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The Foundry
4409 A photograph of The Foundry pub and restaurant at 41-43 Holburn Street taken on 21st March 2024.
43 Holburn Street, today The Foundry, was built in around 1915/16 as a motor showroom and workshop for Mr. John Harper, engineer of Bournemouth, to a design by architect George B. Mitchell (Aberdeen Daily Journal, 20th September 1915, p. 4).
In November 1916, during the First World War, the Harper Motor Company put their new garage, at the junction of Holburn Street and Justice Mill Lane, at the disposal of the Red Cross. The commodious building, ideal for transport work, became the headquarters of the Aberdeen Transport Section of the Red Cross Society (Evening Express, 21st November 1916, p. 5).
43 Holburn Street was occupied and in use by the Harper Motor Company until at least 1979. In 1986, George Dowdles, who had ran a roller skating rink called Rollerland Disco in Bon-Accord Terrace, proposed to turn the premises into a leisure centre for teenagers (Press & Journal, 19th June 1986, p. 3).
The new venture at 43 Holburn Street was to be a soda and burger café modelled on the TV show Happy Days and called Up The Junction. It opened in October 1986 (P&J, 10th October 1986, p. 3).
Up The Junction appears to have struggled financially and 43 Holburn Street was remodelled and opened as Rollerland Mark II in August 1987 (EE, 22nd February 1988, p. 8). The original Rollerland skating rink had been on the second floor of 5 Bon-Accord Terrace and operated from 26th June 1981 to mid-1986.
Rollerland on Holburn Street was briefly owned by Cove Rangers football club and was temporarily renamed Wheels Leisure Centre. George Dowdles remained its manager (P&J, 1st April 1989, p. 1). The venue was reopened as Rollerland under the ownership of Aberdeen District Council in July 1989. DJs Robin Galloway and Gary Stein provided music for a reopening gala night (EE, 27th July 1989, p. 5).
Rollerland finally closed in February 1991 on safety grounds. Water leaks had warped the floor making it unsafe for skating. The venue had struggled financially and the estimated cost of repair was too large (P&J, 18th September 1991, p. 3). In June 1995, there was a significant fire in the building (EE, 19 June 1995, p. 2).
In September 1995, the company Alloa Pubs and Restaurants, who had leased the building from the District Council, unveiled plans for a £500,000 transformation of the run-down property. It was to be turned into a prestige bar-diner called The Granary, with a lay-out based on the company's Glasgow venue of the same name (EE, 16th September 1995, p. 7).
With a final redevelopment cost of £600,000, The Granary opened to the public on 6th February 1996 (P&J, 7th February 1996, p. 11).
A search of Aberdeen City valuation rolls indicates that by April 2005 The Granary had changed its name to The Foundry. At the time, The Foundry was operated by Mitchell & Butlers, one of the largest restaurant and pub businesses in the UK.
Mitchell & Butlers own the O'Neill's chain of Irish pubs, the first branch of which opened at 9-10 Back Wynd, Aberdeen on 22nd September 1994. This was formerly the premises of the Tappit Hen pub (P&J, 16th September 1994, p. 3).
In 2010, Mitchell & Butlers disposed of 333 of their town and community pubs to the Stonegate Pub Company. This likely included The Foundry ('Our history' page on Mitchell & Butlers website: https://www.mbplc.com/about-us/our-history/: accessed 22/03/2024).
In November 2023, The Foundry reopened to the public following a brief closure for a significant redevelopment. Backed by a £277,000 investment from the Stonegate Group, the UK's largest pub company, the work aimed to shift the venue from a sports-focused pub to a more family-friendly food destination. The exterior design changed from a black and gold colour scheme to the red and gold of Aberdeen Football Club (Aberdeen Business News, 23rd November 2023, https://aberdeenbusinessnews.co.uk/the-foundry-unveils-stylish-transformation-after-major-investment/: accessed 22/03/2024).
Aberdeen Bon-Accord and Northern Pictorial Annual 1939
166 The front page of the Aberdeen Bon-Accord and Northern Pictorial Annual from 1939. This "Special Number" was published on the 14th December of that year and cost 1 shilling. It was designed and produced by Henry Munro Ltd, 22 Union Row, Aberdeen. The illustration by H. Ireland depicts a young boy, with a Jack Russell dog, mimicking a Pipe Major. A epigram reads "In dowie days, when few have Hert to sing - - Lat's Hear the Pipes." Aberdeen Local Studies holds this and many other Aberdeen Bon-Accord and Northern Pictorial annuals. These bound volumes are available to consult at Aberdeen Central Library. Books You Can Borrow from Aberdeen Public Library
461 This is the front cover of Books You Can Borrow from Aberdeen Public Library from November 1949. The publication was a quarterly pamphlet created by Aberdeen's library service that was aimed at the general public. It provided thematic lists of recommended titles that had been recently added to the lending stock.
Each number featured an introductory editorial that would provide updates on the activities of the library service or make comment on the subject of books and reading.
Issue number 1 of Books You Can Borrow from Aberdeen Public Library was published in October 1941. It begins with a section entitled 'Introducing Ourselves' by the then City Librarian, Marcus K. Milne. He writes "The issue of a Reading List is an experiment, the success of which depends on the use of the Library by its readers. It will be readily understood that it is only possible to give a selection of the books added to the Library, but the selection is a catholic one and no doubt everyone will find something to their taste."
Published in the midst of the Second World War, early issues of the pamphlet include many lists relating to the conflict; 'The Empire Fights', 'Blue Prints for Peace', and 'Wings Over Europe'. There are also many perennial and more everyday subjects such as 'Days in the Sun', 'General Literature', and 'Photography'. Each issues concludes with a listing of 'Stories for All Moods'.
There are also pages of illustrated adverts for local businesses at the beginning and end of each pamphlet. Companies such as Jamieson & Carry, Balgownie Dairy and Bakery and the Aberdeen Wireless College feature in issue number 1.
The illustrated front cover, showing Aberdeen Central Library, is believed to be the work of Fenton Wyness, the prolific local historian, architect, and artist.
At Aberdeen City Libraries we hold a collection of these pamphlets bound into 2 volumes, dating from issue 1 to number 33 from June 1954. It is likely the publication was stopped after this number, though this is not stated in the final editorial, as one might expect.
During this period, there was also regular, though shorter, listings of new additions to the Library's stock published in the Evening Express newspaper under the Books You Can Borrow title.
Milne concludes his introduction to the first issue with the following suggestion: "When you have finished with this Bulletin do not destroy it - pass it on to a friend, especially if he is not a reader from the Public Library." |