The Passing of the Ferry - and Merging with Dundee.

Taken from the Dundee Year Book, 1913

Auld Lang Syne and Good-bye

On the evening of Monday, November 4th, 1913, the heads of the now departed municipality gathered together at a banquet held in the Council Chambers, Broughty Ferry, to celebrate, or rather to mark – the passing of the Burgh as an independent entity. The men who formed the company were for the most part the champions who had fought to the last ditch in their attempt to preserve that independence. But they had come out losers and now they foregathered over a festive board to be in each other’s company at the psychological moment – twelve midnight – when the town should die, and a large and important suburb be added to Dundee.
Provost Lindsay presided and he was supported by Provost Fenton, Monifieth; Mr Edward Cowan, Town Clerk; and Bailies Kinmond and Ellis; and the others present were Councillors Peter Sim, James Crystal, W. Lawson Clark, Peter Swan, T. S. Dick, J. Gilles, W. Anderson, C. T. Godfrey, and J. B. Archer; Mr William Luke, Town Chamberlain; Mr J. K. Roddan, Burgh Surveyor; Mr James Turnbull, Electrical Engineer; Mr George Keillor, Gas Manager; and Mr William McGill, Depute-Town Clerk.

Though the gathering was in the nature of a watch-night assembly, the company showed few signs of being subdued by the importance of the occasion. On the contrary, a spirit of jovial light-heartedness permeated the gathering. This was but natural, for, however the occasion might be regretted had not the weight of municipal responsibility passed to the other broad shoulders? The Provost wore, for the last time, the chain of office which had been the symbol of the civic authority.

The proceedings were private, and were of an informal character. Little in the way of formal speech making was indulged in, but many stories were told and songs sung.

“The Memory of Broughty”

Shortly after midnight the Provost proposed the toast of the evening, “The memory of Broughty Ferry.” He took from his neck the handsome chain of office, the gift of the late Provost Orchar, and laid it on the table. He could have wished, he said, that the chain had been laid, not upon the table, but upon the shoulders of a worthy successor in office. He referred to the fact that Broughty Ferry had now ceased to exist, and voiced his regret that it should be so. Parliament, however had enacted it, and they had no control over the matter. The debts of the big cities of the nation had grown steadily, and they would now equal the National Debt. He alluded to the fine Council Chamber and the pictures that adorned the walls, and to the portraits of the Provosts, and said he had a premonition something would occur, since his portrait had filled up the last and twelfth space, so completing the ‘Gallery,’ and he had proved to be the last Provost of the Burgh. Broughty ferry had had a fine history, and they would never forget it. (Applause)

The toast was pledged in solemn silence. Thereafter Baillie Kinmond paid a tribute to Provost Lindsay whome he described as their honoured chief. The old Burgh was dead, but it was awakening to a newer and more expansive life. He gave the toast of ‘The Provost,’ who acknowledged in a sentence. Provost Fenton referred to the able manner in which the affairs of the Council of Broughty Ferry had been conducted by Mr Cowan, and proposed that gentleman’s health. The Town Clerk replied.
Thereafter the company joined in singing “Auld Lang Syne,” and the proceedings terminated.

The Story of Broughty ferry

The name of Broughty Ferry is a comparatively modern corruption, dating not earlier than the end of the 17th Century. The oldest forms of the name were ‘Bruchty’ and ‘Bruchtie’ and it has been reasonable supposed that the original was Broch-Tay, the Broch or primitive fort on the Tay, which later became dandified into Broughty, just as the good old Scottish name Dichty has been Anglicised into the more polite dighty. It is possible that a Pictish fort or ‘Broch’ may have been on the site of the present castle, though no sign or remains can now be found.
The notion that the existing Castle, or part of it dates from the time of Malcolm Canmore (1057-1093) as has been asserted is quite without foundation. Its actual date can be ascertained. James Thomson in his ‘Forfarshire Illustrated’, published in 1848, states that a ‘sculptured stone bearing the date 1496 within the recollection of the writer, occupied a place at the north angle of the Tower below the battlement, but has since disappeared. He quotes somewhat inaccurately from documents to show that the Castle was built about that time. The following notes are abstracted from the Latin Charters recorded in the Register of the Great Seal, and give an authentic outline of the rise and fall of Broughty Castle.

The Rise and Fall of Broughty Castle

The fishings of Bruchty were included in the possessions of Sir John Wishart of Pitarrow in the reign of James I (1406-1437), and were forfeited and conferred upon the Earl of Angus. On 18th February 1482 James III confirmed a Charter by Archibald, Earl of Angus, dated 8th August 1476, granting the fishings of Bruchty to Robert Graham of Fintry. On 26th June 1490 Jame IV granted to his faithful Councillor, Andrew, 2nd Lord Gray, the Craig of Bruchtie with the fishings thereof, in the Barony of Kirriemuir, which Archibald, Earl of Angus had resigned into the King’s hands, and the King conceded to the said Andrew full power to build and erect a castle and fortress upon the said craig with iron gates and ‘draw-briggis’, and all other necessary munitions. Evidently there was no castle on the craig before this date.
On the 22nd Feb 1509 James IV confirmed to this Andrew, Lord Gray, who had become Justiciary of Scotland, “the rock of Bruchty, with the lands of Bruchty, and the castle, fortress, houses buildings and fisheries thereof, which belonged to the said Lord Gray.”  Here the Castle was in existence and must have been build between 1490 and 1509, presumably in 1496, as stated by James Thomson. In 1510 the superiority of the lands and fishings was confirmed to Archibald, the new Earl of Angus. On 16th April 1524 James V confirmed to Patrick, 3rd Lord Gray, the rock of Bruchty, with the Castle, fortilace, and fishings thereof. A change took place when this Lord Gray died in 1541 without issue. The succession fell to his nephew, Patrick Gray of Buttergask, and on the 25th April 1542, James V, conferred anew upon him “the lands of Crag de Bruchty, with the Castle, fort and fishings.” One half of which belonged to the late Patrick, Lord Gray, and the other part came to the King through the forfeiture of John, Lord Glamis, the son of the unfortunate Lady Glamis who was burned for alleged witchcraft at Edinburgh. Just three months before his death James V confirmed this charter.

In Times of War

Misfortune overtook the castle during the next few years. In 1547 the Protector Somerset invaded Scotland and Bruchty Castle was seized by the English soldiers. The Regent Arran sent a Scottish Force to besiege the invaders, and for three months the place was invested, but on the 1st January 1548 the siege was raised and the English laid waste the surrounding countryside. The Earl of Argyll again attacked the castle but was repulsed, and it was not for months after that the places held by the English – Hume Castle, Fast Castle and Bruchty Craig were recovered by the Scots. It is stated that the Castle during this long siege accommodated 2000 men and they resisted an army of 8000 with eight pieces of artillery. M de. Esse was sent from France to assist the Regent Mary of Lorraine but he failed to capture the Castle; and his successor M. Paul de Thermes, at last succeeded in starving the garrison which surrendered on 20th February 1550. The place was occupied by French auxiliaries for some time, but the French King grudged the expense of maintaining the Scottish fortress and it was only as a measure of precaution that Bruchty Castle was maintained. During the long contest between Protestants and Catholics in the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots the castle came into prominence. Before the 16th Century closed however, it had been dismantled and was partly ruinous.

An Undignified End

There is a curious document in the Register, dated 15th June 1601, by which James VI confirmed a Charter by Patrick, Master of Gray (a name well known in History) whereby he sold to Robert Fleschour, burgess of Dundee, “the salmon fishings of Bruchty with the two roundis (towers) in the Castle of Bruchty and the volt fischehous for preparing and curing fish.” By this time the Castle that had been the residence of the Lords of Gray and had witnesses many a valorous deed in the wars of the previous century, had fallen from its high estate , and had become a mere fish curing factory and store. It was a vain repetition of words in the Charter of 23rd May 1611, by which Patrick, now Lord Gray, conferred on his son Andrew, “the Craig of Bruchtie, with the Castle, and salmon and other fishings thereof.”  The fishings remained, but the Castle had then become a roofless ruin. In 1666 the castle with the fishings, and about 20 acres of the adjoining land were bought from Patrick, Lord Gray, by Mr Fotheringhame of Powrie, and remained for many years with his descendants.  

The Castle as it was and is

In 1850 the Castle was a mere ruin. Mr Ross, the well known authority on Scottish castellated architecture, describes the ruin from his own recollections. At the north west corner stood the keep, an oblong structure with battlemented top, showing the gables of the penthouse. Around the south west corner was the wall of the ‘encient’ (the inner ring of fortification of a castle) facing the Firth of Tay which was continued round to the east side. There was an arched entrance gateway, and the remains of three round towers. The place had been in this disconsolate condition for many years before Mr Ross saw it; and yet there were sanguine speculators long ago who saw the possibilities of untold wealth in these decayed and moss covered walls. In the Dundee Advertiser for 21st December 1821 the following droll advertisement appeared.

A Castle for Sale

“To be sold by private bargain, Broughty Castle with Salmon fishings and the land belonging to it: - the fishings are presently out of lease, but were lately let for £315 and 10 stone of salmon, and the sea-ware was let for £9 a year. The land consists of about an acre and a half; but there are five acres adjoining for sale, with which a purchaser can be accommodated. Brought Castle is beautifully situated near the mouth of the River Tay, four miles below Dundee. The Castle can be repaired at a small expense and would be a delightful residence. The property could also be advantageously applied to commercial purposes. The natural passage of the river is at Broughty, and a port can be opened for the use of the populous village of Broughty Ferry, as well as the adjoining country. In that case, the castle would make an excellent situation for an Inn. Entry to the premises immediately. Offers will be received by Messrs Fotheringham & Lindsay, Writers to the Signet, Edinburgh, until 1st January. If not sold at that time , the fishings will be let by private bargain for such number of years as may be agreed on.
Apparently no one offered to buy the Castle for on 7th January 1822 another advertisement appeared, offering to lease the salmon fishings and the use of the Castle vaults for three years. The place lay in ruins until 1855 when the Castle was purchased by the Government for £1500 and £7000 was spent upon its restoration, which was completed in 1861. It was mounted with nine heavy guns and was regarded at that time as the principle defence of the Tay. A few years ago it was first used as a training place for the Volunteers specially devoted to the study of submarine mines; and the Ta is now defended in a far more effectual manner than it could ever have been by the cannons on Broughty Castle.

Three Parishes Claim Broughty Castle

It was long a debated point as to whether Broughty Castle was in the Parish of Caputh, or in that of Monifieth, or that of Kirriemuir. The article on Monifieth parish in Sir John Sinclair’s “Statistical Account” was written by the Rev James Roger (afterwards first editor of the “Dundee Advertiser”), and was published in in 1794. In it the writer discusses the question as to the parish that could lawfully claim Broughty Castle: -
               “Towards the end of last (seventeenth) century a man committed a trespass within the bounds of Broughty for which he was summoned to appear at the tribunal of the kirk-session. He refused obedience, under pretence that Broughty belonged not to this (Monifieth) parish, but to that of Caputh, in the neighbourhood of Dunkeld, about 26 miles NW. To ascertain the true situation of Broughty, the minister wrote to a Mr Webster, then its proprietor; who replied that it lay neither in the parish of Monifieth nor of Caputh, but that of Kirriemuir 16 miles north. On this the minister applied to the presbytery, who by their deed annexed Broughty and the pertinents for ever “quoad sacra,” to the parish of Monifieth. 
Mr Roger maintained that as the Kirk-Session records of Monifieth showed that in December 1658 “Broughty among others, paid for the reparation of the Church,” that this showed it was already annexed. The Rev Samuel Miller, who wrote the article on the parish for the “New Statistical Account,” published in 1845, referred to “a vulgar prejudice that still prevails that this Castle is in the parish of Caputh, near Dunkeld.” He alludes to a case detailed in the Kirk-Session records of 1678, where a man accused of fishing for salmon at the castle on Sunday refused to submit to discipline in Monifieth because the offence was committed in Caputh parish. The matter was referred to the Presbytery, and it was found that the Castle was in Monifieth parish. This decision was affirmed in 1681, and in 1701 the then proprietor of Broughty Castle appeared among the heritors of Monifieth. Despite these clerical decisions, however, it is incontestable that Broughty Craig was one of the scattered possessions of George Brown (son of the Treasurer of Dundee), Bishop of Dunkeld from 1484 till 1514-15, which he annexed to the parish of Caputh. This fact was acknowledged by the Boundary Commissioners in 1890, for by the order in Council, confirmed in November of that year, it was declared as follows: -
“The detached parts of Caputh, situated at Broughty Castle and adjoining the Forfarshire Parish of Monifieth, was transferred from the County of Perth to the County of Forfar, and at the same time from the parish of Caputh to the Parish of Monifieth.”

It is also worthy of note that during the time that a garrison was kept at Broughty Castle all the children of the soldiers born there subsequent to the Registration Act had to be registered in Caputh Parish.  

The Development of Broughty Castle

The Burgh of Broughty Ferry has only risen into importance during the course of the last century (19th). In 1792 the population was estimated at 230 persons, and by 1851 it had increased to 2772 – more that 12 times the number. The remarks of Rev Samuel Miller upon Broughty Ferry in the “New Statistical Account” (1845) may be quoted: -
“Broughty Ferry is a large village containing in all nearly 2200 inhabitants, situated chiefly in this Parish (Monifieth), though a small part belongs to the parish of Dundee. Fifty years ago it consisted of about half a dozen fishermen’s huts; but the proprietor having begun to feu about the year 1790, it started at once into a considerable town, and is still rapidly increasing...... In the Dundee Police Act there is a provision for a police to Broughty Ferry; but as yet it has never been acted on, though there is good reason for some establishment of the kind. For instance, steam boats, during the summer months, bring down an inundation of the worst population of Dundee on the Sabbath Day. Hence drunkenness and riot, in spite of all moral exertions to put a stop to the evil, are too common on a day set part for holy rest; and that, too, in a locality where the inhabitants, in general, respect and prize Divine ordinances. There is a penny post from Dundee to Broughty Ferry. It is carried by a foot runner, who goes twice a day, the distance being four miles.
The opening of the Dundee and Arbroath Railway in 1839 had much effect on the progress of Broughty Ferry. In 1864 it became a Police Burgh. The growth of the population has been rapid, as shown by the census returns: - 1841 – 1980, 1851 – 2772, 1861 – 3513, 1871 – 5817, 1881 – 7407, 1891 – 7635, & 1901 – 8617.      

Kirk Session Vagaries

The Kirk Session records of Monifieth date from 1560, so that the history of the parish may be traced from the time of the Reformation. One volume of the records from 1676 till 1710, during the ministry of John Dempster (grandfather of George Dempster of Dunnichen), the last Episcopal minister, was lost for many years, but was recently discovered by the late Dr J. G. Young of Monifieth. The first volume, dated April 1560, shows that the earliest duty of the Protestant Church was ‘to take a collection.’ The intention of the Reformers was to have the Parish Church put in order immediately  after the images and other traces of Popery had been removed. The entry runs thus: - “Ye quhilk day it is thoicht necessary be us yat ye hous of prayer be mendit in haist, yat God may be Glory feit yair – ye expensis to be tayn quholie of ye assemblie.” Even in those early days of Protestantism, the wayward members of the flock were sternly treated. In February 1563 a culprit convicted of ‘ye presumful abus and vyce of drunkenness” was sentenced by the Session to be “brankt, stockit, dukit, and banish ye haill parish.” Strenuous efforts were made to compel attendance at church on Sunday. Thus on 28th September 1645, “Efter sermon, ye minister maid intimatione to ye congregatione, be raissone ye people keipt not the Kirk on the Lord’s Day, yt thair names suld be read out everie Sabboth Day, that whosomever was absent quhen they war callit upon suld pay twa shillings.” What a revenue might be gained nowadays if a weekly roll were called in the churches, and absentees fined two shillings.

The Growth of Broughty Ferry

Broughty Ferry is of almost mushroom growth, dating from the first half of the nineteenth century. It was, in fact, the opening of the Dundee Arbroath Railway in 1838 that brought Broughty Ferry into prominence as a residential quarter for business men in Dundee.
By 1863 we find that the population had risen to 3500, and that the community had resolved to form itself into a Burgh under the “General Police and Improvements (Scotland) Act, 1862.” To this there was great opposition within and without the District. The first boundaries were fixed on 4th June 1863, and after a poll, attended by great excitement, several clauses of the Act were adopted on 12th February 1864, the whole Act not being adopted till June 15th, 1864.
In 1866, when the country was visited by an epidemic of Cholera, Broughty Ferry suffered severely, the number of deaths being attributed to the water, which was got from wells. Accordingly, in 1869, water was authorised to be supplied to Broughty Ferry under the Dundee Water Act.

The Broughty ferry Gaslight Company, formed about 1853, originally supplied the lighting, but in 1870 the Burgh took over the Gas Works, with the result that in two years the price of gas was reduced from 6s 8d to 5s 5d per thousand cubic feet. In 1902 electric lighting was installed under the Broughty Ferry Lighting Order.
Reres Hill, extending to about 6½ acres, was secured in 1868 for a public park from Lord Dalhousie, and at the same time the archways designed by T. S. Robertson were erected, this improvement being effected by Provost Orchar, who defrayed the cost. The park known as Orchar Park was so named in compliment to the Provost.

The Town Arms of Broughty Ferry, taken from the 'Provost's Lamp', which still exists outside the former Orchar Gallery in Beach Crescent.

 

Since its erection as a Burgh, Broughty Ferry had 10 Chief Magistrates, the last three under the Burgh Police (Scotland ) Act, 1892, receiving the designation of Provost. The list is as follows: -

George Hair Newall	1864-1866
William Warden Rennie	1866-1870
James Cunningham	1870-1873
William Hynd Norrie	1873-1876
John Leadbetter	1876-1878
George Halley	1878-1881
James Mudie	1881-1886
James Guthrie Orchar	1886-1898
Baxter Gray	1898-1907
William Lindsay	1907.

Iain D. McIntosh

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