Greyfriars Church is a Category A Listed building in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was designed by the architect Alexander Marshall Mackenzie and built in 1903. It is situated on Broad Street and forms the south-east corner of Marischal College, also designed by Mackenzie. [1]
A priory was built in the area in 1469. Around 1525 Bishop Dunbar started a new church. [2] This was completed and occupied in 1532 in Pre-Reformation days by Franciscan monks. It was retained for Protestant worship after the Reformation, but the monastery element was demolished to create Marischal College (attaching the church) in 1593. [3]
In 1605, 1616 and 1640 the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland was held here (rather than its usual venue in Edinburgh). [2]
In 1749 the church was redesignated as a chapel-of-ease to the Kirk of St Nicholas, a status which continued until 1828.
Due to the physical connection between buildings, many ministers also served concurrently as Principal of Marischal College.
The University of Aberdeen is a public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland, petitioned Pope Alexander VI on behalf of James IV, King of Scots to establish King's College, making it one of Scotland's four ancient universities and the fifth-oldest university in the English-speaking world. Along with the universities of St Andrews, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, the university was part of the Scottish Enlightenment during the 18th century.
William Garden Blaikie FRSE was a Scottish minister, writer, biographer, and temperance reformer.
Alexander Gerard FRSE was a Scottish minister, academic and philosophical writer. In 1764 he was the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
William Laurence Brown was a Scottish minister.
Marischal College is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long-term lease from the University of Aberdeen, which still uses parts of the building to store its museum collections. Today, it provides corporate office space and public access to council services, adjacent to the Town House, the city's historic seat of local government. Many Aberdonians consider Marischal College to be an icon of the "Granite City" and to symbolise the zenith of Aberdeen's granite-working industry.
King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen, is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the University of Aberdeen. Its historic buildings are the centrepiece of the University of Aberdeen's Old Aberdeen campus, often known as the King's or King's College campus.
St Machar's Cathedral usually called Old Machar, is a Church of Scotland church in Aberdeen, Scotland, located to the north of the city centre, in the former burgh of Old Aberdeen. Technically, St Machar's is no longer a cathedral but rather a high kirk, as it has not been the seat of a bishop since 1690.
Duddingston Kirk is a Parish Church in the Church of Scotland, located adjacent to Holyrood Park in Duddingston Village, on the east side of the City of Edinburgh. Regular services are held at the kirk, conducted by the minister, Rev Dr James A. P. Jack.
Christ's College is one of the three constituent colleges of the University of Aberdeen, the others being King's College and Marischal College.
The Kirk of St Nicholas is a historic church located in the city centre of Aberdeen, Scotland. Up until the dissolution of the congregation on 31 December 2020, it was known as the "Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting". It is also known as "The Mither Kirk" of the city. As of 1 January 2021, the building falls under the care and maintenance of the General Trustees of the Church of Scotland.
Religion in Aberdeen is diverse. Traditionally Christianity with the city being represented by a number of denominations, particularly the Church of Scotland through the Presbytery of Aberdeen and the Catholic faith. However, according to the 2001 census, Aberdeen is the least religious city in the country as Glasgow and Edinburgh, with nearly 43% of people claiming to have no religion.
The architecture of Aberdeen, Scotland, is known for the use of granite as the principal construction material. The stone, which has been quarried in and around the city, has given Aberdeen the epithet The Granite City, or more romantically, and less commonly used, the Silver City, after the mica in the stone which sparkles in the sun.
Alexander Marshall MacKenzie was a Scottish architect responsible for prestigious projects including the headquarters of the Isle of Man Banking Company in Douglas, and Australia House and the Waldorf Hotel in London.
Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a number of notable Edinburgh residents are interred at Greyfriars. The Kirkyard is operated by City of Edinburgh Council in liaison with a charitable trust, which is linked to but separate from the church. The Kirkyard and its monuments are protected as a category A listed building.
Charles John Brown (1806–1884) was a Scottish minister, who served as Moderator of the General Assembly for the Free Church of Scotland from 1872 to 1873.
Robert James Brown (1792–1872) was a Scottish minister, who served as Moderator of the General Assembly for the Free Church of Scotland 1846/47. He was familiarly known by his students as the Dorian.
East Preston Street Burial Ground is a burial ground in south Edinburgh holding graves from the 19th and 20th century. The graveyard is in the care of the City of Edinburgh Council. It stands at the junction of East Preston Street and Dalkeith Road. The property is a listed building.
Thomas Blackwell (1660–1728) was a Church of Scotland minister who was principal of Marischal College in Aberdeen from 1717 to 1728.
Robert Pollock (1709–1759) was a Church of Scotland minister who served as principal of Marischal College in Aberdeen from 1757 to 1759.