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.

More than 20 months ago, on 3 April 2014, the post on the blog depicted the large and impressive memorial to Revd Dr William Guild in the Kirkyard of the Kirk of St Nicholas. During the summer 2015 extensive work was undertaken to repair any deterioration and restore the memorial to its original condition. The memorial is to Dr Guild and his wife, Kathleen, in recognition of the legacy left to the City of Aberdeen in general and to the Incorporated Trades in particular. It was because of the latter that, each year, the current Patron proposes a toast to their memory and this year in particular it could be announced that the Incorporated Trades had undertaken to fund the work on the memorial. The result is quite spectacular. To show the difference it has made, the original photograph is shown alongside one taken in December 2015. If you would like to see it for yourself it is difficult to miss! Enter the Kirkyard from Back Wynd, turn left and it is there. We are indeed grateful for the generosity of the Incorporated Trades for what they have done to honour the memory of William Guild, their first Patron.

In the centre at the top of the memorial the Arms of William Guild and his wife is displayed. Beneath is a long inscription in Latin. A translation, from a book published in 1834, gives the text as

“Consecrate to the most holy and undivided Trinity and to the pious memory of William Guild who being born in this town and educate there and from his tender years nourished in holy studies first was advanced to the cure at the kirk of Kinedwar [King Edward] and having discharged the same by the space of 23 years he was called in to this town by the magistrates thereof formerly having been made doctor of divinity and chaplane to king Charles and he served the ministerial function here by the space of 10 years thence he was translated to the king’s colledge where he sustained the burden of being primar or principal for ten years till affairs being troubled here his integrity did not escape the envy of these times leaving therefore that place he settled the repose of his old age here where he got his cradle Yet he was not addicted to idle slothfulness but by mouth pen and spotless life was exemplary to others The far greatest part of his ample and innocently acquired patrimony he bequeathed to pious uses His wife also devoted what was hers to the same uses He lived 71 years And upon the day 25 of July in the year 1657 in hope of a most wished for resurrection fulfilled his mortality and died Katharine Rowen his surviving but most mournful and afflicted widow caused this monument to be erected for her most beloved husband with whom she had lived 47 full years It is neither virtue to have begun nor to have done but to have perfected This Burial place such as it is consecrate both to the memory of her most deserving husband and for her own the afternamed Katharine Rolland caused to be built who obtained the crown of immortality 24 December 1659”.