28

Loch Street in the 1980s. Far left, corner of the new Co-op building (1970); left background, St. Paul's Street School (then Aberdeen Education Authority's Music Centre); centre, the Swan Bar, Post Office, The Buttery (A. B. Hutchison). All demolished for the Bon Accord Centre.

317

The Staff and guests outside The General Post Office, Crown Street. The building was opened in 1907. W.T. Oldrieve with J. Cumming Wyness (designer). Note the tram lines in the street.

423

Aberdeen General Post Office, Crown Street. Architect J. Cumming Wyness. c.1907.

921

The staff of Bucksburn Post Office outside the premises.

1041

The first post office in Cults was situated on the ground floor of the ivy covered building in the centre of the photograph. The letterbox was on the wall at the right hand side of the doorway. The Sub-Postmaster was Mr Davidson, the blacksmith. In 1900, it was transferred to the present site.

1192

This 1987 view of Loch Street shows the Swan Bar and the Loch Street Post Office just before their closure. These buildings were at the northern end of the area which was to be demolished for the Bon Accord Centre development. The Swan Bar at no34 was one of the older pubs in Aberdeen and its manager for many years was George Baxter, founder of Aberdeen Darts Association. On its last night on 14th April 1987, it was packed with regulars sad to see their favourite haunt closed down. The Loch Street Post Office, which had been opened in 1939 was closed on 13th April 1987, the staff being redeployed to other branches.

1201

Loch Street Post Office prior to demolition for the building of the Bon Accord centre.

1852

A photograph looking north east towards the junction of Guild Street, Market Street and Trinity Quay in 1904. The then Post Office, on the east side of Market Street, is in the centre of the image with its stone royal coat of arms visible above. On the right of the image is Fidler's Well, while on the left is the single-storey buildings that were replaced by the Balmoral Temperance Hotel block opened in around 1908.

2285

Crown Street, c. 1910. The turretted gable building to the left is the General Post Office, architect W.T. Oldrieve, designer J.C. Wyness. The building was opened in 1907 with considerable fanfare by Mr. Sidney Buxton, the Postmaster General. It cost over 55,000 pounds. To the right and in the centre of the photograph can be noted another superb Edwardian ediface, the Prudential Building of Paul Waterhouse, 1910. In the centre of the picture can be seen the double set of tram lines, together with the overhead cables.

2286

An Adelphi Series postcard showing the General Post Office, Crown Street, opened in 1907, with designers W. T. Oldrieve and J. Cumming Wyness.

2287

Crown Street from Union Street, c.1950s. A postcard image that features the Post Office Headquarters and the Star and Garter pub.

2288

The General Post Office, Crown Street, Aberdeen. Built 1907 by W T Oldrieve. Later converted into flats.

2289

The General Post Office from Dee Street. The building was opened in 1907. W.T. Oldrieve with J. Cumming Wyness (designer).

2550

A postcard of Banchory High Street, showing the Union Bank on the right in the foreground, the Post Office further back, and the Free Church and West Church in the background.

4333

A photograph looking south east at Loch Street, from its junction with George Street, in around 1986 or 1987. This image is one of a series taken by Aberdeen City Council to record buildings prior to the redevelopment of the area and construction of the Bon Accord Centre. From right to left, the image shows The Buttery, a bakery of the A. B. Hutchison firm, at 78-80 George Street, a Post Office at 32 Loch Street and the Swan Bar at 34 Loch Street. On the site of these buildings now stands the north elevation of the Bon Accord Centre to the east of the main George Street entrance. At the time of writing in 2023, the ground floor unit in the centre in this area is occupied by a womenswear shop called Hobbs.

4342

A photograph looking south towards the Post Office branch at 32 Loch Street in around 1986 or 1987. Norco House and the Aberdeen Public Soup Kitchen would have been across the road, behind the camera here. This image is one of a series taken by Aberdeen City Council to record buildings prior to the redevelopment of the area and construction of the Bon Accord shopping centre. As can be seen below a royal cypher for George VI, this Post Office branch on Loch Street dates from 1939. Its final day of operation was Monday 13th April 1987. An article covering its closure, to make way for the shopping centre, can be found in the Press & Journal newspaper of that day on page 3. At its creation this Loch Street branch replaced a Post Office at 242 George Street. Following its closure, the Post Office opened a new branch in the St. Nicholas Centre on Tuesday 15th September 1987 (Press & Journal, 16th September 1987, page 5). The site shown in the photograph would become the location of part of the Bon Accord Centre's north elevation.

4518

A postcard image showing Mannofield Post Office on the corner of Great Western Road and Cranford Road. The junction for the latter is on the left. The staff of the post office stand proudly outside their premises. The sign above the door indicates that the business was run by Mrs. Groundwater. This is likely the woman standing to the left of the door. As indicated on the border to the left of the image, this postcard was published by E. Groundwater. Aberdeen post office directories from the time indicate that Mrs. E. Groundwater ran the Mannofield Post Office at 531 Great Western Road, which remains this building's address in modern times, and lived just to the left of this image at 4 Cranford Road. Adverts for Rowntree's Cocoa, Fry's Chocolate and cigarettes are shown on the exterior of the post office. There is also a sandwich board outside the door which appears to be adverting the contents of the Aberdeen Free Press newspaper. Historic newspapers indicate that Elizabeth Forbes Groundwater (1874-1950), née Sutherland, in later life lived at 592 Clifton Road. She was the widow of Allan Groundwater of Stoneywood and South Africa. On her death, she left a legacy of £2,398 to be shared among the Aberdeen Asylum for the Blind, the Royal Aberdeen Hospital for Sick Children, Aberlour Orphanage, and Newhills Convalescent Home. This postcard was likely sold in Groundwater's post office. It was sent in 1904 and was sent from a local girl, who signs it "Mary W.", to a young friend, a Miss Allan of 5 Halkyn Terrace, Sefton Park, Liverpool, who had evidently visited Aberdeen. The message written along the bottom of the postcard reads "Do you remember coming along this road and round the corner to our country house?" In the early 20th century there were a number of country houses in the vicinity. The shown corner building at 531 Great Western Road still stands at the time of writing in 2025. An additional upper storey has been added above.

64

A lithograph print of a drawing by James Skene of Rubislaw (1775-1864). The illustration depicts the Mercat Cross and Tolbooth in the centre of Aberdeen in around 1800. James Skene was a lawyer, amateur artist, and a notable friend of Walter Scott. A short article from the Aberdeen Daily Journal of 23rd February 1912, page 9, indicates that this image was made to illustrate an edition of The History of the troubles and memorable transactions in England and Scotland, from M.DC.XXIV TO M.DC.XLV by John Spalding that was published by the Bannatyne Club in 1829. An engraved version of this image can be found facing page 9 in volume 2 of the abovementioned publication. Titled 'Tolbooth of Aberdeen', James Skene is given as the illustrator and William Penny as the engraver. Walter Scott was the founder of the Bannatyne Club, a text publication society, and James Skene was a member. The club's two volume edition of Spalding's history, drawn from three manuscript copies, was published under Skene's superintendence. John Spalding was a 17th century Aberdeen historian and clerk. His Memorialls of the trubles in Scotland and in England, ad 1624 - ad 1645 is of note as a detailed account of the impact of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in North-East Scotland. See David Stevenson's entry about Spalding on the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography for more information on his life and his written history. Spalding was commemorated in the name of three Aberdeen clubs devoted to publishing historical sources; the Spalding Club, New Spalding Club, and Third Spalding Club (collectively active between 1839-1960). In 1850-51, the first of these clubs published an improved edition of Spalding's Memorialls of the Trubles. The attributions on the version of the image shown here indicates that it was printed by Aberdeen bookseller and publisher D. Wyllie & Sons and the lithography was undertaken by Taylor & Henderson, another prominent local firm. This image looks north east and depicts the Mercat Cross, carved by Aberdeen master mason John Montgomery and erected in 1686, in the middle distance. The market cross is likely shown in use either as shops or a post office, both purposes it historically served. The cross was repaired in 1821 and moved to its present location, approximately 83 metres east, in 1827. The Tolbooth, a prison, in the centre of this image was built in 1615. Much of the building, which was developed progressively over the years, is now obscured by the Peddie & Kinnear designed Town House completed in 1874. The Tolbooth was converted into a museum which opened to the public in 1995. To the east of the Tolbooth, partially obscured by the market cross in this image, is the New Inn. This building, once the most important hostelry in Aberdeen, was demolished and replaced by the North of Scotland Bank, now the Archibald Simpson's pub, in 1840-42. The illustration otherwise shows a busy scene on Aberdeen's Castle Street. This was a centre of civic activity and important market place for the town. In the foreground are a number of pynours (an Aberdeen term for porters), then an organised craft. Some sense of life in the Castle Street/Castlegate area at the time, particularly of its more eccentric characters, can be found in the book The Aberdeen Worthies (1840) by William Bannerman.