1031

Cults Railway Station, 1920 - Cults was the first main station on the Deeside Line between Aberdeen and Ballater, at 3 and five-eighths miles from Aberdeen. The line between Aberdeen and Banchory was opened in 1853 and extended to Aboyne and later to Ballater by 1866. The double line, as seen here, was opened in 1884 and returned to single line in 1951. This view, from about 1920, shows the stationmaster, Peter Walker, his staff and a number of passengers awaiting the imminent arrival of a train. In 1894, suburban trains, "subbies", were introduced between Aberdeen and Culter, calling at 8 intermediate stations and covering the 7 miles in just over 20 minutes. This meant that up to 30 trains would be calling at Cults every day. The "subbies" ceased on 5 April 1937 because of competition from buses. The Deeside Line closed to passenger traffic on 28 February 1966, after the Beeching Report of 1963. Goods traffic continued for a few more months but the final train ran on the line on 30 December 1966. Cults Station was later occupied by a joinery company.

4409

A photograph of The Foundry pub and restaurant at 41-43 Holburn Street taken on 21st March 2024. 43 Holburn Street, today The Foundry, was built in around 1915/16 as a motor showroom and workshop for Mr. John Harper, engineer of Bournemouth, to a design by architect George B. Mitchell (Aberdeen Daily Journal, 20th September 1915, p. 4). In November 1916, during the First World War, the Harper Motor Company put their new garage, at the junction of Holburn Street and Justice Mill Lane, at the disposal of the Red Cross. The commodious building, ideal for transport work, became the headquarters of the Aberdeen Transport Section of the Red Cross Society (Evening Express, 21st November 1916, p. 5). 43 Holburn Street was occupied and in use by the Harper Motor Company until at least 1979. In 1986, George Dowdles, who had ran a roller skating rink called Rollerland Disco in Bon-Accord Terrace, proposed to turn the premises into a leisure centre for teenagers (Press & Journal, 19th June 1986, p. 3). The new venture at 43 Holburn Street was to be a soda and burger café modelled on the TV show Happy Days and called Up The Junction. It opened in October 1986 (P&J, 10th October 1986, p. 3). Up The Junction appears to have struggled financially and 43 Holburn Street was remodelled and opened as Rollerland Mark II in August 1987 (EE, 22nd February 1988, p. 8). The original Rollerland skating rink had been on the second floor of 5 Bon-Accord Terrace and operated from 26th June 1981 to mid-1986. Rollerland on Holburn Street was briefly owned by Cove Rangers football club and was temporarily renamed Wheels Leisure Centre. George Dowdles remained its manager (P&J, 1st April 1989, p. 1). The venue was reopened as Rollerland under the ownership of Aberdeen District Council in July 1989. DJs Robin Galloway and Gary Stein provided music for a reopening gala night (EE, 27th July 1989, p. 5). Rollerland finally closed in February 1991 on safety grounds. Water leaks had warped the floor making it unsafe for skating. The venue had struggled financially and the estimated cost of repair was too large (P&J, 18th September 1991, p. 3). In June 1995, there was a significant fire in the building (EE, 19 June 1995, p. 2). In September 1995, the company Alloa Pubs and Restaurants, who had leased the building from the District Council, unveiled plans for a £500,000 transformation of the run-down property. It was to be turned into a prestige bar-diner called The Granary, with a lay-out based on the company's Glasgow venue of the same name (EE, 16th September 1995, p. 7). With a final redevelopment cost of £600,000, The Granary opened to the public on 6th February 1996 (P&J, 7th February 1996, p. 11). A search of Aberdeen City valuation rolls indicates that by April 2005 The Granary had changed its name to The Foundry. At the time, The Foundry was operated by Mitchell & Butlers, one of the largest restaurant and pub businesses in the UK. Mitchell & Butlers own the O'Neill's chain of Irish pubs, the first branch of which opened at 9-10 Back Wynd, Aberdeen on 22nd September 1994. This was formerly the premises of the Tappit Hen pub (P&J, 16th September 1994, p. 3). In 2010, Mitchell & Butlers disposed of 333 of their town and community pubs to the Stonegate Pub Company. This likely included The Foundry ('Our history' page on Mitchell & Butlers website: https://www.mbplc.com/about-us/our-history/: accessed 22/03/2024). In November 2023, The Foundry reopened to the public following a brief closure for a significant redevelopment. Backed by a £277,000 investment from the Stonegate Group, the UK's largest pub company, the work aimed to shift the venue from a sports-focused pub to a more family-friendly food destination. The exterior design changed from a black and gold colour scheme to the red and gold of Aberdeen Football Club (Aberdeen Business News, 23rd November 2023, https://aberdeenbusinessnews.co.uk/the-foundry-unveils-stylish-transformation-after-major-investment/: accessed 22/03/2024).

4453

A photograph by Roddy Millar, taken 05/06/2024, from a series surveying the architecture of the north side of Union Street. This image looks north east across Union Street towards the southern elevation of 146 Union Street and 1-3 Union Terrace. This building was constructed 1882-85 by master mason John Morgan (1844-1907), to a design by A. Marshall Mackenzie (1848-1933), of Messrs Matthews & Mackenzie, for the Northern Assurance Company. Diane Morgan in The Granite Mile states that the Northern Assurance Company building replaced the townhouse of Harry Lumsden of Belhelvie, which had stood at 1 Union Terrace for approximately 80 years (p. 107). An article from the Aberdeen Journal of 08/11/1882, p. 5, indicates that, in addition to the house at 1 Union Terrace, the following buildings were purchased and demolished to make way for this office block: the corner house, formerly occupied by the Northern Club, and latterly by Watson's West End Restaurant, and no. 237 Union Street, which was occupied by Messrs Reid & Wilsone, advocates. The ground floor Union Street side of the building features four tall windows capped by triangular pediments. To the left of them is an ornate side entrance with a semi-elliptical pediment. Diane Morgan describes the channelled stonework (banded pulvination) of the ground floor as "quite spectacular" (p. 109). Morgan also highlights the myriad of detail on the building's façade, including the carved garlands decorating the frieze above the first floor's coupled Ionic columns. Note also the egg-and-dart carving on the capitals of these columns. Both features are used across the building. High on the 1st floor façade of the building are four medallions, two shown here. The one on the right shown here, closer to the main entrance, features a representation of the three castles from the heraldic shield of Aberdeen. One depicting the shield from London's coat of arms, a cross of St. George with a sword in the 1st quarter, is on the other side of the portico. These two medallions represent the Aberdeen and London boards of the company. The outer two medallions, located at either end of the building feature the lion rampant that was the logo of the Northern Assurance Company. The office space on the 3rd floor, at the very top of the building, was expanded with the addition of a new modern roof structure between 2012 and 2015. This can be seen at the top of this image. Diane Morgan states that the Royal Insurance Co. merged with the Commercial Union in 1968, with other mergers and takeovers following. The building ceased being an insurance office around 100 years after its construction. In December 2003 the ground floor reopened as a bar and restaurant called The Monkey House, taking its name from the building's traditional nickname. Much of the interior of the historic building was retained in its conversion. The Monkey House, which was run by Epic Group, closed in May 2016 following its owner agreeing to lease the premises to a Thai restaurant operator. The Leeds-based Thai Leisure Group opened Chaophraya Aberdeen later that year and it can be seen in this 2024 image.

4454

A photograph by Roddy Millar, taken 17/05/2023, from a series surveying the architecture of the north side of Union Street. This image looks north across Union Street directly towards the southern elevation of 146 Union Street and 1-3 Union Terrace. This building was constructed 1882-85 by master mason John Morgan (1844-1907), to a design by A. Marshall Mackenzie (1848-1933), of Messrs Matthews & Mackenzie, for the Northern Assurance Company. Diane Morgan in The Granite Mile states that the Northern Assurance Company building replaced the townhouse of Harry Lumsden of Belhelvie, which had stood at 1 Union Terrace for approximately 80 years (p. 107). An article from the Aberdeen Journal of 08/11/1882, p. 5, indicates that, in addition to the house at 1 Union Terrace, the following buildings were purchased and demolished to make way for this office block: the corner house, former occupied by the Northern Club, and latterly by Watson's West End Restaurant, and no. 237 Union Street, which was occupied by Messrs Reid & Wilsone, advocates. The ground floor Union Street side of the building features four tall windows capped by triangular pediments. To the left of them is an ornate side entrance with a semi-elliptical pediment. Diane Morgan describes the channelled stonework (banded pulvination) of the ground floor as "quite spectacular" (p. 109). Morgan also highlights the myriad of detail on the building's façade, including the carved garlands decorating the frieze above the first floor's coupled Ionic columns. Note also the egg-and-dart carving on the capitals of these columns. Both features are used across the building. High on the 1st floor façade of the building are four medallions, two shown here. The one on the right shown here, closer to the main entrance, features a representation of the three castles from the heraldic shield of Aberdeen. One depicting the shield from London's coat of arms, a cross of St. George with a sword in the 1st quarter, is on the other side of the portico. These two medallions represent the Aberdeen and London boards of the company. The outer two medallions, located at either end of the building feature the lion rampant that was the logo of the Northern Assurance Company. Diane Morgan states that the Royal Insurance Co. merged with the Commercial Union in 1968, with other mergers and takeovers following. The building ceased being an insurance office around 100 years after its construction. In December 2003 the ground floor reopened as a bar and restaurant called The Monkey House, taking its name from the building's traditional nickname. Much of the interior of the historic building was retained in its conversion. The Monkey House, which was run by Epic Group, closed in May 2016 following its owner agreeing to lease the premises to a Thai restaurant operator. The Leeds-based Thai Leisure Group opened Chaophraya Aberdeen later that year and it can be seen in this 2024 image.

138185