Imperial gazeteer of Scotland, or, Dictionary of Scottish topography > Volume 1

ABERDEEN.
8
ABERDEEN.
and who, according to a prevalent custom of the
times, was chosen patron saint of the city. That
church, in a superb cathedral-like form in which it
stood for ages, was probably built in the 12th cen-
tury, and at all events is known to have existed in
the 13th; and it afterwards was fitted up and long
used as two churches, — the nave or west end of it
under the name of the West church, and the choir
or east end of it under the name of the East church.
The church of the Franciscan friary also came early
to be used in the capacity of what is now termed a
chapel of ease, or rather took rank as a co-ordinate
parochial place of worship under the name of Grey-
friars church. A chapel was founded at Footdee,
in 1498, by the town-council, for the benefit of the
fishing population, and dedicated to St. Clement;
and after the Reformation, it was neglected and
went into decay; but in 1631, it was repaired and
put into use as a church in connection with the Pro-
testant establishment. The ministers of all the
four places acted conjointly, or had a cumulative
care of the parish, yet each exercised a special su-
pervision within a district of his own ; and during
at least 150 years, the charges of the West church
and the East church were collegiate. In modern
times, several other places of worship were erected,
either originally in connection with the Establish-
ment, or in circumstances which afterwards brought
them into connection with it; and in 1828, by a
decree of the Court of Teinds, the four old churches
and two of these modern erections, called the South
church and the North church, were constituted se-
parate and distinct parish churches, and had dis-
tributed among them all the territory of the old pa-
rish in six new parishes. Four other places of
worship which existed prior to 1828, and one which
was built in 1833, held the rank of quoad sacra pa-
rish churches at and before the Disruption in 1843;
but three of them then adhered to the Free church,
and the other two are now the only chapels of ease
in St. Nicholas.
All the parishes of New Aberdeen are in the pres-
bytery and synod of Aberdeen. The town council
are the patrons of the six parish churches; and the
congregations elect to the two chapels of ease.
The stipends of the ministers of the West, the East,
the South, and the North parishes, are £300 each,
paid by the city corporation ; that of the minister
of Greyfriars parish is £250, paid by the city corpo-
ration ; and that of the minister of St. Clement's
parish is £279 lis. 10|d., derived from the half-
barony of Torrie, the glebe of Footdee, and seat-
rents. — The present West church stands on the site
of the nave of the old church of St. Nicholas, and
was built in 1755 and enlarged in 1836, and con-
tains 1,454 sittings. Population of the West pa-
rish in 1831, 8,930; in 1861, 11,450. The present
East church stands on the site of the choir of the
old church of St. Nicholas, and was built in 1837,
and contains 1,705 sittings. Population of the East
parish in 1831, 3,846; in 1861, 5,182. The Grey-
friars church is a very ancient building, the only
ancient church now in New Aberdeen, and is often
called the College church. Sittings, 1,042. Popu-
lation of Greyfriars parish in 1831, 4,706; in 1861,
7,143. The present St. Clement's church stands on
the site of the old Footdee church, and was built in
1828, and contains 800 sittings. Population of St.
Clement's parish in 1831, 6,501; in 1861, 7,623.
The original South church was built in 1779, and
was first a meeting-house in connexion witli the
Relief body, and afterwards a chapel of ease in con-
nexion with the Establishment; and in 1830-1
that structure was taken down and the present
church erected on its site. Sittings, 1,562. Popu-
lation of the South parish in 1831, 4,313; in 1861,
4,291. The North church was built in 1826, and
contains 1,486 sittings. Population of the North
parish in 1831, 4,616; in 1861, 6,273. The two
chapels of ease are called Trinity church and John
Knox's church. Trinity church was built in 1794,
and contains 1,247 sittings, but is now shut up;
and John Knox's church was built in 1835, and
contains 1,054 sittings.
The Free churches in St. Nicholas parish are the
West, the East, Greyfriars, St. Clement's, South,
North, Trinity, John Knox, Union, Melville, Mari-
ners', and the Gaelic. The communicants in the
West, in 1864, were 1.070, — the yearly contribu-
tions, in 1865, £1,772 "7s. 4^d.; in the East, com-
municants, 890, — contributions, £1,461 7s. 7d.; in
Greyfriars, communicants, 160, — contributions,
£170 16s. lOJd.; in St. Clement's, communicants,
940, — contributions, £559 2s. 3Jd. ; in South, com-
municants, 1,100, — contributions, £1,528 15s. 7Ad.;
in North, communicants, 487, — contributions, £498
17s 3d.; in Trinity, communicants, 784, — contri-
butions, £1,588 19s. 7d.; in John Knox, communi-
cants, 914, — contributions, £568 15s. 3d.; in Union,
communicants, 712, — contributions, £400 14s. lid.;
in Melville, communicants, 102, — contributions,
£110 7s. 9Jd.; in Mariners', communicants, 250, —
contributions, £141 8s. 4id.; in the Gaelic, com-
municants, 209, — contributions, £161 10s. 5d. There
were, in 1865, six United Presbyterian churches, —
respectively in St. Nicholas-lane, in George-street, in
Belmont-street, in Charlotte-street, in St. Paul-street,
and in Gallowgate ; and the last had but recently
become connected with the U. P. body. The other
places of worship, in 1865, inclusive of some within
Old Machar, were an Original Seceder church, in
Skene-street; four Independent chapels, in con-
nexion with the Congregational Union of Scotland,
in Belmont-street, Dee-street, Blackfriars-street,
and Albion-street; two Independent chapels, in
connexion with the Evangelical Union, in St. Paul-
street and Johns-street; St. Andrew's Scotch
Episcopal church, served by the Bishop of Aber-
deen and an assistant, in King-street, with 1,100
sittings ; St. John's Scotch Episcopal church, in
Crown-terrace ; St. Mary's Scotch Episcopal church,
in Carden-place; St. Paul's English Episcopal
church, in Gallowgate, with 900 sittings; St. James'
English Episcopal church, in Crown-street; aWes-
leyan Methodist chapel, in Long Acre, with 900
sittings ; three Baptist chapels, in George-street,
John-street, and South Silver-street ; a Glassite
chapel, in St. Andrew's-street ; a Quakers' meeting-
house, in Gallowgate ; a Unitarian chapel, in
George-street; and a Roman Catholic church,
served by the bishop of the northern district of
Scotland, and two assistants, in Huntly-street.
In the times before the Reformation, there was a
St. Mary's chapel, under the East church ; there was
a St. Catherine's chapel founded in 1242, and situ-
ated on St. Catherine's-hill ; and there was a St.
Ninian's chapel situated on the Castle-hill. The
Black friars had their establishment on the School-
hill, where Gordon's hospital and the Grammar-
school now stand ; the Carmelite, or White friars'
monastery, was on the south side of the Green,
near Carmelite-street; and the Greyfriars in Broad-
street, where the Marischal college and Greyfriars
church are now situated.
The City op New Aberdeen is a place of great
spirit, bustle, and magnificence, every way worthy
of its high honours as the seat of an university, the
seat of much manufacture and commerce, and the
fourth greatest town in all Scotland, and by far the
first in the north. It fascinates all strangers, and