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Powis Gateway, Old Aberdeen
165 Powis Gateway, Old Aberdeen. These curious towers stand at the gate leading to Powis Lodge, almost opposite King's College, Old Aberdeen. They were constructed by John Leslie of Powis, who succeeded his father, Hugh Leslie of Powis, the builder of Powis House (1802).
John Leslie succeeded his father in 1812, and the towers were finished in 1834. The crescent on the top of one of the towers is the crest of the Frasers, the predecessors of the Leslies in the property of Powis.
As indicated in the bottom right, this etching of the gateway is by Aberdeen artist Henry Jackson Simpson (1893-1963), known professionally as Jackson Simpson. He was a prolific and successful local artist who specialised in etchings and watercolours of architecture, land and seascapes and wildlife.
Simpson died at his home at 58 Craigton Road, aged 70, on 28th March 1963. His obituary, which gives an account of his life, featured in the next day's Press & Journal.
He was a native of Aberdeen, the son of William Jackson, an art dealer in Diamond Street. He trained as a lithographer and joined his father in business. He served in WWI with the Northumberland Fusiliers and was awarded the Military Cross for bravery.
In 1935 he took over the family business following the death of his father. He was well travelled around Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire and this is reflected in his art. University related subjects such as Marischal College, King's College and, here, the Powis Gateway, were among his most well known works.
A keen sportsperson, and prominent freemason, he also set-up the Craigton Club and was highly involved with the Northern Arts Club.
An article titled 'The charming story of Jackson Simpson: Scotland's celebrated etcher' featured on the Press & Journal website, in partnership with the McEwan Gallery near Ballater, on 8th June 2022. The feature was produced to highlight an exhibition of Simpson's work at the aforementioned gallery. Marischal College, University of Aberdeen
186 Marischal College, University of Aberdeen, Broad Street. The front of Marischal College as seen on this postcard was built between 1903 and 1906 and designed by Alexander Marshall MacKenzie. At the right are the tower of the North Church (converted to the Arts Centre) and the spire of Greyfriars Church. Marischal College
198 Marischal College dated c.1906. The view overlooks the Guestrow area which would become part of a slum clearance scheme in the 1930's although Provost Skene's House, the turretted building in the foreground, would survive. The sparkling Kemnay granite of the newly completed frontage to the College stands out clearly. At the right are the tower of the North Church, now Aberdeen Arts Centre, and the spire of Greyfriars Church. Lemon Tree Hotel, Huxter Row
679 Lemon Tree Hotel, Huxter Row, off Castle Street, which was demolished to make way for the Town House in the 1870s. The title was transferred to a house in St. Nicholas Street and more recently to the Lemon Tree arts venue in West North Street.
Huxter Row was a narrow street running from Broad Street, parallel with Union Street, to the old Town House and then joining Union Street at right angles. The street derived its name because of the booths of hucksters - small traders. 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. The Library Committee
1403 The Library Committee (with G M Fraser City Librarian, extreme right). The first Library Committee was appointed in April 1884 and it continued as a separate committee until local government re-organisation in 1975 when it functioned as a sub committee of the Arts and Recreation Committee. King Street from Castlegate
1454 King Street at the junction with the Castlegate and Union Street. The imposing building on the left is the Headquarters of the North of Scotland Bank. It later became a pub called "The Archibald Simpson" (2007). The church spire belongs to the Trinity Church, King Street, which was converted in the 1960s into Aberdeen Arts Centre. King Street
2194 Looking down King Street from Castle Street, with the spire of the North Church (later the Arts Centre). Schoolhill
2269 The facade of Aberdeen Art Gallery and Gray's School of Art on Schoolhill. The Arts School was founded by John Gray, engineer, 'to promote education in drawing, painting, modelling, and all branches of art' and was built in 1885 next door to the Art Gallery and on the site of the old Grammar School. The architects were Matthews and Mackenzie who used a mixture of pink granite from Corrennie Quarry and sparkling white Kemnay Granite.
The gateway leads to Robert Gordon's College, founded by Robert Gordon, a Danzig merchant, and opened in 1750. It is now a co-educational private school. Gray's School of Art became part of the Robert Gordon University, and was re-sited to the Garthdee area in 1965. The statue in the foreground is that of General Charles Gordon who was killed at Khartoum. The statue was sculpted by T. Stuart Burnett, ARSA. This Gordon was unrelated to Robert Gordon. Stop 6: Annie Inglis MBE (1922-2010), Aberdeen Arts Centre, Catherine Hollingsworth (1904-1999) and Isabella Fyvie Mayo (1843-1914), 31 King Street
2305 Aberdeen's first lady of the theatre Annie Inglis MBE dedicated her life to drama in Aberdeen, founding Aberdeen Arts Centre and inspiring generations to take to the stage. Born Annie Nicol in 1922, Annie studied English at Glasgow University before taking up a career in teaching. She joined the Monklands Rep in the 1940s, perfecting her directing skills which she would use to great effect in Aberdeen where she founded the Attic Theatre Group, an amateur group, which enjoyed an enviable reputation for performance. Over the years Annie founded Aberdeen's Arts Carnival, Texaco Theatre School, and Giz Giz Theatre Project for Youth. When the Arts Centre was threatened by closure in 1998 Annie ran a hugely successful campaign to save it involving many famous theatre actors who had trod the boards there.
Born in 1904 in Brechin and known by local folk as the 'speakin'wifie' Catherine Hollingworth started her teaching career in 1927 and might have remained a drama teacher but for the road traffic accident in 1933 which led her to use her learning to address the injury to her own speech. This ignited a lifelong interest in speech therapy at a time when there were very few speech therapists. While another pioneer of the profession Lional Logue (as dramatised in The King's Speech) was supporting King George VI in London, Catherine was appointed as the first superintendent of Speech & Drama and Speech Therapy in Aberdeen. In 1942 she founded the Children's Theatre, which went on to develop an international reputation. She had the theory that if you allowed children to play only to children, with no adults in the audience, their creativity and imagination would be much greater.
Another woman of culture associated with 31 King Street was Isabella Fyvie Mayo a prolific poet and novelist who wrote under the pen name Edward Garret. Although she was to spend most of her life living in Aberdeen, Isabella was born in London in 1843. She was also a pioneering translator for Tolstoy and became not only his friend but was also friends with Mahatma Gandhi. She became an ethical anarchist, pacifist, anti-imperialist, anti-racist and suffragette campaigner. In 1894 she was elected a member of the Aberdeen School Board, the first woman elected to any public board in Aberdeen and it is in this building that the Aberdeen School Board convened. Aberdeen Women's Alliance: St Katherine's Club / Lemon Tree Foundation Stone
2340 The foundation stone of the Lemon Tree building on West North Street. The inscription reads "This corner stone was laid by Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal on 15th May 1936." Aberdeen Theatres: The Music Hall and Union Street
3372 The Music Hall opened in 1822 as Aberdeen's Assembly Rooms and was designed by Archibald Simpson; the building was originally intended as a place for the elite to socialise.
In 1858, the Aberdeen Music Hall Company bought the building and a large concert hall was added, reopening as the Aberdeen Music Hall in September 1859. The building was refurbished in the mid 1980's, spending more than £2.5 million, and reopening in 1986.
The Music Hall has been run by Aberdeen Performing Arts since 2004 and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2009.
The latest renovations took place between 2016 and 2018 and the Music hall has been a vibrant part of Aberdeen since then, welcoming artists and entertainers. Aberdeen Theatres: Tuberculosis exhibition
3375 Throughout its history the Music Hall in Aberdeen has been used for all manner purposes beyond the performing arts and film screenings.
In March 1912 an exhibition on the infectious disease tuberculosis was held in the Music Hall on Union Street. This striking poster, with the headline "War on consumption", advertised the six-day event and the accompanying series of lectures.
The exhibition was organised by the Town Council of Aberdeen and the National Association for the Prevention of Consumption. The majority of the exhibition was brought to the city by the latter party with local additions from the Aberdeen Public Health Department, the pathological and public health laboratories of the University of Aberdeen and the Aberdeen Mothers' and Babies' Club.
The exhibition arrived in Aberdeen on the 16 March from Dundee where it had been visited by 30,000 people. It had also toured Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Hull.
At the close of the "six day crusade against tuberculosis", Lord Provost Maitland described the exhibition and lecture series as "Magnificent" and local paper The Aberdeen Journal stated that the success of the event, "judged by popularity, is beyond all doubt." In total 39,960 attended over the six days, placing Aberdeen behind only Hull which was open for an extra day.
Approximately 20,000 health pamphlets were disseminated around the city, including 15,000 catalogues freely distributed by the Public Health Committee. A copy of this catalogue, which includes an instructive article from Aberdeen's Medical Officer of Health, Matthew Hay, is kept in the collection of Aberdeen Local Studies. Aberdeen Theatres: Aberdeen Arts Centre
3386 In 1960 the education committee of Aberdeen Town Council proposed the conversion of the empty North and Trinity Parish Church into an adult education and civic arts centre. The plan was given final approval in February 1961, much to the delight of Aberdeen's art enthusiasts.
The Evening Express detailed the need for such a venue at the time by describing the difficulties faced by the William Gavin Players, a local drama group, in staging a play earlier that week in the ballroom of the Music Hall. They had to overcome the roar of a nearby wrestling audience, the incessant ringing of an unanswered telephone, a cramped stage and poor acoustics.
A temporary restriction on capital expenditure and a particularly severe winter caused delays for the conversion. Work began in late 1961 and was concluded by the autumn of 1963. The work cost around £33,000 and saw the reconstruction of the interior and a thorough re-vamp for the building's exterior. At one point the new centre was going to be called Longacre, but this idea was scrapped in favour of Aberdeen Arts Centre.
The completed venue was opened on 18th October 1963 by Sir Herbert Read (1893-1968), an art critic, poet and anarchist philosopher. In his speech Read criticised the main political parties of the day for neglecting the development of the arts and the human imagination in favour of a blind drive for scientific and technological efficiency.
In addition to the 385-seat auditorium, the venue had an exhibition space, a lounge, and a tea bar. The Arts Centre has remained the focal point for local arts groups and arts education to this day. It has also served as a meeting place and provided a useful stage for theatrical productions of all types.
In 1998, facing the need to cut £17.5 million from their budget, Aberdeen City Council withdrew their funding from the Arts Centre. This left the future of the venue in danger. A popular campaign to avoid its closure was led by Annie Inglis MBE (1922-2010), Aberdeen's first lady of theatre.
This led to the Aberdeen Arts Centre Association taking over the venue on a voluntary basis and the eventual formation of the Castlegate Arts Limited, a company with charitable status who continue to run the venue today.
Over the years the Arts Centre has played host to many noted local theatre groups like the Attic Theatre Co., The Revue Group, the aforementioned William Gavin Players, Phoenix Theatre, the Gilbert & Sullivan Society, Aberdeen Opera Company, Confederate Theatre, Dragongate Theatre, and no doubt many more. It remains a much-loved venue for performers and audiences of all ages. His Majesty's Theatre: Dress circle bar. c.1929
3439 Unique circular bar designed by Frank Matcham. [Image from the Aberdeen Performing Arts Archive.] His Majesty's Theatre: Comedy and Tragedy
3440 The statues of Comedy and Tragedy being hand finished by sculptors from the Aberdeen firm James Scott and Sons. They were designed by William Buchan. [Image from the Aberdeen Performing Arts Archive.] His Majesty's Theatre: Auditorium c.1933
3441 Note the addition of the cinema projection booth at the back of the Upper Circle. The theatre at this period was redesigned to enable use as a cinema. [Image from the Aberdeen Performing Arts Archive.] His Majesty's Theatre: The Revolving stage under construction
3442 HMT had the only permanent revolving stage in Scotland. Image taken around 1932. The scenery dock doors are on the right and the 'Props Room' on the left. [Image from the Aberdeen Performing Arts Archive.] His Majesty's Theatre: The balcony
3443 Note the elaborate design of the seat metal supports. The original bench seating was replaced by these seats moved up from the stalls. [Image from the Aberdeen Performing Arts Archive.] His Majesty's Theatre: Proposed design
3444 Coloured postcard illustrating the proposed façade of the building. Note 'painted on' exterior lamps, and railings and the awning. These never appeared on the finished building. [Image from the Aberdeen Performing Arts Archive.] His Majesty's Theatre: Matcham's design
3445 Frank Matcham's final design for the facade of HMT. [Image from the Aberdeen Performing Arts Archive.] His Majesty's Theatre: Auditorium
3446 The auditorium showing the stalls and stage right stack of boxes. The Royal Box is at the bottom. [Image from the Aberdeen Performing Arts Archive.] His Majesty's Theatre: Cine-Variety advert
3447 Advert from a programme for a Cine-Variety bill. After the two films were projected, the stage would revolve to reveal the variety acts. Lambert Wilson was the resident HMT Musical Director. [Image from the Aberdeen Performing Arts Archive.] His Majesty's Theatre: Bar notice
3448 Sign indicating that "Lady members of the Visiting Companies are not allowed in this Bar". The Bar in question was the public Dress Circle Bar. [Image from the Aberdeen Performing Arts Archive.] |