Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives

Directions Website Contact the organisation

Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives is the gateway to the written history of the North East of Scotland.

We collect, preserve and make publicly available the historical records belonging to Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils

⚓ Peterhead Harbour of Refuge ⚓In 1884, 142 years ago, building started on the Peterhead Harbour of Refuge. Several Harb...
16/10/2026

⚓ Peterhead Harbour of Refuge ⚓

In 1884, 142 years ago, building started on the Peterhead Harbour of Refuge. Several Harbours of Refuge were planned along the east coast of Britain, following the fear for loss of life and craft at sea during the 19th Century. Sir John Coode was the harbour engineer responsible for Peterhead Harbour of Refuge. A railway was built between the Admiralty Quarry at Stirling Hill and HM Convict Prison at Peterhead to transport prison labour and granite between the two locations.

Unfortunately, Peterhead's Harbour of Refuge wasn't complete until 1956, when there was no longer a requirement for it. It was used instead as a strategic location for servicing the offshore oil and gas industry. Other Harbours of Refuge included: Holyhead, Harwich, Dover, Seaford, Portland, Jersey and Alderney.

The catalogue for records of the Peterhead Harbour of Refuge, held under the Peterhead Harbour Commissioners records, can be seen here with reference AS/Aphd/10/6:

🔗 https://archives.aberdeencity.gov.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=AS%2fAphd%2f10%2f6

You can also learn more about the convicts who assisted with mining stone for the harbour at the Peterhead Prison Museum: https://www.peterheadprison.com/.

(Image references AS/Aphd/10/6 and AHB/11/1/9/33 & 37)


📢 Our Archivist Kim is giving a talk at the Aberdeen Maritime Museum next week, focusing on the company Richard Irvin & ...
14/10/2026

📢 Our Archivist Kim is giving a talk at the Aberdeen Maritime Museum next week, focusing on the company Richard Irvin & Sons 📢

She will be utilising their records, collection reference DD2865, to provide a history of the company and some interesting facts about the Irvin family! This is a non ticketed event, which you can read more about here:

⚓ https://sites.aberdeencity.gov.uk/AAGM/whats-aberdeen-art-galleries-and-museums/founder-of-steam-trawling-the-records-of-richard-irvin-and-sons-limited

Have you ever spotted the remains of the Abercrombie Jetty at Aberdeen Harbour? 🌊This was a jetty or catch pier construc...
12/10/2026

Have you ever spotted the remains of the Abercrombie Jetty at Aberdeen Harbour? 🌊

This was a jetty or catch pier constructed as part of harbour improvements in 1789. It was named after the then Provost, John Abercrombie. Unfortunately, the catch pier did not prove useful and was mostly removed. You you can still see part of it though, located next to the Harbour Control Tower. There is a carved stone commemorating John Abercrombie at the ba

[Image of John Abercrombie, Aberdeen Town House staircase]

This letter of 1916 from the headmaster of Aberdeen Grammar School jumped out at us when we were retrieving a different ...
10/10/2026

This letter of 1916 from the headmaster of Aberdeen Grammar School jumped out at us when we were retrieving a different record 🧐 It discusses one of the school's pupils, son of Mrs Ironside, who ran a public house on Rosemount Viaduct. The boy is absent a lot and hangs around the pub until closing. Simpson suggests a visit from an Attendance Officer and if there is no change, the boy should move school or go to live in the country with family friends.

Hopefully the boy's attendance improved! Perhaps a rabbit hole for another day...

[Reference CA/25/2/11/139]

These images are from collection PD19 - Photographs and Cuttings relating to the Newfoundland Overseas Foresty Unit 1937...
09/10/2026

These images are from collection PD19 - Photographs and Cuttings relating to the Newfoundland Overseas Foresty Unit 1937 - 1945. This Unit, organised by the Ministry of Supply, comprised 2000 expert loggers from Newfoundland who worked in camps in the Scottish Highlands felling timber for the war effort. The men also served in their own Home Guard unit, the 3rd Inverness-shire (Newfoundland) Battalion.

A lot of the timber was used by the Forces for hutments, while shelter bunks also accounted for a big quantity. The artic conditions which the unit experienced in Scotland must have reminded some of the men of their native country.

🔷 The Gardens of Troup: From Gardenstown to Jakarta 🔷 The Garden family acquired the lands of Troup, on the Banffshire c...
07/10/2026

🔷 The Gardens of Troup: From Gardenstown to Jakarta 🔷

The Garden family acquired the lands of Troup, on the Banffshire coast, in the mid-17th century and it remained in the family’s hands through to the 20th century. In early 2024, our Senior Archivist completed some rearranging and and more detailed cataloguing on the Garden of Troup collection, which we have held since the 1980s. Read more about this series of family and estate papers on our blog:

🔗 https://aberdeenarchives.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-gardens-of-troup-from-gardenstown.html

[Photograph of Troup House, c. 1930s, reference DD21/1/2/2]

🔷 All About That Place 🔷 Society of Genealogists 🔷Running over 10 days from Wednesday 7 - Friday 16 October, All About T...
05/10/2026

🔷 All About That Place 🔷 Society of Genealogists 🔷

Running over 10 days from Wednesday 7 - Friday 16 October, All About That Place is an event packed with over 100 recorded 10-minute talks on genealogy and local history. You’ll learn research techniques, social history, tools, websites, archives, record keeping tips, ways of creating and sharing your findings… and much, much more!

Each day has a different theme:

🔹Getting Started
🔹Health and Medicine
🔹Tools
🔹Military and War
🔹Work and Fun
🔹Collections and Archives
🔹Changing Places
🔹Innovation
🔹Politics and Rights
🔹Sharing Stories

Our Archives Team Leader Phil Astley will be giving an online introduction to our service & collections on Day 6: 'Collections and Archives' ✨

🔗 https://sog.org.uk/welcome-to-all-about-that-place/

[Image of display of archive material from our collections]

We don't often find many records in our collections written in gaelic...but here is a booklet printed in 1801, titled "L...
05/10/2026

We don't often find many records in our collections written in gaelic...but here is a booklet printed in 1801, titled "Leabhir Aithghearr A' Cheasnachaidh". It is a scripture examination book authorised by the Church of Scotland and 'the noble society that is spreading the knowledge of Christ throughout the Highlands and Islands of Scotland'.

The text on the front reads (roughly):

'A short catechism appointed by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to be a directory for catechising, with proofs from the Scriptures, translated into Scottish Gaelic.'

(Reference DD1/129/2)

🔶 Today is World Temperance Day 🔶One of our researchers last year was investigating the Rechabites, a friendly society o...
03/10/2026

🔶 Today is World Temperance Day 🔶

One of our researchers last year was investigating the Rechabites, a friendly society operating as part of the Temperance movement. These images show some of the records found in our collections relating to this group:

- Black and white photograph of a group of people, likely Rechabites.
- Civic Scrapbook for the Annual Conference of the Independent Order of Rechabites 1905 containing invite and programme.
- Building warrant for the Forsyth Hotel, known as a Temperance Hotel, and located on the corner of St Nicholas Lane and Correction Wynd 1886

(References DD1028/33, SB/1/64 and BW/1214*)

⚓ World Maritime Day ⚓To finish up our posts for , here is an image of Richard Irvin, 'Founder of Steam Trawling' and t...
30/09/2026

⚓ World Maritime Day ⚓

To finish up our posts for , here is an image of Richard Irvin, 'Founder of Steam Trawling' and the company Richard Irvin & Sons. Our Archivist Kim will be talking about this collection next month for the Maritime Museum's lunchtime talk on Wednesday 21st October!

[Item in file reference DD2865/3/1/1]

Address

Town House, Broad Street
Aberdeen
AB101AQ

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 9:30am - 4:30pm

Website

,

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organisation

Send a message to Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives:

Shortcuts

Share

Category