- Conservation Area Appraisal (5.74MB PDF)
- Conservation Area Map (2.28MB PDF)
The Forthill Conservation Area is located in Broughty Ferry, to the south-east of Dundee, over-looking the banks of the River Tay. The Conservation Area predominantly originated during the mid 19th to mid 20th century’s due to the emergence of Broughty Ferry as a strong fishing community and tourist destination. The popularity of tourism within Broughty Ferry boomed in the 1830’s as a result of the area providing a ‘seaside resort’ for residents of the Ferry and Dundee. In 1838 the Dundee to Arbroath railway line opened, allowing daily commuting from Broughty Ferry into Dundee and further enhanced the areas desirability. Broughty Ferry was heavily reliant on Dundee for its services around this time like water and trams, but it wasn’t until the 20th century when the region officially became a borough of the city.
Forthill Conservation Area is located roughly half a mile to the north of Broughty Ferry castle and is adjacent to the north side of a main transport corridor within the town; Queen Street. The topography of the Conservation Area is slightly declining towards the coastline, where the land of a slightly steeper slope coming east and south from Forthill. This location provides prime views and panoramas of the River Tay and over to Fife. The estuary views are visible from many of the individual villas and also from many of the streets which sit at right angles to the Estuary.
The Conservation Area is based around a Mid-Late Victorian suburb, when brought ferry was an elitist area. The western boundary of the Forthill Conservation Area runs alongside the central section of Seafield Road and cuts across behind Harley Street where it then follows Cedar Road down to Queen Street. The southern boundary runs along the north side of Queen Street, with the exclusion of numbers 305-317, between Cedar Road and Whinny Brea. The southern boundary also includes the East Church on the south side of Queen Street. The easterly boundary includes all the properties on Whinny Brae and runs along the western perimeter of Darkfalls. The northern section of the Conservation Area is a lot less physically defined and includes many period properties between Seafield Road and Forthill Road with modern exclusions. The Conservation Area terminates just north of Fintry Place.
The Forthill Conservation Areas is characterised by high boundaries consisting of high stone walls or lower walls supporting tall hedges. Many roads within the Conservation Area are narrow and bounded by said tall walls thus emphasising a sense of enclosure. Screened behind the characteristic walls are relatively substantial Victorian villas set in generous garden ground. A second representative feature of the Conservation Area is the elevated level of urban greenery. The mature greenery within the Forthill Conservation Area is wholly situated within private garden space, either visible through gaps in property boundaries or in instances where the greenery either forms part of or overhangs the periphery. The intermittent views visible from any high vantage point or from private grounds add an additional element to the collective character of the space. The views are greatest along the roads that are formed at right angles to the Tay or where properties are tiered on the hill side, Camphill Road, for example.
Other nearby Conservation areas: