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The Old Trades Hall in the Shiprow, Aberdeen. c.1850
302 This area, at the southern end of the Shiprow, was the site of the monastery of the Trinity Friars until 1559 when it was burnt to the ground by Protestant Reformers.
In 1631, having purchased the lands, Dr William Guild, gifted their old chapel and other buildings to be a hospital and meeting house for the seven Aberdeen Incorporated Trades. These were Hammermen, Bakers, Wrights and Coopers, Tailors, Shoemakers, Weavers, Fleshers.
Guild was one of Aberdeen's ministers and afterwards became Principal of King's College.
The Chapel became an Episcopal Church until 1794 when it was removed and replaced by the building seen at the left of the photograph. It was vacated in 1843, when the congregation joined the Free Church, and was then sold and eventually became the Alhambra Music Hall until 1902.
On the right was the Trades or Trinity Hall - often known as the Trinity Hall. It had a projecting wing tower and corbelled angle turret, and was demolished around 1857 for railway development.
The Trades had already moved into their new premises in Union Street in 1846.
This photograph looks south-south-west and is taken from roughly where Trinity Lane is now. The image likely dates from the 1850s, the time of the demolition.
Ebenezer Bain in Merchant and Craft Guilds: A History of the Aberdeen Incorporated Trades (1887) writes the following:
"The extension of the railway system to Aberdeen sealed the fate of the old Trades Hall. When Aberdeen Railway was projected in 1844, the hall and site, which extended from the foot of Shiprow to the near present line of railway, were scheduled [for demolition], and although not required for railway purposes, the buildings had to come down when Guild Street and Exchange Street were constructed. The last of the buildings was taken down in 1857 [...]" (Page 174). Gaelic Chapel, Belmont Street
322 The Gaelic Chapel was founded in the 18th century in response to the increasing numbers of Highlanders who came to the city in search of work.
At first, they held services in the East Church of St. Nicholas but, in the 1790s, they obtained ground in the area between Belmont Street and Back Wynd, now known as Gaelic Lane.
The opening services in the new church were conducted on 30th August 1795. In 1843, at the Disruption, the whole congregation followed their minister, Rev. Hugh Mackenzie, into the Free Church.
By 1882, the church had become old and dilapidated and needed so much renovation that the congregation decided to move. The property was disposed of and was used as a printing office by G. & W. Fraser for a number of years.
The congregation moved to a church on Dee Street which had become vacant on the disbanding of the United Free Methodists and it was named St. Columba United Free Church.
In 1907, they amalgamated with the High United Free Church and moved to their church at the junction of Belmont Street and Schoolhill.
Comparing the scene shown here and large scale historic maps suggests that this is likely a view of the rear of the Gaelic Chapel buildings, looking north, potentially taken from the back of a building on Union Street. Queens Cross Free Church
369 Queens Cross Free Church, Aberdeen. This photograph taken by G.W. Wilson whose house was almost adjacent. In 1877, the Free Church discussed the possibility of a church to cater for those who lived in the increasingly popular west end of the city. They secured a triangular site at the junction of Albyn Place and Carden Place at Queens Cross. Competitive designs were sought and John Bridgeford Pirie, of Pirie and Clyne, architects, were successful with his French Gothic design in granite. The steeple is 150 feet high and the grand entrance doorway is flanked by massive pillars leading into the nave where there was space for around 800 worshipers. There is a circular window in the east end, stained glass windows having been gifted by members of the congregation. The building was opened for worship on 17th April 1881, and the popularity of its first Minister, the Rev Dr George Adam Smith brought large audiences to the church. Smith was later to become Principal of Aberdeen University. The church became the only one of the city's free churches to have instrumental music when it acquired an organ built by Henry Willis. Queens Cross became Church of Scotland in 1929 when the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church merged. Various extensions have taken place, including a new hall and vestry in 1939, and the building was extensively restored in 1980. Belmont Street
798 This photograph shows the old corner of Belmont Street and Gaelic Lane.
The building on the far left is the Gaelic Free Church. It was opened for worship on 30th August 1795 and in time gave its name to the lane. It was used for the services of Aberdeen's Gaelic congregation until 1882.
The congregation moved and the building was sold to Messers G. and W. Fraser, printers, who owned adjoining premises. They replaced the old church frontage with the more business like façade that can be seen in this photograph.
See the entry for St. Columba United Free Church in Alexander Gammie's Churches of Aberdeen (1909) for more details.
A sign for George Cowie, a hairdressers, is prominently visible at number 4 around the corner on Belmont Street. Kelman Memorial Church, Culter
996 Kelman Memorial Church, Culter - in 1843 at the Disruption, the Rev. Robert Thomson set up a Free Church congregation in Culter. They worshipped at a building at Contlaw, 3 miles from the village. In 1893, the congregation, under the Rev. John Kelman, agreed that a more central site was required. The foundation stone was laid on 28 April 1894 and the church, designed by John Rust, was opened on 16 February 1895. This snowy scene shows the Norman style of architecture of the church, which was constructed of granite from Rubislaw Quarry, Aberdeen. After the reunion of the Free Church with the Church of Scotland in October 1929, the decision was taken to rename this church the Kelman Memorial Church in remembrance of Rev. Dr. Kelman, who had died only a few months earlier. This left 2 Church of Scotland churches in Culter but, in March 1999, St. Peter's and Kelman Memorial were amalgamated to form Peterculter Parish Church, with this building chosen to continue for the future. St. Peter's may become a heritage museum. Trinity Lane
1208 Trinity Lane, Aberdeen, c.1975, from Exchange Street.
The Trinity place-name comes from the area once being the site of a Trinitarian Friary.
The building to the right in this photograph was once known as Trinity Chapel, or Trinity Parish Church. It was opened for public worship on Sunday 27th April, 1794.
For a number of years, the chapel was an important centre of religious life and activity. The Disruption of 1843 significantly diminished the congregation. The building was subsequently sold by the Presbytery and became the Alhambra Music Hall.
See Gammie's Churches of Aberdeen (1909) for more information on the history of this congregation and building.
A large part of the exterior still stands and the building currently houses Wagley's public house. In this photograph Alex. McKay, electrical appliance showroom, is in occupation. Newspaper notices indicate that the business moved here, from 41 The Green, in 1966.
The building in the centre of the image is best known, as shown here, as a banana warehouse for Knowles & Sons, fruiterers and later as a restaurant and art gallery. It was originally built as a church for Aberdeen's Catholic Apostolic congregation.
MUSA was a restaurant and art space, with a focus on music, throughout the first two decades of the 21st century. It closed down in October 2018.
8th March 2019 saw the opening of a new bar in the building called The Hop & Anchor, specialising in craft beer. It is owned by a company called the Draft House and this is their first pub outside London. The Draft House is owned by Brewdog, the North East beer company. North Parish Church
1253 The North Parish Church on King Street. It was designed by John Smith in the Greek Revival Style and is thought to have been inspired by St. Pancras Church in London. The building cost £10,300 and could accommodate 1700 to 1800 people.
The church was constructed after the parish of St. Nicholas was split into six distinct parishes in around 1828 due to population growth. The six parishes were East, West, North, South, Greyfriars and St. Clement's.
The church was officially opened on 19th June 1831 and its first service was attended by the Lord Provost and the town's Magistrates. The first minister was Rev. John Murray.
The church became home to the North and Trinity Parish in 1929 when Trinity Church on Marischal Street closed and its congregation was merged with the North Parish.
Due to declining attendance numbers the North and Trinity congregation was itself merged in 1954 with the East Church of St. Nicholas. The church building on King Street was converted to become the Aberdeen Arts Centre in 1963. Old Bon Accord United Free Church
1526 A photograph of the Bon Accord Church that was located on Union Terrace. The building was previously known as Union Terrace Chapel.
In 1827 a number of the Trinity Chapel congregation split off after unsuccessfully supporting Rev. Gavin Parker, then working in Dundee, as a candidate for the then vacant ministry.
The new congregation and Parker purchased Union Terrace Chapel from a struggling Baptist congregation in 1828. It opened as a Presbyterian place of worship with a service on 27th July 1828.
For some years it operated as a chapel of ease before an reformist Act of the General Assembly was passed that erected chapels of ease into parishes quoad sacra. The building then became known as Bon Accord Church.
During the ministry of Rev. Hector M. Adam, the Bon Accord United Free Church congregation sold this Union Terrace building to the Aberdeen School Board and had new church buildings constructed on Rosemount Viaduct. These new buildings opened on 3rd September 1896 and still house an active congregation today.
The building on Union Terrace appears to have served as School Board, and possibly Aberdeen County Council, offices before being demolished at an unknown date during development to the street.
For more details on this building and the Bon Accord congregation, please see The Churches of Aberdeen by Alexander Gammie (1909, page 92) and Bon-Accord United Free Church, Aberdeen: a Retrospect of 100 Years 1828-1928 (1928). Both books are available to consult at Aberdeen Local Studies. St. Paul's Street Evangelical Union Church
1537 In 1846 the Evangelical Union in Aberdeen secured the services of Rev. Fergus Ferguson, of Bellshill, to preach in the city.
The congregation was initially based in the old Relief Chapel in St. Andrew's Street. They had to relocate due to the growing popularity of their church services and bought a property in St. Paul's Street.
The pictured chapel was built at a cost of about £2,000 and was the first church designed by James Matthews.
In 1896 the Evangelical Union was incorporated into the Congregational Union of Scotland and the church became known as St. Paul's Street Congregational Church. Rothienorman Church
1730 Rothienorman is a village about 25 miles north of Aberdeen and 10 miles from Inverurie. The church began as a mission station in 1935, under Inverurie, before being raised to full status in 1947. In 1958, it became a joint charge with Culsalmond but it is now linked with Fyvie. Rev. Alexander Noble has recently been inducted to the charge but, at the time of this photo, the minister was Rev. Rodney Milligan, who had the charge from 1958. The church was designed by the Aberdeen architect, George Bennett Mitchell, in 1936. The roof is supported by arched oak beams which are painted black, as is the bell tower, in contrast to the grey harled walls. The pews came from the United Free Church in Rayne, while the communion table and chains in light oak were gifted by James Dalgarno, in memory of his wife. At first glance, its unusual design makes the passerby think that it is a private house but most visitors regard it as a beautiful building. John Knox Church
1823 An illustration looking south along Mounthooly, with John Knox Church in the centre, from near the bridge opposite Canal Street. The bridge was initially over the Aberdeenshire Canal and later the Great North of Scotland railway.
This drawing shows the old John Knox Church. It was built as an extension church in the parish of Greyfriars. Building commenced in 1833 and finished in 1835.
Demolition of the old church and construction of its replacement began in 1910. A larger building was needed to accommodate an expanding congregation. Alexander Gammie, in his Churches of Aberdeen (1909), credits the increase in attendance to the popularity of Rev. George A. Johnston, who served as the church's minister from 27th September 1905 to 1909.
At the rear of the original church there was a boys and girls school that can be seen on the Ordnance Survey map from 1869 (Aberdeenshire LXXV.11). The 1902 OS map suggests this school was replaced by the congregation's church hall, finished in October 1885. The 1926 map indicates the hall was in turn demolished during construction of the new church.
Summarizing the progress of the church up to 1909, Gammie writes:
"The congregation of John Knox is composed almost entirely of the working classes, and the church is situated in what is practically an east-end district. Yet it has not been lacking in the enterprise and ability to undertake and complete important schemes solely by its own efforts. The erection of a church hall, the introduction of a pipe organ, and the erection of a handsome new oak pulpit are instances of what it has accomplished in this respect."
The soon to be undertaken construction of the new church building would perhaps remain the greatest accomplishment in the congregation's history. In 1997 John Knox Church united with Greyfriars Church on Broad Street, ceasing to be a seperate congregation. The 1910 church building was later converted for residential use.
The kirk session records of the church are held by Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives. The Longacre
1941 Longacre, off Broad Street, in 1884. The street was demolished for the extensions to Marischal College.
This drawing served as the frontispiece image of the following publication: Centenary of the Consecration of the Right Reverend Samuel Seabury, D.D., first Bishop of Connecticut., Authorised Report of Proceedings in Scotland and Elsewhere, 1884 (John Avery & Co., 1885).
To the far left of the image can be seen the old St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. Gammie's Churches of Aberdeen (1909), tells us that this was opened for service on 13th September 1795.
It was built on the site of Bishop John Skinner's house, the upper two floors of which had served as the congregation's meeting place. On 14th November 1784 this was the scene of the consecration of Dr. Samuel Seabury as the first Bishop of Connecticut.
The chapel was bought by the Wesley Methodists in 1818 and served as Aberdeen's centre of Methodist activity until 1873. Prior to demolition it is thought to have been used as a warehouse and this would account for the crane like tool protruding from the window in this image. Queen's Cross Church
2116 Queens Cross Church in the snow. In 1877 the Free Church discussed the possibility of a church to cater for those who lived in the increasingly popular west end of the city. They secured a triangular site at the Queen's Cross junction of Albyn Place and Carden Place.
Competitive designs were sought and John Bridgeford Pirie, of Pirie and Clyne, architects, were successful with his French Gothic design in granite. The steeple is 150 feet high and the grand entrance doorway is flanked by massive pillars leading into the nave where there was space for around 800 worshipers. There is a circular window in the east end, stained glass windows having been gifted by members of the congregation.
The building was opened for worship on 17th April 1881, and the popularity of its first Minister, the Rev Dr George Adam Smith brought large audiences to the church. He was later to become Principal of Aberdeen University.
The church became the only one of the city's free churches to have instrumental music when it acquired an organ built by Henry Willis. Queens Cross became Church of Scotland in 1929 when the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church merged. Various extensions have taken place, including a new hall and vestry in 1939, and the building was extensively restored in 1980. St. Nicholas Church
2235 St. Nicholas Church East and Churchyard before a fire destroyed the ancient tower and steeple in 1874. The Old Church of St. Nicholas was erected between 1477 and 1522. The church was divided in 1596 and stone walls built between the Nave and Choir, forming the West and East Kirk respectively. In 1835, the old building was demolished and a new Gothic church, designed by Archibald Simpson, erected on the site. It opened for public worship on 7th May 1837 but was destroyed by fire on the evening of 9th October 1874. The oak steeple and its lead spire were both consumed by flames and the historic bell "Auld Lawrie" crashed to the bottom of the tower. The congregation worshipped in the Music Hall for some time whilst the church was rebuilt by William Smith between 1875 and 1877. Smoking Haddies
2614 A James Valentine postcard entitled Smoking Haddies, Aberdeen. Rows of gutted and split haddocks are seen drying in the sun with a row of smoke houses in the background.
Ed Fowler has been in touch to very plausibly suggest that these smokes houses were located to the west of Old Torry. The building that can be seen on the far right, beyond the last chimney, is likely the Torry United Free Church built in the 1860s.
The church was located on Sinclair Road, which was previously known as Church Road. The congregation's history can be read in Gammie's Churches of Aberdeen (1909).
Old local newspapers indicate that there was fish curing works in this area going back to at least the late 19th century.
There are a row of buildings to the east of Seaton Brickworks, between Sinclair Road and Crombie Road, shown on the 1901 Ordnance Survey map series that could be these smoke houses. Elim Pentecostal Church
2756 This building at 50 Marischal Street was first used as a church as part of a scheme to reconstitute the then dissolved Trinity Parish. Its congregation had been based at the church on Exchange Street that became the Alhambra music hall.
The Marischal Street building was the Theatre Royal before being remodeled to serve as a church in the 1870s. The parish's first minister was Rev. James Park. See Alexander Gammie's Churches of Aberdeen (1909) for more information on this congregation.
The Trinity Parish Church was put on the market around 1934 and was purchased by a member of the Aberdeen branch of the Elim Four-Square Gospel Alliance, Mrs Isabella Gordon, and presented to this organisation.
The Aberdeen branch opened in 1932 and had previously held meetings in the Music Hall, the Aberdeen Business Women's Club on East Craibstone Street, and the Balmoral Hall on Gray Street.
The Elim Tabernacle on Marischal Street was officially opened on Saturday 25th August 1934. A report of the opening can be read in the Press & Journal of Monday 27 August 1934. John Knox United Free Church group portrait
2905 A group portrait believed to show some of the congregation and officials of John Knox United Free Church on Gerrard Street.
This church was formed after the Disruption of 1843 when Rev. John Stephen, the then minister of John Knox Parish Church, located nearby at Mounthooly, left the established Church to join the Free Church of Scotland. The first John Knox U. F. Church on Gerrard Street was opened for worship by Stephen on 31st March 1844. The later church on the same site was opened in January 1900, during the ministry of Rev. Robert Macleod. It is in this later building that this photograph is believed to have been taken. Likely during the late 1920s or 1930s.
This print was kindly donated to Aberdeen Local Studies by David Parkinson. His grandfather, David Charles Kelly Parkinson, is the tall, left most chap in the back row. Rev. George A. Johnston, B.D.
3803 A photographic portrait of Rev. George A. Johnston taken from the John Knox Parish Church Book of the Bazaar from 1910. He served as the church's minister from 20th June 1906 until he took up a position at Grange on 6th July 1909.
The souvenir fundraising book features a history of the parish church and its ministers by Alexander Gammie, Esq. ("Ecclesiasticus"). Gammie describes Johnston's ministry as follows:
"Mr. Johnston had a great reputation as a preacher before he came to Aberdeen, but he very soon quite eclipsed his past in point of popularity and influence. From the outset of his ministry he attracted immense audiences, and the church at every service was crowded to overflowing. He stood without a peer as unquestionably the most popular preacher of his day in Aberdeen. And not only did vast audiences gather Sunday after Sunday to listen to his preaching, but membership of the congregation increased at an abnormal rate until the Communion Roll reached a total of considerably over 2000 names. Mr. Johnston's ministry is, and always will be, a great tradition of John Knox's." page 38-39.
As way of example, Gammie gives an extensive account of one of Johnston's services. Gammie goes on to credit the shortness of Johnston's ministry, and eventual move to the less demanding post in Grange, to the burden of work entailed with so great a congregation.
See Gammie's full article in the Book of the Bazaar and the church's entry in his Churches of Aberdeen (1909) for more details about Johnston and the John Knox congregation. Both are available to consult at Aberdeen City Libraries. John Knox United Free Church
3805 A photograph of John Knox U. F. Church on Gerrard Street.
This image, credited to "G. Brodie, Aberdeen.", is from page 44 of a book of the bazaar held by Aberdeen City Libraries. The book is called Life of John Knox: with an account of John Knox Free Church and its Ministers. Issued in connection with Bazaar to be held in Music Hall Buildings, Aberdeen on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 26th, 27th, 28th., 1899 (1899).
The photographer is most likely Geddes Mackenzie Scott Brodie, an Aberdeen photographer who died at Yoker, aged 50, on 16th April 1919 (see Aberdeen Daily Journal, 8th July 1919, page 2).
This new church building was built during the ministry of Rev. Robert Macleod. It cost around £6,000 and was opened in January 1900.
At August 2021, this church is occupied by the Gerrard Street Baptist Church congregation. West Church of St. Andrew
4402 A photograph, taken on 3rd February 2024, of the West Church of St. Andrews at 333 Union Street, Aberdeen. This church has also been known as the Free West Church and the Langstane Kirk.
The West Church of St. Andrew was built in 1869 by James Matthews (1819-1898), originally as a Free Church. The building is in the Gothic revival style, built of stugged ashlar with a slated roof, it has a vast galleried nave, and is set back from the street to form a small square in front.
The early history of the West United Free Church congregation, including the creation of this church building, is detailed in Alexander Gammie's Churches of Aberdeen (1909), pages 227-230. Gammie states that the church was opened on 14th February 1869 with services by the Rev. Dr. Alexander Dyce Davidson (1807-1872).
The Langstane Kirk congregation was formed in 1973 with the union of the West Church of St. Andrew and St. Nicholas, Union Grove (see Evening Express, 1st November 1983, page 3).
At 2024, the church is occupied by a bar called Soul. The bar's website states that its owner, PB Development Co Ltd., purchased the building from the Church of Scotland in 2001 and the venue was opened in 2005 (website accessed: 6th February 2024). Gilcomston South Church
4403 A photograph, taken on 3rd February 2024, of Gilcomston South Church on Union Street, Aberdeen. The street on the left of the image, going north from Union Street, is Summer Street.
This church was designed by architect William Smith (1817-1891). It was opened 1868 and served as the second, more elaborate premises of the United Free Church in Aberdeen. The first had been a more simple granite box-auditorium on Huntly Street. An illustration of this earlier building features in Gammie's Churches of Aberdeen (1909) on page 127.
Historic Environment Scotland, in the entry for the building on their listed building portal, describe Gilcomston South as an interesting example of asymmetrical planning. This style had been advocated 30 years prior to its construction by the Camden Society and Ecclesiologists in England and continued to be advocated by the Aberdeen Ecclesiological Society into the late 19th century.
The church was officially opened on 6th September 1868 with services from the Rev. Mr Nixon (1803-1900) of Montrose, moderator of the Free Assembly, and Rev. Dr Walter Macgilvray (c1810-1880), pastor of the congregation (see Aberdeen Journal, 9th September 1868, page 8).
A book titled Gilcomston: A Congregation was written by Francis Lyall and published in 2020. It traces the history of the congregation from 1777 to 2013, when it left the Church of Scotland. Woodside Congregational Church from Annals of Woodside and Newhills, by Patrick Morgan (1886)
303 The churches in Woodside have always provided a strong community base where various clubs and social groups could gather. From bible classes to indoor bowling and a wide range of youth clubs, these locally designed buildings remain an important part of the area.
The Woodside Congregational Church building shown in this image was built in the year 1867. It replaced the congregation's previous building on the same site that was known as the Cotton Chapel. The construction of the later church is usually credited to the liberality of Provost William Leslie.
The congregation temporarily closed down in around 1994. It started meeting again after about three years but unfortunately the congregation could no longer use the church building on Great Northern Road.
Woodside Congregational Church currently meet in the nearby Printfield portable cabin and the church building is derelict. John Knox Parish Church Drawing
375 An architectural drawing of John Knox Parish Church from 1910. The church, which has now been turned into flats, replaced an older church building on the same site.
As indicated at the bottom of the the image, the building was designed by the Wilsons & Walker architectural practice. Demolition and construction was began in 1910 and completed the following year.
Funding for the church was raised by the church congregation. This included holding a bazaar in the Music Hall on 6th, 7th & 8th October 1910. Aberdeen City Libraries hold the souvenir Book of the Bazaar in our Local Studies collection.
The architectural drawing featured in this volume along with a large amount of other material including a history of the congregation by Alexander Gammie. |