On 25/11/2013 17:27, [email protected] wrote: > I found that the house in which my father lived as > a child between 1912-1922, No. 6 School Road in > Old Aberdeen, appears to have vanished. According > to maps of the time, School Road ran from Dunbar > east to King Street, and from King Street to the > shore was open ground on which the local children > played, according to him. After WW2, that open > area was built over, and School Road was extended > east of King Street. Meanwhile, St Machar Drive > was built across the front of the church (or so it > appears on maps -- I've never actually been to > Aberdeen myself) No. St Machar Drive lies 200-300 yards to the south of St Machar's Cathedral. You can't see the one from the other. St Machar's Drive does go close behind the 18th-Century Old Aberdeen Town House. > and the name of the new street > was extended to the original School Road as far as > King Street. A cousin visiting the city from > Canada investigated for me while making a tourist > trip to the church, but said where she assumed #6 > School Road, now #? St Machar Drive, would have > been was now a bank and parking lot, and took a > photo of same. As I have two photos of my father > as a boy in front of and behind their house, it > doesn't look as if the old structure was reused > for the bank building. The earliest accurate map that I can find which shows part of this area is the 1866-67 Ordnance Survey large-scale map, which includes the Old Aberdeen Town House and streets immediately adjacent. At this date, the line of School Road is labelled "New Street", and shows just 3 buildings on the south side of the road: "Bell's School", "Grammar School" and "School". There are no buidings on the north side. The next detailed map I can find is an Ordnance Survey 6" sheet unhelpfully dated "1892-1905". It shows "School Road" running as far as King Street but with just the same 3 buildings (although they are not named). Next up is a "Plan of the City of Aberdeen revised up to date" of 1916. This shows no significant change to the buildings on the street. The next plan I have (provisionally dated 1938) shows St Machar Drive, but not in sufficient detail to tell what buildings there were. Until 1955, I lived no great distance from School Road, but cannot recollect what buildings there were other than a block of shops (still standing) on the NW corner of the junction with King Street, and to the west of that, a number of small bungalows (also still standing). I cannot recall what (if anything) lay on the south side of School Road. A large tower block was built (1960s?) on the SW corner of the King Street junction. This initially housed the School of Agriculture, and now contains other departments of Aberdeen University. Gavin Bell

Hello, I used to visit Aberdeen often as a child from Dundee in the 1940s. I spent a lot of time at my Great Grandmother's house on School Road Perhaps my memories from that time might be helpful. Some random stream-of-conciousness then:- School road ran East-West and ended near the beach on the East. There used to be a wood and metal mesh fence, quite high, with a pedestrian opening we went through to get to the beach. Starting at the fence and heading West there were quite a number of small tenements on the left (South). My Great Grandmother lived there. The tenements were quite modern - probably built in the 1930s or 40s. There was a whole development of similar houses. I think they are still there. On the right (North) side there are now blocks of retirees flats. Traveling farther West there were bungalows on the right as School Road neared King Street. I don't remember if the tenements extended all the way to King Street. The King Street junction now has a roundabout, but at the time I remember the King Street trams went straight over, out to the Don. At the junction there were (and are) shops on both sides to the North. I don't remember what was on the South side. We never went West beyond the junction so I can't speak for what might have been there. However, there were no schools or official buildings that I can remember on the stretch of road I described. Hope someone finds this useful! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gavin Bell" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, November 25, 2013 10:53:54 AM Subject: Re: [ABERDEEN] Aberdeen street numbers On 25/11/2013 17:27, [email protected] wrote: > I found that the house in which my father lived as > a child between 1912-1922, No. 6 School Road in > Old Aberdeen, appears to have vanished. According > to maps of the time, School Road ran from Dunbar > east to King Street, and from King Street to the > shore was open ground on which the local children > played, according to him. After WW2, that open > area was built over, and School Road was extended > east of King Street. Meanwhile, St Machar Drive > was built across the front of the church (or so it > appears on maps -- I've never actually been to > Aberdeen myself) No. St Machar Drive lies 200-300 yards to the south of St Machar's Cathedral. You can't see the one from the other. St Machar's Drive does go close behind the 18th-Century Old Aberdeen Town House. > and the name of the new street > was extended to the original School Road as far as > King Street. A cousin visiting the city from > Canada investigated for me while making a tourist > trip to the church, but said where she assumed #6 > School Road, now #? St Machar Drive, would have > been was now a bank and parking lot, and took a > photo of same. As I have two photos of my father > as a boy in front of and behind their house, it > doesn't look as if the old structure was reused > for the bank building. The earliest accurate map that I can find which shows part of this area is the 1866-67 Ordnance Survey large-scale map, which includes the Old Aberdeen Town House and streets immediately adjacent. At this date, the line of School Road is labelled "New Street", and shows just 3 buildings on the south side of the road: "Bell's School", "Grammar School" and "School". There are no buidings on the north side. The next detailed map I can find is an Ordnance Survey 6" sheet unhelpfully dated "1892-1905". It shows "School Road" running as far as King Street but with just the same 3 buildings (although they are not named). Next up is a "Plan of the City of Aberdeen revised up to date" of 1916. This shows no significant change to the buildings on the street. The next plan I have (provisionally dated 1938) shows St Machar Drive, but not in sufficient detail to tell what buildings there were. Until 1955, I lived no great distance from School Road, but cannot recollect what buildings there were other than a block of shops (still standing) on the NW corner of the junction with King Street, and to the west of that, a number of small bungalows (also still standing). I cannot recall what (if anything) lay on the south side of School Road. A large tower block was built (1960s?) on the SW corner of the King Street junction. This initially housed the School of Agriculture, and now contains other departments of Aberdeen University. Gavin Bell ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

For me, it builds a picture of how things changed after my grandparents took their children to Canada in 1922. I'd read that the waste land east of King Street to the beach was built over after WW2, but it may have been a bit earlier. That would explain why the homes and tenements you saw were new in the 1940s. In my father's day, earlier in the century, School Road ran only between King at the east end and ended at Dunbar on the west end, nearish to the cathedral. The old part of the street is still there, I'm told, but its name was changed and the name School Road was used for the new part where your great-grandmother lived. Gavin Bell mentioned several large buildings on the old School Road and I'm wondering if they may have had something to do with the army? My grandfather was in the Gordons already when WW1 started. No one in their family ever mentioned #6, where they lived, as army married quarters instead of a one-family house, but I suppose it's possible? The photos I have show only a doorway front or back with my father standing in it looking self-conscious. They were taken to send to my grandfather during the war, showing my father wearing his first pair of long pants in 1917 at the age of 12. Margaret Gibbs On 25/11/2013 4:24 PM, John Fidler wrote: > Hello, I used to visit Aberdeen often as a child from Dundee in the 1940s. I spent a lot of time at my Great Grandmother's house on School Road Perhaps my memories from that time might be helpful. > Some random stream-of-conciousness then:- > School road ran East-West and ended near the beach on the East. There used to be a wood and metal mesh fence, quite high, with a pedestrian opening we went through to get to the beach. Starting at the fence and heading West there were quite a number of small tenements on the left (South). My Great Grandmother lived there. > The tenements were quite modern - probably built in the 1930s or 40s. There was a whole development of similar houses. I think they are still there. On the right (North) side there are now blocks of retirees flats. Traveling farther West there were bungalows on the right as School Road neared King Street. I don't remember if the tenements extended all the way to King Street. > The King Street junction now has a roundabout, but at the time I remember the King Street trams went straight over, out to the Don. At the junction there were (and are) shops on both sides to the North. I don't remember what was on the South side. > We never went West beyond the junction so I can't speak for what might have been there. However, there were no schools or official buildings that I can remember on the stretch of road I described. > Hope someone finds this useful! > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Gavin Bell" <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Monday, November 25, 2013 10:53:54 AM > Subject: Re: [ABERDEEN] Aberdeen street numbers > > On 25/11/2013 17:27, [email protected] wrote: >> I found that the house in which my father lived as >> a child between 1912-1922, No. 6 School Road in >> Old Aberdeen, appears to have vanished. According >> to maps of the time, School Road ran from Dunbar >> east to King Street, and from King Street to the >> shore was open ground on which the local children >> played, according to him. After WW2, that open >> area was built over, and School Road was extended >> east of King Street. Meanwhile, St Machar Drive >> was built across the front of the church (or so it >> appears on maps -- I've never actually been to >> Aberdeen myself) > > No. St Machar Drive lies 200-300 yards to the south of St Machar's > Cathedral. You can't see the one from the other. St Machar's Drive > does go close behind the 18th-Century Old Aberdeen Town House. > > >> and the name of the new street >> was extended to the original School Road as far as >> King Street. A cousin visiting the city from >> Canada investigated for me while making a tourist >> trip to the church, but said where she assumed #6 >> School Road, now #? St Machar Drive, would have >> been was now a bank and parking lot, and took a >> photo of same. As I have two photos of my father >> as a boy in front of and behind their house, it >> doesn't look as if the old structure was reused >> for the bank building. > The earliest accurate map that I can find which shows part of this area > is the 1866-67 Ordnance Survey large-scale map, which includes the Old > Aberdeen Town House and streets immediately adjacent. At this date, the > line of School Road is labelled "New Street", and shows just 3 buildings > on the south side of the road: "Bell's School", "Grammar School" and > "School". There are no buidings on the north side. > > The next detailed map I can find is an Ordnance Survey 6" sheet > unhelpfully dated "1892-1905". It shows "School Road" running as far as > King Street but with just the same 3 buildings (although they are not > named). Next up is a "Plan of the City of Aberdeen revised up to date" > of 1916. This shows no significant change to the buildings on the street. > > The next plan I have (provisionally dated 1938) shows St Machar Drive, > but not in sufficient detail to tell what buildings there were. > > Until 1955, I lived no great distance from School Road, but cannot > recollect what buildings there were other than a block of shops (still > standing) on the NW corner of the junction with King Street, and to the > west of that, a number of small bungalows (also still standing). I > cannot recall what (if anything) lay on the south side of School Road. > A large tower block was built (1960s?) on the SW corner of the King > Street junction. This initially housed the School of Agriculture, and > now contains other departments of Aberdeen University. > > > Gavin Bell > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >