The Powis Gates, Aberdeen Travel Guide

The Powis Gates are among Aberdeen's most visually distinctive landmarks, commanding attention at the entrance to Powis Lodge on College Bounds in Old Aberdeen. Constructed in 1834 by architect Alexander Fraser for John Leslie of Powis, these twin cylindrical towers rise with an unusual architectural vocabulary that has intrigued observers for nearly two centuries. The towers feature partly stone and partly harled brickwork construction, crowned with slated turrets bearing gold-leafed orbs and crescent finials—symbols that reference the Fraser family crest, the previous owners of the Powis estate. The design suggests inspiration from Turkish or Oriental architecture, though the precise source of this stylistic choice remains unclear. The gates are further adorned with panels bearing the coats of arms of the Lairds of Powis, reinforcing their role as a statement of family prestige and territorial identity.

The construction of the Powis Gates coincided precisely with the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, which outlawed slavery in British colonies from August 1834. The timing was no coincidence. John Leslie's father, Hugh Leslie, had owned plantations in Jamaica, and when slavery was abolished, the British government compensated slaveholders for their loss of enslaved people as property. The Leslie family received compensation exceeding £7,000—equivalent to more than £600,000 in modern currency—which directly funded the construction of these gates. The formerly enslaved received no reparations for their years of unpaid labour and suffering. A shield at the back of the gates bears busts of three Black slaves, ostensibly commemorating freedom, though the structure itself stands as a monument to the wealth extracted from human bondage.

The Powis estate has undergone significant transformations since its construction. Hugh Leslie built Powis House in 1802, establishing the family's prominence in Old Aberdeen. By the late nineteenth century, the estate had passed to the Burnett family. In the 1930s, Aberdeen Town Council acquired most of the property to develop the Powis Housing Scheme, which eventually comprised over 300 residences of public housing. Powis House itself was partly demolished during this development but reopened in 1942 as a community centre and briefly housed a branch of Aberdeen Public Library. The gates, however, survived and eventually came under the ownership of the University of Aberdeen, where they remain a prominent feature of the Old Aberdeen landscape.

In 2020, during the Black Lives Matter protests, the Powis Gates gained renewed attention as a tangible symbol of slavery-derived wealth in Scotland. Temporary banners were installed to highlight this history. In 2021, ceramic artist Helen Love and spoken word artist Noon Abdelrazig created a collaborative artwork titled "Quasheba / Powis Gateway Project / the Violence of Identity," commissioned by Aberdeen Art Gallery. This installation prompted deeper conversations about the gates' troubling origins. In recognition of this legacy, Aberdeen City Council installed a permanent commemorative plaque as part of its Place Plaques scheme, which honours people and places of historic significance. The plaque marks an important step in the University of Aberdeen's wider commitment to acknowledging and addressing the legacies of historic slavery and colonialism embedded in its institutions and landscape. A more detailed interpretation board is being developed with input from students and the community to provide fuller context about the gateway's history and its connection to Aberdeen's role in the slave trade.