Old Meldrum, Aberdeenshire
The parochial board for Old Meldrum (or Oldmeldrum) erected a parish poorhouse or almshouse in about 1865. It was locally administered rather than operating as a statutory poorhouse under the central Board of Supervision.
The poorhouse stood set back from the road between 2 and 3 Upper Cowgate. The U-shaped building had 15 rooms or "cottages" housing a total of 7 men, 8 women, and 8 children, plus a resident matron.
Old Meldrum poorhouse site, 1926.
Old Meldrum former poorhouse, 2009.
© Peter Higginbotham.
A local resident, born in 1927, remembers the building in use as a poorhouse when he was a child, in the 1930s. He says the buildings were timber-lined. The then Matron was called Nellie Jamieson and that some of the residents were a family named Grainger and a Bill McCallum. The building later became an old people's homes but has now been converted into flats known as Webster Court.
There was also a lodging house in the town located on Kirk Street.
Inmates
Records
Note: many repositories impose a closure period of up to 100 years for records identifying individuals. Before travelling a long distance, always check that the records you want to consult will be available.
- Aberdeen City Archives, Town House, Broad Street, Aberdeen AB10 1AQ, and Old Aberdeen House, Dunbar Street, Aberdeen AB24 3UJ.
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