SPOTLIGHT
Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce A History in the Making Kate Yuill, Policy & Communications Manager, Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce
Early Beginnings The Lemon Tree Tavern in Huxter Row was a much-loved favourite of the traders and businessmen of mid-19th century Aberdeen as a howff where the excellence of the food was matched only by the hospitality of the hostess, Mrs Ronald. It is little wonder then that the movers and shakers of the 1853 business community would choose to meet up in their favourite rendezvous for a discussion to consider “the best mode of accomplishing the objects of a proposed Society for the Protection of Trade”. Under the leadership of their first chairman – Baillie John Forbes, a highly respected warehouseman with a reputation for achievement - the purpose, we can imagine, would have been fairly straightforward. The intention was to form a group of individuals who would work together to promote common business interests and support. While they might
have hoped that the group would have some longevity, it is doubtful if they would have expected that the group would still be in existence almost 160 years later as the modernday Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce. The aims then were much the same as those of the current Chamber and, it seems, the problems and issues facing business in 1853 were not dissimilar to those in 2011. Even then, there were early indications that this was an organisation which was prepared to adapt in order to operate in the most efficient manner. Within a year the fledgling group – known at that time as the Aberdeen and North of Scotland Trade Protection Society, was setting its standards for the future by demonstrating a level of forward thinking and political awareness that still distinguishes the organisation today.
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