Scotland > 1882-1915 - Slater's Royal National Commercial Directory of Scotland > 1886 - Slater's (late Pigot and Co's) Royal national commercial directory and topography of Scotland

FORFARSHIRE
SLATER'S
DUNDEE,
WITH THE PARISHES OF LIFF AND BENVIE, MAINS AND STRATHMARTINE, AND THE VILLAGES OF
DOWNFIELD AND INVERGOWRIE.
DUNDEE Is an important royal burgh and seaport, on the north
bank of the Firth of Tay, abont nine miles from its mouth. It
is the second town in point of commercial importance, and the third
in respect of population in Scotland. The parish is bounded on the
south by the Tay ; on the north by the united parishes of Mains aud
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, 66 s.s.w. from Aberdeen, 29 s.w. from Montrose,
23 e. by n. from Perth, 17 e.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 witli
Perth, Stirling and the west of Scotland generally, and London and
the south by the West Coast lines. One branch runs northward to
Newtyle, Blairgowrie, aud Alyth, and another branch runs direct to
Forfar, the county town. The Caledonian are joint owners with
the North British Company of the Dundee and Arbroath Railway,
which connects Dundee with Arbroath, Montrose, Aberdeen and the
â– whole north-east of Scotland. The North British has running
powers for a certain distance over the east and west lines, and has
a joint right in part of both the terminal stations— one situated at
tbe east and the other at the west end of Dock street. It has also
constructed the Arbroath and Montrose direct line, which, when
opened for passenger traffic, will greatly increase the facilities for
communication between Dundee and the south-eastern portion of
Forfarshire and the south-western portion of Kincardineshire. At
present (1885), the North British have still to cross the Tay by a
ferry between Tayport and Droughty. In 1870 the North British
Railway Company obtained an Act of Parliament for bridging the
Tay at Dundee. The bridge was designed by Mr. Thomas Bouch,
the Company's engineer, the plans being for a single line of rails
only. Work was commenced in June, 1871, but in the course of
construction various drawbacks were encountered, the greatest of
these being the unexpected differences in the nature of the river
bottom, which rendered a modification of the original plan necessary,
cast-iron piers having to be substituted for brick piers in the larger
portion of the structure. After considerable delay, the bridge was
completed and opened for traffic on the 31st May, 1878. Mr. Bouch
was shortly after knighted. The bridge was 10,612 feet in length,
and consisted of 85 spans, some of these being over 90 feet above
high water level, and the cost was said to be £350,000. Unfortu-
nately in designing the structure, sufficient allowance was not made
for the force of the hurricanes which occasionally sweep down the
valley of the Tay, and on the evening of the 28th December, 1879,
during the prevalence of a gale of unusual force, while the mail
train from Edinburgh was passing over it the whole of the " high
girders," extending over thirteen spans, was blown into the river
together with the train, leaving a gap of 3,000 feet. Upwards of
seventy persons perished with the train. During the short time the
bridge was available for the train service, its great advantage as a
link in the connection in the means of railway accommodation
between the north-east of Scotland and the south was clearly
demonstrated. It was also seen that the direct and easy communi-
cation opened up with the Fife coal fields would come to be of inr
mense benefit, both to the railway company and the trade of Dundee,
These considerations led the North British directors to take steps to
restore the means of communication, and ultimately it was decided
to build a new bridge, and the plans by Mr. Barton were approved
by Parliament in May, 1881. The new bridge is to be for a double
line of rails, and it is to be some ten feet lower at tbe extreme height
than the wrecked bridge. It is understood that sufficient allowance
has been made in the new design to meet the enormous lateral pres-
sure of the severest gales. At present (July, 1S85), the works are
feeing rapidly pushed forward. The spans will be 85 in
number, nearly corresponding to those of the former bridge, and the
total length of the viaduct from the Fife shore to the brick arches
• on the north side will be 10,545 feet 6 inches, or within a few feet of
two miles long. The contractors, Messrs. Arrol and Company, of
•Glasgow, have introduced several ingenious contrivances for facili-
tating the work, the most noticeable being pontoons on legs, known
as " quadrupeds," which enable the piers to be sunk independent of
â– tides and storms, and a hydraulic rivetting machine. The massive
.character of the new structure stands in marked contrast to the re-
mains of tbe old bridge still in position. The Tay Bridge station and
the expensively constructed tunnel below Dock street, connecting
â– the Dundee and Arbroath joint lines, are still utilised, to the great
-advantage of passengers to Broughty Ferry and the east. It also
•enables the goods traffic to be more commodiously served than it was
'before the construction of these works.
The situation of Dundee 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, ascending towards the base of a lofty
:and sheltering eminence, called "Dundee Law." The picturesque
'coast of Fifesbire forms the southern border of the Tay, and a
H3teaui ferry-boat effects an hourly communication between the I
•opposite shores of the estuary.
Dundee is a place of considerable antiquity. From a fishing '
Jhamlet it came to be a walled town, with a castle of considerable
strength. It was created a royal burgh by William I. in 1164, this
â– privilege, according to tradition, having been obtained by David, |
Earl of Huntingdon, who, after escaping the perils of shipwreck, I
landed at this place on his return from the crusade. During the I
usurpation of Edward I., the town was made the station of an !
^English garrison ; and iu the course of the struggle for the Scottish]
crown between that prince (nominally on behalf of Baliol) and
Robert Bruce, Dundee was taken and re-takeu twice. The patriot
Wallace, whose deeds have enkindled the enthusiasm of bard and
historian, received his education at the Grammar School of Dundee.
When ^t school Wallace was mixed up in a quarrel with the English
governor's son, and having killed him had to seek safety in flight.
The castle of Dundee becoming so formidable an annoyance when
in possession of an enemy, an occurance but too frequent, Bruce
deemed it expedient to demolish it, and not a vestige of it now
remains. Its site was near the present Castle street— that sti'eet
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 Eng-
land, and it suffered a similar infliction when Edward VI. sat ' upon
the English throne ; but on each occasion it speedily recoverd,
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
residence, there being a palace to the south of the Nethergate, and a
mint at the foot of the Overgate, the site of which is still indicated
by the name of "Mint Close," given to an entry in that quarter.
Robert III. was the first sovereign, who struck coin at the mint.
The oldest charter that Dundee can boast of is one granted by
Robert Bruce, recognizing the burghal privileges conferred by
William the Lion, brother to the Earl of Huntingdon, mentioned
above. In this place the reformed leligion 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. Andrews,
preached here, and on one occasion narrowly escaped assassination
at the hands of one of Cardinal Beaton's emissaries. The occasion
was a sermon preached by Wishart, from the East Port, during the
plague— the plague stricken being outside the wall. In memory of
the event, the East Port, the only portion of the old walls extant,
is still 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 carnage 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 many local traditions. In connection with this short his-
torical sketch we may mention a few eminent names that have con-
ferred honour on Dundee, from its being the place either ".of their
birth, education or labour: — Hector Boece, the historian; Sir
William Wallace ; John Blair ; Goldman and Ferguson, the poets ;
Sir George Mackenzie, the scholar and lawyer; and in more
recent days, Drs. Small, Willison, Davidson and Russell ;
Nicoll the poet; and George Gilfillan, the critic and preacher; and
the naval victor, 'Admiral Duncan. The author of the " Song of the
Shirt" also resided in the town for a short time, and some of his
first efforts at versifying appeared in the columns of the Dundee
Advertiser.
Commerce and Manufactures. — Dundee is a place of great
commercial activity, and is the principal seat of the linen and jute
manufactures. The rapid increase, both of its productions and
shipping, is the most striking feature of its recent history. When
Monk captured the place in 1651, sixty vessels were found in the
harbour, so richly laden as to afford a booty to the captors exceed-
ing in value the whole of their spoil "in the wars throughout the
three nations." The plunder, however, did not enrich the captors,
for the ships sunk in passing the bar. This heavy blow crushed
the rising commerce of the town, and for several years few vessels
floated in the deserted harbour. In 1669, however, thirty-seven
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 enterprise
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 the 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. bince 1815, when the harbour was
placed under new management, the increase has been enormous,
and the total revenue from all sources from that date until May,
1884, amounted iu the aggregate to £2,392,647 2s. 7d. During the
year ending May, 1884, the revenue amounted to £52,179; in the
year ending May, 1861, it was only £25,329 5s. The augmentation
of its shipping gave an impulse to improvement; new sea walls and
quays were built, the tidal harbour was extended, wet docks and
graving docks were constructed, and such undertakings were
effected that there are only two or three ports in Great Britain
which now afford greater facilities and accommodation for shipping.
In 1815 the managemeut of the harbour was placed in the hands of
Commissioners, appointed annually under au Act of Parliament;
but by a new Act, passed in June, 1830, the management was trans-
ferred to trustees to be elected annually; the provost, bailies, and
dean of guild to be perpetual trustees, in virtue of their office. The
harbour is well managed, aud the extensions rendered necessary by
the increased business of the port are pushed rapidly forward. The
total expenditure for constructing and maintaining the harbour
from July, 1815, to May 31, 1884, inclusive of interest on debt and
sinking fund, was £2,392,647 2s. 7d. The total cost of harbour and
property up to date amounted to £894,986 15s. 9d. The debt due by
646