A photograph of the the Quaker meeting house that was located between Gallowgate and Sea Mount Place. This image shows the front elevation of the building that faced south east on to Port Hill.

The large scale Ordnance Survey town plan of Aberdeen (sheet LXXV.11.8., surveyed in 1867) indicates that their associated burial ground was located to the west of the building, towards Gallowgate. The plan also states that the meeting house had seating for 350 people.

The Quaker Meeting Houses Heritage Project (link here) states that the group first established their meeting house and burial ground on this site in 1672 and they continued to meet there until moving to a new location in 1800.

This building was later acquired by John Watt & Sons, leather merchants. The upper part had louvre windows which made it suitable for drying leather. Later OS maps suggest the building may have stood as a ruin into the mid-20th century.

At the time of writing in 2022, the site is now an elevated outdoor space surrounded by blocks of flats, to the south of Porthill Court, that go from Gallowgate around Seamount Road

A more recent, late-Victorian Quaker meeting house can be found at 98 Crown Street, Aberdeen.

To find out more about Quakers in Aberdeen, in addition to the above mentioned Quaker Meeting House Heritage Project, there is information on a relevant collection of books held by the University of Aberdeen, including a list of associated publications, here.

Location

Aberdeen City Centre

Keyword

Churches

Photographer