~£^.>. National Library of Scotland V B000128612 Al ,^ o,. *3 ** V* Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from National Library of Scotland http://www.archive.org/details/dundeedelineatedOOcolv Bout fSd **•". ?DUN-D]B£ ' DELINEATED t f * \ OR, A HIST0R1* AND DESCRIPTION &f tijat tStoton, " r i i^ iife r/2 ' r T TONS, MANUFACTURES AND COMMERCE: ITtugtrateU tattl) <7?,ngntiung0 Of its principal Public BuildaagFy-c. and Plans of the Neve Harbour and DockS^' I Lunatic Asylum, TO WHICH IS APPENDED A GENERAL DIRECTORY, Containing the Names of the principal Inhabitants, their Plac of Residence or Business ; Public Offices, &c. DUNDEE; PRINTED BY A. COLVIIXE, FOB SELF, AND ALJiX. M. SANDEMAN, STATIONEBj IU, Murraygate, Dundee. 1822. * [* 6 N0^| V& 1944 & LAURrSTON CASTLE LJBRARv:C :';^SS10N J TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE, ARCHIBALD LORD DOUGLAS, OF DOUGLAS, Horn lieutenant of t!je County of angu#, &c &c. &c. THIS HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF DUNDEE IS, WITH PERMISSION, RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED BY HIS LORDSHIP'S MOST OBEDIENT t AND HUMBLE SERVANTS, THE PUBLISHERS. DUNDEE DELINEATED. Chapter 1. SITUATION EXTENT, NAME, AND PROGRESS OP IMPROVEMENT. Dundee,—a royal burgh, the name of a populous parish, and the seat of a Presbytery, in 57 ' 27 33" north latitude, and 3° 2 55 ' west longitude from the meridian of Greenwich Observatory (in time 12' 1 1 "),—extends nearly three miles along the north bank of the Tay, about twelve miles west from the place where that noble river discharges its copious waters into the German Ocean. The ground on which the town is situated rises, by a gradual as- cent from the side of the river, to the hill called the Law of Dundee,—now cultivated and green to the summit, though five hundred and twenty-five feet above the level of the Tay. By this and the rising grounds in the neighbourhood, the town is well sheltered from the north, and in a great measure from the east and west. The spacious harbour on that account is always safe and commodious for the numerous vessels, which are now employed in the extensive trade of the place. From the first glance at the appearance of the country, this favourable situation must have been B 14 chosen for the site of a town, at a very remote pe- riod; accordingly Dundee is of great, but unknown, antiquity, and the earliest accounts respecting it arc involved in fable and obscurity. The first name un- ] der which it appears in any credible history is that of Alec, or Ail-lec—pleasant, or beautiful. This name is of Gaelic origin, and is still retained by those in the Highlands of Scotland who have any inter- course with the place. It was only sometime after, when the Latin language was introduced and used in their writings by those who had received their education abroad, that the custom prevailed of giv- ing to the names of towns, rivers, and mountains, the Latin termination. This, therefore, was the Alectum in the annals of Boethius,—who was a na- tive of the town, and flourished in 1490. The name Dundee is spelt in old writings and charters, Donde, Dondie ; and in the charter given by Queen Mary, the word Donum Dei is introdu- ced,.—first given in 1 180 by David Earl of Hunting- don. In Buchanan's history of Scotland, the name Taodunum appears, whence Duntay or Duntai. Various derivations and significations have been given to these words. The town is supposed to have received the name of Donum Dei, or its ab- reviations, towards the end of the twelfth century, from the circumstance of David Earl of Hunting- don,—the favourite brother of King William I. of Scotland, surnamed the Lion,—having safely land- ed in its sheltered harbour, after a dreadful storm, in which he had suffered a partial shipwreck, on his return from the Holy Land, whither, with five hun- dred of his countrymen, he had accompanied Rich- ; 15 ard I. of England (Cceur de Lion) in the third cru- sade. Earl David resolving, probably in conse- quence of a vow, to express his gratitude, either wholly built, or at least made additions to, the church which at present is used as the parish church. He erected the stupendous square tower at the west end, and dedicated the whole to the Virgin Mary, by whose intercession, according to the belief of those times of gross superstition, he imagined he had been preserved. Though this church must have been in the open fields at that time ; yet the town was of considerable extent to the eastward and it was certainly bestowed in a grant to the Earl by King William, who had vowed that the first land at which his favourite brother should arrive should be conferred on him. The other names, Taodunum, Dun Tay, or Dun- tai, signify the hill of Tay, or the hill of God. The latter meaning, taken in conjunction with Alec, seems anciently to have given rise to the common appellation of Bonny Dundee. That the name is originally from the Gaelic language, with the Latin corruption, is rendered more probable, because most of the places in the vicinity of the town are derived from that language, as Dudhope, Balgay, Drum- geith, Dimtrune, Baldovie, Balumbie : few only be- ing from the Saxon language. The extent of the ancient royalty of Dundee was confined within a very narrow compass. The town appears to have consisted of two streets—the Sea- gate, or more properly Seagaet, next the river, and Cowgate, a little north from that, running east and west, nearly parallel to one another ; bounded on b 2 16 the west by a small stream (the Tod's or Waulker's Burn) rising in the hills of Balgay, and on the east by another more scanty rivulet (the Wallace or Den's Burn) proceeding from the grounds north of the Law. The ground between these, which is only about a quarter of a mile in length, is perfectly flat, but rises considerably at both extremities. The west extremity, where the rocks were highest, was at a very early period the site of a castle or strong fortress ; and on the eastern bank stood the chapel of St. Itoque. These two principal streets were intersected at right angles by narrow lanes and closes ; and a con- siderable quantity of ground seems to have been left open for gardens and other purposes. Besides the streams at each extremity, the whole extent a- bounds in wells of excellent water. In the broad- est part of the Seagate stood the old Cross of Dun- dee. A mark in the present causeway is still left to shew the spot. In ear to the same place stood the old Prison, and many ancient buildings, of which not a vestige remains,—all having been either re- moved to the new buildings farther to the west, or occupied by more convenient and extensive im- provements. Immediately to the west of the mouth of the first stream mentioned above—namely, that which des- cends from Balgay, through a beautiful valley now in the highest state of cultivation, being mostly laid out in gardens or nurseries—the ground rises into rocks of basaltic whin or green stone, which, be- fore being levelled for the improvements of the pre- sent day, must have been from fifty to ninety feet above the level of the Tay, which flowed to their toot. On the highest of these rocks, and nearest to the river, stood the ancient Castle of Dundee, which, previous to the invention of gunpowder and the use of artillery, was a place of great strength, and withstood many a vigorous siege. The early accounts of this castle, and even of the strength of the town, are fabulous and legendary,—such as the tradition that Caranach, or Catanach, king of the Picts, crossed the Tay, and took refuge in the place after being defeated by Agricola, the general of Do- mitian ; and formed an alliance with Galde, the Gal- gacus of Tacitus, in order to make head against the Romans. It is said to have been a strong fortress in the time of Donald I. the first Scottish king who embraced Christianity, and who flourished in the third century. No account, however, can be de- pended on till toward the eleventh century, when it is not improbable Malcolm II. collected his army, previous to his attacking and overthrowing, with great slaughter, the forces of the Danes under Ca- mus, on the sands of Panbride. After this the town seems to have increased rapidly towards the west* and occasionally to have been the residence of the Scottish kings. The close to the westward of Mor- ren's inn, leading to what was called the Palace, is still called St. Margaret's, said to be after the queen of Malcolm Canmore. In the troublesome times which followed, Dundee was greatly resorted to for the protection of its castle, and the convenience of its harbour,—the town being thus doubly provided either for defence or escape. The castle after- wards, in the disputed succession of Bruce and Ba~ b 3 18 liol to the crown of these realms, having very fre- quently become a strong-hold for the enemy, and too often a means of oppression and an annoyance to the inhabitants was levelled, to the rock at least, by Sir WiDiam W allace ; or more probably by Ro- bert Bruce when he came to peaceful possession of the throne, and had been acknowledged by all the estates, and by the clergy, —especially by those of Dundee.