The Granite City

Aberdeen is the Granite City. Even in the twenty-first century when concrete, steel and glass are more likely to be the building materials of choice, the centre of Aberdeen still proudly shows a granite face to the world. The buildings remain as a reminder of what was once a major industry employing thousands across the north-east of Scotland, exporting stone to all parts of Britain as well as distant overseas markets. Stretching from the eighteenth century to the later part of the twentieth, this is a tale of how Aberdeen granite came from humble beginnings as a paving material for the streets of London to become the stone of choice for architecture, great engineering projects, war memorials and more.