ABERDEEN GRANITE INDUSTRY 99 
scale, the work at first being done by hand, and then by a wheel driven 
by two men. Finally by the use of steam power he was successful in 
obtaining the results which he desired. He found a ready market for 
the new product. The first example of a monument in polished granite 
sent to London from Aberdeen is believed to be one erected in Kensal 
Green Cemetery in 1832. In 1834 Mr. Macdonald assumed as a 
partner Mr. William Leslie, the builder of the North Church in King 
Street, Aberdeen, and !later Lord Provost of Aberdeen and Laird of 
Nethermuir. 
When Mr. Macdonald began to polish granite by machinery, other 
mechanical appliances in the trade were almost unknown. Vast strides 
have been made since then by the introduction of machinery for sawing, 
boring and turning of granite and other miscellaneous purposes. 
Under the firm of Macdonald & Leslie the business grew and many 
productions in public and cemetery monuments, architectural and 
decorative work were turned out. Notable examples of the firm’s work 
are the columns in St. George’s Hall, Liverpool ; Dunrobin Castle ; 
the two fountains and balustrade in Trafalgar Square, London; the 
granite statues of the Duke of Gordon in Castle Street, and of Priest 
Gordon in Constitution Street, Aberdeen, and of Sir Charles James 
Napier at Portsmouth ; the obelisk in Peterhead granite 72 ft. high, 
mostly polished, erected in Marischal College quadrangle in memory of 
Sir James McGrigor, Bart., and some years ago removed to the Duthie 
Park. Fine work was also sent to Australia, India, and other remote 
parts of the globe. Mr. Leslie retired from the firm in 1853 and the 
business was carried on by Mr. Macdonald till his death in 1860. 
In addition to the business founded by Mr. Macdonald other works 
of the kind grew up around it. There are at present over fifty firms 
engaged in this work in the city. Some firms confine themselves almost 
entirely to monumental work, while the larger firms, in addition to monu- 
ments, execute the finer class of building work. In the yards of the latter 
firms granite is dressed and polished in connection with the erection of 
important public and private buildings and business premises throughout 
the country, the fronts of such buildings being frequently constructed 
of dressed and polished granite of artistic design. 
The trade in monumental and architectural work grew to such pro- 
portions that the local supply of granite was found to be inadequate to 
meet the demand. Imports of rough granite from abroad commenced 
in 1884. Blacks and rich reds from Sweden and Finland and sparkling 
Labradorites from Norway all in the rough state have since then been 
imported into Aberdeen, where they are manufactured. These foreign 
granites afford a greater variety of colour and are in considerable demand 
in this country. In 1909 as much as 27,308 tons were imported in this 
way. In 1933 these imports amounted to 15,489 tons. ‘The imported 
granites are used solely for monumental and architectural purposes. 
For some years Aberdeen had a very large export trade in granite 
memorials. In 1896 America took £55,452 worth of finished stones. 
Unfortunately the export trade in these monumental stones has seriously 
declined owing to prohibitive tariffs. The trade with the United States 
