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Latin inscription, Ruthrieston Bridge
59 Latin inscription on stone, Ruthrieston Bridge. It reads "Senatus Abredonensis hunc pontem impensis ex aere ad pontem deae spectante extruendum curavit anno 1693" ("The Town Council of Aberdeen caused this bridge to be built with moneys from the Bridge of Dee Fund in the year 1693"). Allenvale Cemetery from Kincorth
60 An early photograph of Allenvale Cemetery, taking shape in the middle distance, as seen from Kincorth, with Abbotswell Farm in the foreground.
A limited company called the Aberdeen Cemetery Company was established for the purpose of creating this new graveyard. A prospectus inviting public investment was published in the Aberdeen Journal of 29th January 1873. It reads as follows:
"It is well known that in Aberdeen cemetery accommodation is limited and insufficient, and it is generally admitted that its extension is necessary, and cannot much longer be delayed. It is therefore desirable to acquire additional space for that purpose, and to treat it in accordance with modern ideas and practice.
"This company has been formed for the purpose of providing an extensive Cemetery, in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen, suitable in all respects for the purposes of internment, and of easy access - but sufficiently removed from town to preserve its suburban character."
The new cemetery opened in late 1874 and, as we know, was a big hit. It was officially known as the Aberdeen Cemetery but quickly became known as Allenvale Cemetery, after the property on which it was built.
Allenvale saw major extensions in 1912 and 1932. A London syndicate purchased control of the graveyard from the Aberdeen Cemetery Company in 1958. Aberdeen Town Council subsequently took control of the cemetery in 1965 following the then owners going into liquidation and worries about Allenvale's future. Allenvale remains a fine example of a planned Victorian cemetery to this day.
Notable residents of Allenvale include John James Rickard MacLeod (1876-1935), co-discoverer of insulin, James Scott Skinner (1843-1927), fiddler and composer, and Mary Esslemont (1891-1984), the influential doctor. Though, of course, many interned at Allenvale would have their own interesting stories to tell.
In this photograph, Duthie Park, later created on the right, has yet to be landscaped. St. Machar Poorhouse, Fonthill House and Devanha House can all be seen in the distance. Aberdeen Grammar School
105 Aberdeen Grammar School, Skene Street, c.1860. This view shows the school which was built by Aberdeen Town Council in Skene Street and opened in October 1863 to replace the old school in Schoolhill. In later years, a statue of Lord Byron was placed in front of the school to commemorate the fact that he attended the old Grammar School in the 1790s. The walls in the foreground indicate where the Denburn used to flow before it was covered over. In July 1986, much of the central area of the school, including the library, was severely damaged by fire and some valuable material was lost. Rebuilding was completed by 1992. Site of Mar's Castle
108 Site of Mar's Castle, Gallowgate after its demolition in 1897. The building in the background was for many years the meeting place of the Society of Friends (Quakers). They also had a burial ground in this area in the 1670s. The building was acquired by John Watt and Sons, leather merchants. The upper part had louvre windows which made it suitable for drying leather.
The two doorways that remain standing in the centre of the image were part of the tenement located just north of Mar's Castle. Above the one on the left can be seen a sign indicating that this was once the pend leading to Logan's Court. In the late 19th century the address of this tenement would have been 150 Gallowgate.
The demolition of Mar's Castle, and likely this tenement too, began in January 1897. The Town Council bought the property and ordered its demolition so that the street could be widened. Union Bridge from Windmill Brae
123 This photograph by George Washington Wilson, looking towards Union Bridge, shows the old red-tiled roofed houses in the Windmill Brae area in the 1850s. Most of these were swept away with the construction of the railway and the building of Bridge Street around 1865-1867.
The house at the left, on the corner of Union Terrace, was owned by Harry Lumsden of Belhelvie and later by the Northern Club. Its site became part of that occupied by the Northern Assurance Company offices.
The spire of the Triple Kirks and the tower of the South Parish Church are visible in the background. Bridge of Grandholme
160 An engraving showing Grandholm Bridge over the River Don from a drawing by James Giles. The inscription in the bottom right indicates that the engraving was printed at the Deaf and Dumb Institution.
This drawing likely looks west up the river and in the middle distance shows the Cruive Dikes, a complex of weirs and sluices across the River Don built for the purpose of fishing. Remains of these are located not far to the east of the modern Diamond Bridge.
Some information on the ownership and operation of the cruives is given in the book The Annals of Aberdeen (Volume II, 1818) by William Kennedy, on pages 207-209.
In the far distance is Grandholm Bridge. Aberdeen City Council's Historic Environment Record states that the bridge was built by the firm of Leys, Masson and Company in 1810 to improve access to its Granholm Works. It was a wooden bridge with a small lodge and was known locally as the "White Bridge."
The 1810 bridge was replaced by the present steel structure, built by the Motherwell Bridge Company, in 1922. Culter Paper Mills
163 Culter Paper Mills, the oldest paper mill in the Aberdeen area, having been founded in 1750 by Bartholomew Smith.
The Gordon Arms Hotel can also be seen in the lower right of the image. Newhills Parish Church
174 This picture shows the present Church of Newhills as it would have been at the time of its opening in June 1830.
It was built to replace the old kirk, endowed by George Davidson of Pettens in 1662, the ruins of which can still be seen among the tombstones in the churchyard.
After a decline in membership in the 1940s and 1950s, the church benefited from the building of a private and a council housing estate in its area. Membership of the church and its organisations increased till, in 1978, it was reported to be one of the most vibrant and successful in the Aberdeen Presbytery.
The external appearance of the church is little changed but a huge congregational effort in recent years has resulted in the building of a two-storey extension housing a number of meeting rooms plus toilets and kitchen facilities.
The road seen in this picture is now used by a large numbers of vehicles en route to Kingswells and the west of Aberdeen. St. Nicholas Church and Churchyard
185 St. Nicholas Church and Churchyard, from Union Streeet. The caption reads, "East and West Parish Churches, Aberdeen". The colonnade was designed by John Smith the City Architect in 1829. Victoria Park
241 In 1871 Aberdeen Town Council decided to convert nearly 14 acres of Glennie's Parks, which had been used for cattle grazing, into a public recreation ground - Aberdeen's first public park.
Aberdeen's lack of a public park up to this point had become a contentious issue. For example, newspaper reports indicate that those opposed to the Municipality Extension Act of 1871 (which extended the boundary of the city, brought the functions of the Police Commissioners under the Council and incorporated the gasworks) repeatedly suggested that the expense involved in the new bill would be better used in the creation of a much wanted public park.
It is not unreasonable to suppose that this debate, and criticism of the Council, hastened the creation of Victoria Park. While work likely begun in 1871, it was not until March 1873 that the Improvements Committee of the Council recommended that the new park should be called "Victoria Park". At the same time, they also outlined a series of 13 rules and regulations for agreement by the full Council. There does not appear to have been an official opening for the new amenity.
Glennie's Park was not the only site considered for Aberdeen's first public park. Interest in such an undertaking was increasing at the same time as work was underway to divert the River Dee and improve the harbour. The new ground created in this latter project, encompassing the old, more northerly course of the river and the Inches, was a much proposed location for a park. Following the creation of Victoria Park this newly leveled ground was instead given over for buildings related to the expanding fishing industry.
A nurseryman called Robert Walker (1848-1930), originally from Perth, was chosen out of 450 candidates to be the city's first public park keeper and appointed to Victoria Park. He was likely largely responsible for the park's initial layout and appearance. His Press & Journal obituary (21/04/1930, p.6) suggests that prior to his appointment the site was "little better than a waste space".
Walker subsequently laid out Westburn Park, Stewart Park, Union Terrace Gardens and the Promenade. He also advocated and pioneered the planting of street trees. He served the Corporation for 46 years, retiring in 1919, and must be considered one of the unsung heroes of Aberdeen history.
This photograph, taken around 1900, shows one of the main paths leading to a large granite fountain, which was designed by J.B. Pirie. It is built of 14 different types of granite and was presented by the granite polishers and master builders of the city.
Since the park is almost in the city centre, it is an oasis of peace with its mature trees and, in spring, there are masses of flowering bulbs scattered through the grass. Seaton Park Racecourse, 1928
259 This image shows one of the last races in Seaton Park at a meeting held on Saturday 22nd and Monday 24th September 1928.
Horse racing had taken place in the city regularly in the 19th century when there was a racecourse at the Links. Its popularity had declined but racing was revived in Seaton Park in 1923 when 30,000 people attended.
The 1928 Meeting was not a great success since less than 1000 spectators attended on the Saturday, although 3000 attended on the Monday despite intermittent rain. The entrance fee to the ground was 1/6 (seven and a half pence) and to the Paddock 4 shillings (20p) with licensed bars, refreshments and teas available.
The fields were not large with only 5 runners in the main events. The Bon Accord Handicap, run over 7 furlongs, had prize money of 25 sovereigns. The last race on the Monday was the Consolation Handicap (for beaten horses). Only 3 horses ran, with "Lolita" winning by 6 lengths. The third horse "Peggy Maitland" was so far behind that her owner/jockey had to walk her past the post.
An application made in 1956 to restart horse racing was turned down by the Town Council. United Free Church, Culter
262 United Free Church, Culter, which became Kelman Memorial Church, and more recently has amalgamated with St. Peter's to form Peterculter Church. H. Company, 7th Gordon Highlanders
281 H. Company, 7th Gordon Highlanders leaving Culter for War Service. August 6th 1914 The entrance to a Cable Subway, Aberdeen Electricity Works, Millburn Street. c.1905
313 In 1889, Aberdeen Town Council received the first applications by companies wishing to supply electricity . They decided to operate their own system, which was inaugurated in 1894 at Cotton Street. The rapid increase in demand led to the purchase of a new site in 1901 and Aberdeen Electricity Works at Millburn Street were built. In 1895 nearly 160,000 units were generated, rising to 5 and a half million by 1907. This photograph shows the entrance to the Cable Subway running from the works in the line of Crown Street and Justice Mill Lane for 1500 yards. It was capable of accommodating all the feeder cables required for the northern and western districts of the city, and was believed to be the largest of its kind in the UK. When the Electricity Act of 1947 came into force on 1st April 1948, generation of electricity transferred to the North of Scotland Hydro Board. Proclamation of King Edward VII, 1901
320 This view was taken in the Castlegate on 26th January 1901 at the proclamation of Edward VII as King in succession to Queen Victoria. Because of her recent death a jubilant celebration was out of the question. However, the Town Council and other public dignitaries assembled to form a procession from the Town House on the left to the Market Cross at the right. A crowd of 100,000 attended with windows and roofs all occupied. Cheers were given as the National Anthem was played by the Band of the First Volunteer Batallion (Gordon Highlanders). The procession then returned to the Town House where the health of the King was pledged and God save the King was sung. Flourmill Brae
354 This image shows at the left hand side, a massive stone coffin which stood for many years at the back of tenements at Flourmill Brae. It was brought to the public's attention in 1926 when the area was subject to the Town Council's slum clearance scheme. The coffin consisted of granite slabs blackened and cracked through time. It was 5 and a half feet long, two feet wide and two feet deep. The sides and ends were held together by iron clamps and the lid was cemented on. The belief was that the coffin contained the remains of Mary Bannerman, one of the Bannermans of Elsick and married to George Leslie, Laird of Findrassie, near Elgin who died in 1692. However when the coffin was eventually opened it was empty apart from black earth. It was suggested that the slabs may have protected her coffin at some time and that the actual coffin and her remains had been removed to one of the city's graveyards.
Correspondent Ed Fowler has researched its location using historic maps and suggests that the stone sarcophagus was likely at the end of Quaker's Court near the Friends Meeting House, to the rear of the tenements looking onto Flourmill Brae. The Guestrow, Aberdeen
365 This photograph shows a rather delapidated house in the once fashionable area of the Guestrow in the centre of Aberdeen. The word "Guestrow' may derive from 'Ghaistrow' because of the street's proximity to St. Nicholas Churchyard where 'ghaists', ie ghosts might be thought to roam. The tiled roofs and outside stairs were typical of these early houses. Note the handcart propped up outside. The Guestrow area was part of a slum clearance initiative by the Town Council in the late 1920s and 30s when most of the buildings there were demolished.
Correspondent Ed Fowler plausibly suggests that this is the dwelling house in the T-shaped Mitchell Court. Post Office directories and old maps tell us that the entrance to the court was just beside a public house at number 41 on the Guestrow. If this is correct then the large building in the background is likely to be Provost Skene's House, then probably known as the Victoria Lodging House. St. Nicholas Church bell
382 A photograph of one of the bells installed in St. Nicholas Church in 1887.
A carillon of 36 bells were ordered by Aberdeen Town Council from Severin van Aershodt of Louvain in Belgium to replaced those destroyed in the fire of 1874.
The bells were also commissioned and installed to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, marking 50 years of her reign. The largest of the new bells was named Victoria.
On 11th May 1887, the new bells arrived at Aberdeen Goods Station, after being shipped to Leith, where they were loaded on to lorries, and paraded through the main streets of the city on their way to Back Wynd.
The inscription on the shown bell reads as follows:
"The gift of Councillor George Washington Wilson. Cast by Severin Vanaerschodt, Louvain Belguim." The Pleasure Park, Aberdeen Beach
397 A postcard showing John Henry Iles' Pleasure Park in the 1930s. The park's esplanade site, south of Wellington Street (roughly where Amadeus nightclub/the Range and part of the Queen's Links carpark would later stand), was leased to Iles by the Council in 1929. Illes was an amusement entrepreneur originally from Manchester.
The park's biggest attraction, in all senses, was the Scenic Railway roller coaster shown here. Iles was involved in several amusement parks around Britain and during a visit to New York he obtained the European rights to the design of the latest roller coasters. He subsequently erected his Scenic Railway in Aberdeen in 1929.
The roller coaster rose to 100 feet in the air at its highest point and was popular with holiday makers and locals throughout the 1930s. The local press recorded 21,000 children, between 3 and 14 years of age, carried on the ride during a special children's day that was held on Saturday 20th August 1932.
Part of the message written on the back of this postcard by a young visitor to Aberdeen reads "This picture shows you the scenic railway which I have been on and liked very much".
The Scenic Railway was sadly badly damaged by fire on the night of 5th December 1940 and was consequently demolished. Other attractions of Iles' park included rides such as The Caterpillar, The Whip, Water Dodgems, and the Brooklyn Racers (petrol driven cars).
In the background of this image be seen the tower of St. Clements Church and a row of tenements, likely those on Wellington Street. Union Terrace and Gardens
412 A postcard image showing Union Terrace Gardens in the centre of Aberdeen.
There are a couple of notable features that might be able to help date the image: there is no bandstand present and the lower, central area in this image is still in the older lay-out with wide dividing paths.
The removal of the bandstand and change of lay-out may have been carried at around the same time. A minute from an Aberdeen Town Council meeting of 21st September 1931, detailing a recommendation from the Links and Parks Committee to the full Council, reads as follows:
"The Committee had before them a report by the Superintendent of the City Parks, in which he points out that he has had the bandstand in Union Terrace Gardens examined, that it is in a bad state of repair, and that he has been informed that the cost of repairing the worn-out parts would be almost equal to the cost of a new stand. He further states that the bandstand has not been used for some years, owing to the noise from the adjoining railway interfering with the performances, and suggests that the stand should be removed, the site and surrounding pathways levelled, covered with soil and sown with grass seed. If this were done, the playing area would be increased by 1,407 square yards, as shown coloured yellow on the plan herewith submitted, thereby giving greater facilities to the large number of children who frequent the Gardens.
"The Committee approved of the report, and beg to recommend that the Council should grant authority to the Superintendent of Parks to have the bandstand removed and the other work carried out as proposed." (Minutes and Proceedings of Town Council, City of Aberdeen, 1930-1931, page 660.
The full Council approved this recommendation from the Links and Parks Committee. In light of this information, the image may date from relatively shortly after September 1931. After the bandstand has been removed but before the ground had been leveled and sown as a single larger grass lawn. St. Peter's Church, Peterculter
449 St. Peter's Church, Peterculter, showing housing development at St. Peter's Church Manse. |