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You searched for: More Like: 'Well Shod in St Swithin Street'
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George Washington Wilson's photographic works
4 George Washington Wilson's photographic works at St. Swithin Street, showing the female workers laying out the glass plates to dry in the sun. George Washington Wilson's photographic works
9 The premises of George Washington Wilson, photographer, in St. Swithin Street. Schoolhill
13 Old houses skirting St. Nicholas churchyard once formed part of the south side of Schoolhill. They were demolished in 1884-85 as part of a street widening scheme and the present wall and railing stand in their place. On the other side of Schoolhill (centre) can be seen the roof and turrets of George Jamesone's House, demolished in 1886.
The book Aberdeen in Byegone Days: Views of Streets and Buildings, etc. with Letterpress Description (1910) by Robert Anderson (page 26) suggests that the building in the centre of this image was the home of Burnett Carr, the grave-digger and assistant to the sexton of St. Nicholas Church.
Newspaper references indicate that Carr, a well known figure, died on 31st May 1844 (Aberdeen Journal, 5th June 1844, page 3, column 2).
This photograph looks north and shows the back of Carr's old house. Wallace Tower, Netherkirkgate
103 Wallace Tower in the Netherkirkgate looking towards St. Nicholas Church. The tower never had any connection with William Wallace. It is believed to have been the town residence of Sir Robert Keith of Benholm. The name "Wallace" may have been a corruption of "well-house". The Wallace Tower was re-sited at Tillydrone in the 1960s.
Correspondent Ed Fowler suggests that the ornamental building shown on the left at the end of the Netherhirkgate, next to the horse and cart, is the Dyers' Hall.
The name refers to the Dyers' or Litsters Society who were once an important and wealthy industrial group in Aberdeen. Newspaper notices suggest the building was used as a public house, where societies regularly met, and that it, and other buildings, were demolished in around 1807 to make way for a new street between Union Street and Tannery Street. Schoolhill
756 These old houses skirting St. Nicholas Churchyard once formed part of the south side of Schoolhill. This photograph looks south, across Schoolhill, from in front of George Jamesone's House.
The shown buildings were demolished in 1884-85 as part of a street widening scheme and a low wall and railing now stand in their place. George Jamesone's House, on the other side of of the street, was demolished in 1886.
The book Aberdeen in Byegone Days: Views of Streets and Buildings, etc. with Letterpress Description (1910) by Robert Anderson (page 26) suggests that the building in the centre of this image was the home of Burnett Carr, the grave-digger and assistant to the sexton of St. Nicholas Church.
Newspaper references indicate that Carr, a well known figure, died on 31st May 1844 (Aberdeen Journal, 5th June 1844, page 3, column 2). Bridewell Prison, Rose Street
793 The Bridewell prison stood on an area of ground between Rose Street and what was formerly called Henry Street. It opened to guests in 1809. The origin of the popular name is derived from a well between Fleet Street and the Thames, dedicated to St. Bride or Bridget. The Corporation of London gained possession of it and a large part of it was turned into a notorious prison. The Bridewell was closed when Caiginches was opened in 1891. George Washington Wilson's works
1261 In 1875, the photographer George Washington Wilson acquired a vacant site at St Swithin Street, near Queens Cross, when he was forced to leave his premises at Glenburnie which were required for redevelopment. By late 1876, this building had been constructed and his stock of materials had been transferred. On the evening of 14th June 1882, a fire broke out in the offices and nearly all his stock of prints and much of his machinery were lost. However, because his negatives were stored in part of the building which was not destroyed, his business could continue and rebuilding took place. This photograph shows the shell of the building after the fire. Because of his Royal connections he received a telegram of sympathy from Queen Victoria at Balmoral. George Washington Wilson's works
1265 The premises of George Washington Wilson, photographer, in St Swithin Street between Albyn Lane and Stanley Street. The workers are exposing and drying the glass plates. Newpark
1521 A photograph of the gateway and avenue of Newpark. Located between Sheddocksley and Kingswells, this property was once known as Cuttlehill.
In Historical Walks and Names (1927) local historian G. M. Fraser writes:
"You descend Brimmond Hill at the south-west corner, and passing between the properties of Fairley and Cloghill, you presently pass the farm of Gillahill (properly Gallowhill), on your left, and strike the western end of the "Lang Stracht," near the property of Newpark. This is a comparatively recent name for Cuttlehill, the property that once formed part of Sheddocksley, and was bought in 1777 by Robert Dyce of Aberdeen, father of the well-known physician, Dr. William Dyce, of Cuttlehill, whose town house for many years was No. 48 Marischal Street. In this country residence of Cuttlehill, the old entrance gate and avenue of which are still in existence, was born on 19th September, 1806, William Dyce, afterwards William Dyce, R.A., a gifted artist, who took a leading part in decorating the House of Lords, and better still, who, having been sent by the government to report on the Art schools of the Continent in the middle of the last century, was the means of re-organising the art education system of Great Britain. It is singular that this accomplished man, although he is commemorated on a monumental brass in Streatham Parish Church, where he latterly stayed, is as yet unremembered by any mark on his father's house in Aberdeen, where he passed the early part of his life."
Newpark and the gated and avenue, though likely thoroughly modified, can still be seen today.
Other sources suggest that William Dyce, the above mentioned artist, was born at 48 Marischal Street. His birthplace remains something of a mystery. There is no indication of the location in the old parish register record of his baptism at St. Nicholas Kirk. St. Paul's Street Evangelical Union Church
1866 The organ in St. Paul's Street Evangelical Union Church.
G. W. Morgan Portrait
2145 This portrait of a smartly dressed young man was taken by G. W. Morgan (1855-1909). The photo features the ornate furniture and painted background that was the convention of the time. On the rear of the postcard photograph is printed "For further copies apply Elite Studios, 5 Market St, Aberdeen." This dates the image as between 1897 and 1907 when the business was trading under this name at the Market Street premises. Morgan and his brother William also operated photographic studios at 3 Bridge Place, 393 Union Street, and two in Aboyne and Ballater.
Morgan was the son of a blacksmith from the village of Clatt, called John Morgan. Born in 1855, George trained as a druggist in Aberdeen before leaving for California where he worked as a photographer. He returned to the city in 1880 and became the principal photographic assistant to Mr Dinnie of Bridge Place. The premises in Market Street were his first studio after going into business with his brother. He lived at Westfield Terrace.
In the coming years Morgan established a reputation in the city as an excellent photographer and businessman. He was described in his Aberdeen Daily Journal obituary as "A thorough artist in every sense of the word. Mr Morgan was remarkably successful in developing the very extensive business, and it was largely owning to his efforts that the firm attained its well deserved renown for the excellence of its portraiture and scenic work, all of which reach a high degree of artistic merit."
In 1909, Morgan died aged 54 in quite unusual circumstances. On the night of 25th June he was travelling with Mr J. B. Davidson, a solicitor and business associate, to London on the Caledonian sleeper train. All was well up to Stirling when the two men went to sleep. Davidson was awoken in the night by the wind blowing into their compartment and with Morgan nowhere to be seen. After a thorough search of the train and much telegraphic inquiries it was determined that Morgan had fallen from the train and died just south of Carstairs. The exact conditions of his death are unknown but it was believed that he woke in the night and groggy with sleep used the wrong door.
In addition to photography Morgan was a very accomplished violinist and acted as choirmaster for Ferryhill Parish Church for many years. He and his wife had 12 children. Stop 4: Health Services for Women and Children - Agnes Thomson (1880-1952) Clementina Esslemont OBE (1864-1958) Fenella Paton (1901-1945) and Mary Esslemont (1891-1984)
2303 The first sick children's hospital on site of former Naval Surgeon's Dr Blaikie surgery on 6-8 Castle Terrace in 1877 extended to take in Castle Brae Chapel. An unsung heroine that worked on this site is Dr Agnes Thomson (nee Baxter) a graduate from Aberdeen University who served as an anaesthetist at the Sick Children's and Maternity Hospitals during the First World War. Agnes Thomson was instrumental in founding the Aberdeen Mother and Baby Home and volunteered her services to the Mother and Child Welfare Association, which was established to address the shockingly high death rate of babies and toddlers in the east end of Aberdeen.
Throughout her life, Clementina Esslemont OBE was a champion of liberal ideas and good causes and well known for her no-nonsense approach to social service provision. One of her principal achievements was the foundation of the Aberdeen Mother and Child Welfare Association in 1909, which played an important role in social service and public health provision in the City of Aberdeen until the creation of the Public Health Department in 1949. She was also involved in the establishment of a model block of tenements on the Spital, Aberdeen, in the formation of Aberdeen Lads' Club, St Katherine's Club, and the nursery school movement.
Dr Mary Esslemont, one of Clementina Esslemont's daughters, worked as a Gynaecologist at the hospital. Mary did much to improve the care and wellbeing for mothers and babies with her determination and hard work. As well as being the Gynaecologist she also ran prenatal and family planning clinics. Mary was an advocate of women's rights, health education and family planning. She was the first female president of the Student University Council and the first woman to be president of Aberdeen Liberal Association in 1954. Awarded the CBE in 1955, Aberdeen City Council bestowed the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen in 1981.
Aberdeen has also led the way in family planning with a remarkable woman at the forefront of fertility control. Pioneer Fenella Paton opened Aberdeen's first family planning clinic in 1926 at Gerrard street. The clinic, the first of its kind in Scotland, moved to new premises in Castle Street in 1948. But prior to these clinics and innovations in family planning there were large families and mothers that needed to go out to work and at our next stop an initiative was put in place to help these working women.
Memories:
Norma Michie speaking about Mary Esslemont
Audrey's memories of the Family Planning Clinic
Denise's memory of the Family Planning Clinic
Heather's memories of Ina Lawrence and the Children's Hospital
Alma Duncan's memories of Cocky Hunters Aberdeen from Torry
2671 A George Washington Wilson photograph of Aberdeen taken from across the River Dee in Torry.
Fishing boats are seen on the south side of the river. The spires of many Aberdeen landmarks are visible in the distance. The building on the far right of the image is the Castlehill Barracks. Queen's Cross & Fountain Hall Road, Aberdeen
2719 An Adelphi Real Photograph Series postcard (no. 117) showing Queen's Cross and Fountainhall Road from the top of St Swithin Street.
The postcard gives a good view of Rubislaw Parish Church on the left and building off in the distance is most likely Mile-End Primary School.
A horse drawn delivery cart for a firm of confectioners called McPherson is in the centre of the image.
Aberdeen Sailors' Mission and Home
2751 The granite facade of the Aberdeen Sailors' Mission and Home building, built in 1893-95, that has been retained and incorporated into a large residential development on Mearns Street. This appears to be all that remains of the building.
The eastern elevation we can see here was part of a three block extension to the institute designed by architect James Souttar. There was also an entrance to the building on James Street. A preview of the opening of the building, with a detailed description of it, can be read in the Aberdeen Journal of 26th September 1895, page 7.
Queen Elizabeth II's first solo opening ceremony was the Aberdeen Sailor's Home, after it was reconstructed, on 3rd October 1944.
Also of local interest in this image is a car from the well-known firm Panda Rosa Metals. This family business specialise in ferrous and non-ferrous metal recycling and have been operating in Aberdeen for many decades.
Mearns Street, originally running from Regent Quay to Virginia Street, was constructed on the site of a previous thoroughfare called Pork Lane. This was described as a narrow lane of congested tenements and had a reputation for ill-health and crime.
Post Office directories indicate that Pork Lane was demolished in around 1885-86 and that Mearns Street was established by 1887-88. This development was part of a programme called the Shorelands Scheme of Improvements.
In October 1886, the Improvement Committee of Aberdeen Town Council recommended the name of the new street in compliment to the master of shore works who had initiated the improvement scheme, Daniel Mearns (Aberdeen Weekly Journal, 23rd October 1886, page 4).
Mearns (1838-1913) was a shipping merchant, councillor for the St. Clements Ward, active in the Aberdeen Harbour Board and went on to serve as Aberdeen's Lord Provost between 1895 and 1898. Sandilands: workers portrait
3827 An 1887 group portrait of workers at Sandilands Chemical Works.
John Miller established his chemical business in 1848 and for generations "Stinky Miller's" was the source of well-known smells down at the beach.
"Tools of the trade" are seen in the hands of these workers, who are mainly blacksmiths and labourers.
The 1880s maintenance workforce consisted of coopers, blacksmiths, lead burners, joiners, masons and labourers.
Sandilands Chemical Works was situated between the Gasworks and Garvock Wynd (north to south) and Miller Street and Links Road (west to east). George Street
3852 A photograph from around 1986 looking north west, showing numbers 119 to 167 George Street.
The large building that ends with a turret at the corner with St. Andrew Street (143-167) was the premises of Isaac Benzies, the well known local department store. This shop was bought by House of Fraser in 1955 and latterly traded as Arnotts, before closing down in 1986. The building stands today, though has been considerably altered.
On the other side of the junction with St. Andrew Street can be seen a branch of the Bank of Scotland and beyond it the sign and canopy of Aberdeen Bowl. Queen's Cross in 1911
4271 A photograph showing the procession organised in Aberdeen to celebrate the coronation of George V (1865-1936) and Queen Mary (1867-1953). The image shows the procession passing north up St. Swithin Street and across Queen's Cross. A number of trams and horse drawn gigs are shown outside the lines of spectators.
This photo is taken from the Aberdeen Bon-Accord and Northern Pictorial coronation souvenir number published on 12th May 1937, page 55. This special issue celebrated the crowning of George V's son, George VI (1895-1952) and Queen Elizabeth (1900-2002).
This photograph illustrates an article by journalist William Diack (1871-1942), part of a series looking at the changes in Aberdeen between the coronations of George V and VI. Diack's article is titled 'Scotland has witnessed Coming of New Age and the Triumph of Youth' and discusses the changing political scene in the city during the period.
The caption for this photograph reads as follows:
"This was the Aberdeen procession on June 22, 1911, the day of the Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary. The procession is just reaching Queen's Cross by way of St. Swithin Street, the photograph having been taken from the belfry of Rubislaw Parish Church. Note how the fashions have changed. Horses predominated then, this time motor vehicles will be in the majority. And women's fashions! Well, there's just no comparison possible." Union Works
4399 A mid-20th century photograph of the Union Works in central Aberdeen. This images looks south east across College Street from a high vantage point and has railway tracks, Poyernook and the hills of Torry in the background.
The factory likely dates from around 1862. A notice from the Aberdeen Herald newspaper of 17th May 1862, page 4, records Alexander Pirie & Sons moving from the Adelphi to their new premises of Union Works, Poyernook.
From the 1860s onwards, the works were owned and operated by Alexander Pirie & Sons, then Pirie, Appleton & Co. and finally Wiggins Teape (Stationery), Ltd.
At the time of this photograph, the works were likely operated by Pirie, Appleton & Co. This image may been sourced from a promotional brochure for the company. In addition to the Union Works, they also had factories at Chadwell Heath in East London and in Dublin, Johannesburg and Cape Town.
As with many significant local enterprises, the operation of Pirie, Appleton & Co. is described in mid-20th century Official Handbooks created for the Corporation of the City of Aberdeen. The volume from 1954 states that the company specialised in manufacturing commercial envelopes, including their successful "River Series."
The company had also recently introduced a quality note-paper to their range called "Mitre Club," which is described as a brand of social stationery. They additionally manufactured different types of account and manuscript books, including a system of loose leaf binding known as "Swing-o-Ring." Other products include "printers' cards, paper collars, commerial heading, filing folders, and record cards." (pages 166-167).
In this image, a large sign can be seen on the north side of the factory building that reads "The mark of good stationery" with an Aberdeen terrier. This black Scottie dog, closely associated with the city, was adopted as a trade-mark of the company in the mid-20th century.
Wiggins Teape and Co. had amalgamated with Alexander Pirie & Sons in 1922 (see Aberdeen Daily Journal, 30th March 1922, page 4). Alex. Pirie & Sons and Pirie, Appleton & Co. were subsidiary companies of Wiggins Teape.
The Union Works site closed down not long after 1969 when Wiggins Teape began construction of a replacement factory at Dyce (see Evening Express, 4th September 1969, page 7).
The site was sold and the works were demolished to make way for the multi-storey office block, St. Machar House. Built by Sir Robert Alpine & Sons for Neale House Properties (Aberdeen) Limited, to a design by architects Mackie, Ramsay & Taylor, construction was well under way by Autumn 1975 (Evening Express, 2nd August 1975, 'Business Bureau' page 6).
Below the southern end of St. Machar House, the rest of the old Union Works site is occupied by the College Street Car Park, built by Arup and Partners (Scotland), with consulting architects Baxter, Clark & Paul, and opened on 4th July 1991. Treasure 54: On the Planting of Trees in Towns
229 Aberdeen was something of a pioneer when it came to the planting of street trees in Scotland. An article on the subject in the Aberdeen Journal from 1905 states: "As is constantly remarked by visitors, Aberdeen has great reason to be proud of its trees. In some respects, it can, in this direction, show the way to other Scottish cities."
Alongside St. Andrews, Aberdeen led the way in the extensive and effective planting of trees on city streets. This was largely due to the work of Aberdeen's first park superintendent, Robert Walker. The 1905 article states: "To those who know Mr Walker only as the busy man in charge of Victoria and Westburn Parks, the Union Terrace Gardens, the Links, and the grounds of Robert Gordon's College, the fact of his being an author may be new, but it is something to which Mr Walker can look back with pride, because the publication of 'On the Planting of Trees in Towns' was the means of stimulating the movement for tree-planting, not only in Aberdeen, but also in a good many more places in Scotland."
Walker's book, printed in 1890 at the University of Aberdeen, consists of two papers read before The North of Scotland Horticultural Association in 1889. The volume was issued by the two Aberdeen members of Mr Ruskin's Guild of Saint George after a strong request to publish was made by those unable to attend Walker's lectures. The book argues that trees should be planted not just in parks, but in city streets too: "The slight good effected by fine parks placed here or there towards the outskirts of a city is as nothing to what might be carried out by so planning and planting streets and roads, that the air might be comparatively pure and free, and the eye refreshed with green at almost every point."
The Aberdeen Journal states that the value of the book is "very much materially enhanced by illustrations of a number of our best-known trees from drawings from Sir George Reid, lithographed by Messrs Thomson and Duncan." George Reid (1841-1913) was a nationally renowned Aberdeen-born painter. A year after the publication of the book, in 1891, he was elected as the president of the Royal Scottish Academy and knighted by Queen Victoria. In 1905 he played a significant role in the extension of Aberdeen Art Gallery, determining the layout and contents of the building. He died at his home in Somerset in 1913 and was buried in St Peter's Cemetery, Aberdeen.
On the publication of Walker's book a copy was send to keen arboriculturist and habitual Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone. The 1905 Aberdeen Journal article reports that, in his acknowledgement of the gift, Gladstone wrote that "he would read the book with the greatest pleasure, the subject being one in which he took a special interest." At the time, the post card with acknowledgment could still be seen framed in Mr Walker's house. The Journal article also states that the book has been unobtainable for a long time but that a copy is available to view at the Reference Department of the Public Library. Over a hundred years later this is still correct and the item now sits in our Local Studies collection.
"Trees not only afford shade and shelter," states Walker's book "but adorn the landscape and purify the air. They improve the heart as well as the taste; they refresh the body and enlighten the spirit. And the more refined the taste is, the more exquisite is the gratification that may be enjoyed from every leaf-building tree." Hardweird
442 This image was digitised from Artistic Aberdeen: A Sketch Book (1932) by W. S. Percy.
The book describes the scene as follows:
"Hardweird, a curiously-named part of older Aberdeen, lies north-westward and parallel with Skene Street. The name can be traced to any certain extent only from the Hardweird Croft. At the junction of Hardweird and Denburn once stood one of the famous wells of the town, St. John's Well, which, on the building of Rosemount Viaduct in 1883, was moved and reconstructed. At one time this part of the town was a series of crofts. A remaining example of the forestairs to the old houses is an interesting feature of the drawing."
The tower in the background on the left is likely that of the Bon-Accord United Free Church on Rosemount Viaduct. The pyramidal spire to the right of the skyline will be that atop the tenement at 46 Rosemount Viaduct. This suggests that the dwellings shown here are those that stood on the north side of Hardweird, between it and Upper Denburn. This sketch looks north-northeast. Union Works
536 An illustration of the Union Works factory on College Street, Aberdeen. This drawing, which looks south across railway tracks outside the Joint Station, is sourced from a book called A Descriptive Account of Aberdeen Illustrated (published by W. T. Pike & Co. in around 1894). This book provides an account of the history and then current operation of Messrs. Alexander Pirie & Sons, owners of the Union Works at the time.
The factory likely dates from around 1862. A notice from the Aberdeen Herald newspaper of 17th May 1862, page 4, records Alexander Pirie & Sons moving from the Adelphi to their new premises of Union Works, Poyernook.
From the 1860s onwards, the works were owned and operated by Alexander Pirie & Sons, then Pirie, Appleton & Co. and finally Wiggins Teape (Stationery), Ltd.
In the late 19th century, the time of the above mentioned book, Messrs. Alex. Pirie & Sons also operated Stoneywood Works at Auchmill, their first and largest site, the Woodside Works and various offices and warehouses around the world. Both Stoneywood and Woodside Works were located on the River Don.
As indicated above the illustration, Union Works primarily produced envelopes and enamelled papers. This would be done with paper created in the firm's Donside factories. A Descriptive Account states that Messrs. Pirie were employing nearly 1000 people at the College Street site and between one third and one half of all envelopes in Britain were being made there. The book additionally asserts that the firm were the first to introduce envelope making machines into Scotland.
The avenue shown in this illustration to the left of the factory runs from Guild Street in the north all the way down and around the south side of the works to the junction of Wellington Road, South College Street and Marywell Street.
The production of envelopes, plus other paper products such as note paper, was continued well into the 20th century by Pirie, Appleton & Co.
The Union Works site closed down not long after 1969 when Wiggins Teape began construction of a replacement factory at Dyce (see Evening Express, 4th September 1969, page 7).
The site was sold and the works were demolished to make way for the multi-storey office block, St. Machar House. Built by Sir Robert Alpine & Sons for Neale House Properties (Aberdeen) Limited, to a design by architects Mackie, Ramsay & Taylor, construction was well under way by Autumn 1975 (Evening Express, 2nd August 1975, 'Business Bureau' page 6).
Below the southern end of St. Machar House, the rest of the old Union Works site is occupied by the College Street Car Park, built by Arup and Partners (Scotland), with consulting architects Baxter, Clark & Paul, and opened on 4th July 1991. |