We all know about watching paint dry – well, we have been watching lime mortar dry! Before the special paint could be applied to the lime it had to be below a critical moisture level. St Mary’s Chapel is partially underground and there is limited air circulation, so drying took a long time. It is also a process which cannot be rushed, otherwise the mortar does not ‘cure’ properly. However, this was particularly slow, even with the use of some gentle heat and two dehumidifiers, Eventually the target level was reached and the painting was completed. That was the last major stage in the restoration work.

However, there were some other things going on. A new door was constructed for access from the south aisle of the Chapel into the archaeological dig site. This door was designed to look old but was built in the workshops of North Group, the contractors, during 2025. Once in place, it was stained to match the rest of the wood in the Chapel and fits in remarkably well.

There was also a need to instal WiFi into the Chapel to allow control of the lighting and heating. There were many hurdles to getting it ordered – but in the end it was very simple and it works well. One or two small matters remain: the south door needs a bit of TLC and a letterbox adding and the parquet floor in the south aisle is going to get a spruce-up.

Looking back over six years

The restoration has been a long process, starting just pre-Covid and has not been without its problems. However, a few before and after photographs will illustrate just what a difference the OpenSpace Trust has been able to achieve.

Come and have a look

We will be holding a series of ‘open days’ during 2026 – on the first Saturday of each month starting on 4^th April and concluding at Doors Open Day on 5^th September. We will be open 10.30 to 3.30 each day. Fulll details, and any changes or additional dates will be in the Tab ‘Chapel Opening Days 2026’.

St Mary’s Phase 2 progress

Due to ongoing building and refurbishment at St Mary’s Chapel at the Kirk of St Nicholas, it is with regret that the OpenSpace Trust is not able to open the doors this year. However please see what is going on behind closed doors by watching this video :-

As part of the virtual Doors Open Day 2021 in Aberdeen we have produced two new videos, both about the use of St Mary’s Chapel as a prison during the witches trials in 1596-97. They can be found under the YouTube Video tab along with those of last year. We hope to continue to produce new videos on a variety of subjects.

Archibald Simpson was born on 4^th May 1790, his parents’ ninth child, in a house on Guestrow, Aberdeen. Much of Guestrow was demolished during the slum clearance, but a plaque is in place on what remains of the road (parallel to Broad Street across from the Town House extension). At Aberdeen Grammar School Archibald Simpson was a contemporary of the poet Byron. At the age of 13 he went to Marischal College but had to leave a year later when his father died. At the age of 20 he went to London as an apprentice architect, later spending some time in Italy before returning to Aberdeen in 1813 where he opened his architectural practice in his old home in Guestrow. He moved the practice a number of times, to Union Street (where a fire destroyed all his drawings), Belmont Street and finally to Bon Accord Street. There are, or were, because some have been lost, many important buildings designed by Archibald Simpson in the city. The Assembly Rooms, now the Music Hall, is one of his prominent buildings, currently undergoing restoration. Others include The Old Royal Infirmary, St Andrew’s Cathedral, the Triple Kirks and the Athaneum.

Simpson also designed the East Kirk of St Nicholas in 1835. Following the demolition of the previous East Kirk, the new building was built and then dedicated in 1837. It is worth noting that John Smith, as city architect, disapproved of the design. The first photograph shows the building as it now appears, which is more or less unaltered from his day.

Archibald Simpson died when only 56 years old. He had been away on business to Edinburgh and then Derby. On his return he was showing signs of developing a fever. Over the next few days at his home at 1 East Craibstone Street, he rapidly deteriorated and died on 23^rd March 1847 just one week after his return. He had been a bachelor, played the violin and was variously described as ‘a little, active man, always carrying plans under his arms’, ‘shy and retiring’ and having ‘a strong and eccentric character’.

As befits a man of granite, his grave in the Kirkyard at the Kirk of St Nicholas, is marked by a simple granite slab at ground level, close to the East Kirk building, as shown in the second photograph.

After the horror and desolation of Good Friday, today is the day when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Day. This is the foundation of the Christian faith, showing as it does the divine Jesus, that he is indeed the Son of God. Christians believe that through the sacrifice of Jesus and his resurrection, no matter what we do, it is still possible for us to be reconciled with God.

It is not easy to represent the resurrection. Often Jesus was shown as the Paschal Lamb. This is a reference to the Old Testament practice of animal sacrifice as an atonement for sin. So, Jesus is seen as the ultimate sacrifice. However, in many non-conformist churches an empty cross is often used to show that Jesus is no longer crucified and dead. The photograph is of a grave memorial in the Kirkyard of the Kirk of St Nicholas. It is an empty cross carved by the stonemason to appear as though it were made from tree trunks.

Today is remembered throughout the western Christian world as Good Friday – the day when Jesus was crucified. It has become one of the commonest themes for religious art over the centuries.

St Mary’s Chapel was built at a lower level in the middle of the 15^th century to allow the expansion of the Kirk of St Nicholas above the valley of the Putachie Burn. It was used for a number of years by a group of ladies who focussed their devotion on the suffering of Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the time of the crucifixion. The photograph with this blog shows the right hand light of the window created by Aberdeen artist Douglas Strachan for the Chapel. This is half of Strachan’s first stained glass window. The image portrays the words in John’s Gospel chapter 19 verses 25-27 “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother ….  When Jesus saw his mother standing there and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, ‘Woman here is your son’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother’. From that time on, this disciple took her into his home”. The image created by Strachan shows Mary, with a sad and forlorn look on her face, resting on ‘the disciple’ with Jesus on the cross looking down on them.

Bells have been used over the centuries at times of rejoicing, to warn of danger and in times of mourning. Most bells are located in churches where they have an additional use – to call the faithful to worship. With a known history spanning more than 8 centuries and its central location, it is hardly surprising that the Kirk of St Nicholas has a story to tell about its bells. Exactly when the first one was installed is not known. There certainly was one already there in 1351 when two new bells were added. They were dedicated to St Mary and St Laurence (the latter bell often known as ‘Auld Lowrie’). How they came to be gifted is intriguing. Tradition suggests that Provost William de Leyth [Leith] got into a quarrel with Baillie Catanach of Barkhill (near Berryden) which resulted in the death of the latter. In expiation for the crime, the two bells were given by William Leyth. The larger, Auld Lowrie, was about 4 feet across at the mouth and 3½ feet high, weighing about 4,000lb (1.8 tons). It must have been quite a feat getting it up the spire into position! Up to the Reformation it was only tolled on the anniversaries of the death of three successive chief magistrates, Fyffe, Roull and Davidson.

Auld Lowrie was recast in 1634 and continued in use with the other two bells until 1874. Additional bells were installed in 1794, 1802 and three in 1858 making a peal of eight. These were hung for change ringing i.e. chimed by swinging the bell using a rope. Complex permutations of sounding the bells, called changes are possible. These bells were sometimes used in this way and were reputed to have a very fine quality of sound.

The story of the drastic fire of 9^th October 1874 was related in the Blog of 10^th October 2015. All the bells were lost during the collapse of the spire. However, metal from the bells was recovered subsequently. Some was recast as bells, but some was used to make a lectern in the shape of a Pelican. This was used in the former East Kirk until 2004 and is now located in the West Kirk. The wooden stand is also made from wood recovered after the fire.  It is shown in the accompanying photographs.