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Site of a town gate which controlled entrance to the town on the north side of St Katherine's Hill via the Putachieside and the Green. Aberdeen had 8 ports or town gates in total that it controlled. The term port in this sense derives from the French port‚ meaning door. In Scotland town's gates or ports are also known as bows, from the arch of the gate. This port was located at number 49 Netherkirkgate. The first evidence for Aberdeen's ports comes from the late date of 1435 but it seems fair to assume that the ports existed from several hundred years before that date. There is evidence in other burghs of ports dating from the 12th century. A good bit of detail about this port can be found in a court case concerning unauthorised alterations to the port which throw some significant light on its appearance. On 7 June 1588 the Baillies and Council convened at the port and convicted Duncan Donaldson, younger, of unauthorised alterations to the port. Donaldson owned a tenement of foreland lying immediately next to the port and had built a stair from the ground up to his property: the stair ran up the side of the port's wall. Duncan was accused of 'altering the stane wall of the said port at his awin hand, and making his windois and eismentis thairin.' This work the council alleged had caused the port to be 'waiker and thynnar.'. Having found him guilty of this they ordered that he was to 'mend and reforme the batteling of the said poirt, and lay the soil thairof witht pavment stanis, and that the said Duncannis stair foirsaid sall in all tyme cuming be patent to serue the toun as it sall happin tham to haue ado in watching, garding, and defence making'. From this court case we can see that the port primarily consisted of a stone wall with battlements running along the top of it. Clearly the battlements were wide enough for men to stand on as they were intended to be used for guarding of the town. Aberdeen's ports were closed at various times when there was a threat of English invasion or when plague was feared. The ports survived until the 18th century when they were demolished: in 1769 the council ordered that the Netherkirkgate port, along with those at Gallowgate and Justice Street be taken down. They had been the subject of many complaints as they inhibited the free flow of traffic (clearly what had once been their purpose and benefit to the town now was a problem). The Netherkirkgate port was closely intertwined, as we have seen, with the properties which surrounded it: indeed the council ordered in 1769 that the practicalities involved in taking it down had to be investigated whilst the Justice and Gallowgate ports were being taken down. Unfortunately no further evidence concerning the end of this port has yet been found. A plaque on the wall of 49 Netherkirkgate (NJ90NW3043) outlines the history of the street of Netherkirkgate.
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Historic Environment Records (HER) 
Aberdeen City
HER -
NJ90NW0284 - NETHERKIRKGATE PORT