Prior to 1895, poor relief in Aberdeen was divided between two parishes: St Nicholas, to the east of Den Burn, and the more well-to-do Old Machar to the west. In 1895, the two parishes were united for poor law purposes and administered by Aberdeen City Council.
The St Nicholas Poorhouse stood at the north side of Nelson Street, Aberdeen. In 1847, the Board of Supervision for Relief of the Poor published a model poorhouse plan "originally prepared for the united Parishes of St Nicholas and Old Machar, Aberdeen, and is now about to be erected with some slight modifications, for the Parish of St Nicholas". A bird's eye view of the model poorhouse, designed by architects Thomas Mackenzie and James Matthews, is shown below.
Model Poorhouse Plan for Town Parishes, 1847
The location of the St Nicholas poorhouse are shown on the 1890s map below. The layout appears to follow the model plan, with the addition of extensions at the far end of each of the main the main wings.
St Nicholas site, 1890s
The buildings were sold in 1908 following the opening of Oldmill Poorhouse. The site was later used for St Peter's Roman Catholic School, now demolished.
The Old Machar Poorhouse operated from around 1849 at the north side Fonthill Road, Aberdeen. The site location and layout are shown on the 1890s map below.
Old Machar site, 1900.
Following the opening of Oldmill Poorhouse in 1908, the buildings were acquired by the Territorial Force Association and converted into barracks. The site has now been cleared and redeveloped for housing.
The Oldmill Poorhouse on Skene Road, Aberdeen, was erected in 1907-8 to replace the existing East and West Poorhouses. It accommodated 961 inmates. The Oldmill site location and layout are shown on the 1925 OS map below.
Oldmill site, 1925
Interestingly, the new poorhouse for the united parishes appears largely to follow the model plans prepared 60 years earlier. The central clock tower is, however, somewhat more substantial than that on the original design.
Aberdeen Oldmill from the south, 2001.
© Peter Higginbotham.
The elegant rotundas at the corners of the front yards actually house inmates' privies.
Aberdeen Oldmill privy from the south-east, 2001.
© Peter Higginbotham.
The T-shaped main block would have contained the Master's quarters, committee rooms and clerk's office at the centre. The two wings of the main block contained male and female accommodation, probably with the aged at the front side and able-bodied or "dissolute" inmates at the rear. Children's quarters were usually placed at the far end of each wing.
Aberdeen Oldmill from the south-west, 2001.
© Peter Higginbotham.
Aberdeen Oldmill from the north-east, 2001.
© Peter Higginbotham.
The centre rear of the workhouse contained the poorhouse chapel which also served as a dining hall.
Aberdeen Oldmill chapel interior.
An infirmary was erected to the north-west of the poorhouse. It contained a central administrative block flanked by male and female ward pavilions.
Oldmill infirmary from the south-east, 2001.
© Peter Higginbotham.
On the 11th december 1914, the children's block, which accommodated 116, was totally gutted by fire. The blaze started at 10.30pm and all the children were rescued. However, on 2½-year-old boy went back into the building and died.
Between May 1915 and June 1919 Oldmill was evacuated and used as a military hospital, the patients and ordinary inmates being sent to other hospitals and poorhouses in the area.
Oldmill Military Hospital, c.1915.
© Peter Higginbotham.
Oldmill Military Hospital, c.1915.
© Peter Higginbotham.
The site was taken over by the Town Council in 1927 and became Woodend Municipal Hospital. It was again used as a military hospital during the Second World War.
The hospital facilities transferred to the National Health Service in 1948, although Oldmill Home, the former poorhouse block, initially stayed under local council administration. It eventually became the hospital's Glenburn Wing, now renamed Woodend South, providing care for geriatric patients.
This page () is copyright Peter G Higginbotham. Last updated 03-Jul-2008
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