Subject matches "Persley Den" or its children

3 items

Granite workers at Persley Quarry

Aberdeen, famously the "Silver City", had many granite quarries with Persley and Sclattie next to Woodside among the largest. Skilled men were required to break and the huge granite blocks into manageable sized pieces from which to work and many came from across Scotland to work in the Woodside area. Granite from the local quarries was made into cassies used to pave the streets of London as well as Aberdeen. The quarry industry came to an end in the area in the early 1900s with many of the quarrymen of Woodside emigrating to Redgranite, USA.

Settmaker at Persley Quarry

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.

Persley Den

A postcard from Valentine's Caledonia series showing Persley Den.