Page:EB1911 - Volume 08.djvu/702

 Wishart preached from the top of it during the plague of 1544.

Churches.—Of the many churches and chapels the most interesting is Town Churches—St Mary’s, St Paul’s and St Clement’s, the three under one roof—surmounted by the noble square tower, 156 ft. high, called the Old Steeple, once the belfry of the church which was erected on this spot by David, earl of Huntingdon, as a thank-offering for his escape from shipwreck on the shoals at the mouth of the Tay (1193). The church perished, but the bell-tower remained and was restored in 1871–1873 by Sir Gilbert Scott. The fine Roman Catholic pro-cathedral of St Andrew’s is in Early English style, and St Paul’s Episcopal church, in Decorated Gothic style, with a spire 211 ft. high, from designs by Sir Gilbert Scott, was due to the zeal of Bishop Forbes (1817–1875), who transferred the headquarters of the see of Brechin to Dundee. It occupies the site of the old castle. Memorial churches commemorate the work of Robert Murray McCheyne (1813–1843) and of George Gilfillan (1813–1878), long ministers in Dundee. John Glas (1695–1773), founder of the (q.v.), ministered here from 1730 to 1733.

Cemeteries.—The ancient burying-ground in the centre of the city is called the Howff. It has long been closed, but contains several interesting monuments and epitaphs. Not far from it the New Cemetery was laid out in West Bell Street; to the east of Baxter Park lies the Eastern Cemetery; and the Western Cemetery was constructed in Perth Road. The most beautifully situated of all the burying-grounds, however, is the Western Necropolis, which occupies the western portion of the hill of Balgay. A bridge over the ravine connects it with Balgay Park.

Public Parks and Open Spaces.—On the N. of the city rises Dundee Law (571 ft.), the property of the Corporation, a prominent landmark, on the summit of which are traces of an old vitrified fort. The surrounding park covers 18 acres. Near the eastern boundary of the city lies Baxter Park, of 37 acres, presented to the town by Sir David Baxter (1793–1872), a leading manufacturer, and his sisters. It was laid out by Sir Joseph Paxton, and contains a statue of Sir David by Sir John Steell, erected by public subscription. In the west the finely wooded hill of Balgay was acquired in 1869 and 36 acres of the area were converted into a park. Immediately adjoining it on the north is Lochee Park, of 25 acres, given to the city in 1891 by Messrs Cox Brothers of Camperdown Works. In the extreme north lies the park of Fair Muir, of 12 acres, which was secured in 1890, and nearer to the heart of the town is Dudhope or Barrack Park, purchased in 1893. Near the north end of the Tay bridge is Magdalen Green, an old common of 17 acres, and along the shore of the estuary there runs for a distance of 2 m. from Magdalen Point to beyond Craig Pier a promenade called the Esplanade.

Education.—University College in Nethergate, founded in 1880 by Miss Baxter of Balgavies (d. 1884) and Dr John Boyd Baxter, was opened in 1883, and united to the university of St Andrews in 1890. The affiliation was cancelled in 1895 owing to divergence of view in the governing body, but this was overcome and the college finally incorporated in 1897. The staff consists of a principal, professors and lecturers, and the curriculum, which may be taken by students of both sexes, is especially concerned with medicine and natural and applied science. The endowments exceed £250,000. Adjoining the buildings is the Technical Institute, built and endowed by Sir David Baxter and opened in 1888. In connexion with the high school, a building in the Doric style, dating from 1833, there is a museum which was endowed in 1880 by Mr William Harris. Morgan hospital, a structure in the Scots Baronial style, situated immediately to the north of Baxter Park, was founded in 1868 by John Morgan, a native of Dundee, for the board and education of a hundred boys, sons of indigent tradesmen, but was acquired by the school board and transformed into a secondary school. Besides a high school for girls and Roman Catholic and Episcopalian schools, there are numerous efficient and thoroughly equipped board schools.

Charitable Institutions.—One of the most conspicuous buildings in the city, occupying a prominent position in the centre, is the Royal Infirmary, a fine structure in the Tudor style. On the southern face of Balgay Hill stands the Royal Victoria hospital for incurables, opened in 1889. In addition to the maternity hospital and nurses’ home, there are several institutions devoted to special afflictions and diseases—among them the Blind and the Deaf and Dumb institutions, the Royal asylum, the fever hospital at King’s Cross, and, in the parish of Mains—beyond the municipal boundary—the Baldovan asylum for imbeciles, founded in 1854 by Sir John Ogilvy and said to be the earliest of its kind in Scotland, besides the smallpox and cholera hospital. The large Dundee hospital adjoins the poorhouse, and an epidemic hospital has been built in the Fair Muir district. One of the convalescent homes is situated at Broughty Ferry. Among other institutions are the Royal Orphan and the Wellburn Charitable institutions, the rescue home for females, the sailors’ home and Lady Jane Ogilvy’s orphanage in Mains.

Trade.—Hector Boece, in his History and Croniklis of Scotland, thus quaintly writes of the manufactures of Dundee in the opening of the 16th century—“Dunde, the toun quhair we wer born; quhair mony virtewus and lauborius pepill ar in, making of claith.” Jute is, par excellence, the industry of the city. Enormous quantities of the raw material—estimated at 300,000 tons a year—are imported directly from India in a fleet solely devoted to this trade, and many of the factories in Bengal are owned by Dundee merchants. Fabrics in jute range from the roughest sacking to carpets of almost Oriental beauty. Another staple industry is the linen manufacture, which is also one of the oldest, although it was not till the introduction of steam power that headway was made. Bell Mill, erected in 1806, was the first work of any importance, and the first power-loom factory dates from 1836. Now factories and mills are to be counted by the score, and the jute, hemp and flax manufactures alone employ about 50,000 hands, while the value of the combined annual output exceeds £6,000,000. Some of the works are planned on a colossal scale, and many of the buildings in respect of design and equipment are among the finest and most complete in the world. In the thriving quarter of Lochee are situated the Camperdown Linen Works, covering an immense area and employing more than 5000 hands. The chimney-stalk (282 ft. high), in the style of an Italian campanile, built of parti-coloured bricks with stone cornices, is a conspicuous feature. The chief textile products are drills, ducks, canvas (for which the British navy is the largest customer), ropes, sheetings, sackings and carpets. Dundee is also celebrated for its confectionery and preserves, especially marmalade. Among other prominent industries are bleaching and dyeing, engineering, shipbuilding, tanning, the making of boots and shoes and other goods in leather, foundries, breweries, corn and flour mills, and the construction of motor-cars.

Shipping.—By reason of its excellent docking facilities Dundee can cope with a shipping trade of the largest proportions. On the front wharves and harbour works extend for 2 m., and the docks cover an area of 35 acres, made up thus—Earl Grey Dock, 5 acres; King William IV. Dock, 6 acres; Tidal Harbour, 4 acres; Victoria Dock, 10 acres; Camperdown Dock, 8 acres. There are, besides, graving docks, the Ferry harbour and timber ponds. The warehouses are capacious and the ample quays equipped with steam cranes and other modern appliances. In 1898 there entered and cleared 2914 vessels of 1,390,331 tons; in 1904 the numbers were 2428 vessels of 1,227,429 tons. At the close of 1904 the registered shipping of the port was 131 vessels of 109,885 tons. Dundee is the seat of the Arctic fishery, once an important and lucrative business, but now shrunk to the most meagre dimensions in consequence of the increasing scarcity of whales and seals. There is regular communication by steamer with London, Hull, Newcastle, Liverpool and Leith, besides Rotterdam, Hamburg and other continental ports. Of the local excursions the two hours’ run to Perth is the favourite summer trip.

Local Government.—Dundee returns two members to parliament. The city council consists of the lord provost, bailies and councillors. The corporation owns the gas and water supplies