Dundee

For other uses see Dundee (disambiguation)

Dundee

Scotland's fourth largest city, population 143,090 (2002), situated on the North bank of the Firth of Tay. The city is built on the basalt plug of an extinct volcano (174 m (571 feet)), now called Dundee Law. During the Iron Age it was the site of a Pictish settlement. The city, which celebrated its 800th anniversary in 1991, is known as the 'City of Discovery'.

History

Origin of the city's name

In his History of the Scottish People (1527), Hector Boece suggests that the original name of the Pictish settlement was Alec-tum, meaning 'a handsome place'. This is disputed by later historians, but most agree (with Boece) that the modern name has evolved from Deidonum (God's gift) - a name given to the town in honour of William the Lion, who granted the town the status of Royal Burgh in 1191. Interestingly, the Gaelic name for the city, Duntaw, has a similarly 'godly' etymology. Dun means "hill", and daig (pronounced 'taw') is the name of a Celtic deity (after whom the River Tay is also named).

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High Street

Defence & Destruction

Dundee suffered periods of occupation and destruction in the late 13th and early 14th Centuries. Following John Balliol's renunciation (1295) of Edward I's authority over Scotland, the English King twice visited Scotland with hostile intent. Edward (the 'Hammer of the Scots') removed Dundee's royal charter - denying the town's people the right to control local government and the judiciary. He occupied the Castle at Dundee in 1296, but was successfully removed by William Wallace in 1297. From 1303 to 1312 the city was occupied again. This time, Edward's removal resulted in the complete destruction of the Castle by Robert the Bruce (who had been proclaimed King of Scots at nearby Scone in 1309). In 1327, the Bruce granted the town a new charter. Later in the 14th Century, during the Hundred Years War, the French invoked the Auld Alliance. Richard II marched North and reduced Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee to ashes.

Dundee became a walled city in 1545 during a period of English hostilities known as the 'rough wooing' (Henry VIII's violent attempt to extend his Protestant ambitions North by marrying his youngest son Edward, Duke of Cornwall to Mary, Queen of Scots). Mary maintained an alliance with the French, who successfully captured Protestant rebels (including John Knox) at St Andrews Castle, near Dundee, in July 1547. That year, buoyed by victory at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, the English occupied Edinburgh and went on to destroy much of Dundee by naval bombardment. The Howff Burial Ground, granted to the people of Dundee in 1546, is the city's lasting gift from Mary.

During a period of relative peace between Scotland and England, the status of Dundee as a Royal Burgh was once more confirmed in The Great Charter of Charles I, dated 14 September 1641. Ironically, however, Dundee continued to suffer at the hands of nobles loyal to the English monarch - Marquess of Montrose besieged the town in April 1645. On 1 September 1651 during the English Civil War, General Monck (commander of Cromwell's forces in Scotland) captured Dundee. His troops pillaged the town, destroying much of it and killing up to 2,000 of the 12,000 inhabitants.

One small section of the city wall - the Wishart Arch - still stands as a reminder of Dundee's turbulent history.

Reconstruction

After Union with England ended military hostilies, Dundee was able to redevelop its harbour, and establish itself as an industrial and trading centre during the 18th and 19th Centuries. Flax was imported for the production of linen. Dundee supported 36 spinning mills by 1835, paving the way for a flourishing jute industry which precipitated a large increase in population.

1801 - 26,000
1835 - 40,000
1861 - 90,000
1870 - 130,000

The industrial history of Dundee is traditionally summarised in the expression "the three Js".

Jute

By the end of the 19th Century the majority of Dundee's working population were occupied in jute manufacture. The industry began to decline in 1914, when it became cheaper to rely on imports from India. (Ironically, Dundee's 'jute barons' had invested heavily in Indian factories). Commercial jute production in Dundee came to an end in the 1960s. Some manufacturers successfully diversified to produce synthetic fibres and linoleum for a short time. Many mills were destroyed, but others have been redeveloped for residential use. An award-winning museum, based in the old Verdant Works, commemorates the city's manufacturing heritage and operates a small jute-processing facility.

Jam

The second "J" should really be an "M": Dundee's link with jam stems from Janet Keiller's 1797 recipe for marmalade. Legend has it that Mrs. Keiller devised the recipe in order to make use of a cargo-load of bitter Seville oranges acquired from a Spanish ship by her 'husband', James. This account is a fiction, but marmalade became a famed Dundee export after James Keiller (in reality Janet's son) industrialised the process during the 19th Century. Traditional marmalade production has fallen victim to corporate takeovers, but distinctive white jars of Keiller's marmalade can still be bought.

Journalism

Journalism is the only "J" which continues to thrive in Dundee. The city is home to the firm of DC Thomson & Co., which publishes a wide spectrum of newspapers, children's comics and magazines, including The Sunday Post, The Courier and children's favourites, The Beano and The Dandy.

Maritime Heritage

As a whaling port, Dundee developed a prosperous martime industry. In 1857 the whaling ship Tay was fitted with steam engines. By 1872 Dundee had become the premier whaling port of the British Isles. Over 2,000 ships were built in the city between 1871 and 1881. The last whaling ship to be built at Dundee was the Terra Nova, in 1884. Shipbuilding came to a halt altogether in 1961. The Dundee Perth & London Shipping Company [DPLC] ran steamships down the Tay from Perth and on to Hull and London. The firm still exists, but is essentially now a travel agency. RRS Discovery, the ship taken to the Antarctic by Robert Falcon Scott, was built in Dundee in 1901. It returned to its birthplace in the 1980s and is moored next to a purpose-built vistors' centre. An older ship, HMS Unicorn, is moored in the docks. It was not actually built at Dundee, but as the oldest wooden British warship still afloat it is a prestigious addition to a city with a rich maritime heritage.

The Tay Bridge Disaster

In 1879 a railway bridge over the Tay was opened. Its completion was commemorated in 'verse' by William McGonagall. Less than a year after its construction, however, the bridge collapsed under the weight of a train full of passengers. McGonagall's classic The Tay Bridge Disaster vividly recounts the tragedy. The bridge was replaced in 1887. Unfortunately McGonagall wrote another poem about the new one.

On 26 January 1889, Queen Victoria granted the burgh of Dundee the status of city by Royal Charter.

Winston Churchill

Between 1908 and 1922, the city's MP was none other than Winston Churchill, at that time a member of theLiberal Party. Churchill's ministerial responsibilities meant that he was away from his constituency for much of the time. This absence, combined with glaring differences between his lifestyle and background and that of his constituents did not endear him to Dundonians. At the time of the 1922 General Election, the Labour Party's support was growing and local newspapers had become increasingly hostile to him. Unable to participate in his election campaign due to an unfortunately-timed appendicitis his wife, Clementine, spoke for him instead, but was spat on for wearing pearls. The consituency of Dundee was split into two, and Churchill was ousted by Labour candidate E.D. Morel and the 'Labour Prohibitionist' Edwin Scrymgeour. Churchill left Dundee, short of an appenidix, seat and party, never to return. In 1943 he was offered Freedom of the City but refused to accept.

Modern Dundee

Employment

Dundee has never regained its status as a major manufacturing centre. In the 1960s and 70s the arrival in the city of three major companies - Michelin, NCR, and Timex - went some way to alleviating unemployment. Timex closed their Dundee plant in early 90s, reflecting the industrial mood of the time. The development of a number of 'enterprise zones' and 'technology parks', and in particular the arrival of a number of call centres led to a period of economic optimism. At present, however, the employment picture is not good (outwith the specialised fields of medicine, science and technology). The city has in fact experienced a drop in population in recent years.

Universities

In 1967, the modern University of Dundee was established, following 70 years as a college of the University of Saint Andrews. It is currently at the forefront of biomedical research and oncology, and incorporates a prestigious school of art. The University's Rector is television presenter Lorraine Kelly. In 1994, Dundee Institute of Technology was granted independent degree-giving authority, and was renamed the University of Abertay, Dundee. It is a world leader in computer games technology and design. Students are attracted to Dundee by the excellent reputation of its universities and by the compactness of the city. In turn, Dundee benefits from having a large student population.

Immigration & Multiculturalism

Dundee's most significant influx occurred in the mid-1800s: Irish workers, driven from their native country by potato blight made no small contribution to the city's industrial success. However, Dundee did not experience post-war immigration on the same scale as some other cities. Its status as a declining industrial centre meant that it was not a major destination for the waves of immigrants who were to have such an important impact on the colour and culture of the British Isles in the 1950s and 60s. Nevertheless, the city does now have a sizeable ethnic population. (Incidentally, Dundee continues to attract a particularly large number of Irish students; the reasons for this are unclear.)

There are two cathedrals in the city - St. Paul's (Scottish Episcopal) and St. Andrew's (Roman Catholic). The City Churches - home to three separate congregations - is the most prominent Church of Scotland building in Dundee. Robert Murray M'Cheyne was the minister of St Peter's there from 1838 to his death in 1843. During his ministry, there was something of a religious revival in Dundee.

A Jewish community has existed in the city for more than a century. The present synagogue was built in the 1970s. A brand new mosque was opened in 2000. Dundee also has a Hindu temple and a Sikh Gurdwara.

Theatre & The Arts

Dundee is home to Scotland's only full-time repertory ensemble, established in the 1930s. Hollywood actor Brian Cox, a native of the city, is its most famous alumnus. The Rep Theatre, built in 1982, is also the base for Scottish Dance Theatre. Dundee's principal large concert venue, the Caird Hall, regularly plays host to the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. A number of smaller venues also host local and international musicians during Dundee's annual Jazz Festival, annual Guitar Festival and biennial Blues Festival.

1999 saw the opening of Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA), a gallery space, print studio, and bar/restaurant. DCA also screens independent and foreign-language cinema, and provides resources for arts education. The McManus Galleries, a much older institution, have permanent natural history and fine art displays, as well as changing exhibits.

Football

Dundee has two professional football (soccer) teams (Dundee FC and Dundee United FC). Their stadia (Dens Park and Tannadice Stadium) are closer together than any other pair in Britain, making them a frequent subject of football trivia quizzes.

Pop Music

Dundee produced one of the defining soul-funk bands of the 1970s - the Average White Band. 1980s pop outfits The Associates and Danny Wilson were also Dundonian. Current pop festival-headliners and Mercury Award nominees Snow Patrol are Irish but have been adopted by the city because they were formed at the University of Dundee.

Twinning

Dundee maintains cultural, economic and educational ties with six twin cities:

The diocese of Brechin (centred on St. Paul's Cathedral in Dundee) is twinned with the diocese of Iowa, USA and with the diocese of Swaziland.

City of Discovery

Dundee was the first city to have electric street lighting, and the second city after London to have a telephone system. It is also famous for:

The Postage Stamp

James Chalmers (1782-1853), a bookseller from Arbroath, is recognised as having invented the modern postage stamp in Dundee. His tombstone, in the Howff burial ground, reads: "Originator of the adhesive postage stamp which saved the penny postage scheme of 1840 from collapse rendering it an unquallified (sic) success and which has since been adopted throughout the postal systems of the world."

The ATM

A series of innovations by NCR (including the development of magnetic-strip readers for cash registers) culminated in the production of the first ATM, or 'hole in the wall' cash machine, at its Dundee plant in the late 1960s.

Computing

The first Sinclair home computers were produced at the Timex factory in Dundee in the early 1980s. A decade later, a local company - Rockstar North - began to design some of the world's most popular computer games: Lemmings and the Grand Theft Auto series are among the games developed in Dundee. For a small city thousands of miles from 'Silicon Valley' Dundee's impact on the computing industry has been extraordinary.

References

Smith, W.J. ed. (1980): A History of Dundee [Dundee, David Winter & Son]
Gazetteer for Scotland: Dundee Law

External links