Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

DUTHIE PARK, HYGEIA STATUELB20057

Status: Designated

Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Category
B
Group Category Details
100000020 - see notes
Date Added
19/03/1984
Local Authority
Aberdeen
Planning Authority
Aberdeen
Burgh
Aberdeen
NGR
NJ 93953 4493
Coordinates
393953, 804493

Description

Arthur Taylor, sculptor; John Cassidy of Manchester, designer, 1883. Dressed white-grey granite statue of Hygeia. Cruciform base with pink granite recumbent lion to each arm; chamfered panelled plinth with inscription "THIS PARK WAS PRESENTED BY ELIZABETH CROMBIE DUTHIE TO THE CITY OF ABERDEEN, AND WAS OPENED BY H.R.H. PRINCESS BEATRICE ON 27TH SEPTEMBER 1883"; Corinthian column with fluted shaft surmounted by statue of Hygeia holding snake drinking from cup.

Statement of Special Interest

B-Group with Duthie Park Bandstand, Bowling Pavilion, East Lodge, Gates, Gatepiers and Boundary Walls, Footbridge over Upper Lake, Fountain, Fountainhall Cistern House, Gordon Highlanders Celtic Memorial, Gordon Highlanders Obelisk Memorial, McGrigor Obelisk, Taylor Well, and Temperance Drinking Fountain (see separate listings). The site of the Duthie Park was originally a marshy piece of land covered in gorse (or whin, hence the nearby "Whinhill Road), it was known as Pulmoor, now "Polmuir". In 1850 Arthurseat (the villa on the site) and its surrounding land was intended to be developed as a Royal Garden to view the trains crossing the new viaduct to and from London via Ferryhill. However, in 1881 Miss Charlotte Duthie of Ruthrieston purchased the site and gifted it to the City of Aberdeen for a public park. It was decided it should be "available for all classes of citizens, that it should have a broad expanse of grassy sward upon which the young might indulge in innocent frolic and play..." (Duthie Park, p37). The park was designed by William R McKelvie of Dundee, and the first sod, of the 47 acres of land, was cut on the 27th of August 1881, the park being officially opened in 1883. The Hygeia Statue commemorates the Miss Duthie's presentation of the Duthie Park to the City of Aberdeen, and its opening by Princess Beatrice. It was originally made of clay, then cast in plaster, before finally being carved in granite by Arthur Taylor, using the first 2 mechanical pneumatic hammers which had been used in this way in the country. In 1900 Mr Taylor presented the hammers to the Aberdeen Mechanical Society. The four lions around the plinth of the statue are supposed to represent the strong citizens in the park. Hygeia is the Goddess of Health, she is shown as a virgin, holding a cup from which a snake (the symbol of health) drinks.

References

Bibliography

Aberdeen City Archives, Scale Drawing of MONUMENT TO BE ERECTED IN THE DUTHIE PARK, (circa 1883); THE DUTHIE PARK, (1883); F H Groome, ORDNANCE GAZETTEER OF SCOTLAND: A SURVEY OF SCOTTISH TOPOGRAPHY, STATISTICAL, BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL, Vol 1, (1886), p11; A I McConnochie, 50 VIEWS OF THE GRANITE CITY, (circa 1900), p46; 2nd (1901) EDITION OS MAP; W D Chapman & C F Riley, GRANITE CITY: A PLAN FOR ABERDEEN, (1952), p149; DUTHIE PARK: 100 YEARS OF PLEASURE, (1985); J S Reid, MECHANICAL ABERDEEN, (1990), p8-9; W A Brogden, ABERDEEN: AN ILLUSTRATED ARCHITECTURAL GUIDE, (2nd Edition, 1998), p162; NMRS Photographs.

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 28/03/2024 19:47