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Great Northern Road, Woodside
287 Today Woodside is a busy and thriving community with a dual carriageway and railway running through its heart. Modes of transport and services have changed radically over the past two hundred years but due to its location Woodside has always been part of a wider network and this has helped to drive industry and increase travel. Shiprow
682 This is a view of the Shiprow in the early 1900's with the imposing tower of the Town House in the background.
Prior to the building of Union Street in 1880, the Shiprow was one of the most important streets in the city, since it led from the harbour into the Castlegate area - the heart of Aberdeen. It is first mentioned in documents in 1281.
Over the years it became more rundown and, although it had many historic connections, nearly all of it was demolished in the 1950s and 60s. The right hand side is now occupied by a multi-storey car park. Memorial to Ann Allardyce
1290 Memorial to Ann Allardyce in the West Church of St. Nicholas. The inscription reads, "Sacred to the memory of Ann the wife of Alexander Allardyce of Dunnottar and daughter of Alexander Baxter of Glassel. She was married the 7 August 1786, gave birth to her son Alex Baxter Allardyce the 28th of July and departed this life at Aberdeen the 1st of August 1787 aged 28 years. As a tribute justly due to the Eminent Virtues, Gentle Manners and Personal Accomplishments of a most amiable Woman her disconsolate husband dedicates this monument". John Bacon, London, sculptor 1791. The Victoria Bridge
1994 The Victoria Bridge as seen from across the River Dee on the shores of Torry.
Victoria Bridge was erected following the Dee Ferry Boat Disaster, which claimed the lives of 32 people on 5 April 1876.
The ferry had for centuries took people from Pocra Quay, near Fittie, to Torry and back again.
The 5th April was a feastday so the ferry was particularly busy when it went down and 32 people lost their lives.
There had long been plans to build a bridge here but the Ferry Boat disaster was the final impetus needed for the project.
When the bridge opened finally in 1881 it enabled direct access for carriages from Torry into the heart of Abedeen via Market Street. The new bridge facilitated the rapid expansion that Torry would see in the following years.
By 1969 it was clear to Aberdeen Corporation that Victoria Bridge was no longer coping with the amount of traffic using it to cross the Dee.
A report in 1965 showed that traffic was 20% above the level for which the bridge had been designed.
This overload and the deteriorating state of The Wellington Suspension Bridge saw the opening of the nearby Queen Elizabeth II Bridge in 1981. Newhills Manse
2137 The Manse of the Church and Parish of Newhills. This photograph was taken around 1930. Andrew Currie, who became the minister of Newhills in 1918, wrote "I love the old Manse, and I fondle in my heart a wish that the old house in turn will grow to like me, and that somehow it will remember mine and me when we are far from its shelter. For us all comes the day when 'our place shall know us no more.'" Torry and the River Dee
2245 This photograph by George Washington Wilson shows Old Torry from Balnagask, with Victoria Bridge in the distance.
In the early 19th century Old Torry developed out of the medieval settlement of Lower Torry. It was a centre of fishing industry and culture. Old Torry was eventually largely demolished in the 1970s to make way for support service buildings for the emerging oil and gas industry. Only one or two streets, such as Abbey Road, remain of Old Torry.
Victoria Bridge was erected following the Dee Ferry Boat Disaster, which claimed the lives of 32 people on 5 April 1876. The ferry had for centuries took people from Pocra Quay, near Fittie, to Torry and back again. The 5th April was a feast day so the ferry was particularly busy when it went down and 32 people lost their lives. There had long been plans to build a bridge here but the Ferry Boat disaster was the final impetus needed for the project.
When the bridge opened finally in 1881 it enabled direct access for carriages from Torry into the heart of Aberdeen via Market Street. The new bridge facilitated the rapid expansion that Torry would see in the following years. Treasure 34: A Selection of Original Scots Songs in Three Parts
2322 Although the union of the Parliaments between Scotland and England had taken place almost a hundred years before, as the 18th century was drawing to a close there was still much fascination regarding the differing cultures. In time, Victorian society would give this fascination a renewed vigour, helped by Queen Victoria's passion for Scotland - including the establishment of Balmoral Castle as her residence North of the border. Before that time though, in the late 1790s, books were produced offering English readers an insight into their neighbours' traditions.
One such book was entitled 'A selection of original Scots songs' edited by Franz Haydn and published between 1790 and 1794. The book is designed to introduce the reader to the music and lyrics of traditional songs in Scotland. Haydn's book reproduced the songs along with corresponding music, and also offered a glossary to help with the more obscure language.
Burns' song 'My Heart's In The Highlands' - more popularly regarded today as a poem - makes an appearance in the selected works by Franz Haydn. With the collected works produced between 1790 - 1794, this was at a time when Burns began to suffer from the illnesses which would eventually end his life just a couple of years later.
Robert Burns
Celebrated across Scotland every year, Robert Burns Day takes place on 25 January and is an opportunity to remember Scotland's Bard and his work. Known the world over as the National Poet of Scotland, Robert Burns (1759 - 1796) was born in Alloway, Ayrshire. Burns' early life was one of balance; he toiled on his family's farm by day, and was taught reading and writing by candlelight at night. He conversed in Scots, while learning passages from English texts to further his studies. Although regarded by history largely as a poet, Burns also composed many songs - perhaps his most famous work 'Auld Lang Syne' being one of the few traditionally remembered in song form. One of our treasures this month celebrates Robert Burns' work and that of many other traditional Scottish musicians. Guest treasure: Aberdeen Journals' Photographic Collections
2435 The photographic collections of Aberdeen Journal Ltd span over a century. The photographs were taken to support stories and features in The Press & Journal and Evening Express newspapers - a picture speaks a thousand words after all. However, the accumulated photography has created a historical resource documenting life in the north east and Highlands during a century of change and development. The collection covers everything from the changing landscapes of our towns and cities through to global news events. But it's personal, too. People and their images are at the heart of our stories, be it the children on their first day in a new school through to community events and individual achievements. Your image is probably in the archive somewhere if you look hard enough.
The collection is actively used by our journalists. It provides content for favourites like The Aberdonian and Past Lives features in the Evening Express and historical context and background to stories in The Press & Journal. The collection is also used by external researchers looking for copies of images in which they or their family featured, supporting charities and associations celebrating anniversaries and even to supplement content as featured in The Silver City Vault!
archives@ajl.co.uk
View all the Christmas images from the archive in the Treasures from our Collections interactive exhibition on the library touchscreens. Flora Maxwell Portrait
2720 This postcard features a photographic portrait of a group of women by Flora Maxwell.
Maxwell was a photographer with a studio at 187 Rosemount Place, opposite Watson Street. In her adverts she describes herself as "The Lady Photographer" and offers "Artistic portraiture at a moderate price". Other newspaper mentions indicate she was active in the Soroptimist International.
The group appear to be a branch of the Scottish Women's Rural Institute. They are all, except the central figure, wearing the badge of this organisation. It can not be seen here but the badge features a crowned heart with a chevron reading "For home & country". Which branch of the S.W.R.I. they are is unclear.
If you can provide information on the nature of this group we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact us by using the comment button below the image. Jeannie Bodie
3002 Jeannie, the only daughter of Walford and Jeannie Bodie, died aged only 19 from heart trouble. Her obituary in The Era describes her as an accomplished musician and vocalist. Walford erected a memorial fountain in memory of his daughter in Macduff that still stands today.
This photograph comes from a family photograph album, originally owned by Annie "Nan" Henry, held by Aberdeen City Libraries. Union Terrace Gardens, showing H.M.Theatre
3143 An Adelphi Series postcard showing Union Terrace Gardens in the heart of Aberdeen City Centre with His Majesty's Theatre Aberdeen in the background.
The postcard was lent to Aberdeen City Libraries so that we could create a digital copy for public use. Aberdeen Cinemas: La Scala / Majestic
3425 A photograph showing the site of the Majestic, and before that La Scala, cinemas on Union Street in January 2021. The Majestic and the neighbouring Clydesdale Bank building were replaced by the Caledonian House office block seen here. The Majestic closed in 1973 and the completed Caledonian House opened in February 1976. The shops occupying the ground floor in this photograph are a British Heart Foundation Furniture & Electrical Store and a branch of Pret a Manger. Aberdeen Cinemas: Coliseum / New Kinema / Belmont
3438 This photograph shows the entrance to the Belmont Filmhouse in January 2021. The current incarnation of the cinema has been a hugely valued venue in the heart of Aberdeen for over 20 years. It specialises in showing the most interesting and top-quality films from all around the world. Netherkirkgate in 1932
4275 A photograph looking west along Netherkirkgate towards the Wallace Tower in around 1932. On the right, the businesses H. Cordiner, joiner, Petrie & Co., plumbers and electricians, and Lewis Smith & Son, stationers, are shown. There is also the sign of three hanging balls for a pawn shop beyond.
The buildings on the left remain at the time of writing in 2023. Those on the right were demolished to make way for the new Marks & Spencer building.
This photo is taken from the Aberdeen Bon-Accord and Northern Pictorial 1932 annual, page 46. It is one of a number illustrating an article by G. M. Fraser (1863-1938), city librarian, titled 'The gates of Aberdeen: intimate study in street nomenclature.'
The caption accompanying the photograph reads as follows:
"The Netherkirkgate - This was one of the most noted thoroughfares in Aberdeen, leading from the heart of the town to the city kirks. Like other streets in this vicinity, its glory has departed, and the city improvers will soon have it transformed, if not blotted it out." Caledonian House
4400 A photograph, taken on 3rd February 2024, showing Caledonian House, an office block on Union Street, Aberdeen. The building is surrounded by scaffolding, likely for maintenance work.
Caledonian House opened at 234-238 Union Street in February 1976. It was built on the former site of the Majestic Cinema and a branch of the Clydesdale Bank.
The shops occupying the ground floor in this photograph are a British Heart Foundation Furniture & Electrical Store and a outlet of Pret a Manger. 204 Union Street
4401 A photograph, taken on 3rd February 2024, showing the supermarket and general retail building at 204 Union Street, Aberdeen.
This complex opened in 1965 with Massey's supermarket as the first occupant. It was built on the former site of Crimonmogate House and its neighbouring YMCA building, both were demolished around 1963/64. The main supermarket premises have subsequently been occupied by Somerfield and, at 2024, is a branch of the Co-op.
Abutting the Music Hall, other units in the 1960s complex are occupied by Subway, the sandwich shop, branches of Barnardos and the British Heart Foundation, both charity shops, Heavenly Desserts and Oodles, food outlets, obscured in this image by the leftmost bus shelter. Memorial to Ann Allardyce
116 Memorial to Ann Allardyce in the West Church of St. Nicholas. The inscription reads, "Sacred to the memory of Ann the wife of Alexander Allardyce of Dunnottar and daughter of Alexander Baxter of Glassel. She was married the 7 August 1786, gave birth to her son Alex Baxter Allardyce the 28th of July and departed this life at Aberdeen the 1st of August 1787 aged 28 years. As a tribute justly due to the Eminent Virtues, Gentle Manners and Personal Accomplishments of a most amiable Woman her disconsolate husband dedicates this monument". John Bacon, London, sculptor 1791. Aberdeen Mechanics' Institute - Astronomical lectures
158 The following article, extracted from the Aberdeen Journal, shows the popularity of the Mechanics Institute and its courses:
"There is not a more efficient educational institution in the city, with the same limited means, than the Mechanics' Institute; and to extand and enlarge its means is the object of these lectures. We can assure those who have not yet visited Morison's Hall, that nowhere will they find so much amusement blended with so great an amount of useful instruction, so much to delight the eye and ravish the ear, with so much to enlighten the understanding and improve the heart".
Aberdeen Journal, May 10, 1837.
Article cited in Aberdeen Journal, May 15, 1937 ("One hundred years ago"). Treasure 29: The Snow Queen and Hans Christian Andersen
202 Hans Christian Andersen wrote 'The Snow Queen' in 1844. Aberdeen City Libraries hold a number of interesting resources relating to the author. Perhaps the most notable is a 1926 reprint of his autobiography 'The True Story of My Life' translated by Mary Howitt and published by George Routledge & Sons.
Born in Odense, Denmark in 1805, Andersen wrote three autobiographies during his lifetime. 'The Book of My Life', written in 1832 aged 27, was for close friends, the Collin family, and was not intended for publication. 'The True Story of My Life' in 1846 was to accompany a German edition of his collected works and his final autobiography, 'The Fairy Tale of My Life', was published in 1855.
Mary Howitt (1799-1888) was an English author who came to prominence as a translator of Scandinavian literature, in particular eighteen volumes of the Swedish novelist Frederika Bremer (1842-1863) and many translations of Hans Christian Andersen. In the 1926 preface to 'The True Story of My Life' Scottish author and poet, Violet Jacob, claims that Howitt's "precise and innocence English" is the ideal vehicle for conveying Andersen's writing. It was through Howitt's translations that the English speaking world first came to know Andersen's work.
Howitt dedicates her translation of 'The True Story of My Life' to the Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind (1820-1887). Lind was world famous for her immaculate voice, generosity and strong religious convictions. She and Andersen were good friends. When Lind rejected Andersen as a suitor she became the model for the Snow Queen with a heart of ice. Their friendship endured nonetheless and in 'The True Story of My Life' Andersen explains the central influence Lind had on his work: "Through Jenny Lind I first became sensible of the holiness there is in art; through her I learned that one must forget oneself in the service of the Supreme. No books, no men have had a better or a more ennobling influence on me as the poet, than Jenny Lind, and I therefore have spoken of her so long and so warmly here."
The autobiography also contains other glimpses into the inspiration behind 'The Snow Queen'. For example, Andersen's childhood surroundings are said to have inspired the roof top garden on which the story's heroes, Gerda and Kai, first meet and become friends: "Our little room, which was almost filled with the shoemaker's bench, the bed, and my crib, was the abode of my childhood; the walls, however, were covered with pictures, and over the work-bench was a cupboard containing books and songs; the little kitchen was full of shining plates and metal pans, and by means of a ladder it was possible to go out on the roof, where, in the gutters between and the neighbour's house, there stood a great chest filled with soil, my mother's sole garden, and where she grew her vegetables. In my story of the Snow Queen that garden still blooms." 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." Treasure 77: The Castle Spectre, 1876 - 1888
288 One of our treasures this month is a rare periodical known as The Castle Spectre. It is unusual as it was printed and published by a Victorian family from their home at 'The Castle', 6 Mackie Place, and later from 'The Galleries' on Skene Street West, and offers an insight into the lives of a middle-class family in Victorian Aberdeen. The copy on display was gifted to the library by the editor, Alexander D Forbes in 1888, and includes a handwritten letter to the City Librarian at the time.
It not only contains amateur poetry, literature, and social and religious commentary, but also sheds a light on a forgotten and mysterious dwelling place in the heart of the city. The area in question is the land behind Skene Street, encompassing Mackie Place, and the grounds of three old houses long since demolished by the Denburn - Cherry Vale, 'The Galleries', and the White House, also known as 'The Castle'.
As long as 'The Castle' at 6 Mackie Place existed (it was built towards the end of the 18th or beginning of the 19th century, according to various reports) it was described as being haunted. No accounts mention a specific ghost, but the eccentricities of the occupant and his young family helped to fuel the reputation for the Castle's hauntings. The first issue of The Castle Spectre (October 21, 1876) states:
"We are the dwellers in that house in the neighbourhood of Skene Street known to the "oldest inhabitants" as the Haunted House, to younger inhabitants as the Castle, and to the Post Office as No.6 Mackie Place. In former days we were "desp'rate wicked". We dressed ourselves in white sheets, and popped out upon passers by, frightening them into fits. We used to scoop out the largest turnips?and having cut out slices to represent eyes, nose, and mouth, light candles in them, and stick them on poles in hedges?We used to lie behind low walls and growl like bears, or caterwaul like cats, whenever any weakly-looking person was passing?In short, we were the terror of the neighbourhood."
View the Treasures from our Collections interactive exhibition on the touchscreens in Central, Airyhall, Tillydrone and Mastrick libraries to find out more about the spooky publication and mysterious Mackie Place. Treasure 88: Polar Exploration
300 One of this month's treasures is a selection of our books about polar exploration. These mainly 19th century volumes were often written by those placed in command of a particular expedition, providing first-hand accounts of voyages through glacial seas and journeys to the frozen ends of the earth.
The many attempts to reach the North Pole are well documented in works such as Dr Fridtjof Nansen's Farthest North, 1898 and The Great Frozen Sea, 1894 by Rear-Admiral Albert Hastings Markham.
Similarly at the other end of the world the race was on to conquer the South Pole. Many countries mounted expeditions to the Antarctic in the early 1900's. One such undertaking has been chronicled in Ernest Shackleton's The Heart of the Antarctic, 1909 which is the story of the British Antarctic Expedition 1907-1909. The first successful attempt to reach the South Pole was made by Roald Amundsen who arrived there on 14 December 1911. It was a tight competition as the British Party with Captain Robert Falcon Scott as their leader arrived at the same spot only five weeks later.
Discover fascinating facts about the North and South Poles and the explorers who attempted to journey to the ends of the earth in the Treasures from our Collections interactive exhibition. Treasure 103: Royal Wedding Posters
324 The 21st March marks the 146th wedding anniversary of Queen Victoria's sixth child, Princess Louise, and the 9th Duke of Argyll, the Marquis of Lorne. Aberdeenshire has always held the Royal family in high regard, largely due to their associations with the county and their Balmoral residence. As a result, the wedding of Princess Louise and the Scottish Marquis of Lorne in 1871 was cause for great celebrations in Aberdeen. In Aberdeen City Libraries' collection we hold three posters that testify to these celebrations, and serve as a perfect example of Victorian poster design. The Aberdeen Journal of 22 March 1871 described the union thus:
"The happy union hailed with so much satisfaction throughout the realm and especially in Scotland, was celebrated in Aberdeen with feelings of as great loyalty as in any part of Her Majesty's wide dominions. The attachment which Her Royal Highness the Princess Louise has shewn to her home in the Highlands has endeared her in an especial manner to those whom her Royal mother is pleased to call her neighbours; while her high artistic accomplishments and well-known kindliness of heart have, not less than her royal station, made her alliance with one of our most promising young Scottish nobles, an event of more than usual interest."
View our Treasures exhibition on the interactive screen to find out more about this royal couple and how their marriage unfolded in the following years. |