Scotland > 1868, 1878 - Slater's (late Pigot & Co.'s) Royal national commercial directory and topography of Scotland > 1878 > Part 1

FORFARSHIRE.
SLATER'S
DUNDEE.
W TH THE PARISHES OF LIFE AND BENVIE, MAINS AND STRATHMARTINE, AND THE VILLAGES OF BULLIONFIELD
AND INVEEGOWEIE.
1)
UNDEE is an important royal burgh and seaport, on the north floated in the deserted harbour. In 1669, howeTer, thirty-seven
bank of the Firth of Tay, about twelve miles from its mouth,
The parish Is bounded on the south by the Tay; on the north by
the united parishes of Mains and Strathmartine ; on the east by
Murroes and Monifieth ; and on the west by the united parishes of
Liff and Benvie, a large portion of which is incorporated with the
burgh. The town is 43 miles n. from Edinburgh, 'o^ s.s.w. from
Aberdeen, 29 s.w. from Montrose, 23 e. by n. from Perth, 17 s.w. from
Arbroath, and 14 s. from Forfar. The Caledonian and North British
Railways have each stations in the town. The Caledonian Railway
system connects Dundee with Perth, Stirling and the west of Scot-
laud generally, and London and the south by the West Coast lines.
One branch runs northward to Newtyle, Blairgowrie, and Alyth—
another branch runs direct to Forfar, the county town, and the main
line connects the town with Arbroath, Montrose, Aberdeen and the
whole north-east of Scotland. The Nortli British has running
pow<-rs for a certain distance over the cast and west lines, and has
a joint right in part of both the terminal stations — one situated at
the east and the other at the west end of Dock Street. At present
C1877), the North British have to cross the Tay by a ferry between
Tayport aud Bvouyhty, batonthe completion of the Tay bridge, now
almost tinished, the traffic from Edinburgh and from the Fife coal
fields will t, e brought direct into the town. The situation of Dun-
dec is very beautiful. The river here forms a bay two miles broad,
from the margin of which the town spreads itself over a gradual
acclivity, ascendingtowards the baseof a lo!ly and sheltering emin-
ence, called " Dundee Law." The picturesque coast of Fifeshire
forms the southern border of the Tay, and a steam ferry-boat
eflccts an hourly communication between the opposite shores of the
estuarj'.
Dundee is a place of considerable antiquity. From a fishing
hamlet it came to be a walled town, with a castle of considerable
Btrength. It was created a royal burgh by 'William I. in 1164, this
privilege, according to tradition, having been obtained by David,
Earl of Huntingdon, who, after escaping the perils of shipwreck,
landed at the place on his return from the crusade. During the
usurpation of Edward I., the town was made the station of an
English garrison ; and in the course of the struggle for the Scot-
tish crown between that prince (nominally on behalf of Baliol) and
Robert Bruce, Dundee was taken and retaken twice. The patriot,
Wallace, whose deeds have enkiudled the enthusiasm of bard and
historian, received his education at the Grammar School of Dundee.
Wlien at school Wallace was mixed up in a quarrel v/ith ibe Eng-
lish governor's son, and having killed him, had to seek safety in
flight. The castle of Dundee becoming so formidable an annoy-
ance when in possession of an enemy, an occurrence but too
frequent, Bruce dt^emed it expedient to demolish it, and not a
vestige of it now remains. Its site was near the present Castle
Street— that street having been formed by blasting a portion of the
rock on which it stood. The town was destroyed in the reign of
Richard II., of England, and it suffered a sim'ilar infliction when
Edward VI. sat upon the English throne; but on each occasion it
speedily recovered, and resumed its rank among the principal
Scottish towns— several times being pledged as security for ransoms,
and for the fulfilment of treaties. It was also a place of royal resid-
en-'e, there being a palace to the south of the Nethergate and a
mint at tlie foot of the Overgato, the site of which is still pointed
out by the name of " Mint Close," given to an entrv in that quarter.
The oldest charter that Dundee can boast of, is 'one granted by
Robert Bnice, recognising the burghal pviviloges conferred by
William the Lion, brother to the Earl of Huntingdon, mentioned
above. In this place the rcfonned religion found some of its earliest
and warmest defenders. So zealous was the town in its cause as
to be honoured with the appellation of " the second Geneva." In
1544 George Wishart, who suffered martyrdom at St. Andrew's,
preached here, aud on one occasion narrowly escaped assassination
at the hands of one of Cardinal Beaton's emissavies. The occasion
was a sermon preached by Wisliart. from the East Port during the
plague— the plague stricken being outside the walls. In memory of
tho event, the East Port, the only portion of the old walls extant,
is stm kept standing, although it cannot be called either ornamental
or useful. In April, 1645, the Duke of Montrose took Dundee by
assault; the inhabitants suffering severely in the caruage which
ensued. The last calamity of this kind that befel this town was
its capture and plunder by General Monk. This event is the sub-
ject of Tuany local traditions. Monk, according to one storv was so
e:-ir;',gud at the stubborn aefence of the citizens that he gave orders
to Miek the place and was only moved to pity on witnessing an
infant sucking the breast of its dead mother in the street where
she hadi.ai.m a victim in the general massacre. lu connection with
this short historical sketch we mav mention a fev/ eminent names
that have conferred honour on Dundee, from its being the Tilaco
vessels arrived in the port ; in 1673, forty-nine ; in 16S0, eighty-
five; but in 1731 the number had considerably decreased, and the
trade continued to dwindle till this once flourishing port was re-
sorted to chiefly by fishermen and smugglers. But from the
situation of Dundee, the commodiousness of its harbour, and the
entei-prise of its inhabitants, such a state of matters could not
last always. The tide of commerce turned, and once more set
into the forsaken haven. In 1745 the port dues scarcely amounted,
to £1,200; but in 1792 the number of vessels belonging to tho
town had increased to 116, measuring 8,550 tons; and about the
same period the foreign clearances outwards and inwards were
nearly 12,000 tons, while the coasting trade was about 60,000.
Since 1815, when the harbour was placed under new manage-
ment, the increase has been enormous, and the total revenue
from all sources from that date until May, 1876, amounted in tho
aggregate to £1,291,239 lis. Id. During' the year ending May,
1876, the revenue amounted to £45,282 17s. 6d.; in the year ending
May, 1861, it was only £25,329 Ss. The augmentation of its ship-
ping gave an impulse to improvement; new sea walls and quays
were built, the tide harbour was extended, wet docks and gi-aviug
docks were constructed, and such undertakings were affected
that there are only two or three ports in Great Britain which
now afford greater facilities and accommodation for shipping, In
1815 the management of the harbour was placed in the hands of
Commissioners, appointed annually under an Act of Parliament;
but by a new act, passed in June, 1830, the management was
transferred to trustees to be elected annually ; the provost, bailies,
and deaaof guild to be perpetual trustees, in virtue of their office.
The harbour is well managed and the extensions rendered neces-
sary by the increased business of the port are pushed rapidly for-
ward. The total expenditure for constructing and maintaining
the harbour from July, 1815, to May 31, 1876, inclusive of interest
on debt aud sinking fund, was £1,893,981 lis. 7d. The debt due
by the Dundee Harbour on the 31st May, 1876, amounted to
£342,820 13s. 7d. The progressive increase of revenue v/ill appear
from the following statement : —
Shore Dues— July, 1815, to July, 1816 £4.411
„ May, 1828, to May, 1829 10,134
. May, 1857, to May, 1858 20,592
May, 18i;9, to May, 1870 27,621
May, 1870, to May, 1871 32,405 14 11
„ May, 1875, to May, 1876 84,532 5 10
Th« number of vessels which entered the port
In 1835 was 3,981 burthen 259,736 tons.


(1
(1

«
5
5
1836.
1849.,
1850..
1858.,
186i.
1870. .
1S71.,
1876.
4,214.
4,921.
8,816.
2.939.
293,119
885,095
299,048
2a3,671
836,018
357,325
418,401
476,593
either of their birth or education
Sir William Wallace: John Blair; Goldman and Ferguson, thu
poets; Sir George Mackenzie, the scholar and lawyer- and in
more recent days.Drs. SmaU, Williaon, Davidson, and Russell and
the naval victor, Admiral Duncan. The author of the " Song of the
Shirt" also resided iu the town for a short time and some of his
first efforts at versifyini.; appeared in the columns of the Dundee
Advertiser
2,380
2,559
,. 3,182
The falling otf in the, number of vessels and the increase in the
tonnage is explained \by the great number of large vessels en-
gaged in the direct trade with Calcutta consequent on the growth
of the jute trade. The number of vessels belonging to the port in
1876 was 192, of the aggregate register of about 86,302 tons. The
whale fishery employs several ships from tliis port, all fitted w-ith
screw propellers, yteam navigation is successfully conducted by
the Dundee, Perth, and London Shipping Company, whose vessels
ply to London twice a week, aud to Hull weekly. These steam
ships have obtained a high character for swiftness and excellent
accommodation. There is also regular steam communication with
Newcastle, Leith, and Livei-pool, besides several large steamers en-
gaged exclusively in the coal trade. The earliest articles manu-
factured in the town seem to have been soap and glass, which en-
gaged a great number of hands ; aud the brewing of ale was carried
on to some extent. The glass manufacture has died out. as has
also the sugar refining, which was once carried on. In 1S66, how-
ever, a now branch of manufacture — that of linseed crushing— was
established by Messrs. Gellatly, Mitchell & Co., in a mill at Craigie,
to the east of Dundee, and Messrs. Wilson & Sons also carry on
this trade at the Caledonian Oil MUls. The manufacture of shoe
uppers by the sewing machine was introduced by Messrs. Hender-
son {whose tanning and leather works are on a very extensive scale),
a few years ago, and has been very successful. The wholesale
shoe trade which at one time flourished in this town has been
recently revived. There are two largo manufactories employing a
considerable number of hands, and "there is every reason to be-
lieve that the trade has taken firm root in the place. The manu-
facture of marmalade has for many years employed a large number
Commerce and Manufactdbes
He^ctor Boece^ the historian ; I of hands, Dundee marmalade being famous throughout the world.
.. „ J t:. -. ^.. _ Messrs. Keiller ..t Sous' establishment is probably the largest in tlio
kingdom, and there are four other firms engaged in the trade. The
business of buikUug ships flourished at an early period, and such
an occupation soon led to the manufacture of cordage, which still
remains a branch of commerce, but not to such an extent as for-
merly. The manufactm-e of cotton was once tried, and had tho ap-
^ , . : pearance of forming an importantbranchiu the trade of Dundee,
,.r.mmo,.,.i„l „„«,„•*„ „„A ■ .1, ■ :-'^'^,"°''<' "f * place of great having, at one time, seven companies engaged in it; but at length
mMufactmes & ™™-d ^ Pn^oipa seat of the linen and jute it decUned, and finally died away, in favour of Glasgow. Tho
shIZnff is the Jost ^JSfn, Tf' "f > "' '*' Productions and manufacture of woollen cloths was next attempted, but met with
MoSk c^intnred X nl„ep i^'^lfi?! '=° ? ''' T™' ''''*.°'-''- , >* ''^ "" <>nocess. Out of these failures arose a spirit tor lianufacturing
^^^nrl^^Myt.At^,t!«'^^^'^T''f\r''^'' f°'"i'J i" the goods from flax; and, as an encouragement to this branch iu its
infin^^ihie the\,bnU nffb ^'^""'.f .^^'^ '° ""> 'J^ptors exceed- ! infancy, a bounty was given by government on all linen exported,
th?e6 nifions " The .^Im, d„r l^^ '^"" m the wars throughout tho and a iieavy duty laid on the importation of foreign linens. What-
for the shin°sunT?n'^?nstfn'„ .77"''' <"JJ 'Wt si'-'oh tlie c-aptprs, ever the effect of these euactmeuts, the trade of Dundee continued
the rising couXrceof^tbetmvn.n, 1 • ,. ^'T^' '''°7 "''"*'"^'' *" increase, and since the introduction of the jute manufacture the
J?' ' * commtite of the town, and for several years few vessels ' progress of the town has been very great
The following returns