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Past Times

Looking back at life in Lochee – Dundee’s ‘Little Tipperary’

Some of these photographs of Lochee have not been seen for years.
Graeme Strachan
Youngsters outside the Last Tram pub in Lochee in 1985.
Youngsters outside the Last Tram pub in Lochee in 1985. Image: DC Thomson.

Memories of Lochee in days gone by is the subject of this week’s pictorial trip down memory lane.

Lochee has a rich and fascinating history and was the first port of call for many Irish migrants who were lured to Dundee by the prospect of employment.

Camperdown Works in Lochee, owned by the Cox Brothers, was for a long time Europe’s largest jute mill and had its own railway line.

Lochee became affectionately known as Little Tipperary.

The DC Thomson archives team has dug out a varied selection of photographs featuring people and places in Lochee.

Grab a cuppa and enjoy having another browse back through the ages courtesy of The Dundonian, which appears in the Evening Telegraph every Wednesday.

Some of these photographs have not been seen for years.


Logie Street

Vans and a digger on the street in Lochee for the Logie Street demolition
Logie Street demolition. Image: DC Thomson.

A JCB digger and trucks on Logie Street at the junction with Coupar Street as the old housing and shops are demolished in October 1981.

The old tramway poles can be seen in the picture.

Lochee High Street

People on the pavement outside a shop, looking across at the Lowfreeze and Boots store.
Looking across at the Lowfreeze and Boots store. Image: DC Thomson.

A view of Lochee High Street in January 1982.

Lowfreeze was a frozen food chain operated by William Low where you could buy 36 fish fingers for £1.49 and 24 burgers for £1.99.

Granada Café

Customers in a booth at the Granada Café.
Customers in the Granada Café. Image: DC Thomson.

A view of the Granada Café in May 1983.

The café offered an extensive menu, including filled rolls, and has remained a constant in a changing Lochee High Street over the past four decades.

South Road

An exterior shot of South Road service station.
South Road service station. Image: DC Thomson.

The Gulf filling station in South Road in August 1983.

Full servicing facilities were offered in the garage and you would have expected to pay 36p per litre of petrol at the pumps.

Lochee multis

The multi blocks in Lochee, Dundee, in 1984.
Multi blocks in Lochee, Dundee, in 1984. Image: DC Thomson.

Adamson Court and Elders Court in South Road in September 1984.

The area degenerated in the 1980s as poor maintenance took a toll and anti-social behaviour began to multiply against a backdrop of unemployment.

Carlton Snooker Club

a man stands beside the bar holding a queue at the snooker club
The members’ lounge at the club in 1984. Image: DC Thomson.

A scene from the Carlton Snooker Club in Lochee in December 1984.

It shows a waiting player with cue getting the drinks in at Lorne Street while a barman, centre, sorts his round.

Have you noticed the cheeky photobomber on the left?

Highgate Centre

cars parked outside the entrance to the Highgate Centre in 1987.
The Highgate Centre in 1987. Image: DC Thomson.

The Highgate Centre and the entrance to the Lowfreeze store in January 1987.

The 1970s concrete mall opened when the old Bank Street disappeared under the bulldozers as part of a redevelopment of the west side of High Street.

Lochee Boys Club

Officials and children as Charles Farquhar collects the cheque from Margaret Dodds at Lochee Boys Club
Charles Farquhar collects the cheque from Margaret Dodds. Image: DC Thomson.

Margaret Dodds from Levi’s Community Involvement Team presented a £5,000 cheque to Lochee Boys Club in March 1989.

The Dundee factory’s community involvement team was widely praised for its charitable work, which saw employees raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for countless good causes.

Gowriehill Primary School

Pupils and staff of Gowriehill Primary School outside in period dress
Pupils and staff of Gowriehill Primary School. Image: DC Thomson.

Pupils and staff of Gowriehill Primary School try their hand at some Victorian sports and games to mark the centenary of Lochee Park in June 1990.

The park was gifted to the people of Lochee in 1900 by the Cox family, which was a dominant force in the jute industry and owned Camperdown Works.

Lochee Park

A group of people pose for a picture while sledging in the snow at Lochee Park in December 1993.
The group pose for a photograph. Image: DC Thomson.

A group of people sledging in the snow at Lochee Park in December 1993.

It was the coldest December since 1981, which brought folk out in their droves to enjoy sledging down the brae or indulging in some snowball fights.

Going, going, gone…

A digger sits atop a pile of rubble as houses are demolished
Demolition of houses at junction with Gardner Street. Image: DC Thomson.

A block of tenements on Lochee Road were pulled down in May 1994.

The Two Brewers pub also fell victim to the demolition, which was necessary to make way for the latest sections of the city’s arterial road scheme.

Star Ballroom

Men and women dancing at the Star Ballroom.
Customers dancing at the Star Ballroom. Image: DC Thomson.

Dancing at the Star Ballroom in Lochee in January 1995.

Bob and Betty Barty – the Fred and Ginger of Dundee – had been running classes in Lochee since the 1960s.

Woolworths

A view down Lochee High Street showing the frontage of the Woolworths store
A view down Lochee High Street showing the frontage of the store. Image: DC Thomson.

The Woolworths store at the top of Lochee High Street in November 1996.

The Lochee East Free Church, complete with its distinctive tower and clock, was demolished to make way for Woolworths in the 1960s.

The store is now home to Poundstretcher.

It’s the final image in our gallery.

Did our pictorial trip back in time jog any memories for you?

Let us know.

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