Building record MAB23904 - ST NICHOLAS' CHURCH, ABERDEEN

Early burgh church, still in use, also known as St Nicholas Uniting, dating from the 12th century although now only the transepts, crossing and crypt are of medieval date.

Early burgh church, still in use, also known as St Nicholas Uniting, dating from the 12th century although now only the transepts, crossing and crypt are of medieval date. The original church, known as the Mither Kirk, dates from 1151 but only remnants possibly remain in St John's Chapel and the central crossing. The crypt under the east end (St Mary's Chapel) dates from 1438. Following the reformation the church was divided into two churches the nave becoming the West Kirk (West Church of St Nicholas) and the choir the East Kirk (North and East Church of St Nicholas). The West Kirk was refashioned in 1755 to a design given by James Gibbs to the city of Aberdeen in 1741 (there is a commemorative plaque to James Gibbs on the west wall of the church). The East Kirk was almost completely demolished in 1835, rebuilt by Archibald Simpson 1835-7. A fire in 1874 destroyed 1835 church and the old oak and lead steeple over the crossing, both being replaced by William Smith in 1875-7. The transepts and the piers which carry the central tower are mainly of late 12th century transitional style with some later work, including the early 16th century window of the north transept which was re-modelled in the 17th century. The central spire was erected circa 1874. Built of granite and sandstone ashlar with a lead roof. The West Church is a 5-bay classical rectangular plan church with pedimented entrance elevation to the west. There are round arched window openings with moulded architraves, and some Gibbs surrounds. Windows are predominantly multi-pane timber, and there are cast-iron rainwater goods with decorative heads and clasps. internally it is a substantially unaltered 18th century interior, barrel vaulted with groin-vaulted aisles and oak panelled gallery, there is a massive decorative pulpit and communion table, pine boxed pews arranged in a square plan and Lord Provost's loft with Corinthian columned baldacchino. The East Church incorporating a 1438 crypt chapel (by Andrew Wrycht, master mason) at the east end. It is a 5-bay buttressed, crocketted and finialled Gothic former church. There are hoodmoulds, deep-set pointed-arch and rectangular openings with decorative tracery. A separate entrance leads to a small groin-vaulted chapel. The steeple, designed by William Smith 1875-7, comprises a crocketted and finialled square-plan clock tower with recessed stone spire, and clasping polygonal corner towers. The east end of the East Kirk was redesigned in 1936 in memory of James Cooper and as a war memorial.There are a number of war memorials within the church. A black granite tablet with gold inscribed lettering and the Burma Star commemorates those who served and died in the Burma Campaign 1941-1945. A wooden board with five brass name plaques commemorates Aberdeen Royal Engineers killed during World Wars I and II. A marble plaque within a wooden frame commemorates the 15 officers and 252 other ranks of the Aberdeen Territorial Royal Engineers who gave their lives in the Great War 1914-1918, a second tablet is a memorial to the Royal Engineers from Aberdeen who gave their lives in the Second World War. A communion table originally in Skene Congregational Church (NJ90NW1893) commemorates men of that church killed during the First and Second World Wars. Within the vestry is an early medieval cross slab. A watching brief carried out by Aberdeen City Council Archaeological Unit in 1990 on an oil pipe trench on the north side of the east church recorded a stone drain and some human bone. See also NJ90NW0916 - excavation in East Church, NJ90NW1023 - Excavation in Collison Aisle. NJ90NW1022 - Watching Brief, NJ90NW1175 - ground penetrating radar. A watching brief was carried out by Cameron Archaeology in May-June 2024 during removal of plaster from the vaults and walls of the East Kirk’s St Mary’s Chapel. This revealed differences in patterns of masonry in the vaults of the east aisle compared to those of the north, central and south aisles. Minor repairs in red brick to the vaults of all aisles appear to date to the 19th century, and the east aisle also saw more extensive repairs at this time including insertion of stone arches above windows. The church is surrounded by a large graveyard, dating from the 16th century including a triumphal arch and classical screen to Union Street designed by John Smith 1829-30, and a single-storey 3 bay classical lodge to the north (originally situated within the Robert Gordon College). In the churchyard is a rich collection of monuments mostly 17th century and onwards, including a square-plan classical monument to Dr Robert Hamilton with a tall base and four Doric corner columns supporting entablature above and enclosing a simple urn. The boundary walls of the churchyard are of coped rubble to north, west and east, some with iron railings. There are coped, panelled granite ashlar gatepiers to east and north, those to the east with decorative urns. Graves in the churchyard include that of the magician John Henry Anderson, Wizard of the North, who died in 1874. The churchyard contains a single Commonwealth war grave, of Petty Officer J Baxter, RN, who died in 1917. A plaque on the east churchyard wall commemorates Aberdeen's first printer, Edward Raban (1579-1658) who is buried in the churchyard. A plaque on the west wall commemorates the architect James GIbbs . A plaque on the Union Street colonnade commemorates the first City Architect John Smith (1781-1852) who designed the colonnade. On the west side of the churchyard is a wall monument built in 1696 by William Rickart as a memorial to his parents, the inscription also noted his own death in 1699. A watching brief was carried out by Aberdeen City Council Archaeological Unit in October 2001 during works for a new path and signage in the graveyard. No archaeological features or artefacts were recorded. A commemorative stone acknowledging the efforts of key workers and citizens during the Covid-19 pandemic was unveiled in the churchyard in March 2022. The kirk contains carved stones from a number of buildings (now demolished) in the city: Dyer's Hall (NJ90NW2767), Pitfoddels' Lodging (NJ90NW0210), the Old Tolbooth (NJ90NW0119) and old East Kirk.

Period Notes
Listed 12/01/1967. Church built 12th century.Crypt under east end 1438. West Kirk refashioned 1755. East Kirk almost completely demolished 1835, rebuilt 1835-7; destroyed by fire 1874 and replaced 1875-7.

AAS/GR/93/CT116 - 134, AAS/GR/93/CT116 - 134 (Ground Photograph). SAB36670.

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL, 12/01/1985 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

CITY OF ABERDEEN DEPT OF LEISURE AND RECREATION, , ST NICHOLAS CHURCH: THE MITHER KIRK AND ITS CHURCHYARD, Guide book (Bibliographic reference). SAB6798.

ANDERSON, N, , THE WEST CHURCH OF ST NICHOLAS, ABERDEEN, SECOND EDITION (Bibliographic reference). SAB5602.

GIBB, A, 1876, PSAS 11(1874-6) 450-62, PSAS 11, 450-62 (Bibliographic reference). SAB648.

WALKER, A, 1877, PSAS 12(1876-7) 199-201, PSAS 12, 199-201 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2053.

BRYDALL, R, 1895, THE MONUMENTAL EFFIGIES OF SCOTLAND FROM THE THIRTEENTH TO THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY PSAS 29(1894-5) 393-9, PSAS 29, 407-9 (Bibliographic reference). SAB132.

MACGIBBON, T, 1896, ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND 1, V1 p426-36 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1141.

EELES, FC, 1899, NOTES ON A MISSAL FORMERLY USED IN S NICHOLAS, ABERDEEN IN PSAS 33 (1898-9), 440-60, PSAS 33, 440-60 (Bibliographic reference). SAB491.

KELLY, W, 1934, PSAS 68(1933-4) 355-66 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1000.

SIMPSON, WD, 1943, PROVINCE OF MAR, Plates 69, 70 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1676.

HUNTER, J, 1974, PASA 105(1972-4) 236-47, PSAS 105, 236-47 (Bibliographic reference). SAB732.

SHEPHERD, I. A. G., 1986, EXPLORING SCOTLAND'S HERITAGE: GRAMPIAN, 28/03/2022 (Bibliographic reference). SAB8294.

DENNISON, E, 1997, HISTORIC ABERDEEN: THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF DEVELOPMENT. THE SCOTTISH BURGH SURVEY, pp 57-8, 60-9 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4057.

ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL, 2013, GRANITE TRAIL ABERDEEN: A GUIDE TO ABERDEEN'S GRANITE INDUSTRY (Bibliographic reference). SAB6472.

ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL, 2013, PEOPLE AND PLACES ABERDEEN (Bibliographic reference). SAB8383.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2020, THE EAST KIRK OF ST NICHOLAS, BACK WYND, ABERDEEN: WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION, WSI (Bibliographic reference). SAB8817.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2024, THE EAST KIRK OF ST NICHOLAS, BACK WYND, ABERDEEN: WATCHING BRIEF, WB report (Bibliographic reference). SAB8816.

Jan 20 2016 , AAS-GR-16-01-009, 010, AAS-GR-16-01-009, 010 (Ground Photograph). SAB35468.

Sep 28 2022 , PUB-GR-22-09-044, 045, PUB-GR-22-09-044, 045 (Ground Photograph). SAB36187.

Record last edited

Sep 16 2025 10:30AM