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The Castlegate
16 Engraving of the Castlegate, c. 1850. The statue of the last Duke of Gordon, erected in 1844, was removed in the 1950s to Golden Square. Published by G. Shepherd, Broad Street, Aberdeen Shepherd's Court
97 An image of Shepherd's Court looking towards the Guestrow. The turreted house at 21 Guestrow was occupied by Sheriff-Depute Andrew Thomson and his wife Agnes Divie in 1673. Site of Mar's Castle
108 Site of Mar's Castle, Gallowgate after its demolition in 1897. The building in the background was for many years the meeting place of the Society of Friends (Quakers). They also had a burial ground in this area in the 1670s. The building was acquired by John Watt and Sons, leather merchants. The upper part had louvre windows which made it suitable for drying leather.
The two doorways that remain standing in the centre of the image were part of the tenement located just north of Mar's Castle. Above the one on the left can be seen a sign indicating that this was once the pend leading to Logan's Court. In the late 19th century the address of this tenement would have been 150 Gallowgate.
The demolition of Mar's Castle, and likely this tenement too, began in January 1897. The Town Council bought the property and ordered its demolition so that the street could be widened. Aberdeen Savings Bank, Union Terrace
178 Aberdeen Savings Bank, Union Terrace, 1894. Aberdeen Savings Bank was established in May 1815 "for receiving such small sums as may be saved from the earnings of tradesmen, mechanics, labourers, servants etc". As the bank became more successful, they moved from premises in the Guestrow to a new building in Exchange Street. By the 1890s, the directors decided that a new site was necessary, especially as the population in the city was moving westwards. This illustration, by the architect William Kelly in 1894, shows the building that was to be constructed at the junction of Union Terrace and Diamond Street at a cost of £11,000. The design is of Renaissance style, with the central entrance leading to an inner porch lined with red and grey granite, then a short flight of steps led to the main telling office. This office had a deeply panelled ceiling and dome partially filled with painted and decorated glass. Coats of Arms of the City and Lord Provosts were also displayed. The counter and desks were made of mahogany and oak with wrought iron and wrought copper grills. In the 1960s, a large extension was built on an adjacent site and, in 1983, the bank became part of the Trustees Savings Bank in Scotland and in 1999 became part of Lloyds TSB. Marischal College
198 Marischal College dated c.1906. The view overlooks the Guestrow area which would become part of a slum clearance scheme in the 1930's although Provost Skene's House, the turretted building in the foreground, would survive. The sparkling Kemnay granite of the newly completed frontage to the College stands out clearly. At the right are the tower of the North Church, now Aberdeen Arts Centre, and the spire of Greyfriars Church. Mill of Udny
208 This postcard image, looking west, shows the Mill of Udny, located not far to the south east of Pitmedden, next to the Bronie Burn. This photograph likely dates from the early 20th century.
The large building shown here, which old OS maps indicate was a corn mill, is still there at the time of writing in 2022. As is the bridge over the Bronie Burn, though its walls appear to have been lowered.
The Mill of Udny is located on a small road, running east to west, between Housieside and Udny Green. The original buildings have been added to and it is now the site of the Mill Business Centre. Aberdeenshire: Donside and Strathbogie, an Illustrated Architectural Guide (2006) by Ian Shepherd indicates that this conversion took place in 1991.
A waterwheel can be seen on the southern side of the mill in this image. Early 20th century OS maps indicate this was powered by a lade, diverted from the Bronie Burn, that ran through the field to the west. A mill dam was once located to the south west across the field.
This image features in the book Old Udny, Tarves and Methlick (2007) by Donna M. Donald. In accompanying information the author states that in 1800 the mill was one of ten working in the Udny area. Donald also states that the mill was built in the middle of the 18th century, "by a forward-thinking laird", and remained in operation until the 1920s. Cowdray Hall, 1927
218 Shrine, war memorial, Cowdray Hall, 1927.
The War Memorial and the extension of the Art Gallery, including the Cowdray Hall and Museum, were opened by King George V and Queen Mary on 29th September 1925.
These were erected at a cost of 80,000 pounds, with the cost of the War Memorial being raised by public subscription.
The War Memorial is a cenotaph, in the form of a Memorial Court or Hall of Remembrance and is "consecrated to the memory of those 5000 of the city and district who gave their lives on land and sea 'that we might live'".
The shrine is of white and grey marble in a niche in the north wall of the Memorial Court, directly opposite the entrance. It takes the form of a table on which is placed the Roll of Honour, printed on vellum, within glass.
The table is supported by trusses decorated in Renaissance style. On either side are the Union Jack and White Ensign, representing Army and Navy, and in the centre is a laurel wreath in gilt bronze.
Also in the picture can be seen the circular balcony or gallery, with a graceful balustrade, grey marble coping and ornate mouldings, which encircles the Court and leads to various picture galleries, one of which can be seen through the doorway War memorial at Cowdray Hall
219 War memorial at Cowdray Hall. The War Memorial and the extension of the Art Gallery, including the Cowdray Hall and Museum, were opened by King George V and Queen Mary on 29th September 1925. These were erected at a cost of £80,000, with the cost of the War Memorial being raised by public subscription. The War Memorial is a cenotaph, in the form of a Memorial Court or Hall of Remembrance and is "consecrated to the memory of those 5000 of the city and district who gave their lives on land and sea 'that we might live'". Flourmill Brae
354 This image shows at the left hand side, a massive stone coffin which stood for many years at the back of tenements at Flourmill Brae. It was brought to the public's attention in 1926 when the area was subject to the Town Council's slum clearance scheme. The coffin consisted of granite slabs blackened and cracked through time. It was 5 and a half feet long, two feet wide and two feet deep. The sides and ends were held together by iron clamps and the lid was cemented on. The belief was that the coffin contained the remains of Mary Bannerman, one of the Bannermans of Elsick and married to George Leslie, Laird of Findrassie, near Elgin who died in 1692. However when the coffin was eventually opened it was empty apart from black earth. It was suggested that the slabs may have protected her coffin at some time and that the actual coffin and her remains had been removed to one of the city's graveyards.
Correspondent Ed Fowler has researched its location using historic maps and suggests that the stone sarcophagus was likely at the end of Quaker's Court near the Friends Meeting House, to the rear of the tenements looking onto Flourmill Brae. James Beattie's House
362 This house stood in Crown Court at 36 Upperkirkgate, Aberdeen. It had an internal stone stair and some of the rooms were oak panelled. James Beattie was born in 1735 in Laurencekirk and in 1760 he was appointed Professor of Moral Philosophy at Marischal College. He died at this house on 18th August 1803 and was buried in St. Nicholas Churchyard.
His house became the home of an advocate, but in the 1850s and 60s it was used by the Aberdeen General Dispensary, lying in an vaccine institution which supplied advice and medicines to the sick and poor. In more recent times, the area behind the Upperkirkgate was cleared and redeveloped as the Bon-Accord Shopping Centre.
Correspondent Ed Fowler suggests that the items that can be seen in front of the house are likely early Victorian laundry mangles. This would account for the trail of water draining from its position. The tarpaulin that is visible would have been to protect the wooden rollers and gears from the elements. The drying area was probably in the garden beyond the Dispensary building, to the north, as no improvised window drying jibs are visible. The Guestrow, Aberdeen
365 This photograph shows a rather delapidated house in the once fashionable area of the Guestrow in the centre of Aberdeen. The word "Guestrow' may derive from 'Ghaistrow' because of the street's proximity to St. Nicholas Churchyard where 'ghaists', ie ghosts might be thought to roam. The tiled roofs and outside stairs were typical of these early houses. Note the handcart propped up outside. The Guestrow area was part of a slum clearance initiative by the Town Council in the late 1920s and 30s when most of the buildings there were demolished.
Correspondent Ed Fowler plausibly suggests that this is the dwelling house in the T-shaped Mitchell Court. Post Office directories and old maps tell us that the entrance to the court was just beside a public house at number 41 on the Guestrow. If this is correct then the large building in the background is likely to be Provost Skene's House, then probably known as the Victoria Lodging House. Aberdeen Harbour
425 Aberdeen Harbour with sailing ships.
Correspondent Ed Fowler comments:
"The 2-Masted Brig Cheviot is moored in the centre of the Upper Dock and in the background on Trinity Quay stands the new Post Office (erected 1873-76 formerly the 2nd Fishmarket Site) opposite the added diagonal Quay Corner.
The adjacent Quayside Site has been demolished revealing the dilapidated Tenement Houses of lower Shiprow (No.s 78-84) bounded by Brebners Court & Sutherlands Court which were seldom previously Photographed. A temporary hoarding has been erected for the demolition works to the old Quayside Premises and a 3 Masted Square Rigged -Ship is Moored at the remainder of Trinity Quay ending at Shore Brae." Provost Skene's House, Guestrow
472 Provost Skene's House, dating from 1545, also known as Cumberland's Lodging when it was occupied by the Duke of Cumberland during his pursuit of Jacobites in 1746. Belonged to Sir George Skene of Rubislaw, Provost of Aberdeen from 1676 to1685. In the nineteenth century it had become the Victoria Lodging House and was only saved from demolition in 1938 by the intervention of the Queen Mother. Bede House, Old Aberdeen
572 This rubble-built structure at 20-22 Don Street dates from 1676, and for a short time after 1787 it housed eight Bedesmen - poor, single men, aged over 60. The house is now a private dwelling but a sheltered housing complex named Bede House Court was opened nearby in 1964. The Castlegate
574 The Castlegate, Aberdeen. The Town House is in the centre of the photograph with the spire of the Tolbooth to the right. The Athenaeum Building is on the left and behind the statue of the Duke of Gordon is the headquarters of the North of Scotland Bank. Note the cannon to the left of the Market Cross.
In his Annals of Aberdeen (1818) William Kennedy states "In the year 1394, King Robert III granted to the burgesses and community a charter, dated 20th of October, by which he permitted them to build a tolbooth and court house, eighty feet in length, and thirty feet in breath, in any part of the town except in the middle of the market place. This edifice was accordingly soon afterwards erected on the north side of the Castlegate, on the site of the present town house." (page 403)
In 1615 a new prison replaced the one on this site and it stood for many years. It was largely replaced or subsumed by the new town house development in the 1870s, however the old Tolbooth spire can still be seen - as in this photograph (the right most spire). Oil supplies at Aberdeen Harbour
609 A photograph showing oil supplies at Aberdeen Harbour.
The high rise Marischal Court block of flats on Justice Street can be seen in the background.
This image was likely taken in the 1980s. Shepherd's Court
695 An image of Shepherd's Court looking towards the Guestrow. The turreted house at 21 Guestrow was occupied by Sheriff-Depute Andrew Thomson and his wife Agnes Divie in 1673. Many thanks to Edward Fowler for this information. 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. Upper Denburn
729 Upper Denburn, looking east, prior to its demolition.
Brick gable tenements can be seen on the left already stripped of their roofs.
The viewpoint is looking from the Dyers Court area eastwards towards Marischal College Tower and the retaining wall of the Royal Infirmary (with its dome on the skyline). This lead to Spa Street and Woolmanhill beyond.
The houses and tenements on the right are more sparse and primarily traders yards.
Garden Nook Close led off the left past a timber yard to the Well of Spa. The Well O' Spa Pub was on the extreme left corner.
Note the partial visible trade sign on the ridge of the distant roof - most likely James Stephen & Son. They were carvers, gilders/ornamental plasterers, mirror & picture frame makers, artists' colourmen and fine art dealers and operated at 48-50 Woolmanhill from around 1890-1933. Gordon's Hospital Spire rises beyond these premises.
(Many thanks to Ed Fowler for the above description). Provost Skene's House, Guestrow
757 Provost Skene's House, Guestrow. It probably dates from 1545. It was called Cumberland's House, from the six-week residence there of the Duke of Cumberland in 1746. By the 19th century, it had become the Victoria Lodging House and was due for demolition but was saved by the intervention of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, in 1938. It has since been restored and is now a museum. Old Savings Bank, Guestrow
760 Aberdeen Savings Bank was founded in 1815 and had conducted its business in these small offices on the Guestrow until 1858, when the bank was relocated to Exchange Street.
Correspondent Ed Fowler got in touch with Local Studies in order to complete this description:
"Aberdeen Savings Bank was formerly Baillie Alexander Galen's House. Here the first Aberdeen National Security Savings Bank at No.17 Guestrow and perhaps Galen's Court is No.19 as suggested by the larger numeral on the right of the doorway. The building is isolated between the lesser arch of No.15 on the left the and the mysterious Trader's Yard (Galen's Court) on the right. A modest and unassuming structure for the frugal Aberdonians to deposit their spare Bawbees and Mecks." Provost Skene's House, Guestrow
762 Provost Skene's House, Guestrow. It probably dates from 1545. It was called Cumberland's House, from the six-week residence there of the Duke of Cumberland in 1746. By the 19th century, it had become the Victoria Lodging House and was due for demolition but was saved by the intervention of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, in 1938. It has since been restored and is now a museum. |