There has been a human presence in the area of Aberdeen since the Stone Age. Aberdeen as a city, grew up as two separate burghs: Old Aberdeen, the university and cathedral settlement, at the mouth of the River Don; and New Aberdeen, a fishing and trading settlement where the Denburn entered the Dee estuary. [1]
Aberdeen was first settled by hunter-gatherers around 6000 BC, who established themselves around the mouths of the river Dee and river Don. Around 2000 BC the Beaker People, who built the mysterious stone circles that can be found in the Aberdeenshire area, [2] arrived from the Rhine lands.
400 BC saw Celtic migration to the area from the north of Scotland. [2]
The Romans arrived in Aberdeenshire in the first century AD. [2] Agricola, the Roman governor of Britannia, led a force of some 40,000 men into Caledonia in 84 AD. They fought and defeated the united armies of the Picts in the Battle of Mons Graupius, near the peak of Bennachie in Aberdeenshire. [2]
After the Romans left, the natives of Aberdeenshire began to convert to Christianity. [2] Old Aberdeen's first church was built around 580. St Kentigern sent St Machar to convert the Picts to Christianity. [1] [2] St Machar's Cathedral today is named after him. It became the official seat of the bishopric of Aberdeen. [1]
In 1136, David I began the development of New Aberdeen[ citation needed ] north of the River Dee. Aberdeen's oldest surviving charter [1] was granted by King William the Lion [ citation needed ] about 1179, confirming the corporate rights granted by David I, which gave trade privileges to the burgesses. The city received other royal charters later, particularly the Great Charter of 1319.
After the execution of William Wallace in 1305, his body was cut up and sent to different corners of the country to warn other dissenters. His left quarter ended up in Aberdeen and is buried in the walls of the cathedral. [3]
In 1319, the Great Charter of Robert the Bruce transformed Aberdeen into a property owning and financially independent community. Bruce had a high regard for the citizens of Aberdeen who had sheltered him in his days of outlawry, helped him win the Battle of Barra and slew the English garrison at Aberdeen Castle. He granted Aberdeen with the nearby Forest of Stocket. The income from this land has formed the basis for the city's Common Good Fund, which is used to this day for the benefit of all Aberdonians. [4] [5]
Aberdeen's medieval council registers (then known as "common books") [6] survive from 1398 onwards and are exceptional for their quantity and continuity among surviving Scottish burgh records. The earliest eight volumes, from 1398 to 1511, have been included in the UNESCO UK Memory of the World Register, and have been edited in a digital edition. [7]
Old Aberdeen was burned by Edward III of England in 1336, [1] but was soon rebuilt and extended. For many centuries the city was subject to attacks by the neighbouring lords, and was strongly fortified, but the gates were all removed by 1770. Royal charters from 1489 and 1498 created a free burgh to be administered by the church. [1] In 1497 a blockhouse was built at the harbour mouth as a protection against the English. During the Wars of 1644-47 between the Royalists and Covenanters the city was impartially plundered by both sides. In 1644, it was taken and sacked by Royalist troops consisting of Irishmen and Highlanders after the Battle of Aberdeen. [8] The sack of Aberdeen in 1644 by the Royalist general Montrose during the English Civil War involved uncharacteristic large-scale rape. [9] 1647 saw the outbreak of bubonic plague, and a quarter of the population died. In 1715 the Earl Marischal proclaimed the Old Pretender at Aberdeen, and in 1745 the Duke of Cumberland resided for a short time in the city before attacking the Young Pretender. [4]
The 18th century saw the beginnings of social services for the Infirmary at Woolmanhill which was opened in 1742 and the Lunatic Asylum in 1779.
In the late 18th century, the council embarked on a scheme of road improvements, and by 1805 George Street, King Street and Union Street were open, the latter a feat of extraordinary engineering skill involving the partial levelling of St Catherine's Hill and the building of arches to carry the street over Putachieside. The Denburn Valley was crossed by Union Street with a single span arch of 130 ft (40 m). Along these new streets was built the nucleus of the Granite City, many of whose buildings were designed by John Smith and Archibald Simpson.
The 19th century was a time of considerable expansion. The increasing economic importance of Aberdeen and the development of the shipbuilding and fishing industries brought a need for improved harbour facilities. During this century much of the harbour as it exists today was built: Thomas Telford's extension to the North Pier in 1810–1815, Victoria Dock (completed 1848), and the South Breakwater. [10] Such an expensive building programme had repercussions, and in 1817 the city was in a state of bankruptcy. However, a recovery was made in the general prosperity which followed the Napoleonic wars. Improvements in street lighting came in 1824 with the advent of gas, and a vast improvement was made to the water supply in 1830 when water was pumped from the Dee to a reservoir in Union Place. An underground sewerage system was begun in 1865 to replace the open sewers which previously ran along certain streets. [5]
The city was the headquarters of the Great North of Scotland Railway, located at 89 Guild Street, which was formed in 1846, becoming one of the constituents of the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923. The city was formerly served by Aberdeen Corporation Tramways, which closed in 1958.
The Guild Street drill hall was completed in 1860. [11]
The Aberdeen United Trades Council was established in 1868, and soon became a prominent force in the city, sponsoring candidates for the council and campaigning for shorter working hours. [5]
Aberdeen Town House was completed in 1874 and the city was first incorporated in 1891.
In 1899 the city was separated for administrative purposes from the county of Aberdeenshire, and became a "county of a city". [12] It remained part of the lieutenancy area of Aberdeenshire.
By 1921 the population was 158,969. [10]
George VI visited in 1925 to inaugurate the Memorial Court attached to Aberdeen Art Gallery. [10]
In 1943 during World War II, a Luftwaffe raid dropped 129 bombs on Aberdeen resulting in 125 deaths and considerable damage to the city. This event is referred to as the Aberdeen Blitz. [13]
In 1964 a food poisoning outbreak occurred, this was due to the sale of contaminated meat from a shop (William Low) which was on Union Street. [14] The disease was typhoid. After the food poisoning outbreak the food shop closed and in the late 1980s. The name of the report of the government enquiry is the "Milne Report".
In 1930 Aberdeen's status as a county of a city was confirmed by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929. In 1975, counties of cities were abolished. The area of the former county of a city was then combined with nearby rural and suburban areas of Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire to form a district in the new Grampian Region, and a separate lieutenancy area, known as the City of Aberdeen. When districts and regions were abolished in 1996 the former district became a unitary council area, known as Aberdeen City.
Today, although Old Aberdeen still has a separate charter and history, it and New Aberdeen are no longer truly distinct. The area of the city now includes the former burghs of Old Aberdeen, New Aberdeen, Woodside and the Royal Burgh of Torry to the south of the Dee.
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland.
Aberdeen is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas, and has a 2020 population estimate of 198,590 for the city of Aberdeen, and 227,560 for the local council area making it the United Kingdom's 39th most populous built-up area. The city is 93 mi (150 km) northeast of Edinburgh and 398 mi (641 km) north of London, and is the northernmost major city in the United Kingdom. Aberdeen has a long, sandy coastline and features an oceanic climate, with cool summers and mild, rainy winters.
A royal burgh was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs.
Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns, is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and west, and by Angus on the south.
Portsoy is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Historically, Portsoy was in Banffshire. The original name may come from Port Saoithe, meaning "saithe harbour". Portsoy is located on the Moray Firth coast of northeast Scotland, 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Aberdeen and 65 miles (105 km) east of Inverness. It had a population of 1,752 at the time of the 2011 census.
Aberdeenshire or the County of Aberdeen is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. The area of the county, excluding the city of Aberdeen itself, is also a lieutenancy area. The county borders Kincardineshire, Angus and Perthshire to the south, Inverness-shire and Banffshire to the west, and the North Sea to the north and east. It has a coast-line of 65 miles (105 km). The county gives its name to the modern Aberdeenshire council area, which covers a larger area than the historic county.
Aberdeen South is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election.
Aberdeen North is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It was first used in the 1885 general election, but has undergone various boundary changes since that date.
Old Aberdeen is part of the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by Act of Parliament in 1891. It retains the status of a community council area.
Aberdeen was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until 1885. It was represented by one Member of Parliament (MP), elected by the first past the post voting system.
EastAberdeenshire was a Scottish county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1868 to 1918 and from 1950 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
WestAberdeenshire was a Scottish county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1868 to 1918 and from 1950 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Aberdeen Central is a burgh constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of Aberdeen City. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is one of the ten constituencies in the North East Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to ten constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Torry is an area within the city of Aberdeen, Scotland.
Newmachar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, about 10 miles (16 km) to the north-west of Aberdeen.
The architecture of Aberdeen, Scotland, is known for the use of granite as the principal construction material. The stone, which has been quarried in and around the city, has given Aberdeen the epithet The Granite City, or more romantically, and less commonly used, the Silver City, after the mica in the stone which sparkles in the sun.
The Castle of Rattray was a medieval Scottish castle, with multiple variations on its structure over approximately six centuries. Originally built as a "late 12th- or early 13th century defensive motte" it provided protection for Starny Keppie Harbour and Rattray village. Sometime between 1214 and 1233 it was upgraded by William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan before being destroyed in the 1308 Harrying of Buchan. After Comyn's timber castle was burned down, it was replaced by a stronger stone castle which was engulfed during a 1720 sand storm along with nearby Rattray village. After the storm, the castle was not dug out and remains covered to this day. The castle was described by W. Douglas Simpson as one of the nine castles of the Knuckle, referring to the rocky headland of north-east Aberdeenshire.
The Bede House in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, is a 17th-century Scottish town house. It was built in 1676 as a residence for Bailie William Logan and his wife Jean Moir of Stoneywood. During the late 18th century, Old Aberdeen Bedesmen moved from their original hospital beside St Machar's Church to the former Logan house in Don Street. In the 19th century the house changed hands. It was first owned by the Burgh of Old Aberdeen, then, by the City of Aberdeen after the merger of the two burghs in 1891. The house was refurbished by the City of Aberdeen Council in 1965. It was divided into two flats or apartments. The flats are now in private ownership. Much of the 17th-century building is in its original form. It is an excellent example of an L-shaped Scottish Town House, built on three floors with an attic. The house is designated as a Category A listed building.
New Aberdeen is a neighbourhood in the Scottish city of Aberdeen.
