| Description | This material was originally stored in two deed boxes (AHB/6/1-14 were in box 1 and AHB/6/15-31 in box 2) at the Harbour Board. It relates to the purhase of the Torry Farm estate by the Aberdeen Town Council to facilitate the development of the Harbour via the diversion of the Dee into a new channel, to produce additional land at the Inches and on the Torry side.
"The history of the ownership of the estate greatly complicated that project. The estate had been part of the barony of Torry, and virtually coterminous with Nigg parish. Half of the barony was bought by the town council in 1704. In 1785 the lands were divided. The ownership of the village of Torry, Balnagask and the land along the coast towards Loirston was allocated to the town, while the lands of Torry Farm and Kincorth became the property of Menzies of Pitfodels." (see p. 33, Aberdeen, 1800 to 2000: A New History).
This was then sold in 1859 to a consortium comprising Sir Alexander Anderson, Milne of Kinaldie and John Blaikie. They offered the land to the Harbour Board in 1864, but the price (£28,000) was beyond the spending permitted by the Harbour Act. The town council then proposed purchasing the land, to be used by the Harbour Board in return for constructing a new bridge at the end of Market Street. By 1869 this proposal and it's escalating costs had become the subject of fierce debate within the Council, with James Barclay leading the supporters and Provost Nicol objecting. After an election later that year the supporters won the day. The diversion was completed in 1880 and the Victoria Bridge opened in 1887.
These bundles were box listed by volunteers in 2017 at the Harbour Board. |