The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Tour of butcher’s long history
Countless long-standing shops were lost as part of the radical regeneration of Dundee city centre more than half a century ago.
Among them was the butcher’s belonging to Adam Piggot, as featured in the picture from 1905 provided by ardent postcard collector Jim Howie that appeared on this page yesterday.
The Broughty Ferry resident tells Craigie: “Some readers will remember the shop prior to its demolition to make way for the Wellgate Centre.”
Mr Howie has also supplied a history of the small business at the old 50 Wellgate, based on details gleaned from the butcher’s great-grandson, also called Adam Piggot.
He explains that the vintage photo was most likely taken around the time the shop started trading in Adam’s name, with the woman shown believed to be his wife Isabella Martin. The sign on the shop’s left-hand pillar reads: “Piggot’s for quality. Orders called for and delivered daily.”
Jim says: “Adam was a remarkable man – a well-known champion long-distance walker, with apparent connections to the Scottish Prohibition Party, which
campaigned for temperance and social reform.
“He was also a friend of the Scottish radical Bob Stewart – one of the founders of the Communist Party of Great Britain. He became president of the Dundee and District Master Butcher’s Association in 1915, and was a lifetime member of Dundee Violet FC.
“He died from tuberculosis and meningitis in 1922 at the age of 46. After
Adam’s death, Isabella ran the shop with her son Edward till she died in 1953.
“Edward then ran the shop on his own until he retired in 1972, when the shop was demolished as part of the Wellgate redevelopment.”
Adam and Isabella’s great-grandson has devoted much time in recent years to researching his ancestors – with a view to staging an exhibition as part of the Wellgate Project, which he developed in partnership with Dundee Central Library’s local history centre.
Anyone who has information, images or artefacts related to the story of the couple’s lives can contact Mr Piggot at hello@ adampiggot.com, with details about the project available either online at wellgate. scot or at the library in the Wellgate Centre.