Historic Cities · Scotland
Aberdeen through the ages
Aberdeen is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeenshire, but is now separate from the council area of Aberdeenshire. Aberdeen City Council is one of Scotland's 32 local authorities.
Aberdeen in 1500
Burgh of Aberdeen
Aberdeen in 1500 is a pair of neighbouring burghs: New Aberdeen around the Dee estuary and Old Aberdeen at the mouth of the Don, with the newly founded King's College rising beside the cathedral. The walk moves from the harbour and Castlegate through markets, quays and streets to the college and St Machar's cathedral, ending on a high viewpoint that looks over both rivers and the coastal approaches.
Two compact burghs cling to the mouths of the Dee and Don: low stone and timber houses with slate and thatch roofs, narrow cobbled lanes, and the occasional town wall or gate. Small sailing cogs and fishing boats crowd the harbour by a recent blockhouse; Baltic traders unload barrels and hemp. The Castlegate market, the tolbooth and mercat cross mark the burgh centre, while across the Don the stone towers of St Machar and the crown tower of King's College punctuate the skyline.
The walk — 21 streets, squares and views
Mouth of the Dee → Harbour Blockhouse → Shiprow Quay → Castlegate → Mercat Cross → The Tolbooth → Kirk of St Nicholas → Upperkirkgate → The Green → Fishmarket → …
Step inside — 13 interiors
Blockhouse Guardroom · Hanseatic Warehouse · Merchant's Counting-house · Tolbooth Council Chamber · St Nicholas Nave · Fishmarket Hall · Butchers' Great Hall · Bridge Toll Chamber · Salmon-net Loft · St Machar's Nave · King's College Chapel · College Hall · Burgess's Timber Hall
Planned from the Wikipedia record: History of Aberdeen.
Aberdeen in 1880
The Granite City
Aberdeen in 1880 is a prosperous, late‑Victorian port city remade in local grey granite and linked by new streets and railway. The walk moves from the North Sea and busy harbour through Union Street's mile of terraces, past Marischal College and municipal buildings, to the quarry and Old Aberdeen, showing ships, fish markets, quays and the everyday labour that keeps a northern port alive.
A compact skyline of glittering grey: long terraces and civic blocks of local granite, pierced by church spires and the square tower of King's College, sit behind rows of masts and steam funnels in the harbour. Union Street cuts a straight, elevated mile across the city, its parapets and arches shining after rain; the Denburn drops beneath in a deep, shadowed ravine. Rubislaw quarry yawns as a raw hole in the western ridge; gulls, coal smoke and the bright canvas of sailing clippers shape the sound and colour of the port.
The walk — 22 streets, squares and views
North Sea Approach → North Pier → South Breakwater → Victoria Dock → Footdee (Fittie) → Shiprow → Harbour Fish Market → Bridge of Dee → Torry Harbour → Torry Battery → …
Step inside — 13 interiors
Harbour Master's Office · Shipwright's Loft · Covered Fishmarket Hall · Bridge Tollhouse Room · Torry Fisher Family Kitchen · Railway Booking Hall · Granite Merchant Showroom · Arched Workshop Under Bridge · Marischal College Hall · Town House Council Chamber · Music Hall Auditorium · Infirmary Male Ward · Granite Polishing Shed
Planned from the Wikipedia record: History of Aberdeen.
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