Castlegate is a small area of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, located centrally at the east end of the city's main thoroughfare

Union Street Union Street may refer to: United Kingdom * Union Street, Aberdeen, Scotland *Union Street, East Sussex, between Ticehurst and Flimwell *Union Street, London * Union Street, Plymouth, Devon *Union Street, Reading, Berkshire United States * Un ...

. Generally speaking, locals consider it to encompass the square at the end of Union Street where the Mercat Cross and Gallowgate are located. At the upper end of Castlegate stands

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

Citadel, an effective castellated mansion, on the site of the medieval

Aberdeen Castle Aberdeen Castle was a late Middle Ages fortification, in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was situated on Castle Hill, a site today known as the Castlegate, and the location of the castle is now occupied by blocks of flats. Burned and demolished It is t ...

. Castlegate was named after the site of the castle gates until their destruction in 1308. Aberdeen's Mercat Cross was built in 1686 by John Montgomery, a native architect. This open-arched structure, 21 ft (6 m) in diameter and 18 ft (5 m) high, is a large hexagonal base from the centre of which rises a shaft with a Corinthian capital, on which is the royal

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicor ...

. The base is highly decorated, including medallions illustrating Scottish monarchs from

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

James VII James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was depo ...

. According to local legend, the ghost of a unicorn can be seen to circle the Castlegate when a full moon is visible. Originally erected opposite the Mercat Cross, a statue of

George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon General George Duncan Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon, (2 February 1770 – 28 May 1836), styled Marquess of Huntly until 1827, was a British nobleman, soldier and politician and the last of his line. Early life George was born at Edinburgh on 2 F ...

, erected in 1844, was relocated to Golden Square in the 1950s. To the east of Castle Street were the

Castlehill Barracks Castlehill Barracks was a military installation in Aberdeen in Scotland. History The barracks, which were built on the site of a 12th-century castle, were completed in response to a perceived threat from France between 1764 and 1796. In 1873 a s ...

, which were demolished in 1965 and replaced with two tower blocks. The Gallowgate, just off the main square, is named after the former site of the gallows. A small area of the old granite road pavings remains in the bus lane, next to the courts, just the spot where public hangings were conducted. To the west, just off the main square, is the Castlegate Well, which is no longer used. A small bronze statue was erected over the top by William Lindsay, a goldsmith then in charge of the city's water. The Castlegate was used as a terminus for the

Aberdeen Corporation Tramways Aberdeen Corporation Tramways formerly served the City of Aberdeen, Scotland. The system The city's tram system was the most northerly municipal tramway in the United Kingdom. It started on 26 August 1898 when the Aberdeen Corporation purchas ...

system and later for buses.

References

External links

* {{coord, 57.14804, N, 2.09337, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Areas of Aberdeen Salvation Army buildings Salvationism in Scotland