledged. The standard form for crediting your information is (name, place) e.g. (John Smith, Aberdeen). Upper Mastrick Farm
1499 Upper Mastrick was a farm located in the north west of the Aberdeen area. It was adjacent to Long Walk Road and south west from Cairncry and Oldtown Quarries. Springhill House was to the west of the farm.
Correspondent Glenn Williams informs us that his grandfather grew up on this farm. He left for the United States In 1906. His name was William Clubb.
The farm was demolished in the mid-20th century to make way for the development of the Mastrick housing estate. Craibstone School of Rural Domestic Economy
2270 Craibstone House was formerly the home of the Pirie family who owned Stoneywood Paper Mills and it was bought by the North of Scotland College of Agriculture in 1913 and this school was set up around 1920. It is situated near Bucksburn, about 5 miles north of Aberdeen. The School was a training college for women who wanted to work on the land and provided training in household work, cookery, laundry, dairying, poultry and bee keeping and farm accounts.
This 20-roomed mansion was totally destroyed by fire in January 1953 but a new college was built and the college continued to use the estate for research and experimental work in relation to grassland and crops. However, by 1968 Rural Domestic Economy was no longer a viable course and the School closed. Freedom Lands and Marches of Aberdeen: March Stone 45
2569 On the farm of Newton of Auchmill, west of Steading and at bend of road leading to Old Mill of Bucksburn. The stone is on east side of the road. Freedom Lands and Marches of Aberdeen: March Stone 45
2570 On the farm of Newton of Auchmill, west of Steading and at bend of road leading to Old Mill of Bucksburn. The stone is on east side of the road. Pitglassie Group Portrait
3353 This photograph was one of three lent to Aberdeen City Libraries by Mr William Finney of Banchory so that we could create and preserve a digital copy for public use. These three photographs were kept by Mr Finney's family and he hopes to find out more about the people shown in them. If you can shed any light on these images please get in touch using the comment button on the left. Mr Finney was born in Turriff and the images likely relate to that area of Aberdeenshire.
This photograph by David Smith is a group portrait that appears to show five workers from the farm or area of Pitglassie in 1923. The image might have been taken at a local event or competition. This could well be a competitive ploughing team.
Pitglassie is an area with a number of farms located to the south of Turriff and north of the Kirktown of Auchterless. Ordnance Survey maps from the period show farms called Upper Pitglassie, Mid Pitglassie and North Pitglassie. There is also a Wood of Pitglassie and Crofts of Pitglassie.
The man in the middle of the lower row bears a resemblance to a figure from another of Mr Finney's images who is tentatively identified as a Fred Matthews. The man in the top left can be seen in the background of another of the three images. We do not have any knowledge about the other sitters.
Not a great deal is known about the photographer either. The card states David Smith is a "Photographic artist and picture frame maker" and that he is available for marriages and picnics. A search of old newspapers indicates there was a photographer called David Smith active in Inverurie in the 1910s. He appears to have lived in Souterford, a property that still stands today, though derelict, on the Oldmeldrum Road just after it crosses the River Urie, going out of the town. This may or may not be the David Smith who took this portrait. Aberdeen Cinemas: Regent / Odeon
3417 The Regent was opened as the second, companion cinema of Jack Poole, after his transformation of the Palace on Bridge Place that had opened in 1931. The Justice Mills location was selected and the cinema was constructed on the eastern end of the historic Upper Mill. A cinema was able to utilise the sloping nature of the site in the way few other projects could.
Michael Thomson in Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) states that work progressed on the new cinema at an excellent rate with virtually all material and labour coming from local sources. The sparkling Rubislaw granite frontage was the work of masons Edgar Gauld of Gilcomston Terrace. Wood for the joinery work came from Sweden and Finland.
The Regent was Aberdeen's first all-new cinema since the Torry Picture House a decade before. It was also the first cinema designed by Thomas Scott Sutherland, who had previously been a designer of, and dealer in, houses, notably the granite bungalows of the Broomhill estate.
The impressive new cinema opened on Saturday 27th February 1932, to an audience mostly of guests, with the main feature being a melodrama called Over the Hill. Reporting on the opening, the Evening Express wrote the following:
"Even though Aberdeen has many magnificent edifices, there is nothing quite so distinctive as the modern design of the front of the new Regent. Fine use has been made of straight lines and curves placed in sharp contrast, and the face that looks through the entrance to Justice Mill Lane on Holburn Street has an imposing dignity about it and yet an elusive gaiety in its composition. It is built of grey granite decorated with bands of red terracotta, and a polished black granite base."
The frontage was floodlit by night and outlined by Aberdeen's neon display. Above the gantry was the large, neon "Regent" sign which made the cinema a beacon at night. The Regent and the Palace were then advertised as "Aberdeen's Super Two".
The Regent's manager John K. Stafford Poole, son of Jack Poole, was aged only 21 when the Regent opened and his innovative promotion and displays became a signature of the cinema. The younger Poole regularly invited the Gordon Highlanders to screenings and in return they would afterwards march, pipes a-skirl, through the cinema and along Union Street back to their barracks.
The Regent proved hugely popular and was soon out-performing the Palace. The success of Poole's Regent prompted Aberdeen Picture Palaces to undertake the creation of their own super-cinema, the Capitol, which would open in 1933. The same year also saw the release of King Kong and the publicity stunt of a human dressed as an ape rampaging on the frontage of the Regent.
On 16th July 1936 it was announced that another southern company called County Cinemas had acquired all the Poole picture houses, those in Devonport, Derby and Plymouth, as well as the Palace and Regent in Aberdeen. In 1939 County Cinemas merged with the larger Odeon chain. In July 1940 the "Regent" sign came down to be replaced with one that read "Odeon". As part of this powerful national circuit, the cinema could rival any in Aberdeen for showing major features.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson] Steam Rally
4219 This photograph shows a steam engine rally with onlookers admiring the traction engines Wizard and Olive. This is most likely a Bon-Accord Steam Engine Club Rally and Steam Fair in Hazlehead Park.
In the centre of the photo is the traction engine Wizard. This tractor, as indicated by its signage, was owned by William McConachie of Tarland (c.1893-1981).
Programmes for Bon-Accord Steam Engine Club events, such as that for their 1986 fair, states that Wizard was Aveling no. 1139, registration number SO2182. Built by Aveling and Porter in 1926 it was an 8 horse power compound piston valve traction engine. It was built for Moray County Highways for road maintenance, before being acquired by McConachie. Following William McConachie's death in 1981, the engine, plus two others, was owned by his son William "Bill" McConachie (1929-2013), a former policeman and chairperson of the Bon-Accord Club.
The man standing in front of the engines, wearing a suit and glasses, may be William "Bill" McConachie.
Olive was Foster no. 14289, reg. no. SA5264. Manufactured in 1919 by Foster Wellington it was a 5 horse power compound tractor. It is described as "an ex-W.D. engine acquired by Godsman & Sons, New Pitsligo, for hauage of peat from the mosses in the district, then sold to a threshing contactor at Mintlaw Station and later used for sawmill work, until bought by the late William McConachie, Tarland. Now owned by his daughter Jean of Breda, Alford" (1986 programme, page 26).
An obituary for William "Willie" McConachie can be found in the Press & Journal of 28th October 1981 on page 4. It states that this well-known traction engine enthusiast was a publican before taking over the Mill of Wester Coull Farm. He had four engines which he took to rallies all over Scotland. He and his wife Olive, no doubt the naming inspiration for the above engine, were honorary members of the Bon-Accord Steam Engine Club. William was also a local Justice of the Peace.
This photo is likely dates from the 1970s or 1980s and is from a collection of slides donated to Aberdeen City Libraries by Aberdeen City Council's publicity department. Cothal Mills
4292 A photograph looking north across the River Don towards the remains of Cothal Mills in June 1976. This image was likely taken not far from Dyce Cemetery.
Foxgloves can be seen in the foreground on the southern bank of the river. The buildings on the other side were part of a former woollen, yarn or flock mill complex.
The book Gordon: an illustrated architectural guide (1994) by Ian Shepherd, page 170, states that the mills, steam and water powered, once employed upwards of 100 workers and were superseded by the larger works downstream at Grandhome.
See Crombies of Grandholm and Cothal, 1805-1960: records of an Aberdeenshire enterprise (1960) edited by John R. Allan for more information on the use of the mills by the Crombie firm.
An entry for the mills in the Aberdeenshire Ordnance Survey Name Books, 1865-1871, reads as follows:
"A large pile of buildings situated close to the river Don. Originally there was a meal mill here and subsequently, when the greater portion of the houses were erected, the manufacture of woollen cloth was carried on; now yarn is the only production. Motive power water. Contiguous to the mill there are a considerable number of dwellinghouses inhabited by the mill workers. Property of Sir William Forbes Bart." (reference: OS1/1/30/64)
Large scale Ordnance Survey mapping indicates that Cothal Mills were disused by around the mid-20th century.
At the time of writing in 2023, the main buildings shown here have been converted to residential use. A property notice titled 'Old Mill by River Don up for grabs' in the Press & Journal of 24th March 1992, page 18, states that Upper Cothal Mill, on the right in this image but mostly obscured by trees, then up for sale, had been converted into a spacious family home in 1985, following a period of disrepair. |