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Gateway to Bridewell Prison
54 Gateway to Bridewell Prison, Rose Street, c.1880 - this massive gateway was the impressive entrance to the Bridewell in Rose Street, situated off the west end of Union Street. The Bridewell was opened in 1809 as a House of Correction and became known as the West Prison. It was in use till 1868, when it was closed and later demolished. For a short while, the site was laid out as the West End Pleasure Gardens and Recreation Grounds. The gateway had a porter's lodge and a guardhouse attached and it remained until 1883, when it was demolished to allow Rose Street to be extended northwards to link with Henry Street which in turn led on to Skene Street. Henry Street had been named after George Henry, Provost of the City between 1850-53 but the whole street then became known as Rose Street. The Pleasure Park, Aberdeen Beach
397 A postcard showing John Henry Iles' Pleasure Park in the 1930s. The park's esplanade site, south of Wellington Street (roughly where Amadeus nightclub/the Range and part of the Queen's Links carpark would later stand), was leased to Iles by the Council in 1929. Illes was an amusement entrepreneur originally from Manchester.
The park's biggest attraction, in all senses, was the Scenic Railway roller coaster shown here. Iles was involved in several amusement parks around Britain and during a visit to New York he obtained the European rights to the design of the latest roller coasters. He subsequently erected his Scenic Railway in Aberdeen in 1929.
The roller coaster rose to 100 feet in the air at its highest point and was popular with holiday makers and locals throughout the 1930s. The local press recorded 21,000 children, between 3 and 14 years of age, carried on the ride during a special children's day that was held on Saturday 20th August 1932.
Part of the message written on the back of this postcard by a young visitor to Aberdeen reads "This picture shows you the scenic railway which I have been on and liked very much".
The Scenic Railway was sadly badly damaged by fire on the night of 5th December 1940 and was consequently demolished. Other attractions of Iles' park included rides such as The Caterpillar, The Whip, Water Dodgems, and the Brooklyn Racers (petrol driven cars).
In the background of this image be seen the tower of St. Clements Church and a row of tenements, likely those on Wellington Street. The Pleasure Park
828 The Pleasure Park at Aberdeen Beach. The famous Scenic railway can be seen in the background.
In 1929 the Town Council leased John Henry Iles a piece of ground adjoining the sea front for use as an amusement park. The pleasure park was located on the esplanade south of Wellington Road.
Iles' park included rides such as The Caterpillar, The Whip, Water Dodgems, and the Brooklyn Racers (petrol driven cars).
The greatest innovation, however, was the scenic railway which rose to 100 feet in the air at its highest point.
The local press recorded 21,000 children, between 3 and 14 years of age, carried on the ride on the "Kiddies Day" that was held on Saturday 20th August 1932.
The ride was popular throughout the 1930s. It was badly damaged by fire on the night of 5th December 1940 and was subsequently destroyed.
Note the tower of St. Clements Church and the row of tenements, likely those on Wellington Street, in the background. Rose Street
1119 Rose Street looking towards the junction with Skene Street. Melville Church (Architect Brown and Watt 1900) is on the corner of the junction. The building, once the home of 'The Place' club is now converted into flats. Skene Street
1121 Skene Street looking up towards the junction with Rose Street and Esslemont Avenue. The building centre in the distance is Skene Street Congregational Church (1886) now converted into offices. The Bridewell
2089 The Bridewell or West Prison, Rose Street - the Bridewell stood in Rose Street, off the west end of Union Street. This photo was taken by William Garey, about 1868, when the building was being demolished. Bridewell was a name adopted by many institutions and recalls a London building dedicated to St. Bride which became used as a House of Correction. This building, designed by James Burn, was opened on 2 October 1809, as a House of Correction. It was surrounded by a 14 foot high wall with a garden enclosed. The gateway had a porter's lodge and guardhouse attached. There were 5 floors with the topmost being the hospital and storerooms. Each floor was divided by a gallery which ran the whole length of the building with a large windos at each end. On one side of the gallery there were 11 cells for work and on the other side 14 cells used for sleeping. Each work cell had 2 long narrow windows, while the sleeping cells only had one window. When the new Court House and jail were built in 1819 and named the East Prison, the Bridewell eventually became known as the West Prison. By the 1860s, the East Prison was adequate to cater for the number of inmates and the West Prison was closed in 1864. The building was demolished and its site became the works of James Garvie and Sons, carpenters and cabinetmakers. Freedom Lands and Marches of Aberdeen, Inner March Stone
2517 At the rear of 24-26 Thistle Street (Thistle House) on old boundary wall of Bridewell Prison. Freedom Lands and Marches of Aberdeen, Inner March Stone
2518 At the rear of 24-26 Thistle Street (Thistle House) on old boundary wall of Bridewell Prison. Freedom Lands and Marches of Aberdeen, Inner March Stone
2519 At Thistle Lane, about 100m from Thistle Street, on old boundary wall of Bridewell Prison. Freedom Lands and Marches of Aberdeen, Inner March Stone
2520 At Thistle Lane, about 100m from Thistle Street, on old boundary wall of Bridewell Prison. Freedom Lands and Marches of Aberdeen, Inner March Stone
2521 At Thistle Lane, about 100m from Thistle Street, on old boundary wall of Bridewell Prison. Treasure 31: Hays' Isometrical View of Aberdeen 1850
2586 In September 1850 an advert appeared in the local papers of Aberdeen for "Hays' Isometrical View of Aberdeen, giving a Distinct and Correct View of the Whole City and Environs". We hold copy of the plan from 1850 in our Local Studies collection.
The plan was available to purchase for 3s. 6d. and measured 34 inches by 19 inches. Carvers and gilders, J. & J. Hays, had premises at 2 Market Street where they also sold prints and optical instruments. At the bottom left of the image we see the words George Wilson, Delt. (abbreviation of delineator, i.e. the artist). George Wilson was to find fame a few years later as George Washington Wilson when he became one of Scotland's premier photographers.
George Washington Wilson
George Washington Wilson was born in 1823 at Waulkmill of Carnousie in Banffshire and left school at 12 years of age to be an apprentice carpenter. He practised his artistic skills by drawing portraits of friends and neighbours and, after training at art schools in Edinburgh and London, he returned to Aberdeen to become an art teacher and portrait painter.
By the late 1840's Wilson was attracted by the work of Fox Talbot in the new art of photography and after initial experiments with a homemade camera, he advertised a business offering photographic portraits before eventually expanding into landscape photography.
A Bird's Eye View of History
Wilson created this panoramic view of the city by making numerous sketches from the roofs of high buildings and then merging them into one comprehensive drawing. We are looking north across the city from the harbour with Union Street running horizontally across the centre and Old Aberdeen in the far distance. We can see how small the city actually was at this time - open fields are visible just to the north of the west end of Union Street.
A key to the most prominent buildings was provided and it is interesting to see which buildings have survived until today, often with additions, and which had yet to be built. Robert Gordon's Hospital (now College), Marischal College, and various churches including the Triple Kirks and St Nicholas East and West are all still standing but the West Prison, Castlehill Barracks and the Poorhouse have been demolished.
Bird's Eye View 1889
In December 1889, the Aberdeen Free Press offered its readers an updated version of the Bird's Eye View as a supplement to their newspaper. Numerous changes to the landscape of the city had taken place since Wilson's view. 446 and 448 Union Street
2615 This photograph of Union Street was taken in 1936 and shows the premises of John Raffan, shoe fitting specialists, at 446 and Dugan & Mitchell, clothiers, at 448 Union Street.
James Dugan and Duncan Mitchell entered into partnership around 1919. Mitchell had previously been in the former's employment as a cutter.
Dugan had worked as a tailor on his own account since about 1907 in premises in Bon Accord Street, Rose Street and 443 Union Street. Prior to this he was a commercial traveller representing two local tailoring firms; Messers Milne and Low and Messers Kenneth McLean and Sons.
He became a well respected figure in the tailoring and clothing trade in Aberdeen and the North East. He was the son of a china merchant in George Street called Hugh Dugan. James was married and had a daughter. He died suddenly at his residence at Glen-Shiel, Bieldside on 10th May 1927.
Duncan Mitchell was a native of Largs, Ayrshire and served his apprenticeship in Glasgow. He was a keen golfer and was a member of the Deeside Golf Club. He died aged 73 after a short illness in January 1955.
John Raffan died on Sunday 10th June 1906 after suffering an apoplectic seizure in his Union Steet shop the preceding Friday. He was 52 years old at the time of his death. He was born in the parish of Ordiquhill and his father was a shoemaker named James Raffan.
He served his apprenticeship in Portsoy with a draper called James Guthrie before coming to Aberdeen. He worked with Messers J. & A. Gibb and Mr James Saint, warehousemen and silk mercers, prior to starting his own business as a boot and shoe merchant in Market Street and then Union Street.
Beyond his business, Raffan was deeply involved in religious and philanthropic work. He was a force in the establishment of Union Grove Baptist Church and was connected to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, as a life member, the Aberdeen Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, the Seabank Home, and Stronach's Close Mission. He was married and had a daughter and two sons.
Above the shop fronts is a sign for Imperial Typewriters. The buildings in this photograph were across the road, just west, from the Capitol Cinema. They are still visible today. In more recent times they have been occupied by general food shops such as the Co-operative and Costcutters. The Silver Fin Building
2661 The illuminated office block of the Silver Fin Building towering over Union Street, as seen at night from Rose Street.
The Silver Fin Building was completed in 2017. The building was the work of property agents, FG Burnett and CBRE, acting on behalf of the developer Titan Investors.
The 132,000 sq. ft. development had an estimated starting budget of £65 million. In 2015 the construction contract was awarded to the Sir Robert McAlpine company.
In addition to the tower block, the development includes a new Scottish granite façade on Union Street. Preparatory demolition at the location started in late 2014. It was previously the site of the Bell's Lounge pub.
The building is 13 storeys high, with four car parking floors and nine occupied floors. It sits just to the east of the near contemporaneous Capitol office development.
Privately owned serviced office provider, Orega, let approximately 20% of the building around the time of completion.
The building's name comes from the vertical aluminium fins which form part of its cladding and were designed to catch the light. Union Street from Rose Street, Aberdeen
2723 An Adelphi Real Photograph Series postcard (no. 156) showing the western end of Union Street. On the left can be seen a sign for Findlay's Dairy (at 457 Union Street) and on the right is the spire of Gilcomston South Church. In the street are horse drawn carts, cyclists and the number 43 tram to Bridge of Dee. Aberdeen Cinemas: Picture House / Gaumont
3404 Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson explains that by 1950 the Picture House was owned by the Rank Organisation. The British entertainment conglomerate had acquired various cinema exhibition companies: British-Gaumont, Odeon, and the Provincial Cinematograph Theatres (successor company to Associated Provincial Picture Houses). As part of business rationalisation, on 22nd March 1950 the Picture House was rebranded as The Gaumont.
Thomson's Silver Screen indicates that the Gaumont's vertical neon sign dates from the time of the rebranding. In 1956 the design of the cinema was further updated. This saw the introduction of the illuminated canopy and use of the beech design shown here in the redeveloped interior and exterior, replacing the pillars of the Picture House era. A new marble backed fireplace replaced the old one that had been a well-known feature of the cinema since its opening in 1914. The projection equipment and seating were also modernised. This night-time image from the Aberdeen Journals Archive accompanied an article about the Gaumont's new look in the Evening Express of 19th April 1956.
The image shows promotion for a number of films on the cinema's updated exterior: The Rose Tattoo with Burt Lancaster and Anna Magnani, Flight from Vienna and Aberdeen Photographic Service's presentation of A Photographic Review of the Royal Tour of Nigeria.
The manager at the time of the Gaumont's redesign was Mr. R. E. Miller. He had managed the cinema since January 1948. In early 1951 Miller converted the upstairs restaurant area, which had laid empty since 1928, into a gallery space. Known as the Gaumont Gallery, it was ideal for photographic exhibitions and was in frequent use well into the 1960s.
Thomson states that during this period Mary Garden, the retired opera singer who returned to Aberdeen in 1939, was something of a regular at the Gaumont. This well-known and much-loved figure would be escorted to her seat by the cinema's commissionaire George Repper, who was also a popular and familiar figure. Repper worked at the Gaumont from 1940 to 1964 and his job was to shepherd queues, attend to patrons and ensure all progressed smoothly.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Aberdeen Cinemas: Coliseum / New Kinema / Belmont
3437 The cinema on Belmont Street had operated as the Belmont from 24th June 1935. On 4th January 1938 it was announced that James F. Donald (Aberdeen Cinemas) Ltd. had acquired a controlling share in Caledonian Theatres, who ran the Majestic on Union Street and the Belmont. Michael Thomson credits Caledonian Theatres' financial difficulties at this time to their inability to book the best films.
An organisation known as the Ship Contractors' and Ship Wrights' Association had a right to sell bond on the Belmont Street property that included both the cinema and the headquarters of the Aberdeen Trades Council. From 1946 onwards the aforementioned association tried to sell the property and this was contested by the Trades Council. This fight went all the way to the House of Lords but the Trades Council's appeal was dismissed in January 1949.
Caledonian Theatres had attempted to purchase the building outright from the Ship Contractors' and Ship Wrights' Association but this sale was interrupted by the Aberdeen Sheriff Court following an appeal from the Trades Council. In the end the building was sold to the NAAFI (Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes) in February 1952 to be converted into their new Aberdeen headquarters.
Following this sale, the Belmont cinema closed on down 29th March 1952. Its final film was The Steel Helmet an American film, directed by Samuel Fuller, about the Korean War.
In mid-1956 NAAFI moved its accounts operations out of Aberdeen and put the block up for sale. On 22nd April 1958 the Clydesdale Supply Co. Ltd. moved from premises at 111/2 Rose Street to the former Trades Hall and cinema at 49 Belmont Street. The large premises were employed as the warehouse for the company's wide range of clothing, household goods, furniture, radios, televisions and radiograms. Clydesdale appear to have occupied the building until around 1962.
This Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph from 1966 likely shows the building when it was unoccupied.
During the early 1980s the building was used as a carpet showroom. In October 1994 plans were announced by Aberdeen City Council to create a media centre at 49 Belmont Street. This included three cinema screens, educational facilities and a café bar. The building was converted for this purpose but funding could not be secured for its operation.
The revamped cinema finally opened as The Belmont Picturehouse in September 2000 and was operated by the Picturehouse company. This firm was later bought by Cineworld and had to relinquish the lease on The Belmont in adherence with competition law. In 2014, the Centre for the Moving Image was selected to take on its management and the much-loved cinema became the Belmont Filmhouse.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Daniel Macandrew
4182 A photographic portrait of Aberdeen builder and architect Daniel Macandrew (1827-1899). This image is sourced from In Memoriam: An Obituary of Aberdeen and Vicinity for the Year 1899 with Biographical Notes and Portraits of Prominent Citizens (William Cay & Sons). The book, one of a series published annually between 1890 and 1912, reproduces his obituary from the Aberdeen Free Press newspaper.
Macandrew was born in Fortrose, Ross and Cromarty. His family moved to Drumoak, Deeside, when he was young. He served as an apprentice architect and joiner in the offices of William Henderson and Baille Watson. He then started business on his own account. He lived and worked for a period in New Zealand, before returning to Aberdeen. At the time of his death, Macandrew lived at Vinery Lodge, Cults.
Amongst his works, he was contracted to build Peterhead Prison and various works for the University of Aberdeen, including the library at King's College and the Anatomy Rooms at Marischal College. He designed the Free John Knox Church, Gerard Street, the Free Church in Culsalmond, plus the Aberdeen Hydropathic Establishment, later the Bath Hotel.
Extensive information about Macandrew can be found in his entry on the Dictionary of Scotland Architects 1660-1980 website and in his newspaper obituaries. Ballater fountain
4225 This photograph shows the commemorative drinking well or fountain located in the centre of Ballater, across the road from the war memorial and Glenmuick Parish Parish.
The plaque on the fountain reads "Presented to Lieut. Col. Farquharson and the inhabitants of Ballater by Hugh Rose, 1884."
Hugh Ross (1807-1888) was the provost of Ballater. James Ross Farquharson of Invercauld (1834-1888) was a prominent land owner and descendant of the founders of Ballater.
The opening of the fountain took place on Wednesday 8th October 1884. An account can be read in the following day's Aberdeen Journal on page 2.
A melancholy accident unfortunately marred the day. At the end of the opening ceremony an old cannon located on Craigendarroch was fired by a Sergeant Charles McLagan of the Ballater Volunteers. Due to the cannon's age the charge burst the gun and severely injured McLagan. He was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for treatment but died the next morning.
The tree in the foreground of this image looks like a Scots pine or similar. In the background is a partial view of nos. 4 and 6 Hawthorn Place. In between two people can be seen enjoying the sun. One lying on the ground and another reclining on the bench.
This image likely dates from the 1970s or 80s. It is a part of a collection of slides donated to Aberdeen City Libraries by Aberdeen City Council's Publicity department. Treasure 42: Marischal College Ground floor Architectural Plan by Archibald Simpson
211 The highly-respected architect Archibald Simpson (1790 - 1847) designed many of our city's well-known landmarks and, along with architect John Smith (1781-1852), is widely regarded as transforming Aberdeen into the Granite City in the 19th Century.
At Aberdeen City Libraries, we hold a collection of Archibald Simpson's architectural plans. Many of the originals were destroyed by a fire in his house in 1826 but the copies we hold demonstrate his initial thoughts and first sketches of some of Aberdeen's most famous buildings.
An architectural plan is usually a drawing or a sketch used by an architect to develop a design idea. The document also includes a scale and precise measurements.
Marischal College, as it stands today, was designed by Simpson in the 19th Century and this image shows a floor plan he drew when working on the project in the 1820s.
The plan depicts the ground floor which occupied three sides of a courtyard opening towards Broad Street. The building proposed by Archibald Simpson formed a U-shaped quadrangle with symmetrical rooms. The exterior granite façade, the second largest granite faced construction in the world and enclosing the quadrangle, was built by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie between 1893 and 1905 which is why it is not represented on the plan. Originally, the entrance to the courtyard was by Guild's College gateway.
Tiny lines were drawn to represent the walls between each room and the often curving stairways can be clearly seen. The rooms dedicated to classes of divinity, mathematics, moral philosophy or Greek and Latin were constructed like semi-circular amphitheatres. To the top of the plan, we can see classrooms connected by the science department, including the Anatomical Museum and Dissecting Rooms.
The building contained sixteen classrooms in addition to lodgings for porters and sacrists, the museum, the chemical laboratory and rooms for the professors. Other sources from the period suggest that the public hall, the museum and the library were spacious and magnificent rooms.
The small entrance via an archway, called 'Vestibule' on the plan, is represented at the courtyard side of the building. It is surrounded by two octagonal towers. A grand staircase, contained in the tower, rose to a height of nearly 100 feet.
The architect added the measurements for each room. As suggested by the scale, the unit of measurement is the foot. More information is given by the city librarian G. M Fraser in his 1918 study into Aberdeen's architecture:
"A centre building, 150 feet long, 50 feet wide, 60 feet high. 450,000 cubic feet at 6d: £11,250 Two side buildings, each 80 feet by 40, and 40 feet high. 128,000 cubic feet at 6d: 6,400 Medical class-rooms at end of garden: 1,500 Allowance for porticoes: 2,000 ______ £21,500" [From G. M. Fraser. Archibald Simpson, Architect and his times. A study in the making of Aberdeen. Published in the Aberdeen Weekly Journal between April and October 1918] Architectural plans are a fascinating insight into days gone by. Although at first glance appearing fairly basic, on closer inspection the plan allows us to view one of the Granite City's best loved landmarks through the eyes of the students learning in amphitheatre-style lecture rooms, anatomical museums and dissecting rooms in 19th Century Aberdeen. Glen Cinema Poster
407 A poster for the Glen Cinema in Culter advertising showings of Home at Seven (1952), Bride of the Gorilla (1951), Call of the Jungle (1944) and Prison Mutiny (1943).
The Glen Cinemas company showed films in various venues throughout the North East of Scotland during the 1930s to early 60s. One of these venues was Culter Community Centre.
Glen Cinemas was founded in 1936 by a local man called Arthur M. Burns. The company folded in 1961. Cinema equipment from the Culter Glen Cinema remained in the community centre for around 21 years before being sold by Burns to the London based collector Ronald Grant.
Grant was born in Banchory and worked as a projectionist in the Playhouse, Majestic and Kingsway cinemas in Aberdeen. He was also the assistant general manager of the Cosmo 2 in Diamond Street, before moving to the British Film Institute in London in 1967. The Ronald Grant Archive of Film and Cinematic Memorabilia remains active today.
Glen Cinemas also operated in the Shepherd's Hall in Bucksburn (also known as the Argosy Ballroom).
See the Aberdeen Press & Journal article 'Culter "upset" over cinema history loss' from 14th September 1982, page 3, and Michael Thomson's book Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) for more information on Glen Cinemas. Dying Confession, Behaviour, and Letters of George Thom
478 This broadside reports the circumstances around the crime and punishment of George Thom. This resident of Harthill in the parish of Newhills was executed on 16th November 1821 for having poisoned his brother-in-law, William Mitchell of Burnside, Keig, in order to inherit his possessions. The witnesses and evidence against him left him with no other choice than to confess his crime.
The document presents Thom as an astute and sagacious 61-year-old man whose life was ruined by avarice. He is introduced more as a sinner than as a criminal, and the references to religion are numerous. Moreover, emphasis is given to his final repentance and contrition, a motive to praise the work of the attending Clergymen.
The broadside makes reference to Rev. Mr. Thom, Ordinary of the Prison, and Rev. Dr. James Kidd (1761-1834).
Besides his confession and a letter addressed to the family of the victim, the broadside reports a declaration signed by Thom in which he certified the complete innocence of his wife. Indeed, in an article published on the Aberdeen Journal on 5th September 1821 we read that both he and his wife were suspected for the crime at the beginning of the investigation. She was eventually considered innocent.
This broadside was printed by J. Booth, Jnr., of Chronicle Street, Aberdeen. |