Sometime before 1604, Andrew Ædie built a townhouse on The Green, S of St.Nicholas' church, Aberdeen town centre.
David Ædie either built a new house or made modifications to his father's house:
[Munro, 1887]
says the Ædie house in The Green
that was still standing in 1887
was built
in
1633 by Andrew's son
David Ædie.
Munro
said the house bore the inscription
"D. Æ. 1633".
However
[Morgan, 2004]
says David did not build a new house
but made modifications in 1633 to his father's house.
David was killed in 1644.
His son
George Ædie
(died 1657)
presumably inherited it.
His son
George Ædie
lived there.
He died after 1684.
The house was called
"Ædie's House"
or
"Ædie's Lodging".
The street from the house up to St.Nicholas' church was called
"Ædie's Wynd".
(A "wynd"
is a lane.)
Later the N part of Ædie's Wynd became known as "Back Wynd".
Stolen children, 1740s:
In around the 1740s there was a trade in Aberdeen in abducting children and selling them
to the Americas
as indentured servants.
[Munro, 1887]
says that to the
Ædie
house was attached a "barn" where stolen children
were kept before being shipped to the Americas.
This is where
Peter Williamson
was held after being abducted in 1743.
The Ædie
house still stood at the time of
[Munro, 1887].
It was demolished in
1914.
The site is now an empty lot.
Extract from
Aberdeen map of 1661.
"n" is the laneway "Ædie's Wynd".
"p" is
The Green.
Close-up of Ædie's Wynd ("n")
and The Green ("p")
[Munro, 1887]
says Ædie's House
once formed the corner house of Ædie's Wynd,
which would make it the corner house here.
Ædie's House
in
this section
of
Aberdeen map of 1866-67.
The house is
at the foot of Back Wynd Stairs.
Union St above,
The Green below.
Ædie's House.
From
Silver City Vault.
See larger but cropped version.
From here.
Ædie's House visible on LHS of 1907 postcard.
See full size.
From University of St Andrews.
See other version.
From here.
Ædie's House.
See full size.
From The Miscellany of the Third Spalding Club,
Volume II (1940).
From Figures
used in
Excavations at Aberdeen's Carmelite Friary, 1980-1994.
Site of Ædie's House (empty lot to RHS of steps).
The stairs go up to Union St.
A trace of the E wall of Ædie's House is still visible today - the roof outline
and internal fireplaces.
Click to rotate.
From Google street view.
Plaque at the S end of Back Wynd
(see street view)
noting that it
used to be called
Ædie's Wynd.
Photo 2013.
From here.
Creative Commons.
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