How to use the archive
Just keep scrolling down to see the most recent posts, and click previous at the bottom of the page to see more – be warned there are over 130 stories here! If you’re looking for something specific, use the search bar (there’s one in the footer on every page if you keep scrolling down, you’ll find it!) or click on any category (like crime and death, or wars and battles – the ones with the coloured backgrounds below each post) or one of the words in the tag cloud below to see all posts in a specific theme.
We hope you enjoy reading all the stories about Dundee’s dark history we’ve put together for you, but if you’re looking for things to do in Dundee why not take one of our walking tours!
[do_widget id=tag_cloud-4]
If you’ve been on our tours or read our books, you’ll know that when a doctor shows up in one of our stories, there’s usually something grim involved. Dr. Pirie, Dr. Templeman, and Dr. Crichton are practically part of the furniture at this point, and in 2024 we even devoted a full talk to Dr. […]
If you’ve been on our Worst of the Worthies tour, you will already have been introduced to one of Dundee’s worthies in the form of Blind Bob*, who was a poor soul, originally having hailed from Aberdeen but had lost everything he ever cherished over the years and fell into a spiral of alcoholism and […]
In 1870, Margaret Murphy ended up in Dundee Police Court after throwing a bucket of dirty water over an auctioneer who kept turning up at her shop asking for money, then allegedly taking a swing at him with a poker when he still wouldnae leave. The best part is half the courtroom could barely keep a […]
On Friday 13th March 1914, Agnes Culley, resident at 248 Hilltown, Dundee, took her husband of 24 years to Court for an action of separation and aliment at the rate of 6s per week. Her husband, James Culley, who was resident at 10 Isla Street in Dundee did not appear and was not defended. Agnes […]
On Friday 7th June 1878, The Dundee Evening Telegraph reported on a man from whom, they felt, had fallen foul of a hasty marriage: “A HASTY MARRIAGE AND ITS RESULTS. AN UNHAPPY HONEYMOON. A young man named William Ballantyne, described as a chemist or commercial traveller, residing in Thorter Row, Dundee, was brought before Baillie […]
Saturday 23rd September 1893 had been a beautiful day, warm but not too warm; a great day to sit out in the garden all afternoon, which is exactly what Mrs Tolmie had been doing with her 7-year-old daughter, Bella at their home at Links Cottages, Broughty Ferry. Mr Tolmie, a gardener, had been away all […]
It was later in the morning, around 11am on Saturday 23rd September 1898, when some of the residents became alarmed at the very strong smell of smoke. It became apparent to them very quickly that the smoke was coming from the home of 82-year-old Mary Groat. Mary had lived in the property with her younger […]
Thomas Fenton, a spirit dealer from Broughty Ferry, seemed to have it all. At 40 years of age, he had a successful business, was one year into his marriage to the love of his life and lived with her in their lovely wee house on Fort Street, Broughty Ferry. In the autumn of 1881, after […]
Retiree John Crow and his wife Annie were enjoying a day at home on 25th December 1878, when John decided that he was going to go out for a walk. His wife insisted he stay at home, as the weather was awful and it was already dark outside despite it being only 3pm. Now, before […]
We’ve just launched a new, completely free prize draw which will be running over the next 3 months, book any walking tour running between 1st September and 30th November 2024, and on 1st December we’ll draw 3 lucky winners Our first prize draw will win 5x £20 gift vouchers, 2nd draw wins 3 x £20 […]