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Schoolhill
13 Old houses skirting St. Nicholas churchyard once formed part of the south side of Schoolhill. They were demolished in 1884-85 as part of a street widening scheme and the present wall and railing stand in their place. On the other side of Schoolhill (centre) can be seen the roof and turrets of George Jamesone's House, demolished in 1886.
The book Aberdeen in Byegone Days: Views of Streets and Buildings, etc. with Letterpress Description (1910) by Robert Anderson (page 26) suggests that the building in the centre of this image was the home of Burnett Carr, the grave-digger and assistant to the sexton of St. Nicholas Church.
Newspaper references indicate that Carr, a well known figure, died on 31st May 1844 (Aberdeen Journal, 5th June 1844, page 3, column 2).
This photograph looks north and shows the back of Carr's old house. Fountainhall House
115 Fountainhall House, now 130 Blenheim Place, an 18th century two-storey house with period gateway and ironwork, commemorates, through its original name of Fountain Haugh, the days when reservoirs and cisterns dotted the area. The old 1706 cistern from Fountainhall is now in Duthie Park. Schoolhill from St. Nicholas Churchyard
120 This photograph taken in 1880 from St. Nicholas Churchyard looks north showing a row of houses which stood between it and Schoolhill.
These houses were demolished around 1884 as part of an improvement scheme to widen Schoolhill - named after the old Grammar School which stood nearby.
A dwarf wall with ornamental railings was erected in place of these buildings and a porter's lodge was removed from Robert Gordon's College to form a lodge for the sexton at the entrance to the churchyard.
The book Aberdeen in Byegone Days: Views of Streets and Buildings, etc. with Letterpress Description (1910) by Robert Anderson (page 26) suggests that the building in the centre of this image was the home of Burnett Carr, the grave-digger and assistant to the sexton of St. Nicholas Church.
Newspaper references indicate that Carr, a well known figure, died on 31st May 1844 (Aberdeen Journal, 5th June 1844, page 3, column 2).
This photograph looks north and shows the back of Carr's old house. Albert Quay
226 Looking north west along Albert Quay and Albert Basin.
Sailing smacks, traditional fishing boats, are moored along the quayside. This is before the days of steam trawlers. An array of barrels for the transport of fish can also be seen.
The masts of large sailing ships berthed in Victoria Dock can be seen in the distance. No. 27 Tram
392 Many thanks to Silver City Vault users Dr Mike Mitchell and Brian Kennedy for providing us with information on this photo. It shows the no. 27 tram on Victoria Road with the wall of Balnagask House in the background.
The Balnagask Mains farm is partially visible to the left of the tram. The St. Fittick's Road terminus of the Torry Route is located further along Victoria Road.
The female conductor indicates the photo was taken during the Great War. The tram waits to depart for Bridge Street. Gala and Heather Day in the Duthie Park
395 This Adelphi Series postcard shows the Gala Day taking place in Duthie Park on 21st August 1915.
The Gala in Duthie Park and the accompanying Heather Day were both organised to raise funds for the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
The Gala Day is one of largest events ever to take place at the park. It was estimated that between 25,000 and 26,000 people attended. Tickets cost 6 pence (6d) for general admission and 2s 6d for carriages or motor cars.
Within the park there was an elaborate programme of entertainment and refreshments organised. Details of the programme were published in a 32 page booklet prior to the event. Upwards of 1,300 people took part in the programme.
Gates to the park opened at 3pm and the event officially commence at 3pm with a grand military parade. Lieut-Colonel A. H. Leith of Glenkindie, Garrison Commander, and Lord Provost James Taggart "took the salute" opposite the Hygiea statue.
The Gala and Heather Day were organised by a distinct committee; Taggart was its president and Alexander Findlay, Superintendent of Cleansing, was its chairman. Councillor H. J. Gray was the secretary and treasurer and Mr John Lints was his assistant. There were also conveners and secretaries for various sub-committees concerned with aspects like entertainment and refreshments.
There was a wide range of entertainment organised for within the park including singing, dancing, gymnastic displays, musical drill, motor cycle gymkhana and bayonet fighting. Various platforms saw performances from acts such as a company lead by D. M. Kinghorn, pierrots directed by Minnie Mearns, Dan Williams, and W. A. Craig's operatic choir. Charles Soutar lead a 500 strong choir of children from the city's public schools.
Practically all naval and military units present in the city were represented at the event and individuals from many of them took part in the sporting competitions. The day also included a 5-a-side football and tug of war competition. Preliminary matches for these took place prior to the day at Pittodrie Park.
The Gala Day was filmed and this was later shown as part of a special programme at the Picture House on Union Street from the 25th of the month.
Over £500 was taken at the gates for the event. Entertainment and refreshments within further increased the figure raised.
Heather Day itself generated another £474. This involved over 1,500 vendors going around all parts of the city selling sprigs of the plant. The sale started on the afternoon of the Friday and continued all through Saturday. Entertainment venues throughout the city were also visited.
The vendors were primarily young women and members of organisations like the boys brigade. Stores present in all areas of the city were replenished from a central depot at 173a Union Street. This in turn was supplied by the cleansing department buildings in Poynernook Road, where the preceding week had seen 200,000 sprigs prepared for sale. Peterhead, Inverurie, Ellon and Banchory organised their own Heather Days for the same fund.
The sum taken from both the Gala and the Heather Day was estimated at considerably over £1,000.
See the report in the Aberdeen Journal, Monday 23rd August 1915 page 8, for further details about the occasion. The Barracks, Woodside
440 A factory worker had a hard working day with the day beginning as early as 5.30 same days, wages were also very poor. Woodside works built housing across the field from the mill to house apprentices. The building was known as the Barracks and also Persley Castle. It later served as a residential care home. Frederick Street Primary School roof playground
453 A photograph showing school children on the roof top playground of Frederick Street Primary School in around 1907.
This was one of very few such playgrounds in the city, perhaps one of only two. The Central School on Schoolhill also had a comparable, roof-top playground for at least some of its history.
Frederick Street School opened in 1905 and had a role of 332 infants and 764 senior/junior pupils. The unusual, elevated playground measured 750 square feet. The staff of Aberdeen High School for Girls
455 The staff of Aberdeen High School for Girls outside the main entrance of the school on Albyn Place. The building was designed by Archibald Simpson. Kittybrewster School
458 The school was opened 14th August 1899 on Great Northern Road with space for 1,100 eager to learn pupils!
This photographs shows the school, and the junction with Lilybank Place, looking north west from Great Northern Road.
The school was built by a popular Aberdeen builder named John Morgan who amongst other things also built the Caledonian Hotel, King Street School, various churches and the statue of William Wallace which stands opposite His Majesty's Theatre.
In the early days, students would have had to learn in a building with no heating and only outdoor toilets. European Cup Parade
652 Aberdeen Football Club's open top bus parade of the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1983. The photograph looks north west across Union Street towards its junction with Union Terrace.
Aberdeen defeated Real Madrid 2-1 in the final held in Gothenburg, Sweden on 11th May 1983.
The conquering heroes landed, cup in hand, at Aberdeen Airport at 14.40 the next day. The team received a rousing reception and were given a celebratory cake on arrival from an offshore catering company.
It was then on to the open top bus for the journey from Dyce to Pittodrie. Grampian Fire Brigade lined-up their engines outside their Anderson Drive headquarters as a unique guard of honour for the team as they headed for the city centre.
As shown here, the city streets were packed with fans of all ages, including some who had travelled back from Gothenburg.
Lord Provost Alex Collie, the Queen Mother and Margaret Thatcher all provided messages of congratulations. Celebrations ended at a teeming Pittodrie.
Aberdeen FC had another triumphant tour through the city centre only 10 days later after they beat Rangers 1-0 in the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden Park. The match was on the Saturday 21st May and the parade in Aberdeen was the next day. Schoolhill
756 These old houses skirting St. Nicholas Churchyard once formed part of the south side of Schoolhill. This photograph looks south, across Schoolhill, from in front of George Jamesone's House.
The shown buildings were demolished in 1884-85 as part of a street widening scheme and a low wall and railing now stand in their place. George Jamesone's House, on the other side of of the street, was demolished in 1886.
The book Aberdeen in Byegone Days: Views of Streets and Buildings, etc. with Letterpress Description (1910) by Robert Anderson (page 26) suggests that the building in the centre of this image was the home of Burnett Carr, the grave-digger and assistant to the sexton of St. Nicholas Church.
Newspaper references indicate that Carr, a well known figure, died on 31st May 1844 (Aberdeen Journal, 5th June 1844, page 3, column 2). Sunbathing on Aberdeen Beach
837 The mid-20th century heyday of Aberdeen beach as a tourist destination.
Deck chairs were a popular feature of the beach up until the 1980s. They could be hired from three stations, each containing 1,800 chairs. Those with hoods were particularly in demand on sunny days.
Like the beach's bathing machines before them, the deck chairs were offered for public sale in 1998.
The Beach Shelter, with its clock tower, can also be seen in the background of this image. In addition to sheltering from the wind and rain, it was used as a landmark for reuniting youngsters separated from parents and as a meeting place before nights out at the nearby Beach Ballroom.
The shelter, a well-known landmark, was demolished in 1986. Its distinction clock tower was initially preserved, however, it was later damaged in storage and dismantled. H Company, 7th Gordon Highlanders
973 When Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, the Army Reserves and Territorials were immediately mobilised. Great enthusiasm greeted the news and streams of men reported immediately to their depots. The local press reported the "patriotic response from the North" as men from various towns responded to the call. This photo shows the scene at Culter, then a village 7 miles west of Aberdeen, as H Company, 7th Gordon Highlanders (Culter) paraded, watched by crowds of excited children. Within a few days, the press were reporting the busy scenes at the railway station where the normal rail traffic was disrupted as men and war supplies were loaded on to special trains for the journey south. Settmaker at Persley Quarry
1071 The Aberdeen area had many granite quarries, and there was a need for men who had the skill to reduce huge blocks of granite into manageable pieces by chipping it with a variety of hammers, and chisels to produce the required shape and size. In this 1920's photograph we see a settmaker at Persley Quarry on the north side of the River Don in Aberdeen, at his wooden shelter or 'skaithie'. These shelters provided some sort of wind break for these men who had to sit on blocks of granite patiently working on the hard stone. Settmakers made cassies for roads and Aberdeen setts were used to pave streets in London. On his left is a tripod structure which acted like a small crane to lift the bigger stones into position. Note the lack of protective safety equipment apart from some extra padding on his knees. Aberdeen Public Soup Kitchen
1191 Aberdeen Public Soup Kitchen was first established as a charity in 1800 in St. Mary's Chapel in St. Nicholas Church. It supplied a breakfast of coffee and bread and a lunch of bread, soup and a piece of beef or mutton to the needy of the city. In a period of nearly 240 days it supplied over 140,000 servings of soup and bread.
The Soup Kitchen moved to Loch Street in 1838 and this new building was opened by Lord Provost Stewart in December 1894. The ground floor dining room had accommodation for at least 50 people and the tables were marble topped. In 1926, a total of nearly 27,000 meals were provided with funding still coming from charitable donations since few could afford even the two pence (1p) for the lunch.
The building survived major developments in the surrounding area but in recent years its charitable purpose was no longer thought necessary, and it was converted into a café in the mid 1990s. In 2022, the building still stands at 41-43 Loch Street, with the covered walkway for John Lewis and the Bon Accord Centre to its south (to the left of this image). It is occupied by a outlet of the Jo Malone London fragrance and candle store. George Street
1193 This 1987 photo of the west side of George Street shows nos. 29 and 31 in their last days of trading before closing prior to their demolition for the shopping development to be known as the Bon Accord Centre.
John Martin, butcher, had been in business here for nearly 100 years. The original John Martin opened this shop after having been manager in the butchery department of the Northern Co-operative Society. He retired in 1932 and the business was carried on in the same name by his two sons. On the door was the sign: "Redevelopment closure - this shop will cease trading Saturday 11 April 1987".
Sometime prior to the demolition of the building, the flats above these shops had been renovated as accommodation for students at Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology (now The Robert Gordon University). George Street
1194 This 1987 view of the east side of George Street show the premises at 12-16 and at 20-22 George Street in their last days before being demolished. The Rubber Shop had been in business in the city since 1890 when its founder, George Fowler opened premises at 16 St. Nicholas Street called the London Rubber Company, supplying waterproofs, sports goods, hosepipes, washers etc. This expanded into a wide variety of toys and leather goods. In 1945, they moved from St. Nicholas Street to these premises in George Street where they continued to sell toys, sports equipment, china and fancy goods until July 1986 when the impending development of the Bon Accord Centre forced their closure. St. Fittick's Well
1853 A photograph from 1906 of St. Fittick's Well, located in the Bay of Nigg.
An account of the well is given by Thomas W. Ogilvie (1861-1908) in The Book of Saint Fittick, a history of Torry, written and presented as a Bazaar Book to Saint Fittick's Church, Torry, in December 1901.
Ogilvie worked as a doctor in Torry for seven years and was prominent in the public life of the district. An account of his life is given in the introduction to a posthumously published collection of his verse, Poems (1911).
Ogilvie suggests use the well dates to pagan times and gives an account of its storied healing powers and the tradition of offering gifts in the hope of good health and fortune. He suggests St Fittick, the patron saint of Torry, became the object of these benefactions after the arrival of Christianity.
He details the tradition of visiting the area and leaving gifts on the first Sunday of May. Ogilvie writes:
"Town Council and Kirk Session struggled by laws and punishments to stop those Sunday wanderings and to efface those vestiges of old superstitions, but the customs of centuries die hard, and to-day young and old, to whom the name St. Fittick is a meaningless term and the repute of his well quite unknown, ramble on Sundays and week-days to the bay once called by his name, and they find the old power still lingers, for the beauty of the Bay, the fresh sea-breeze, and the pure draught from the old spring still bless and heal."
The well is understood to have been washed away by coastal erosion in the early 20th century. Its location, latterly its site, is recorded in old large scale Ordnance Survey maps. Fountainhall House
1856 Gateway to Fountainhall House, now 130 Blenheim Place, an 18th century two storey house with period gateway and ironwork, commemorates, through its original name of Fountain Haugh, the days when reservoirs and cisterns dotted the area. The old 1706 cistern from Fountainhall is now in Duthie Park. Fountainhall House
1860 Gateway to Fountainhall House, now 130 Blenheim Place, an 18th century two storey house with period gateway and ironwork, commemorates, through its original name of Fountain Haugh, the days when reservoirs and cisterns dotted the area. The old 1706 cistern from Fountainhall is now in Duthie Park. Fountainhall House
1861 Fountainhall House, now 130 Blenheim Place, an 18th century two storey house with period gateway and ironwork, commemorates, through its original name of Fountain Haugh, the days when reservoirs and cisterns dotted the area. The old 1706 cistern from Fountainhall is now in Duthie Park. SS James Hall
1937 The wreck of the steamship "James Hall".
On Tuesday 23rd February 1904, the steamer James Hall, belonging to the Aberdeen, Leith and Moray Firth Steam Shipping Company Ltd, and the Luddick, belonging to the Aberdeen, Newcastle and Hull Steam Company Ltd, collided in Aberdeen Bay.
The crew of the James Hall were rescued by the Luddick and the former was left to drift ashore on the beach. The damaged Luddick successfully steamed into harbour.
There was a large hole about 17 feet long in the James Hall, but it was thought possible to temporarily repair the damage and refloat the ship. For the next few days, the local press reported that crowds of people had been to see the wreck, and that two trams with posters saying 'To and from the stranded steamer' were put on the Beach route.
Unfortunately, owing to strong winds and heavy seas, salvage attempts were not possible, and the vessel began to break up and its cargo was washed ashore. By the 8th March, very little remained of the wreck. |