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Statue of Queen Victoria
73 A photograph showing the statue of Queen Victoria at the junction of Union Street and St. Nicholas Street. The building in the background is the Clydesdale Bank that stands next to M&S today. This fine Italian renaissance style building was originally constructed for the Town and County Bank and opened for business in May 1863.
The statue of Queen Victoria was made from marble and was sculpted by Banff born Alexander Brodie (c.1829 - 1867). The origin of this statue is closely related to another Aberdeen monument, the 1863 memorial statue of Prince Albert by Baron Marochetti, now standing, or rather sitting, in the area in front of the Central Library.
Marochetti's statue was augurated by Queen Victoria herself on 13th October 1863 and this was said to the first time the Queen had appeared at a public demonstration following the death of Albert in 1861. The Marochetti statue was the subject of great local controversy and there were various plans for an alternative, superior, memorial to the late Prince Consort. It was at a related meeting that a chap called Alexander Donald, from the Royal Tradesman of Aberdeen, moved "That a colossal statue in marble, of Her Majesty, be erected at the corner of St. Nicholas Street."
The endeavour was taken on by a variety of prominent citizens and funding was raised by public subscription. Brodie, the selected sculptor, worked on an 11-ton block of Sicilian marble for two years to complete the statue. The finished piece is 8 foot 6 inches in height and, at the request of Queen herself, depicts Victoria in Scottish regal attire. The statue stands on a substantial plinth of pink Peterhead granite.
The statue was unveiled and inaugurated on 20th September 1866 by Albert-Edward Prince of Wales, later to be King Edward VII and the subject of another of Aberdeen's notable statues. During his speech at the ceremony, the Prince said "Gentlemen, it has afforded me the greatest satisfaction to attend here today, by the wish of Her Majesty, and at your invitation, for the purpose of inaugurating a statue of the Queen, my dear mother. Her Majesty has desired me to express to you how much she appreciates the motives which have led the people of Aberdeenshire to give this lasting evidence of their attachment and loyalty to her person, of which she has so many proofs, and whose sympathy in her great sorrow has touched her so deeply."
During his visit, the Prince of Wales also received the Freedom of the City and attended the Royal Horticultural Society's Autumn Show, which was then going on in the Music Hall. An extensive account of the unveiling, the Royal visit and the town's celebrations is given in the Aberdeen Journal of 26th September 1866.
After some time at this location, the statue's marble began to show weathering due to the frost and so it was moved to the vestibule of the Town House in 1888, where it remains to this day. It stands at the foot of the building's splendid main stairway. The plaster model of Brodie's statue has also been on display in the Music Hall for many years.
A new bronze statue of an older Victoria, by sculptor Charles Bell Birch, was erected at the St. Nicholas Street location on 9th November 1893 and "the Queen" became a regular meeting place for generations of Aberdonians. To make way for the extension of Marks & Spencer, the 1893 statue moved to its current site at Queen's Cross on 22nd January 1964. Victoria now stands looking east towards Balmoral. The Queen Mother visiting Aberdeen Central Library
1427 During her 45 minute tour the Queen Mother visited all public departments and chatted to several members of staff. She was presented with a copy of "The Old Deeside Road" by GM Fraser especially bound in the Aberdeen Corner Square style. Treasure 59: City of Aberdeen Coronation Celebrations Programme, 1953
235 This month we pay tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who became the longest ever reigning British monarch on 10 September 2015.
On 21 April this year Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 90th birthday and on 11 June will take part in the Trooping The Colour ceremony to commemorate her official birthday.
We feature a selection of local material celebrating her Coronation which took place in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953. Aberdeen celebrated the Coronation with a full programme of events designed to interest the whole community including inter-city sports meetings, a grand procession, historical pageant, youth festival and many more.
Find out more about these events in our interactive exhibition on touchscreens in Central, Airyhall, Tillydrone and Mastrick libraries.
Treasure 103: Royal Wedding Posters
324 The 21st March marks the 146th wedding anniversary of Queen Victoria's sixth child, Princess Louise, and the 9th Duke of Argyll, the Marquis of Lorne. Aberdeenshire has always held the Royal family in high regard, largely due to their associations with the county and their Balmoral residence. As a result, the wedding of Princess Louise and the Scottish Marquis of Lorne in 1871 was cause for great celebrations in Aberdeen. In Aberdeen City Libraries' collection we hold three posters that testify to these celebrations, and serve as a perfect example of Victorian poster design. The Aberdeen Journal of 22 March 1871 described the union thus:
"The happy union hailed with so much satisfaction throughout the realm and especially in Scotland, was celebrated in Aberdeen with feelings of as great loyalty as in any part of Her Majesty's wide dominions. The attachment which Her Royal Highness the Princess Louise has shewn to her home in the Highlands has endeared her in an especial manner to those whom her Royal mother is pleased to call her neighbours; while her high artistic accomplishments and well-known kindliness of heart have, not less than her royal station, made her alliance with one of our most promising young Scottish nobles, an event of more than usual interest."
View our Treasures exhibition on the interactive screen to find out more about this royal couple and how their marriage unfolded in the following years. Treasure 124: Queen Mother authograph
347 One of our final 125 treasures is a valued item from the Library Archive; the Visitor's Book containing the signature of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, dated October 20, 1982. The Library staff newsletter of December 1982 states that: "The highlight of our Autumn was undoubtedly the visit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother to the Central Library on Wednesday 20 October." The purpose of the visit was to unveil a commemorative plaque in the new Lending Library to mark the completion of the extension and refurbishment of the building over a 4 year period. During her 45 minute tour, Her Majesty visited all the public departments and chatted to members of staff who were issued with a souvenir ticket for the event. Before leaving, Her Majesty signed the Visitors Book and was presented with a copy of "The old Deeside Road" by G.M. Fraser. Peter Grant was the City Librarian at this time and he oversaw the 4 year modernisation project and improved the public image of the library service. He held the position of City Librarian from 1973 until his retirement on 28 April 1989. Staff remember Peter as a quiet man who always found time to walk around the Library and speak to staff. He loved books and earned a personal reputation as an enthusiastic and well-informed book man. Following retirement he was a familiar figure in the Central Library. He died in April 2009.
Learn more about this royal visit in the Treasures from our Collections interactive exhibition on the touchscreen. |