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3 Mackie Place
42 This photograph shows No. 3 Mackie Place, Aberdeen, in around 1870.
The street was named after Robert Mackie, a skinner who was Convener of the Incorporated Trades.
At No. 6 Mackie Place there was a haunted house known as the 'The Castle' or 'The White House'. It was located to the south west of Nos. 4 and 5 next to the Denburn. It was the home of the Forbes family who printed the Castle Spectre magazine.
No. 6 Mackie Place was in time demolished to make way for Esslemont Avenue. Due to the demolition, the Forbes family moved across the Denburn to the property off Skene Street known as 'the Galleries' in around 1882. It stood in the ground to the rear of No. 1 Mackie Place and has also subsequently been demolished.
No. 3 Mackie Place is located to the east of Nos. 4 and 5, on the north side of the Denburn, and still stands today. St. Nicholas Churchyard
375 Union Street, showing the Ionic screen and arch in front of St. Nicholas Churchyard, designed by the architect John Smith in 1829/30 to commemorate benefactions to the city by Sir John Forbes of Newe. Newhills Bowling Club
914 Newhills Bowling Club, Burndale Road - left to right, George Youngson, Mr. Christie (fruiterer), Mr. Forbes and Don Sutherland. Stoneywood Works Home Guard
943 Stoneywood Works Home Guard.
Back Row: Unknown, Unknown, Charlie Thomson, Hector Emslie, Unknown, Bill Irvine, Ed Coutts, John Reid, Jim Smith, Alick Duncan (engineer), Dick Grant, A. Kilgour.
3rd Row: Ralph Davidson, Bob Lawrence, Arthur Smart, Ed McDonald, John Menzies, Bill Kane, Alfred McPherson, Harry Duncan, A. Baigrie, Tom Mitchell, Bill Davidson, Alex Robb, Jim McLean, Bill Denholm, George Sangster (sawmiller).
2nd Row: Gordon Wilson, Jim Davidson, Jim Ross, Unknown, Andy Lawson, Charles Esson, Frank Rundle, Bill Bartlett, Alick Duncan (cutting & rolling), Neil Littlejohn, Bert Campbell, Willie Robbie, Bill Forbes, David Findlater.
Front Row: Bill Thomson, Val Michie, Bill Ross, Jack Beveridge, Bill Kitson, Harry Jordan, Jim Murray, Cozens Hardy, Jack Stewart, Jim Duncan, Bert Spence, Bill Pirie, John Sutherland, Alick Davidson, Bill Wright. Back Wynd Stair, The Green
1711 This lane is at the bottom of the stairs leading from Union Street down to The Green. The archway shown on the right of the photo leads to an unnamed pend while a smaller entrance between the two tall building led to Forbes Court. (Brian Kennedy, Aberdeen) Stop 1: Marion Douglas, Lady Drum (1577-1633) and Katherine Forbes, Lady Rothiemay (1583-1652), The Town House
2300 On the ground floor of the Town House on each side of the walls hang the mortification boards. These boards form a public record of the mortifications or legacies given by wealthy citizens to Aberdeen Town Council for various charitable purposes. Many of the donors are women and two are of particular interest - Lady Drum and Lady Rothiemay. They were early philanthropists, aware of older women and girls living in circumstances locally much less favourable than themselves.
Lady Drum left money to provide a home for poor widows and aged virgins. This home known as "Lady Drum's Hospital" was built c1677 in what became known as Drum's Lane, just off Upperkirkgate and today a plaque marks its site. Lady Rothiemay had a turbulent life. Her husband and son were killed in a feud with a neighbouring family and she attempted to avenge their deaths. She was imprisoned in Edinburgh. Once released she lived in Aberdeen and founded Lady Rothiemay's School for Girls, in which she took a personal interest. The school moved several times, from Guestrow finally to Littlejohn Street. It was closed in 1873 when School Boards were set up to oversee primary education for the under twelves, following the Education Act of 1872
CITIZENS OF POLAND WHO WERE FROM ABERDEEN
2877 There are many others who have traveled from Aberdeen to Poland and made successful careers. Some of these people being:
John Burnet (b. 1603)
John Burnet was from Aberdeen. Burnet was made citizen of Krakow in 1617. He had traded 10 Polish florins, a gun, and half a stone of gunpowder in return for citizenship.
Sir George Skene of Rubislaw (1619-1707)
Sir George was a former Danzig merchant who later became the Provost of Aberdeen 1676-1685. George Skene had arrived in Poland with his step-brother and apprenticed him to George Edie in Danzig.
William Forbes (1566-1627)
William Forbes was the founder of Craigevar Family and former merchant. With the riches he had acquired in Poland he bought many estates in Aberdeenshire. He was also known as "Danzig Willie" and "Willie the Merchant".
John Turner
Turner, also a former merchant in Poland, was a benefactor of the Marischal College. In 1688, he left 4 bursaries to Marischal College and his coat of arms can be seen in the historical window in Mitchell Hall.
John Craig (b. 1587)
John Craig was a trader in Krakow. He paid 10 Hungarian Florins to become a citizen of Poland.
George Crukshank (b. 1686)
Crukshank was a merchant in Krakow who paid 100 florins plus an additional 14 florins instead of the usually required gun and gunpowder.
The image on the left is a reproduction of a portrait of George Skene by George Jamieson. It is from Alexander Munro's Memorials of the Aldermen, Provosts, and Lord Provosts of Aberdeen, 1272-1895 (1897). LUCRATIVE BUSINESS IN DANZIG
2878 With the substantial number of Scottish immigrants in Poland a reputation followed. "A Scots pedlar's pack" became a phrase used in Poland. The expression referred to the goods which the Scots had traded. Some of these goods were malt, flax, fruit, handkerchiefs, linen, woollen products, coal, fish and cloth.
As the Scottish minority made a visible contribution to the trade in Danzig, they earned another expression used among the Poles -"Szkot" (which means Scot in Polish). It was an epithet which referred to a business traveller.
The Scottish population in Poland increasingly grew in the 16th century due the career opportunities offered by the country. Areas of Poland consequently show the presence of these Scots. In 1576, Stefan Batory - the king of Poland at the time, designated a sector of Danzig to house Scots. "Nowe Szkoty" (New Scots) is an area in modern day Gdansk which has around 10 Polish villages with street names referencing the Scots who previously lived there.
The image on the left is of Cragievar Castle. This castle was owned by William Forbes. The funding for the property came from the riches he had made in Poland. Aberdeen Cinemas: Casino
3410 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph of the Casino cinema in around 1963.
The Casino cinema was opened on Wales Street on 7th February 1916 by John Peter Kilgour, a dealer in various waste materials. It had close competition with Bert Gate's Star Picture Palace just around the corner on Park Street. Michael Thomson in The Silver Screen in the Silver City describes the Casino as the second of Aberdeen's purpose-built picture halls. It and the "Starrie" served the population of the city's east end for many years.
The Casino was built on the site of Kilgour's factory yards. The architects for the project were George Sutherland and Clement George. The building's "Spanish villa" design is described by Thomson as unique for Aberdeen and highly unusual throughout Scotland. One distinctive feature was the low square tower at the Park Street side of the building that was topped by a red-tiled concave pyramidal roof. Thomson writes that features of the building combined to "bring a welcome splash of colour and gaiety to an otherwise drab corner of the city."
Following the death of John Peter Kilgour in 1920, the running of the Casino and his waste business was taken over by his son, Ormande L. Kilgour.
In the silent era the venue was a stronghold of cine-variety, showing all manner of performances in-between film screenings. In February 1936 the cinema celebrated its 20th birthday and a cake was cut by Kilgour and one the Casino's oldest patrons, a Mrs Stewart.
In November 1939 Bert Gates and Aberdeen Picture Palaces bought a controlling interest share in the Casino. The Beach Boulevard, which opened on 25th May 1959, ran directly outside the cinema and gave the Casino a prominent location. In March of that year the cinema was given a thorough renovation.
Despite its new prominent location and recent renovation, the Casino closed down as a cinema on Saturday 3rd October 1959. A spokesperson for the Donald Cinemas Group stated in the Evening Express at the time that the closure was due to the housing in the area being pulled down and people moving to new estates. Michael Thomson suggests that the proximity of the relatively new first-run Regal in Shiprow might also have drawn away the hoped-for holiday crowds from the Casino.
In 1961 the empty Casino was sold to local bookmakers James Rennie and Arthur Forbes to be used as a bingo hall. This was at the height of bingo's popularity and the Casino proved too small. The bingo operation was moved to the Kingsway Cinema which had showed its final film, Warlord of Crete on 3rd February 1962.
The area around the Casino was earmarked for redevelopment by Aberdeen Town Council. The cinema building was compulsorily purchased and, after spending some time as a store, was demolished at the same time as the Star in 1971. The site is now occupied by a residential development.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Pocra Quay
3569 This photograph depicts Pocra Quay on the left and the South breakwater lighthouse off in the distance on the right.
Multiple ships are registered in Aberdeen and Banff, such as Ebenezer (A892) belonging to Thomas Davidson, Callykhan (BF122) of J. Murray & others, and Tarbat Ness (A203) and Buchan Ness (A204) which belonged to the Girdleness Herring Drifting Company Ltd. based in Aberdeen.
Buchan Ness (A204) was built in 1908 and over the years had its name and registration changed a couple of times. In 1912 it was renamed to F.H.S. and moved to Yarmouth for John F. C. Salmon. Then, in 1929 it was moved to Banff and renamed again to Thealby for John Wood.
The wood screw steamer Vine (A279) also has an interesting story. It was built in 1900 by Forbes & Birnie based in Peterhead for a fish salesman from Aberdeen Thomas Davidson. An article written in The Buchan Observer of 20th March 1900 describes a celebratory banquet in honour of the newly built ship as it was leaving Peterhead to Aberdeen, where it would have a steam engine installed. The vessel was described as an "extraordinary success" due to its appearance and speed.
Unfortunately, in 1915, the ship was captured by enemy submarine and sunk with gunfire 30 miles north-east from Out Skerries, Shetland. All crew returned home safely.
The photograph was likely taken between the years of 1908 and 1915. Cothal Mills
4292 A photograph looking north across the River Don towards the remains of Cothal Mills in June 1976. This image was likely taken not far from Dyce Cemetery.
Foxgloves can be seen in the foreground on the southern bank of the river. The buildings on the other side were part of a former woollen, yarn or flock mill complex.
The book Gordon: an illustrated architectural guide (1994) by Ian Shepherd, page 170, states that the mills, steam and water powered, once employed upwards of 100 workers and were superseded by the larger works downstream at Grandhome.
See Crombies of Grandholm and Cothal, 1805-1960: records of an Aberdeenshire enterprise (1960) edited by John R. Allan for more information on the use of the mills by the Crombie firm.
An entry for the mills in the Aberdeenshire Ordnance Survey Name Books, 1865-1871, reads as follows:
"A large pile of buildings situated close to the river Don. Originally there was a meal mill here and subsequently, when the greater portion of the houses were erected, the manufacture of woollen cloth was carried on; now yarn is the only production. Motive power water. Contiguous to the mill there are a considerable number of dwellinghouses inhabited by the mill workers. Property of Sir William Forbes Bart." (reference: OS1/1/30/64)
Large scale Ordnance Survey mapping indicates that Cothal Mills were disused by around the mid-20th century.
At the time of writing in 2023, the main buildings shown here have been converted to residential use. A property notice titled 'Old Mill by River Don up for grabs' in the Press & Journal of 24th March 1992, page 18, states that Upper Cothal Mill, on the right in this image but mostly obscured by trees, then up for sale, had been converted into a spacious family home in 1985, following a period of disrepair. Treasure 9: Sketch of Proposed Denburn Gardens
179 The future of Union Terrace Gardens has been the subject of much debate over the years and its original development also led to much discussion in Town Council meetings and in the local newspapers.
In 1868, the architect James Matthews suggested that the area of Union Terrace should be turned into a pleasure ground for the people and the following year this "Sketch of the Proposed Denburn Gardens", drawn by the land surveyor James Forbes Beattie, was published. It includes the area between Belmont Street to Union Terrace and from Union Street to the Royal Infirmary, Woolmanhill.
The gardens are shown laid out with paths and shrubbery but Beattie has also depicted the buildings in the surrounding streets, including the recently completed Belmont Street Congregational Church. Further to the north can be seen the spire and complex of the three churches built for the West, South and East Free Church congregations in 1843-44. The buildings which remain are currently known as the Triple Kirks.
A pedestrian bridge crosses the railway towards Union Terrace and the row of houses known as Denburn Terrace. These were demolished under the City Improvements Scheme of 1883 which eventually led to the construction of Rosemount Viaduct and would have stood on the site of the ornamental plot opposite the Central Library.
This plan acts as a snapshot of the area and provides an interesting comparison with the modern layout of the streets surrounding the Gardens.
After much discussion and negotiation with neighbouring proprietors, the Town Council sanctioned work on laying out the Gardens on the land between the wooded bank at Union Terrace and the railway. Work began in November 1877 and, when the gates were finally opened to the public on 11 August 1879, the band of Gordon's Hospital (forerunner of Robert Gordon's College) played a "selection of pleasing airs" prior the opening ceremony. The official name was now Union Terrace Gardens but it was more popularly known to generations of visitors as the "Trainie Park". Feuing Plan of Part of the Estate of Ruthrieston
247 This feuing plan from 1875 was drafted James Forbes Beattie & Son, Civil Engineers and Surveyors. The production of the plan is credited to Keith & Gibb, Lithographers and Engravers to the Queen. The plan shows Ruthrieston Terrace and Bridge of Dee Road and also features an illustration of the Bridge of Dee area and life on the river. Bygone Aberdeen
280 The front cover of the souvenir programme for the Bygone Aberdeen historical pageant organised in celebration of the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953.
The event is described as a historical pageant in ten episodes and was devised and directed by Thomas Forbes. It took place at Pittodrie Park on June 2nd, 3rd and 4th and started at 8pm. 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. The Highland and Agricultural Society's Show
405 The inside 2 pages of a 4-page Evening Gazette supplement about the large Highland and Agricultural Society Show that took place in Aberdeen on 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th July 1894.
These pages show illustrated portraits of various prominent individuals involved in the Society and the show:
A. M. Gordon of Newton
Walter George Hepburne-Scott (9th Lord Polwarth)
F. H. Forbes of Irvine of Drum
Arthur James Balfour (then an M.P., later to be Prime Minister between 1902 and 1905)
George V (then the Duke of York)
Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox (6th Duke of Richmond, 6th Duke of Lennox, and 1st Duke of Gordon)
Dr Alexander Profeit (Royal doctor at Balmoral from 1874)
James Macdonald (Secretary of the Highland and Agricultural Society from 1893 to 1912)
Baillie Daniel Mearns (later Provost of Aberdeen from 1895-1898)
J. Campbell of Old Cullen
George Bruce (Secretary of the Royal Northern Agricultural Society)
J. Sleigh of Strichen
W. H. Lumsden of Balmedie
Sir George Macpherson-Grant
Colonel Smith of Midmore
J. Marr of Cairnbrogie
Sir Arthur Henry Grant (9th Baronet of Monymusk)
P. M. Turnbull of Smithston Grand reform meeting held at Aberdeen, 18th May 1832
530 A colourised lithographed sketch of the Grand Reform Meeting that took place on Broad Hill, Aberdeen on Friday 18th May 1832.
Popular and parliamentary support for electoral reform had been growing across the United Kingdom in this period. At the time, only a small number of wealthy landowners had the right to vote, the franchise was geographically inconsistent, and the representation by members of parliament was out-dated.
This Aberdeen meeting, like many that took place around the country at the time, was organised following the House of Lords blocking the Third Reform Bill of Prime Minister Charles Grey (1764-1845), 2nd Earl Grey, and the subsequent resignation of Grey and his Whig ministers.
Newspaper accounts of the meeting indicate that attendees had just learnt that the Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), a Tory opponent to reform, had been unable to form a government following the resignation of the Whigs and an invitation from King William IV, and that the monarch had recalled Earl Grey.
Organised by prominent local supporters of electoral reform, the Reform Committee, the meeting agreed seven resolutions for presentation to parliament including the following: consternation at the bill not being passed, support of Earl Grey and colleagues, agreement to withholding national supplies (funding) from the government until the bill is passed, and that Joseph Hume (1777-1855), then MP for Middlesex, present the petition instead of the member for the Aberdeen boroughs, Horatio Ross (1801-1886), who was accused of backsliding on reform.
The report in the following day's Aberdeen Chronicle newspaper suggest the meeting was attended by 30,000 to 40,000 people. The Tory-leaning Aberdeen Journal, in its issue of Wednesday 23rd May 1832, page 2, gives an estimate of 15,000 to 20,000.
Contingents of various trades began to muster at Union Street West at about 1.30pm. A large procession proceeded east along the street and were joined by the Reform Committee from the Royal Hotel, 63 Union Street, located just after the junction with Market Street.
The full procession, with the Committee at its head and joined by deputations from the country, travelled to the Links via Castle Street, King Street, Frederick Street and Constitution Street. Several bands accompanied the procession and there were a large number of banners with reform slogans.
On the motion of Reverend William Jack (1768-1854), principal of King's College, Sir Michael Bruce of Stenhouse and Scotstown (1798-1862) was called to chair the meeting. John Angus (1799-1878), an advocate and later Town Clerk of Aberdeen, was the secretary.
Speakers included General Andrew Leith Hay of Rannes (1785-1862), Alexander Bannerman (1788-1864), Sir John Forbes of Craigievar (1785-1846), Alexander Blackie, banker, Thomas Burnett, younger of Leys (1778-1849), John M. Gerrard of Midstrath, Alexander Kilgore, surgeon, James Forbes of Echt, Alexander Stronach of Drumallan, James Nicol, advocate, William Allardyce, wine merchant, Harry Leith Lumsden of Auchindour, William Moir of Park and Alexander Forbes of Ainslie.
Both the account in the Aberdeen Chronicle and the speeches on the day remark on the disruptive potential of the crowd, under circumstances of reform not being progressed. Though the speakers urged those in attendance to continue in a peaceful manner.
Some speakers compared the fight for electoral reform to that for religious freedom in Scotland. There is explicit and repeated support given for William VI, but the Duke of Wellington is considered an inappropriate progressor of reform. The return of Earl Grey is promoted.
Faced with the prospect of William VI ennobling new Whig members of the House of Lords, Tory opponents of the Third Reform Bill abstained from votes and it passed through the upper house. The Representation of the People Act 1832 was given royal assent on 7th June 1832, and its Scottish equivalent around the same time, and came into law.
The Act was a substantial reform of Britain's antiquated electoral system, redistributing seats and changing the conditions of the franchise, but still left most people without the vote. Subsequent popular and parliamentary politics would led to further legislation and the fuller suffrage of modern times.
Document dimensions: 26 x 40 cm. |