This photograph taken in 1880 from St. Nicholas Churchyard looks north showing a row of houses which stood between it and Schoolhill.

These houses were demolished around 1884 as part of an improvement scheme to widen Schoolhill - named after the old Grammar School which stood nearby.

A dwarf wall with ornamental railings was erected in place of these buildings and a porter's lodge was removed from Robert Gordon's College to form a lodge for the sexton at the entrance to the churchyard.

The book Aberdeen in Byegone Days: Views of Streets and Buildings, etc. with Letterpress Description (1910) by Robert Anderson (page 26) suggests that the building in the centre of this image was the home of Burnett Carr, the grave-digger and assistant to the sexton of St. Nicholas Church.

Newspaper references indicate that Carr, a well known figure, died on 31st May 1844 (Aberdeen Journal, 5th June 1844, page 3, column 2).

This photograph looks north and shows the back of Carr's old house.

Location

Aberdeen City Centre

Keyword

Churches

Photographer

George Washington Wilson