Researching Robertson’s Land

At Dundee Heritage Trust, we are fortunate to be supported by a dedicated team of volunteers; who have generously donated 1,200 hours of their time to Verdant Works and Discovery Point in 2023 alone!

For many, their time is spent greeting visitors at our five star attractions, whether beginning tours, demonstrating inspiring machinery or bringing stories to life. Others assist in dictation, research, illustration and more.

Ian has volunteered at Verdant Works for almost five years, and recently was involved in research ahead of our newest exhibition, ‘Tackling TB: Dundee Scientists Fighting the Killer Cough‘, produced in collaboration with the Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infective Research at the University of Dundee. In this blog, we invited Ian to share the findings of his meticulous research into Dundee’s tragic history with tuberculosis.

(Read the original edit of this blog post here: https://dundeeheritagetrust.wordpress.com/2024/01/03/researching-robertsons-land/)

“In 2019, after retiring from a career in Economic Development I started as a volunteer guide at Verdant Works, which I thoroughly enjoy. I was born in Dundee and lived most of my life in the city, but on leaving school to enter the world of work, the jute industry was already in decline, and so, an alternative career route was chosen. However, as with so many other Dundonians, my parents and grandparents’ friends and relations were connected to the trade so I wanted to find out more about how it contributed to Dundee’s development over the last two centuries.

“I started initially as a Verdant Works courtyard guide, welcoming visitors from the UK and overseas to the museum. I gave them a background to the history of Dundee’s key role in the global jute industry and its impact on the city’s social and economic structure. More recently, I have been showing visitors round the machine hall and demonstrating the various processes which transform raw jute fibre through to woven fabric.”

“Earlier this year, the museum’s Interpretation Curator invited volunteers to undertake research for a forthcoming exhibition which would be held in Verdant Works and produced in conjunction with the Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infective Research (WCAIR) at the University of Dundee. The exhibition would explore the links between Dundee’s jute industry and WCAIR’s research into tropical and infective diseases.

“I volunteered and was asked to undertake some research at Dundee City Archives and University of Dundee Archives Department, which would provide an insight into living conditions in Dundee in the late 1800s and early 1900s that would have contributed to the incidence and spread of infective diseases. This revealed the following:

• The 1911 census showed that 72% of people in Dundee lived in crowded conditions, in a one or two roomed home. This contrasted with 32% of people in London.
• Overcrowding of homes in Dundee were built too close together and mixed up with factories and business premises.  This resulted in in a healthy lifestyle not being possible as inhabitants didn’t get their required share of sunlight.
• Air smoke laden from mill and factory chimneys, disposal of refuse and human waste in ashpits and share WCs all contributed to poor living conditions and spread of infective diseases.
• Examining a selection of Dundee Royal Infirmary admissions registers in the late 1800s and early 1900s revealed that 64% of admissions were jute workers and 50% of admissions gave Ireland as their country of birth.

“As part of my research, I also included Robertson’s Land which was also known as the ‘High Land’. Most of the tenements built in Dundee during the building boom of the late 1800s were three or four storeys high; the ‘High Land’ however, was nine stories high and was just a stone’s throw away from Verdant Works. It bordered Larch St, Urquhart St and Walton St (these streets still exist) and was built by a Mr. Robertson around 1870. Although the property was nine storeys high, the top three levels were never actually occupied, as the Fire Department considered it too dangerous and could not guarantee safety in the event of fire.”