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You searched for: More Like: 'The revival of Babbie Law's'
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Fishwives
3 Fishwives gutting herring in a yard at Point Law. c.1900. Behind them are the barrels into which the herring would be packed with salt ready for export. Holburn Junction
32 Holburn Junction, looking towards Albyn Place (right) and Holburn Street (left), with Holburn Central Church in its original form (left), Babbie Law's sweet shop (centre) and the UF Christ's College (right). Babbie Law's corner was redeveloped in the late 19th century. Holburn Junction
39 Union Street at the junction with Holburn Junction. Christ's College in the distance with Babbie Law's on the corner left. Note the railings round the basement of the nearest shop. These railings were a common sight on Union Street until the basements were covered over. Albert Basin
232 A photograph taken from Point Law looking west into Albert Basin.
In the foreground can be seen the harbour ferry with passengers onboard crossing from Provost Matthews' Quay, on the right, to the Ferry Office on Ferry Place, on the left of this image.
A steam paddle tug is towing a fishing boat in the background. Plan of the Harbour of Aberdeen
292 Plan of the Harbour of Aberdeen with its alterations as proposed 1787 by Mr. Smeaton.
Henderson's Dairy and Grocery Store
443 Mr and Mrs Henderson, and others, outside their grocery shop at 21 Chattan Place. Mrs Henderson's maiden name was Prentice.
This photograph was taken by Kidd & Stridgen, a photographers based at 9 New Market Gallery.
21 Chattan place was Kenny's Chip Shop in the 1980s and later a Chinese takeaway restaurant.
A copy of this image was kindly lent to the Aberdeen City Libraries for reproduction by William Donald of Udny Green. Mrs Henderson was the sister of his mother-in-law. Seaton House
573 The house was acquired by Aberdeen City Council in 1947 and was demolished in 1963 after being destroyed by fire.
Previous owners had been the Hay family since 1849. The house was of three periods. The oldest portions in the north-west wing, dating from the mid 17th century were built by James Gordon, a baillie of Old Aberdeen in 1661, who died 1714.
The most interesting part was the south block, built of brickwork with dressed work in sandstone, the piended roof slated; the main entrance doorway in the central section under the pediment and three-light window was grand classical architecture. It was built around 1715 for Gordon's son-in-law, Colonel John Middleton, MP for the Aberdeen Burghs and the architect was possibly Middleton's friend James Gibbs.
The north-east wing was early 19th Century in date. Maitland's Quay
608 A photograph looking north from Maitland's Quay, off Sinclair Road, into the River Dee Dock, also known as the Torry Dock.
Supply boats are moored in the dock and mud silos are visible on the left of the image, next to the site of John Lewis & Sons' shipyard.
Beyond the dock, across the River Dee, oil tanks can be seen on Point Law and the shipyard of Hall Russell can be seen in the far distance.
This image was likely taken in the 1980s. Maitland's Quay
613 A photograph looking north east from Maitland's Quay, off Sinclair Road, into the River Dee Dock, also known as the Torry Dock.
Supply boats are moored in the dock and mud silos are visible on the left of the image, next to the site of John Lewis & Sons' shipyard.
Beyond the dock, across the River Dee, oil tanks can be seen on Point Law.
This image was likely taken in the 1980s. The Harbour Mouth, Aberdeen
657 A George Washington Wilson photograph titled The Harbour Mouth, Aberdeen and numbered 505.
The image looks north east from the fields above Old Torry. Point Law, dividing the River Dee channel and the Tidal Harbour, is largely undevelopment. It looks like construction work may be going on over the water at Pocra Quay.
Correspondent Ed Fowler suggests that the large temporary looking building that can be seen across the water, past the round house on the New Quay, is of particular interest. He posits it was used to cast concrete blocks for an extension to the North Pier between 1869-77. Holburn Junction
806 The corner of Holburn Street and Union Street showing the premises of William Milne, plumber and gas-fitter, next to a family grocer. This building is often known as "Babbie Law's Corner". Wellington Lodge
811 A photograph showing Wellington Lodge on the corner of Justice Mill Lane and Holburn Street.
The top of Holburn Street, towards Holburn Junction, was previously known as South Street and later as Wellington Place. In the background of this image, on the far left, can be seen the John Smith designed Water House on Union Street.
Wellington Lodge stood across the road from Holburn Church, roughly where the Glentanar Bar stands today. It can be seen on the large scale Ordnance Survey town plan and map sheets from the 1860s.
The property appears to have belonged to the Whytes of Dalhebity, Cults. For some time Wellington Lodge was the residence of Helen Whyte and she was likely the house's final resident.
Helen Whyte died aged 85 on 31st January 1898 (death notice: Aberdeen Weekly Journal, 09/02/1898, p. 4). Newspaper references suggest she was involved in various charitable activities. She was the daughter of Baillie John Whyte, a merchant, and had a brother also called John Whyte (1845-1904), a prominent citizen and advocate.
Another death notice indicates that Mary Ann Hardie, of 48 Victoria Road, Torry, was employed for 38 years as the servant for Miss Helen Whyte. Hardie died in 1895 (death notice: Aberdeen Journal, 17/08/1895, p. 4).
Newspapers also suggest the villa was the home of Miss Mary Murray Gordon. She would likely have been a relation of James Murray Gordon who was a partner in the same law firm as John Whyte, Helen's aforementioned brother.
Wellington Lodge was probably demolished shortly after the death of Helen Whyte. It made way for the extension of the larger tenement buildings on Holburn Street that can be seen in the background of this photograph.
The Aberdeen Weekly Journal's 'Granite Chips' column of 17th May 1899 (p. 9) states "A very large and handsome block of buildings for Mr Peter Farquharson has been erected in Holburn Street, stretching from the office of the Union Bank of Scotland to Justice Mill Lane." This most likely refers to this development.
David Miller in Archibald Simpson, Architect, His Life and Times 1790-1847 (2006) states that this villa was designed by Simpson for Mrs Yeats of Auquharney (page 174). North Parish Church
1253 The North Parish Church on King Street. It was designed by John Smith in the Greek Revival Style and is thought to have been inspired by St. Pancras Church in London. The building cost £10,300 and could accommodate 1700 to 1800 people.
The church was constructed after the parish of St. Nicholas was split into six distinct parishes in around 1828 due to population growth. The six parishes were East, West, North, South, Greyfriars and St. Clement's.
The church was officially opened on 19th June 1831 and its first service was attended by the Lord Provost and the town's Magistrates. The first minister was Rev. John Murray.
The church became home to the North and Trinity Parish in 1929 when Trinity Church on Marischal Street closed and its congregation was merged with the North Parish.
Due to declining attendance numbers the North and Trinity congregation was itself merged in 1954 with the East Church of St. Nicholas. The church building on King Street was converted to become the Aberdeen Arts Centre in 1963. Shepherd's Court gateway, Guestrow
1519 Shepherd's Court gateway, Guestrow. This arch was initially removed to Union Terrace Gardens circa 1931 and then re-positioned in front of Provost Skene's House around 1970.
(Many thanks for additional information provided by Gary Ether, Aberdeen)
The sign that can be partially seen on the extreme left is likely for Hay & Lyall, a company of carvers and gilders that were based at 19 Guestrow for some time.
The company was run by John Hay (Jnr.) and his brother in law, Robert Watson Lyall. The Hay family played a long and varied role in the Aberdeen art trade, including providing frames for many local artists.
John Hay's obituary from the Aberdeen Weekly Journal, 21st October 1896 p. 5, gives particular praise to his decorative carvings on the ceilings of the Town House and the Mitchell Hall in Marischal College.
He was also a one time partner of pioneering photographer George Washington Wilson, who took this photograph.
(Thanks to Ed Fowler for additional information) The Harbour
1760 An image looking north towards the Tidal Harbour from the Balnagask side of the River Dee.
The image shows the main components of Aberdeen Harbour taking shape; the River Dee, Point Law, Albert Basin and Victoria Dock at the top. A Night-Watchman, 1857
2004 A portrait of an Aberdeen man dressed in uniform. He has a lantern hanging from his jacket and may be leaning on a large cudgel.
This image is used in the book The Diced Cap: The Story of Aberdeen City Police (1972). It features on a plate, opposite page 32, and is captioned as "Watchman 1857".
On page 45, The Diced Cap quotes a report on the state of Aberdeen's law enforcement from 1859 by Scotland's first H. M. Inspector of Constabulary, Colonel John Kinloch of Logie, Kirriemuir.
The highly critical report includes the following passage: "The Constables are divided in the old fashioned way into 'Day Constables' and 'Night-Watchmen'; the latter being so far consider an inferior class that they have less pay and are not thought worth of putting into uniform like the Day Constables, being provided only with a great-coat, flat bonnet, and a big stick!" (The Diced Cap, page 47)
The figure shown in this image very much fits Kinloch's description of Aberdeen's Night-Watchmen. Walford Bodie
2654 A carte de visite showing the magician and entertainer, Dr Walford Bodie M.D. (1869-1939). The inscription reads "To Nan, with fondest love from Sam xxx". Annie "Nan" Henry was Bodie's sister-in-law. Bodie's birth name was Samuel Murphy Bodie.
This photograph comes from a family photograph album, originally owned by Annie Henry, held by Aberdeen City Libraries. Aberdeen from Torry
2671 A George Washington Wilson photograph of Aberdeen taken from across the River Dee in Torry.
Fishing boats are seen on the south side of the river. The spires of many Aberdeen landmarks are visible in the distance. The building on the far right of the image is the Castlehill Barracks. Albert Quay
3336 A photograph looking north east from Albert Quay towards Ferry Place and Point Law.
The building in the centre, with the wind vane, is the harbour ferry office. It provided a service across Albert Quay to Matthews' Quay (partially visible on the left). A packed ferry can be seen leaving the loading platform.
The shipyards of York Street and Pocra Quay can be seen in the background.
The end of Albert Quay, in the foreground, is a busy scene with the unloading of fish and many horse drawn vehicles. Masonic group
3351 A portrait of a group of Freemasons in around 1914. The photograph likely shows a gathering of a masonic group local to Aberdeen.
This photograph was lent to Aberdeen City Libraries by Bill Cheyne so that we could create and preserve a digital copy for public use.
The man standing two in from the right, in the second row from the top is William Law, Bill's maternal grandfather. William Law lived in Torry. 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. Matthews' Quay
3535 A photograph looking north west from Point Law, across Albert Basin, to Matthews' Quay.
This image has been taken from a high vantage point. Possibly a chimney located at the junction of Point Law and Ocean Row.
A couple of large merchant vessels are moored at Matthews' Quay. The one of the left looks like the steamship St. Sunniva, built in 1887 by Hall Russell for the North of Scotland & Orkney & Shetland Steam Navigation Company Ltd. Matthews' Quay
3536 This high shot affords north-west views featuring the edge of Point Law and Provost Mathews' Quay.
The left of the image contains the ferry terminal structure. To the right of this building, three trawlers sit moored in the foreground.
These vessels are quite possibly Fife-Ness (A377), the Blossom (A9), and Star of the North (A633). All three of these vessels were registered in the area between 1903 and 1915.
A large merchant ship can also be seen along Provost Mathews' Quay. This looks like the steamship St. Sunniva, built in 1887 by Hall Russell for the North of Scotland & Orkney & Shetland Steam Navigation Company Ltd. As their name suggests, the company operated services to the Northern Isles. Beyond Matthews' Quay, Victoria Dock is visible.
The commercial traffic taking up the river and bustling townscape in the distance highlights the merchant trade for which Aberdeen was famed. |