SOCIETY VISIT ON SUNDAY 21ST JUNE
MONUMENT AT HARLAW & THE ABERDEENSHIRE CANAL
Jim Rust, our Programme Convener promised a fine day and indeed it was - we were fortunate that in the midst of a dismal summer the sun shone. It made all the difference to our day which was, for the most part, out in the open air.
We boarded our luxurious bus from the usual departure point at the Well o Spa in the Denburn and made our way to the Monument at Harlaw, the site of the famous battle of 1411.
David Miller on the left – Bennachie in the background
photograph by James Wyness
With the impressive monument at his back, David Miller delivered a splendid resume of previous history leading up to the battle. He certainly held our interest as he enthusiastically described the battle scenes and the leading antagonists of both sides. Our members received an illustrated pamphlet especially prepared and printed for the occasion.
Making our way to Port Elphinstone, Edward Davidson, who has spent 30 years researching the Aberdeenshire Canal, took over as tour guide. He led us to points and places of interest, and described the route of the Aberdeenshire Canal from its inlet - the River Don, through Port Elphinstone past its attendant warehouses, wharfs, loading bays, buildings, offices etc., all long gone (bar one) - on to Waterloo Quay in Aberdeen.
Edward Davidson at Port Elphinstone in front of the only remaining Granary Warehouse from the Canal days – now premises of Ian A. Reid & Son, Body Repairs & Spray Painting.
photograph by Alan Steele
We then meandered alongside the only remaining part of the canal and imagined a very pleasant mode of travel available in the first half of the 19th century until the railway arrived and swept away, for the most part, this amazing engineering construction.
Jim and Kath Rust then rounded up the members for the short trip up the road to the Kintore Arms in Inverurie for a welcome and enjoyable high tea.
THE HISTORY
OF THE FIRE SERVICE IN ABERDEEN
A TALK by DENNIS SCOTT - Part 1
David Miller reports:
Members were treated to a marvellous and fascinating account of the early development of fire fighting in Aberdeen. Dennis Scott, a fireman himself, gave us part 1 of the history, inspired by his very considerable researches on the subject.
Fighting fires in the early years.
Earliest records of both the Church and the Norse Saga tell us that in 1153, Aberdeen was twice put to the torch by Viking invaders. Given that at this time all the houses in the town were built either of timber or wattle and daub and covered with thatched roofs, major fires were a constant threat in peace and war. To combat this and also the associated problems of fire spread due to the densely packed nature of the little community, a long hooked device with three long poles was developed in order that three strong men could actually pull the burning house down. If in fact the fire spread to adjoining or adjacent houses, the next line of defence was to demolish properties all around the fire to create an essential fire break.
Further great fires we learned, deliberate and accidental, occurred in the Burgh with monotonous regularity, in 1224, 1264, and 1336. During the Reformation the Trinity Friary was burned to the ground, while later in 1715 a major incendium broke out in the Gallowgate at its junction with Upperkirkgate. In 1741 a whole block was destroyed on the west side of the Broadgate (
Broad St.today) which at last persuaded the Town Council to introduce minimal Fire Regulations. Restricting the use of timber on the upper parts of new tenements, insisting on brick or granite party walls and limiting the use of thatch for roof coverings, were all well and good but many timber and thatch houses still survived in the less salubrious parts of Aberdeen until well into the 19th century.
Apart from demolition, in the early days the only other means of tackling a fire was the use of a large hand operated Stirrup Pump device, capable of disgorging only one and a quarter gallons of water into the flames. Hardly satisfactory this pump actually dated back to Roman times.
In 1680 the Germans are accredited with the development of the first real Fire Engine which was very quickly developed further by the Dutch, who managed to double its capacity. The arrangement was basically a large copper-lined bucket contraption with two hand operated pumps. This was all very well but the real problem remained, which was, in a big fire it was still impossible to get close enough to the flames for the equipment to operate effectively.
Hand operated ‘stirrup pump’ device
Following The Great Fire of London in 1666 where all these methods and devices were to no avail, Fire Insurance became all the rage. The Sun Insurance Co. established in Aberdeen in 1723 and others swiftly followed. By 1800 the Aberdeen Assurance Company had been set up followed by the Norwich Union and by 1836, the Aberdeen Northern Assurance Company had also joined.
Sun Insurance Fireman
Members of each company were required to attach relevant badges on their buildings and two such markers still survive today, one at the old Customs House in Regent Quay, and another on a property in the High Street in old Aberdeen.
A Fire Engine Shed had been set up within the grounds of the old Greyfriars Monastery Complex off
Broad Streetto serve the expanding Burgh. In 1721 and 1765 the Town Council petitioned the Sun Insurance Company to provide a new, modern Fire Engine.
A subsequent early demonstration in the Castlegate also proved that the impressive water jet could reach the height of the old Tolbooth spire. At this time the Shore Porters were drafted in to serve as Burgh Firemen, a task they were to diligently undertake for over the next hundred years. Meanwhile during this period the only available water supply was from the Mannie Well in the Castlegate, but this was to be considerably augmented by the building of a Water House in
Broad Street, adjacent to the old entry to Old Marischal College.
The new Fire Engine found itself stored in the ground floor of this building, but when in the 1830’s John Smith built the massive new Cistern House in
Union Place(now
Union St) near the far end at Holburn Junction, another similar Fire Engine was stored to serve the fast expanding western end of town.
Castlegate Well
With greater water supplies now available across the ever expanding town, water pipes, wells and fire hydrants made an increasing appearance on city streets. Amusingly we learned that fireman usually got soaked when installing the stand-pipe into the hydrant. In the main also, insurance firemen tended to be much better dressed and equipped than the City firemen. However, one feature they both had in common was thick facial hair; in dense smoke the fireman would stuff his beard into his mouth and was thereby able to breathe through the ingenious filter.
In 1834-35 legislation was passed creating a proper Unified Fire Service and by the 1870’s the force then consisted of twenty firemen. Proper uniforms only appeared after 1887 when a custom designed Fire Station also made its first appearance in
Frederick Street. However, all this activity and advancements in fire resistant building construction could not prevent the occasional disaster, the burning of the East Church of St Nicholas and the destruction of the New Market come into this category.
A new steam-powered Fire Engine was duly introduced in 1893 but following a disastrous outbreak of fire in 1894 at
35 Marischal Street
, where almost everything that could go wrong went wrong, the Council felt obliged to establish a full-time Fire Brigade. The final serious conflagration of this particular era was a fire, which started in the scenery, in the Palace Theatre in Bath Street/Crown Terrace.It eas a tragic affair and many were very badly burned.
Part 1&2 feature in our Magazine Issue 6.
Part 2 of The History of the Fire Service in Aberdeen will Appear later in our Web Site.
