A chance to discover an often overlooked and forgotten little garden just on the outskirts of Aberdeen. It took even myself five years of passing this spot to discover that there was a garden there! It is a lovely quiet spot to sit and have lunch or a break away from the business of work. This may sound surprising considering that it is right by one of the main roundabouts and roads into the city but, because of strategically placed bushes and the fact that it is sunken below road level, the noise does not carry in to the area very much. There are several benches and picnic tables dotted around to choose from.
It is also a great opportunity to discover more about Aberdeen's lesser known history - both of the Bridge of Dee and the statue of Our Lady of Aberdeen, to whom a chapel stood there from 1527. Information boards for both of these are to be found by the river bank.
The Bridge of Dee is one of two medieval bridges in Aberdeen – the other being the Brig o’ Balgownie, which spans the River Don to the north of the city.
Records show that there was a wooden structure here in the fourteenth century, but that this had fallen into disrepair and that it was not until Bishop William Elphinstone (the founder of King’s College, Aberdeen University) became involved in the planning of a new crossing that the project finally moved forwards.
Unfortunately, although Bishop Elphinstone had laid some plans for the bridge and collected building materials, he did not live to see work begin on it. Thankfully he had, however, left a sum of money in his will for any of his successors to continue the work.
Thus, as soon as he came into office in 1518, Bishop Gavin Dunbar commissioned a Father Alexander Galloway to finalise the design of the Bridge of Dee. However, due to the choice of several locations, and some issues with soil/ground support, there was the difficulty of choosing exactly where to put the bridge.
As Bishop Dunbar was a very devout man, he prayed to Our Lady for inspiration and it is said that, in a vision, he was told the exact location to build the bridge - where it is to be found today.
The bridge was finally completed by 1527 and, in honour of Our Lady and her help in identifying the location for the bridge, a chapel was built on the south side of the bridge (the ‘country’ end) and a statue of Our Lady and the Christ child was brought in procession from St Machar's Cathedral and installed in the chapel.
From the outset, there was contention with regards to the bridge, the placing of the chapel and access to the river. In 1530, Gordon of Abergeldie told the town council that the chapel was an obstacle to his fishing rights. He asked for a ‘common passage’ to be made between the chapel, the bridge and the water’s edge. When this failed, he took matters into his own hands by having some of his men knock down one of the bridge’s support buttresses! Needless to say, the town council were not pleased by this and started legal proceedings against him. Sadly, the outcome of these are unknown.
The next key period for the statue of Our Lady was that of The Reformation. During this period the Gordon family - Earls of Huntly - kept the statue hidden and continued to support priests and masses. However, after Catholicism had been banned and persecuted for three generations people began to fear that the 'old faith' would never be permitted to be celebrated in Scotland again. It was believed the only way to ensure the survival of the statue was to send it abroad.
The Gordon family had long standing connections with Spain and so contacted Archduchess Isabella Clara Eugenia, the daughter of King Philip II of Spain, who was the Governor of the Spanish Netherlands. Isabella agreed to accept the statue as a gift and to keep it safe.
In Aberdeen, an important merchant, William Laing liaised with Father Barthelemy de los Rios, an Augustinian Friar who was the chaplain to the Archduchess. They arranged for a Spanish ship to come to Aberdeen harbour and William Laing managed to smuggle the statue aboard and so out of Scotland.
After surviving both fierce storms and even an attack by Dutch pirates, the statue eventually landed in the port of Dunkirk in 1625. From there it was taken to Isabella and eventually placed in the Augustinian monastery in Brussels, where it was the centre of prayers for many years.
Its peace and protection were, however, threatened on several occasions such as in 1695 and 1792 when Brussels came under attack by the French. On the latter occasion, the French captured Brussels and turned the monastery into a stable and hospital. However, the statue had already been removed from the monastery and hidden in the house of and Englishman, resident in Brussels, called Jean-Baptiste Joseph Morris. The statue was hidden there until, in 1805, Napoleon I, Emperor of France, granted permission for the Augustinians to go back to their monastery.
The Augustinians, however did not remain long in the monastery and so, on 7th April 1814, the statue was moved once again, this time to a nearby church - Notre Dame du Finistere - where it can be found to this day.
Back in Aberdeen, the Bridge of Dee also survived (and played its part in) turbulent times.
For example, during an outbreak of plague in the surrounding areas, burgesses were posted on the bridge to prevent it spreading into the Burgh of Aberdeen and in 1639, the bridge was at the centre of the aptly named 'Battle of the Bridge of Dee'.
The bridge has undergone several changes over the years. A wooden port (or fortified gate) was erected in 1545 and this remained in place until 1774, when it was removed in order to allow the bridge to be widened. The bridge was further widened between 1841-42, when the support buttresses on the bridge approaches were also rebuilt.
The most recent works took place in 1960, and it was after these strengthening works that buses and large lorries were not permitted to cross the bridge any more.
The bridge has a number of carved and decorated stones along either side. There are to be found sixteen coats of arms, four inscription tablets and eight blocks with dates carved in them. The latter show the progression of the bridge during its construction.
There is also a series of human heads to be found carved into the apex of the 'cut-waters' on each pier. Sadly, over the centuries these have become much weathered and faded.
The cache container is a 35mm film canister wrapped in camouflage tape.
***** Congratulations to 'Team Bucki' for their FTF *****