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 […]
Davina Brown and the vitriol attack, 5th December 1924 Davina Brown was in her mid-twenties, slogging away in the jute mills like so many other young women in the 1920s when she met Thomas Crombie. He owned his own cooping business, ooh fancy, cooping is making barrels and casks, but hey, he owned his own […]
The electrifying air in Perth Circuit Court crackled with anticipation as Alexander Hutchison stood in the dock, the accused murderer of his wife, Christina. It was a high-stakes trial that gripped the entire city. The first witness, their neighbour James McKenzie, took the stand, revealing a chilling tale. He recounted how his young sons had […]
The Spring Circuit Court of Dundee commenced on the 19th of April 1883, amid great anticipation and ceremony, with Lord Mure presiding. Among the cases presented, none were more distressing than that of David Urquhart. He stood accused of a heinous crime – the murder of his illegitimate daughter, Elizabeth Meffan, aged approximately two years […]
The murder of Margaret Cairns is a story we told on our Halloween Takeover of Verdant Works, back in 2016. This tragedy happened in Playfair’s Entry, an old street off Hawkhill in the west end of Dundee which is long gone. It seemed everyone had a different version of events, and in the end, there […]
This is the continuation of the Murder Trial of John Jenkins for the murder of Mary Conn in West Port, in Dundee’s West End. Read the first part here. Dundee Courier, Friday 13th January 1893 MURDER TRIAL IN DUNDEE. THE WEST PORT TRAGEDY. TWELVE YEARS’ PENAL SERVITUDE. The trial of John Jenkins, labourer, on a […]
These extracts from the Dundee Courier tell the tale of a horrid murder in West Port, in Dundee’s West End, in 1892. Dundee Courier, Monday 14th November 1892 HORRIBLE MURDER IN DUNDEE. A WOMAN KILLED. HER ASSAILANT IN CUSTODY. SCENE OF THE ATROCITY. INTERVIEWS WITH NEIGHBOURS. PRISONER’S ANTECEDENTS. For a considerable time, Dundee has been […]
This short tale from the Dundee Courier is about a typical Dundee criminal incident- involving drink, and theiving. In fact, the victim was so drunk he didn’t even realise he’d been robbed at first! Dundee Courier, Sat 5th October 1878 Nymphs Fighting Over the Spoil. Jane Brown and Catherine Chalmers or Morrison were placed at […]
Jessie Jordan (23 December 1887 – 1954) was a Scottish hairdresser found guilty of spying for the German Abwehr on the eve of World War II. After her German husband’s death in battle, she remarried and later became a spy in Scotland. Imprisoned and deported to Germany after the war, Jordan’s life was marked by […]