Tarry sheds

Mrs T was lunching with her pals today so I took myself off to the Aberdeen sea front. I spent an excellent afternoon poking around the harbour, taking a few photographs in the old village of Footdee and finishing off with a late lunch of haddock and chips.

The old fishing village of Footdee, or Fittie as it is known locally, sits at the entrance to Aberdeen harbour and the River Dee. Although the village dates back to mediaeval times, the present planned settlement was laid out on the instructions of Aberdeen Town Council in 1809 to rehouse fishermen and their families displaced by the development of Aberdeen Harbour.

The houses in the village are arranged around squares and that the squares themselves are filled with tarred wooden buildings originally used to store nets and other fishing paraphernalia. Here are two fine examples of the tarry sheds.

Aberdeen harbour has been in use for a very long time; the first recorded reference was in AD 1136 when King David 1st of Scotland granted the Bishops of Aberdeen the right to levy a tithe on all ships trading at the port. It is widely believed that the Port Authority, dating from 1136, is the oldest registered company in the UK.