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!
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The site of the city churches, St Mary’s and The Steeple, which sit surrounded by the Overgate shopping centre, has been the home to a church since the very beginnings of Dundee as a town. When the Earl of Huntingdon landed here in 1190 he founded the ‘kirk in the field’ dedicated to St Mary, […]
When the Scottish Reform Act was finally passed into law in 1832, none were more jubilant than the folk of Dundee. Known as a ‘radical toon’, Dundee is said to have been of significant help to the cause of Reform. Once the news had hit the town, it quickly spread to the Radicals, who prepared […]
If you’ve seen any really old maps of Dundee, you might notice that there’s no mention of the Overgate as we know it, or indeed, the Nethergate. Known back then as Argyllsgait (Argyllgait) and Flukergait respectively, it wasn’t until the latter part of the 1500’s that the new names came into play, not long after […]
Hawkhill, Dundee, 17th August 1833 Janet Kelley lived with her husband, Enos, in a flat in the Hawkhill area of Dundee. On the evening of 17th August 1833, Enos staggered home particularly drunk, turning up at his neighbour’s house to ask for some tobacco. Turning him away, the neighbour, Mrs Kay, could hear him entering […]
Gow’s Gun Shop, City Centre, February 1989 What started out as a disturbing fantasy of kidnap soon turned into bloodshed when two friends got together to put their devilish plans in motion. Ryan Monks and Paul Mill planned to kidnap the eldery mother of a local bakery owner and hold her to ransom for £200,000. […]
St John’s RC High School, November 1967 The man above is Robert Mone; depraved multiple killer and the murderer of local teacher Nanette Hanson. Having been expelled from St John’s Roman Catholic High School in 1964, Mone returned to exact deadly revenge on the morning of 1st November 1967. Having spent some time serving with […]
6th September, 1865 When Captain John Greig Junior set sail from Montrose to London in his father’s schooner on 6th September 1865, he was blissfully unaware of his fate. The schooner was towed from Montrose harbour, out of the shallower waters of the bay with a crew of three men, plus their Captain, not long […]
Law, December 1992 A young woman was walking her father’s police dog on the morning of December 30th, 1992 by the Law when she made a horrifying discovery. Lying in the underbrush was a severed arm. Alarmed, she rushed home to notify her father, who reported the grim find. A further search of the area […]
Princes Street, Dundee, February 1889 When a man came to the police station on the night of 10th February 1889 to report the suicide of his wife, Ellen Bury, alarm bells began to ring for the Lieutenant who took his story. Amid claims that she had killed herself, Bury made another startling claim. Upon “finding” […]
Dundee, December 1825 On what we can safely assume was a cold, wintry day on 22nd December 1825, David Balfour murdered his wife using a butcher’s knife he had obtained from the Fleshmarket in Dundee. David was a sailor, and, as such, was prone to being away at sea for long bouts of time. Margaret, […]