Belmont Street, Aberdeen
Belmont Street is a north-south street in the centre of Aberdeen, Scotland that runs perpendicular to Union Street.
Belmont Street originated with the late 18th century expansion of the town. It was part of an expansion out of the town into suburbs to the west by the towns richer denizens. For example, Thomas Menzies of Pitfodels, one of Aberdeen's wealthiest merchants of the time, moved from his long-standing town house on Castle Street (which is now the site of the North of Scotland Bank) to a five-bay two-storey house on Belmont Street in 1788. The street overlooked the valley of the River Denburn and was developed on vacant ground there in the 1780s, housing there initially comprising the domiciles of the wealthy, typified by large town houses with gardens running down to the river.[2][3] A few of the houses from the late 18th century still survive on Belmont Street today, including Menzies'.[4]
There were several churches on Belmont Street. The Triple Kirks, a free church established in 1844 at the junction of Belmont Street and Schoolhill, was deliberately sited with the intention of rivalling the established "Auld Kirk" of St Nicholas parish.[5] A building to house the unification of the East, South, and West free churches of the town, it was designed by Archibald Simpson.[6] There is now a pub, the Triple Kirks, on the site.[7] The South Church is also on Belmont Street.[6] In November 1779, the anti-Burgher United Presbyterians of north Aberdeen moved to a purpose-built 800-seat church on Belmont Street.[8][9] The Relief United Presbyterians established a Belmont Street congregation a little after 1778, when funds began to be raised for a 1000-seat church.[10][11] In 1828, the Belmont Chapel of Ease, as it had come to be, became a fully fledged parish church, under the ministership of Reverend John Bryce.[12]
The Belmont Filmhouse is located on Belmont Street - it operated as a cinema between 1898 and 2022 when it closed along with the Edinburgh Filmhouse.
References
Citations
- ^ Aberdeen Country Fair.
- ^ Ditchburn & Lynch 2002, p. 43.
- ^ Ditchburn & Lynch 2002, p. 100.
- ^ Ditchburn & Lynch 2002, p. 97.
- ^ Fraser & Lee 2000, p. 353.
- ^ a b Oliver and Boyd 1860, p. 488.
- ^ Sawyers 2000, p. 281.
- ^ Small 1904, p. 4.
- ^ Wilson 1822, p. 146.
- ^ Small 1904, p. 9.
- ^ Wilson 1822, p. 147.
- ^ Small 1904, p. 10.
Sources
- Aberdeen Country Fair. "Aberdeen Country Fair". Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
- Ditchburn, David; Lynch, Michael (2002). Dennison, Elizabeth Patricia (ed.). Aberdeen before 1800: a new history. Dundurn Press Ltd. ISBN 978-1-86232-114-4.
- Fraser, William Hamish; Lee, Clive Howard (2000). Aberdeen, 1800–2000: a new history. Dundurn Press Ltd. ISBN 978-1-86232-108-3.
- Oliver and Boyd (1860). Oliver and Boyd's Scottish tourist (20th ed.). Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd.
- Sawyers, June Skinner (2000). Maverick guide to Scotland. Maverick guides. Pelican Publishing. ISBN 978-1-56554-227-3.
- Small, Robert (1904). History of the Congregations of the United Presbyterian Church, from 1733 to 1900. Vol. 1 (reprinted BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2009 ed.). Edinburgh: David M. Small.
- Wilson, Robert (1822). An historical account and delineation of Aberdeen. Aberdeen: James Johnston.