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Bridge of Dee
65 The Old Bridge of Dee dating from the early 16th century was begun by Bishop William Elphinstone c.1493. Further building started in 1518 and was carried out by Alexander Galloway and Thomas Franche. In 1840, the bridge was widened by John Smith, the City Architect. Drawing by Curtis Green. Lithograph by Gibb & Hay. Deeside Hydropathic
209 Deeside Hydropathic at Murtle, five miles to the west of Aberdeen City Centre, was built for the Rev Dr Alexander Stewart in 1899. He had founded a similar establishment in 1874 at Heathcot, Kincardinshire, and the growth of business there led to the selection of this new site close to Murtle Station on the Deeside Railway. It was also seen as a convenient centre for visiting the Deeside area. The extensive grounds included a croquet lawn, bowling green and tennis courts, while the Deeside Golf Club was only a mile away. The building itself had 92 bedrooms, there were Turkish, Russian, vapour, electric and spray baths. Since hydropathy was a medical treatment consisting of the external and internal application of water, the proximity of an artesian well supplying abundant pure water was also a feature. After the first World War, the building was sold and converted into Tor-Na-Dee Sanatorium in August 1918, specialising in the treatment of tuberculosis. More recently it has been used as a convalescent hospital, but it is now being re-developed for housing. Dr Stewart was born in 1835 in Coupar, Angus and studied at Glasgow University and did the medical course at Aberdeen University. At his death in 1909, he was Minister of John Street Congregational Church in Aberdeen, having been ordained there in 1864. Albion Street
667 Albion Street, also known as the Bool Road because it led to the bowling green. It led to the Links from the foot of Justice Street. On the right hand side is the mission chapel which in 1848 replaced the "penny rattler", a street theatre which gave the area a bad reputation. It later became Albion Street Congregational Church. The area was cleared in the 1950s for the development of the Beach Boulevard. Watson Street Lodge
733 A photograph of the Watson Street Lodge in Victoria Park.
The figures standing in the doorway are most likely to be Robert Walker (1848-1930), the Keeper of Victoria Park, and his family; his second wife Christina Walker and daughters Elizabeth and Ann. Judging by the 1891 census and Robert's eventual obituary, the family also had at least five sons.
Walker was previously married to Isabella Robertson. She died on 24th November 1877. This photograph likely dates from the later 19th century.
Robert Walker was originally from Perth and was himself a son of a gardener. He came to Aberdeen as a nurseryman and in around 1871 was chosen out of 450 candidates to be the city's first keeper of parks.
He oversaw the creation of Victoria Park, Aberdeen's first public park, before going on to lay out Westburn Park, Stewart Park, Union Terrace Gardens and the Promenade. Walker was also an early advocate and pioneer of the planting of street trees.
For a number of years Aberdeen had two superintendents of parks, Walker and a Mr Peter Harper at Duthie Park. When Harper retired in 1914 Walker was appointed general superintendent.
Post Office directories indicate that Walker and his family lived at the Watson Street Lodge, also known as the Victoria Park Lodge, from its construction in around 1872 to his retirement in 1919. His residence at the lodge was part of the job. On retirement Walker moved to the relatively nearby 111 Westburn Drive.
He was succeeded as general superintendent of parks by William B. Clark, who resided at the West Lodge of Duthie Park. A man called Robert Duncan replaced Walker as the keeper of Victoria and Westburn Park.
Over the years Aberdeen has had substantial success and renown as an attractive, green city. A considerable portion of the credit for this success must reside with the pioneering and dedicated work of Robert Walker. Bowling green in Westburn Park
1560 On the opposite side of Westburn Road from Victoria Park, this popular area was formerly a residential property and contains some fine specimens of oak, ash, elm and sycamore trees. It was acquired by the Town Council in 1899 and extends to fully 25 acres. Facilities are provided for bowling and tennis, as well as for children's games. Altogether, the estate greatly enhances the amenities of the city. Westburn Park and House in 1910
2122 Westburn House was designed in 1839 by the architect, Archibald Simpson, for David Chalmers of the printing family who published the Aberdeen Journal newspaper.
It is a single storey building, with a 2-storey centre gable at the north and a portico of Doric pillars on the west side. It is constructed of brick with a stucco finish.
The 25-acre estate was bought by Aberdeen Town Council in 1900. The lands, which had in early times been used for sheep grazing, were now converted into a public park. The vegetable garden became a recreation ground; the stables and carriage sheds now stored tools; the walled flower garden and orchard were laid out as a bowling green. A pond was created from the burn which runs through the grounds.
The house was first used as refreshment rooms and the veranda, with its wrought iron columns, was added to allow people to enjoy their teas and coffees in the open air. Since then, it has had many uses including a clinic and meeting place for playgroups. Its future is currently under discussion by the City Council.
Westburn Park opened to the public in around May 1901. See Aberdeen Journal 11th May 1901, page 4, and articles thereabouts, for details. There does not appear to have been an official opening ceremony. Westburn Park
2126 A group of children stand outside Westburn House. To the right of the image is the park's drinking fountain.
Westburn House was designed in 1839 by the architect, Archibald Simpson, for David Chalmers of the printing family who published the "Aberdeen Journal" newspaper.
It is a single storey building, with a 2-storey centre gable at the north and a portico of Doric pillars on the west side. It is constructed of brick with a stucco finish.
The 25-acre estate was bought by Aberdeen Town Council in 1900. The lands, which had in early times been used for sheep grazing, were now converted into a public park. The vegetable garden became a recreation ground; the stables and carriage sheds now stored tools; the walled flower garden and orchard were laid out as a bowling green. A pond was created from the burn which runs through the grounds.
The house was first used as refreshment rooms and the veranda, with its wrought iron columns, was added to allow people to enjoy their teas and coffees in the open air. Since then, it has had many uses including a clinic and meeting place for playgroups. Its future is currently under discussion by the City Council. Triple Kirks Site
2663 Construction work at the Triple Kirks site in January 2018.
The site has had a long history of redevelopment. The churches largely fell into disuse and disrepair in the 1970s and 80s. Since that time there has been a number of proposed development plans.
One of the original three churches, the East Kirk, continues to house a popular pub, nightclub, and a dance studio.
Through the years there have been a number of companies involved in work on the site: Barrett Commercials, William Cowie Partnership, Esson Properties Ltd, Stewart Milne and, most recently, Dandara.
In around 2014 the remaining walls of the North Kirk were demolished and significant excavation, visible in this image, was begun.
This photograph shows work underway to reinforce the church spire. Union Bridge
2689 Union Bridge, with the statue of Prince Albert in foreground.
At the east end of the bridge (centre of image) can be seen the Trinity Hall, home to the Incorporated Trades since its construction in 1846. It replaced an older Trinity Hall located on the south side of The Green.
This second Trinity Hall was largely demolished in 1967 when the Incorporated Trades moved to Holburn Street. It made way for an extension to Littlewoods Stores, though the frontage on Union Street was retained.
Union Bridge was widened in 1905 and saw the introduction of the "Kelly's Cats". The bridge was also altered in 1963 with the construction of shops on the south side. Dee Village Electricity Works
2882 A photograph showing the construction of the chimney at the Dee Village Electricity Works taken on 24th August 1901. The original plans for the works included a 200 foot chimney and, due to its location in a residential area, it was one of the relatively few points of contention in the scheme.
The function of the chimney was to release waste fumes created by the work's boilers. The chimney was fitted with a Green's Economiser near its base. This was then a common feature of industrial chimney and its function was to pre-heat boiler feed water using waste fumes. The Dee Village works had the biggest economiser in the city at the time.
The chimney was demolished after the works were closed in February 1969 and the turbine hall was replaced by an office block.
This image is from an album of photographs held by Aberdeen City Libraries detailing the construction of the Dee Village Electricity Works. Bonnymuir Bowling Club
3106 A group portrait showing the management council of Bonnymuir Bowling Club in 1924. The photograph was taken by Alexander Ledingham, who ran a studio at 101a Rosemount Place for many years.
This print is attached to a larger board which identifies all the figures present:
Standing: W. H. Davidson, G. Cooper, C. B. Garrioch, J. S. Taylor, A. Craig, W. Allan, C. D. Davidson, A. Milne, J. Reid, W. Tocher, J. M. McFarlane, J. Rigg, J. M. Ross.
Sittings: J. Gordon, A. G. R. Weir, R. Cameron (Treasurer), J. M. Begg (Vice-President), G. H. Simpson (President), P. Scott, E. Swan (Secretary), H. Reid, A. Matthews.
The green is located to the west of Bonnymuir Place and was previously a garden area. The land was given to the community to serve as a bowling green in the early 1920s. This image was used in Old Rosemount (2015) by Patricia Newman and this book gives a short account of the formation of Bonnymuir Bowling Green Ltd. and its initial fundraising.
The bowling club closed down in 2015. A group of local residents have subsequently formed the Bonnymuir Green Community Trust with the aim to develop and use the site of the former green as an asset, owned by and operated for, the benefit of the community. The Approach to the Beach and Dance Hall
3125 A postcard showing Links Road leading to the Beach Ballroom and the promenade. Trams are visible in the distance and a bowling green and the beach bandstand seating is shown on the right.
On the left of the image, on Broad Hill, can be seen the tank awarded to Aberdeen for its response to the War Savings campaign during WWI. The tank was formally presented to the Town Council of Aberdeen in March 1920 by the Scottish War Savings Committee in recognition of the £15,000,000 raised by the town and district in war loan investments.
Work to demolish this tank was commenced on 12th October 1937. The Town Council took the decision to remove the tank, to be sold as scrap, as they considered it to be eyesore. Many war relics and trophies around the UK were being removed during this period.
The removal, or not, of the tank had been a contentious issue for some time. An earlier motion to remove the tank in October 1930 was defeated by 23 votes to 9 in the Town Council. Councillor Beaton, who seconded this earlier motion, suggested it was "a reminder of the horrors of war".
The history of the tank, and debates around its merits, can be found in old local newspapers. A Press & Journal article from 28th August 1930, page 7, indicates that the tank was called Behemoth.
This image most likely dates from the late 1920s or the 1930s. Aberdeen Theatres: His Majesty's Theatre
3356 Seating more than 1400, His Majesty's Theatre is the largest theatre in North-East Scotland and is now a category A listed building.
Situated on Rosemount Viaduct, it was designed by the architect Frank Matcham and costed £35,000. It was originally built as a replacement for the former Her Majesty's Theatre (now the Tivoli), meeting the need for a larger venue and better staging facilities.
Robert Arthur, the theatre impresario, submitted the plans for the new theatre in 1901. Construction started in 1904 and it opened on the 3rd December 1906 with a production of the pantomime Little Red Riding Hood, of which you will see the programme next in this exhibition. The pantomime played to a full house on its opening night and ran until the end of the year to great success.
Arthur's company presented plays, opera and pantomimes until 1912, when it ran out of funds. Robert Arthur Theatres Ltd. sold the theatre in 1923 to Walter Gilbert, managing director of the Tivoli Theatre. It changed hands again in 1932, after Gilbert's death, when it was bought by Councillor James F. Donald. The new owner refurbished the venue and introduced new features such as a revolving stage and a cinema projector.
In 1975, Aberdeen City council bought the venue, then allocated £3.5 million to give it a new life. After being closed for 23 months, His Majesty's Theatre was reopened on the 17th of September 1982 by Prince Charles.
In 2004, the theatre was once again closed for refurbishment. It reopened in 2005, renovated and modernised with a new green room, a coffee shop and re-upholstered seating. Aberdeen Theatres: Albion Street Theatre
3385 Albion Street was also known as the Bool Road because it led to the bowling green. It led to the Links from the foot of Justice Street. On the right of this drawing is the "penny rattler", a street theatre which gave the area a bad reputation.
The theatre was well attended but attracted criticism for poor performances and attendant violence and drunkeness.
A mission chapel replaced the street theatre in 1848 and later became Albion Street Congregational Church.
This whole area was cleared for the development of the Beach Boulevard much later in the mid-20th century. Aberdeen Cinemas: Regal / ABC / Cannon
3396 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph of the Shiprow entrance to the Regal cinema in February 1961. The cinema is advertising showings of Saturday Night, Sunday Morning with Albert Finney, Linda with Carol White and Alan Rothwell, and Pathé News.
The Regal was opened on Monday 26th June 1954 by Associated British Cinema (ABC). The opening of this substantial cinema was the conclusion of a long and much delayed enterprise.
This Shiprow site was previously the location of Aberdeen's first permanent cinema, Dove Paterson's Gaiety. It had later become the Palladium and had laid shuttered for close to seven years when the owner put the site up for sale in early 1937.
Bert Gates of Aberdeen Picture Palaces (APP) put in an offer and made plans to build a very large cinema at the location. Michael Thomson in Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) suggests that had this plan gone ahead it would have made the local company a force with which to be reckoned.
Gate's plans were thwarted however when another offer for the property from ABC (Cinemas) was accepted. ABC were a major cinema operator throughout the UK, at the time second only to the Rank Organisation, which owned the Odeon and Gaumont chains. ABC's arrival in Aberdeen would offer stiff competition to local companies such as APP. Both in terms of having the best venues and having the best films to show in them.
ABC's arrival in Aberdeen did not go smoothly, however. It was not until 1939 that the cinema's plans received official approval. War was declared not long after construction had begun and in 1941 the project was stopped by government restrictions that halted the construction of non-essential buildings where roofing had not already been started. Only the outer shell had been built at Shiprow and the building would subsequently lie incomplete for over a decade.
After much campaigning, including by local MP Hector Hughes, the government finally gave its consent and on 28th October 1953 ABC announced that work on the Regal would recommence. The plans for the cinema were modernised and construction was quickly finished.
The completed Regal was an impressive, modern cinema with a seating capacity of 1,914. Its inaugural film was The Knights of the Round Table and the opening gala was attended by stars Richard Todd and Anne Crawford.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Aberdeen Cinemas: Astoria
3430 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph of the Astoria in around 1943. This super-cinema in Kittybrewster was opened in 1934 and was located at the end of Powis Terrace, at the start of Clifton Road and at its junction with Great Northern Road. This photograph looks towards Clifton Road from this location.
The film being shown at the time is Air Force with John Garfield. The premises of Birrell, confectioners, and George A. Davidson, provision merchant, can also be seen in the image.
Michael Thomson in Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) tells the story of the cinema. The Astoria was primarily the brainchild of Bert Darley who had quit Poole's, proprietors of the Palace and Regent, and started up a new company called the Aberdeen Astoria Cinema Ltd. with various local businessmen and financial backers.
The giant cinema, designed by Thomas Scott Sutherland, was intended to serve the growing population of Kittybrewster, Powis, Woodside and Hilton. Construction on the £45,000 building proceeded quickly and it was opened on 8th December 1934 with screenings of a film called I Give My Love.
Thomson states that the Astoria's emphasis was on "spaciousness, relying upon simplicity of form to create a pleasing impression of clean-lined functionality." The space of the site allowed Scott Sutherland to enlarge on ideas first used at the Regent. The concept was again a tall central section, incorporating three main windows, with smaller side portions on either side.
The Astoria, along with the Capitol, was one of only two Aberdeen cinemas with a theatre organ. Both were equipped with top-of-the-line Compton organs at the time of their opening.
In March 1936 James F. Donald (Aberdeen Cinemas) Ltd. acquired a controlling share interest in the Aberdeen Astoria Cinema company. Richard Donald replaced Bert Darley as the manager at the Kittybrewster venue.
The programmes of the Astoria and the Kingsway on King Street were regularly linked, both being Donald cinemas. In the 1950s they showed Cinemascope films such as King of the Khyber Rifles and Beneath the Ten Mile Reef.
The cinema's last film was The Moving Target, with Paul Newman and Lauren Becall, shown on 13th August 1966. On the 29th of that month the venue reopened as a bingo hall. This was at the height of the game's popularity, however not even it could save the Astoria. At the end of the year the Donalds the site for redevelopment as a shopping complex. Demolition on the cinema was begun in April 1967.
Michael Thomson explains that all removable fittings and materials were salvaged. Additionally, the Compton organ was transferred to the school hall of Powis Academy. It served the school well for many years before unfortunately being destroyed in a fire during the night of 20th November 1982.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Kittybrewster School, Aberdeen
4183 Looking north east from Lilybank Place towards Kittybrewster School in around 1905. The green of Kittybrewster & Woodside Bowling Club is in the foreground. A whale bone arch can also be seen in front of the school.
In April 1897, the Aberdeen School Board submitted plans to erect a new school at the Old Boathouse on the west side of Great Northern Road. It was completed at a cost of over £12,000 in time for the commencement of the new school term on 15th August 1899.
Built of granite, in the Renaissance style, it consisted of 3 floors, housing 16 classrooms and could accommodate up to 1,200 children. In addition, it was fully equipped with a gymnasium and rooms for cookery, manual instruction and science. The respected headmaster was George F. Duthie, an ex-president of the Educational Institute of Scotland.
This image is from a postcard, no. 343, published by George Bow of Aberdeen. Bridge of Dee
18 The Old Bridge of Dee dating from the early 14th century was begun by Bishop William Elphinstone c.1493. Further building started in 1518 and was carried out by Alexander Galloway and Thomas Franche. In 1840, the bridge was widened by John Smith, the City Architect. Drawing by Curtis Green. Lithograph by Gibb & Hay. Albion Street
83 Albion Street, also known as the Bool Road because it led to the bowling green. It led to the Links from the foot of Justice Street. On the right hand side is the mission chapel which in 1848 replaced the "penny rattler", a street theatre which gave the area a bad reputation. It later became Albion Street Congregational Church. The area was cleared in the 1950s for the development of the Beach Boulevard. Albion Street, also known as the Bool Road
88 Albion Street, also known as the Bool Road because it led to the bowling green. It led to the Links from the foot of Justice Street. On the right hand side is the "penny rattler", a street theatre which gave the area a bad reputation. A mission chapel replaced it in 1848 and later became Albion Street Congregational Church. The area was cleared for the development of the Beach Boulevard. Woodside Congregational Church from Annals of Woodside and Newhills, by Patrick Morgan (1886)
303 The churches in Woodside have always provided a strong community base where various clubs and social groups could gather. From bible classes to indoor bowling and a wide range of youth clubs, these locally designed buildings remain an important part of the area.
The Woodside Congregational Church building shown in this image was built in the year 1867. It replaced the congregation's previous building on the same site that was known as the Cotton Chapel. The construction of the later church is usually credited to the liberality of Provost William Leslie.
The congregation temporarily closed down in around 1994. It started meeting again after about three years but unfortunately the congregation could no longer use the church building on Great Northern Road.
Woodside Congregational Church currently meet in the nearby Printfield portable cabin and the church building is derelict. |