Woodside, Aberdeen
Woodside is an area of Aberdeen. It came into existence as a quoad sacra parish within the parish of Old Machar in 1834, under an act of The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland of 31 May 1834, and was named for the principal residence of the area, Woodside House.
Within this parish, which was bounded to the north by the River Don there were three villages, Woodside, Tanfield and Cotton. Its population in 1841 was 4,893 living in 440 houses. By 1868 it had become a police burgh and the community was being described as a village in its own right, and a suburb of Aberdeen. It was part of the Aberdeen Burgh Parliamentary constituency.
By 1881, it had developed into a community of 5,452. It had its own separate post office, a railway station, paper works, a free library, a public school and a number of churches of various denominations. Ten years later in 1891 it was formally incorporated into the county of the city of Aberdeen.
Schools
Woodside Primary School is a nursery and primary school run by Aberdeen City Council that takes children from the ages of 3 to 11. It currently has around 360 primary pupils and 80 nursery pupils. It was built as replacement for a much smaller school dating from 1834. It consists of a main granite building, originally built in 1890 and expanded in 1902, and a separate smaller building and garden for the nursery aged pupils. It is located at the corner of Clifton Road with Smithfield Road, opposite the Aberdeen March Stones numbered 51 and 52. The current head teacher is Mrs. Alison Cook.is the first Classical Christian school in Scotland. It is run by Grace Baptist Church Aberdeen and takes children from the ages of 4 to 11.
Woodside Library
Designed by the architect Arthur Clyne, the library was built in 1882.It was originally named Anderson library after Sir John Anderson, who was born and raised in Woodside. He gifted the library to the people of Woodside in perpetuity along with 50,000 volumes. It is a large granite building styled like a church.
By 1932 Woodside Library was the biggest branch library in Aberdeen, with around 70,000 books borrowed each year.
In March 2023, the local authority announced it would close six local libraries, including Woodside.
March Stones
There are 67 "March Stones" around Aberdeen. King Robert I ("Robert the Bruce") gave the people of Aberdeen the land around the city in thanks for helping him in 1313. This land was known as the Freedom Lands of Aberdeen, and the March Stones mark the boundary.The March Stones start with Alpha and end with Omega. The route around them is approximately 26 miles long. Woodside March Stones are numbered 50, 51 and 52. March Stone 50 is located close to Station House Media Unit, and Stones 51 and 52 near Woodside School.
The Church
There used to be three churches in Woodside, the North and South Churches and the Congregational Church which was on Great Northern Road. The North Church is now a block of flats. Choirs, drama groups, dances, musical nights and concerts were held there.Woodside Parish Church, the Church of Scotland parish church for the area, is located in the middle of Church Street. Youth clubs, the Boy's Brigade, Girl Guides and indoor bowling were held there. In 2023, the congregation merged with that of the neighbouring High Hilton Parish Church on Hilton Drive; the union will be based there and be known as Aberdeen Hillside Parish Church, with the Category B-listed Woodside building being sold to Grace Baptist Church Aberdeen, a Reformed Baptist Church which was planted six years ago.
There is also a Congregational Church on Printfield Walk and a catholic church on Tanfield Walk.