An illustration of the Aberdeen Boys School of Industry in around 1841.

The first Industrial School was opened on 1st October 1841 in Chronicle Lane. It was set up by Sheriff William Watson and was intended for the industrial training of boys between the ages of 8 and 14 years. These boys were the children of the poorest classes, and chiefly 'those who are found to infest our streets, begging and stealing.'

They were educated and provided with food and worked for a few hours per day at teasing wool, netmaking or gardening. Dinner was broth, beef and bread, or occasionally potato soup, or kail.

The boys would go home to their families after 8pm, but those who were homeless went to the House of Refuge.

Religious worship was also an important part of their regime. In the first six months of the school, 109 boys were admitted, although the average daily attendance was less than 60. It was reported that juvenile vagrancy and crime had decreased attendance at the Industrial School was made compulsory.

It was then found necessary to find a larger building in 1856 which eventually became Oldmill Reformatory. Industrial Schools existed until the mid 1930s.

Location

Chronicle Lane

Keyword

Philanthropy

Photographer