Dundee

Classification and Statistics Settlement Type: city Population (2001): 154674     (1991): 158981 (1981): 174346 (Combined with Invergowrie, Kingoodie and Monifieth) (1971): 182204 (1961): 182978 (1951): 177340 (1881): 140054 (1871): 120547 (1861): 90426 (1841): 63732 Tourist Rating: Text of Entry Updated: 11-JAN-2011

Location Latitude: 56.4619°N Longitude: 2.9655°W National Grid Reference: NO 406 304 Show Maps:           Get directions by entering the UK postcode of your location, home or hotel here eg. EH1 3YT

Geography

Located on 'one of the finest natural sites of any city in the British Isles', Dundee is situated at the mouth of the Tay estuary where it occupies a south-facing natural harbour sheltered to the landward side by hills. To the west is the Carse of Gowrie and to the north the Sidlaw Hills which separate Dundee from the valley of Strathmore. The centre of the city is dominated by Dundee Law which rises to a height of 174m (571 feet), and is a conical basalt hill that is the remains of a volcanic plug. During the past century the city has expanded to incorporate surrounding villages.

History

The original settlement occupied a natural harbour between Castle Rock on the east and St Nicholas Craig on the west. In medieval times Dundee traded wool, sheepskins and cattlehides with continental markets supplying in return quality textiles, metal goods and wine. The town was given the status of a burgh and developed as a 'new town' between 1178 and 1190 by Earl David, son of King William I 'the Lion'. It prospered for many years as the third of Scotland's royal burghs after Edinburgh and Aberdeen. The city was destroyed by General Monk in 1651 and later its harbour was devastated by a storm. For nearly a century and a half thereafter the city's fortunes waned.

During the 19th Century Dundee again grew rapidly as a result of the whaling and fishing trade, shipbuilding, textile manufactures and the import from Bengal of jute which was processed in mills employing large numbers of people. Between 1841 and 1881 the city's population rose from 63,700 to 140,000. By the latter half of the 19th Century some of the world's most expensive real-estate was in Dundee, and the city was investing vast sums of money in the development of the USA, with bankers such as Robert Fleming (1845 - 1933) investing in railways, ranches and the expansion of the country westwards.

Dundee was also noted for its jam, produced from 1797 by the Keiller family, and its journalism which came to be dominated in the 20th century by D.C. Thomson and Company publishers of, amongst others, the Courier and Advertiser, Sunday Post, People's Friend, Scots Magazine, together with the Beano and Dandy children's comics. Today, D.C. Thomson is one of the largest employers in Dundee and the only major magazine and newspaper house in Scotland to be controlled by Scots in Scotland.

Dundee was the birthplace of the historian Hector Boece (c.1465-1536), Admiral Adam Duncan of Camperdown (1731-1804), John Graham of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee (c.1649-89) and the doggerel poet William McGonagall (1830-1902).

Industry

Dundee's port, dock and industrial estate facilities are important to the North Sea offshore oil industry and the city is served by a small airport situated to the west of the city centre. Chief amongst the city's industries are printing, publishing, food processing, biotechnology, digital entertainment software and the manufacture of tyres, carpets, electronics, computers and clothing. The principal industrial estates are located at the Technology Park, West Pitkerro, Baldovie, Wester Gourdie, Kingsway East, Dryburgh, Claverhouse and the Riverside.

References and Further Reading

Anon (1878) The Municipal History of the Royal Burgh of Dundee. Improved Edition. Winter, Duncan & Co., Dundee
Anon (1959) The History of Dundee. Scottish Advertisers Ltd., Dundee
Eunson, Eric and Bill Early (2002) Old Dundee. Stenlake Publishing Ltd., Catrine, Ayrshire
Kay, Billy (ed.) (1995) The Dundee Book: An Anthology of Living in the City. Mainstream, Edinburgh
Lythe, S.G.E. (1938) The origin and development of Dundee: a study in historical geography. Scottish Geographical Magazine Vol. 54, pp. 344-57
McKean, Charles and David Walker (1984) Dundee: An Illustrated Introduction. The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland and the Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh
RCAHMS (1992) Dundee on Record - Images of the Past. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Edinburgh
Watson, Norman (2006) Dundee: A Short History. Black and White Publishing Ltd., Edinburgh

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