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Old channel of the River Dee
505 The old channel of the River Dee. 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. 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. Union Terrace Gardens and the Denburn
692 This view taken about 1884 shows the railway line which runs north from the Joint Station through the Denburn Valley.
The Denburn ran as an open burn throughout this area with bleaching greens next to it, until the railway was constructed in 1865-7, when the burn was covered over and the greens removed.
In the late 1870's, Union Terrace Gardens was laid out next to the railway, and it was sometimes referred to as the 'Trainie Park'. The bandstand has long since been removed.
The iron footbridge on granite supports which allowed access across the gardens from Schoolhill to Union Terrace was replaced by Schoolhill Viaduct in 1886/7. This created a site for His Majesty's Theatre, South UF Church, and Aberdeen Public Library. Future site of Central School (Aberdeen Academy)
697 The block of buildings in the centre of this photo are seen prior to their demolition about 1901. The site had been acquired by Aberdeen School Board for a new central higher grade school. It was to have a frontage along Schoolhill and Belmont Street of 145 feet. The Central School, renamed Aberdeen Academy, was closed in 1970, and has been converted into the Academy Shopping Centre (1999). The small building tucked in next to the tall gable end was not demolished. It was built in 1769 for James Dun, rector of Aberdeen Grammar School which was then situated opposite these buildings. The house was acquired by the School Board to house the caretaker and was later used as classrooms. In 1975, it was restored for use, initially as a children's museum and named James Dun's House. It was subsequently used as offices for Aberdeen City Council and later as a spa and shop. Cults Railway Station
1031 Cults Railway Station, 1920 - Cults was the first main station on the Deeside Line between Aberdeen and Ballater, at 3 and five-eighths miles from Aberdeen.
The line between Aberdeen and Banchory was opened in 1853 and extended to Aboyne and later to Ballater by 1866.
The double line, as seen here, was opened in 1884 and returned to single line in 1951.
This view, from about 1920, shows the stationmaster, Peter Walker, his staff and a number of passengers awaiting the imminent arrival of a train.
In 1894, suburban trains, "subbies", were introduced between Aberdeen and Culter, calling at 8 intermediate stations and covering the 7 miles in just over 20 minutes. This meant that up to 30 trains would be calling at Cults every day.
The "subbies" ceased on 5 April 1937 because of competition from buses. The Deeside Line closed to passenger traffic on 28 February 1966, after the Beeching Report of 1963. Goods traffic continued for a few more months but the final train ran on the line on 30 December 1966.
Cults Station was later occupied by a joinery company. Cults Cairn
1040 Cults Cairn. This round cairn is scheduled as an ancient monument and is probably around 4,000 years old. It was originally one of three but the other two were carted away in December 1892 so that the stones could be used to repair damage to the banks of the River Dee after the massive flooding caused by the 'Muckle Spate'. At this time (1930's) the cairn was in a rural area, but it is now surrounded by a modern housing development in the area between Cults and Bieldside, 3-4 miles west of Aberdeen. It is about 20 metres in diameter and about 5 metres high on a crest overlooking the Dee valley. There was much concern in the late 1970's that the stones were being removed to create paths and rockeries. Schoolhill Station
1197 In 1889, Schoolhill Viaduct was built along with Schoolhill Station. At that time the station was part of the Great North of Scotland Railway Company. These street level offices and station stood in splendid isolation about 100 feet along from His Majesty's Theatre. The station, besides acting as a left luggage office also acted as a waiting room for the GNSR bus services to the outlying villages of Aberdeenshire. To the left of the entrance can be noted a clock which indicated the time of the next train to Dyce. The station was closed in 1937 and for several years was a tea room. The building was finally demolished in 1977. Five men sit in an early motor bus
1663 This image shows an early motor bus, seated for about 7. Note the handrails for boarding at the back, and the two bench seats. The bus is a Renault. This kind of vehicle would have been used to convey guests between a hotel and a railway station, or to Aberdeen Sea Beach from Market Street.
(Many thanks to Dr Mike Mitchell for this information.) Rothienorman Church
1730 Rothienorman is a village about 25 miles north of Aberdeen and 10 miles from Inverurie. The church began as a mission station in 1935, under Inverurie, before being raised to full status in 1947. In 1958, it became a joint charge with Culsalmond but it is now linked with Fyvie. Rev. Alexander Noble has recently been inducted to the charge but, at the time of this photo, the minister was Rev. Rodney Milligan, who had the charge from 1958. The church was designed by the Aberdeen architect, George Bennett Mitchell, in 1936. The roof is supported by arched oak beams which are painted black, as is the bell tower, in contrast to the grey harled walls. The pews came from the United Free Church in Rayne, while the communion table and chains in light oak were gifted by James Dalgarno, in memory of his wife. At first glance, its unusual design makes the passerby think that it is a private house but most visitors regard it as a beautiful building. Guild Street Road Bridge
1872 This bridge was built in the 1860s to extend Guild Street, over the railway tracks, and link up with the newly built Bridge Street. It was part of the development of the first Aberdeen Joint Station and the Denburn Valley Railway.
Correspondent Ed Fowler describes the bridge as follows: A riveted and latticed 2-span steel bowstring bridge with flat-span plate-girder pedestrian footpaths to the North and South sides. It has corniced and panelled, granite terminal piers.
The chimney of Hadden's Factory is visible beyond, with Trinity Hall to the left and St Nicholas Church Steeple to the right.
A query concerning the exact date of erection for Hadden's chimney is asked in "Aberdeen Journal" Notes and Queries, vol. II, 1909, on page 77 by a "J. M." This is answered on page 383 by "R. A." with the following:
"The following appears in 'Aberdeen Journal,' 31st October, 1838:- 'The new Chimney Stalk of Messrs Hadden's Works, in the Green, is now in operation, and completely answers its purpose. It is 2021/2 feet above the level of the ground; 6 feet in diameter, inside, at the top; contains 126,500 bricks; and is calculated to weigh, altogether, about 850 tons." Original Guild Street Station
2616 The original Guild Street Station had two platforms to accommodate four services to the south and three to Deeside. The goods station is to the right.
In 1854 The Great North of Scotland Railway after years of struggle to raise capital opened between Kittybrewster and Huntly; from 1858 this became part of a through route to Inverness. In April 1856 it extended passenger services from Kittybrewster to Waterloo Quay using a line built on the bed of the old Aberdeenshire Canal.
Connecting the two Aberdeen termini, which were about a half mile apart, were railway tracks laid along the quayside and suitable for horse-haulage only. Early GNSR locomotive and carriage at Waterloo Station in the 1860s
2631 The distance between the termini was inconvenient and missed connections were common. Horse drawn buses and cabs were available but most people changing trains walked. Priority was given to mail which was rushed by carriage between the two stations.
In 1862 Waterloo was handling five passenger services to the north, including through carriages to Inverness, and four trains to Buchan. By this
time a network of branch lines was developing north of Aberdeen.
Following several years of controversy over the route and cost of a direct connection between the SNER and the GNSR, Parliament brokered an agreement between the two companies to jointly fund a line from Kittybrewster to a new station in Guild Street at a cost of about £200,000, involving two tunnels and the culverting of the Denburn. Lifting Guild street Goods Yards
2646 The station was modernised in the early 1980s with a new Travel Centre and upgraded concourse along with a new electronic signalling centre and High Speed Train servicing depot. Further track rationalisation and the replacement of six old mechanical signal boxes also took place.
About ten years ago Guild Street Goods Yard was lifted and replaced by the Union Square shopping centre which opened in October 2009. This incorporated the old Station Square and the façade of the 1915 building into the atrium of the new development. Separately a new Travel Centre and staff offices were provided.
In the 1990s the rail network was privatised; track and infrastructure passed to a company called Railtrack later transferring to Network Rail. East Coast services initially passed to a company called Great North Eastern Railway but are currently run by Virgin East Coast. Scotrail services are operated by Abellio, a subsidiary of Dutch Railways. The Caledonian Sleeper to London Euston is run by Serco and the daily train to Birmingham and southern England by Arriva Cross Country trains. Although managed by Abellio, Aberdeen Station is today very much a joint station.
In August 1992 the approach to the station from the north past Union Terrace Gardens was being changed dramatically by construction of the Denburn Dual Carriageway. Fidler's Well
2737 A photograph showing a horse drinking from Fidler's Well in Guild Street. The image is taken from the Evening Express of 13th September 1929. It was accompanied by an article detailing the visit to Aberdeen of the grandson of the well's benefactor, Alexander Fidler. The grandson, who lived in Chicago, had visited the public library and learnt much about his ancestor and the well from G. M. Fraser and then visited the Evening Express office.
The article contains information on Dr William Guild, to whom the well is dedicated, Alexander Fidler and his brother John, who ran a well known pie-shop on Shiprow.
The wording on the well's granite basin reads "Dedicated to Dr William Guild. Died 1657. Lammas, A. F."
The inscription on the cast iron fountain is as follows:
"Fountainhall, 1st August 1857.
Water springs for man and beast,
At your service I am here;
Although six thousand years of age,
I am caller, clean, and clear.
Erected for the inhabitants of The World
by
Alexander Fidler."
In this image the well is shown at its 2nd location, outside the Goods Station and opposite what was the Balmoral Temperance Hotel & Restaurant. Treasure 46: The Aberdeen Herald
217 When the first weekly issue of The Aberdeen's Journal was published by James Chalmers in January 1748 who would have guessed it would still be in production today (admittedly with several changes of title and ownership) as The Press and Journal.
The monopoly of The Aberdeen Journal, as it soon became, remained almost unchallenged throughout the eighteenth century but the nineteenth century saw the publication of several competing newspapers. Most of these were short-lived but included The Aberdeen Herald, and General Advertiser for The Counties of Aberdeenshire, Banffshire, and Kincardineshire, which was published between 1832 and 1876.
We hold the first copy of this weekly newspaper in our collections. It was printed and published by George Cornwall, and was issued on Saturday 1 September 1832. It succeeded an earlier paper called The Aberdeen Chronicle which had been in production since 1806. The Aberdeen Journal was seen then as politically neutral but the Herald is described as Whig-Radical and its opening advertisement states "In fact, the chief object of The Aberdeen Herald will be to obtain a cheap, efficient, and patriotic system of Government".
Since the Herald was published on a Saturday while the Journal appeared on Wednesday, it was able to include articles which would have been old news by the following Wednesday and could also provide updates to news from earlier in the week.
The newspaper cost 7d which was far beyond what an ordinary person could pay and restricted readership to the wealthy. This high cost was a result of taxes imposed by the Stamp Act of 1712 which was not abolished until 1855. Papers could then be bought for 1d and there was freedom to produce mass-circulation newspapers with improved text layout.
The front pages of newspapers, even as recently as the early 1900s, did not contain news stories but were filled with adverts - business, theatrical events, shipping, property and public notices. The issue of The Aberdeen Herald for 21 April 1866 contained an advert explaining the change of name for the town of Inverurie. Local historian, Dr Douglas Lockhart, provides the following account of the town's name change.
The market town of Inverurie was one of the fastest growing places in Aberdeenshire during the mid-nineteenth century when its population increased from 735 in 1821 to 2524 in 1871. Many factors contributed to rapid growth at this time including good communications, initially by turnpike roads and the Aberdeenshire Canal to nearby Port Elphinstone, and from the mid-century it lay astride the railway line between Aberdeen, Elgin and Inverness.
Further advantages were the extensive agricultural surroundings, markets and successful local businesses. Surprisingly Alexander Smith in A New History of Aberdeenshire, which was published in 1875, has little to say about the transformation of the town. However, he wrote a lengthy paragraph to describe how 'INVERURIE was, in former times, written Inneraury, Ennerawrie, and Hennerawie, and latterly Inverury' and he notes that the name meant "the confluence of the river of the margin".
On 5 February 1866 the Council met to discuss what appears to have become a growing problem - mail was being sent to Inveraray in Argyllshire because Inverury was not listed by the Post Office as a Post Town. The solution was simple: "return to the ancient spelling of the Burgh as Inverurie and to memorialise the Postmaster General to have it set down on the Lists as a Post Town". The Postmaster agreed to the name change and the scene was set on 19 April for the Council to discuss advertising the new arrangements. The wording of an advertisement was approved and it was decided to place it in the Edinburgh Gazette, Aberdeen Journal, Aberdeen Free Press, Aberdeen Herald and Banffshire Journal and "to endeavour to get the Railway Company to alter the spelling of the Station in their Tables".
Inverury officially became Inverurie the following day and on 21 April The Aberdeen Herald announced the change of name in the advertising columns of its front page. The Banffshire Journal in addition to printing the advertisement also published a glowing report on building activity in the burgh and noted that "within the memory of living inhabitants [the town] has been thoroughly regenerated".
Aberdeen Local Studies holds files of many local newspapers on microfilm, including the Aberdeen Herald and the Free Press. A digitised partial file is also available on the British Newspaper Archive which can be freely consulted online in the Central Library using your library card. Treasure 69: Mrs Elmslie's Institution Plans by Archibald Simpson, 1837
269 Mrs Elmslie was one of a number of Victorian philanthropic benefactors sympathetic to the plight of those who were poor, neglected or homeless and on 19 November 1840, she opened the Aberdeen Female Orphan Asylum - known also as Mrs Elmslie's Institution - on 19 Albyn Place.
This lithograph shows the building as originally envisaged by architect Archibald Simpson with little gate-houses at either side of the street entrance. Aberdeen City Libraries hold a series of 14 plans of the granite building which have been bound together into a single volume. The collection includes elevations, sections and floor plans dated September 1837.
The Orphan Asylum closed its doors on 27 July 1891 and the remaining girls were transferred to the Girls' Home and School of Domestic Economy on King Street. The building was sold to the Aberdeen School Board for £4,500 and, after extensive additions and refurbishment, it became the new home of Aberdeen High School for Girls, renamed as Harlaw Academy in 1970.
Find out more about Mrs Elmslie and her Institution, including its rules and regulations, daily meals and class timetables, in the Treasures from our Collections exhibition on touchscreens in Central, Airyhall, Tillydrone and Mastrick libraries. Treasure 103: Royal Wedding Posters
324 The 21st March marks the 146th wedding anniversary of Queen Victoria's sixth child, Princess Louise, and the 9th Duke of Argyll, the Marquis of Lorne. Aberdeenshire has always held the Royal family in high regard, largely due to their associations with the county and their Balmoral residence. As a result, the wedding of Princess Louise and the Scottish Marquis of Lorne in 1871 was cause for great celebrations in Aberdeen. In Aberdeen City Libraries' collection we hold three posters that testify to these celebrations, and serve as a perfect example of Victorian poster design. The Aberdeen Journal of 22 March 1871 described the union thus:
"The happy union hailed with so much satisfaction throughout the realm and especially in Scotland, was celebrated in Aberdeen with feelings of as great loyalty as in any part of Her Majesty's wide dominions. The attachment which Her Royal Highness the Princess Louise has shewn to her home in the Highlands has endeared her in an especial manner to those whom her Royal mother is pleased to call her neighbours; while her high artistic accomplishments and well-known kindliness of heart have, not less than her royal station, made her alliance with one of our most promising young Scottish nobles, an event of more than usual interest."
View our Treasures exhibition on the interactive screen to find out more about this royal couple and how their marriage unfolded in the following years. Treasure 104: Suffragette Newsletters
325 We celebrate International Women's Day in March and it is a chance to remember the monumental struggle of the women who fought for suffrage or the right to vote.
A featured treasure this month is the Handbook of the Conference of the National Union of Women Workers which was held in Aberdeen on the 13th, 14th and 15th of October 1908. Women began to demand the vote around the middle of the nineteenth century and suffragist groups sprang up all over Great Britain. In 1897 Millicent Fawcett founded the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies - this organisation campaigned peacefully for the right to vote for women. Also In our collection we hold a copy of a newsletter named Jus Suffragii Alumnae from Jan 1909. It was the magazine of the Queen Margaret College Suffrage Society (Glasgow) and the society was a member of the Scottish University's Women's Suffrage Union.
Queen Margaret College was a women only establishment and became part of Glasgow University in 1892. Also featured this month, The Suffragette magazine was the organ of the Aberdeen University Woman Suffrage Association and this particular issue was published in 1908. The front cover features an eye-catching design which is typical of the kind of symbolism used by suffragettes to promote their cause. The colours we associate with the Woman's Social and Political Union - one of the major suffragette groups - are green, purple and white and they appeared on badges, jewellery and banners. Purple stood for freedom and dignity; green for hope and white for purity.
Want to learn about a shocking incident involving a famous suffragette at Aberdeen Railway Station? - Check out our interactive exhibition on the touchscreen! Treasure 113: Railway Station Plans
334 2017 marks the 150th anniversary of the main railway station in Aberdeen. One of our treasures this month is a plan which shows the siting of the original joint railway station and the beginning of the Denburn Valley Line.
This plan was published as a supplement to the Aberdeen Free Press and is dated May 29th 1863. The plan shows the proposed station and the surrounding area. The station and areas around it which require alteration are tinted in dark and light red. We can see that the plans involved the extension of Guild Street and the creation of access roads to the station so that it could be easily reached via a variety of approaches. Other features of note are the proposed tunnel earmarked for the Woolmanhill area and also the Scottish North Eastern Railway Station on Guild Street which indicates that the joint station was not the first station to be built in Aberdeen.
Aberdeen Joint Station was opened on the 4th November 1867 and a glowing report and detailed description of the new building can be found in the Aberdeen Journal: "it is truly a magnificent building; and its proportions are such as few stations in the three kingdoms will surpass in point of elegance." William Smith, city architect at the time, was the architect of the joint station and John Willet the engineer.
Learn more about the other stations of Aberdeen, now vanished, in the Treasures from our Collections digital exhibition on the touch screens. Treasure 114: Aberdeen Corporation Electricity Works
335 The construction of the Aberdeen Corporation Electricity Works at Dee Village and the associated cable subway was a major engineering feat for the city and constituted a significant step in its journey towards electrification.
The large scale generating station was first suggested in 1899 by Mr. James Alexander Bell, the Electrical Engineer for the city. This treasure from our collection is a photograph album that documents the construction of the site from the clearing of the land in 1901 to the operational station in early 1904. The full leather bound album contains approximately 78 photographs showing the clearance of the land, the construction of the building exteriors, interiors, erection of the chimney, laying of the cable subway and the installation of the then top of the line machinery. Images of the houses that occupied the land prior to the works are also included. The photographs themselves are beautiful 8 by 6 inch prints that show a great level of detail. Most of the images are labelled with the date they were taken, which eases following the complicated construction process. The photographs within our album constitute a unique record of an important piece of Aberdeen's civic and technological history.
Read about the full and fascinating history of this site and its development in the Treasures from our Collections interactive display. Plan by James Henderson dated 1850
359 This plan shows proposals for a through station taking access from Union Street.
In 1854 The Great North of Scotland Railway after years of struggle to raise capital opened between Kittybrewster and Huntly; from 1858 this became part of a through route to Inverness. In April 1856 it extended passenger services from Kittybrewster to Waterloo Quay using a line built on the bed of the old Aberdeenshire Canal. Connecting the two Aberdeen termini, which were about a half mile apart, were railway tracks laid along the quayside and suitable for horse-haulage only. Map showing location of first Joint Station
362 Map showing location of first Joint Station alongside the Caledonian Railway's original terminus. Note that the course of the River Dee was closer to the centre of the city in the 1860s.
Following several years of controversy over the route and cost of a direct connection between the SNER and the GNSR, Parliament brokered an agreement between the two companies to jointly fund a line from Kittybrewster to a new station in Guild Street at a cost of about £200,000, involving two tunnels and the culverting of the Denburn. |