St Machar's Cathedral facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids St Machar's Cathedral
The cathedral's west front
Location	The Chanonry, Old Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 1RQ
Country	Scotland
Denomination	Church of Scotland
Previous denomination	Catholic
Churchmanship	Presbyterian
Website	stmachars.com
History
Dedication	St Machar
Administration
Presbytery	Aberdeen

Interior of St Machar's Cathedral

The roof structure over the side aisles

The west door of the cathedral

The cathedral entrance

St Machar's Cathedral is a very old and important Church of Scotland building in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is located in a historic part of the city called Old Aberdeen. Even though it is called a "cathedral," it is actually known as a "high kirk" today. This is because it has not been the main church for a bishop since 1690.

History of St Machar's
Church Leaders and Ministry
Keeping the Cathedral Beautiful
- Recent Restoration Work
- The Bells of St Machar's
Amazing Stained Glass Windows
The Famous Ceiling
Burials Inside the Cathedral
Burials Outside the Cathedral
See also

History of St Machar's

The Legend of St Machar

The church is named after St Machar, who is said to have traveled with St Columba a very long time ago. A story from the 1300s says that God told Machar to build a church where a river bent like a bishop's crosier (a special staff) before flowing into the sea. The River Don bends exactly like this near where the cathedral stands now. People believe St Machar started a place of worship here around the year 580.

Early Buildings and Changes

The first church built by Machar was replaced by a Norman-style cathedral in 1131. This happened after King David I moved the church's main office to Aberdeen. Not much of that first cathedral remains today. You can still see a small decorated stone in the Charter Room from that time.

After William Wallace was executed in 1305, parts of his body were sent to different places in Scotland. This was meant to be a warning to others. One part of his body was buried within the walls of St Machar's Cathedral.

Building the Cathedral We See Today

Towards the end of the 1200s, Bishop Henry Cheyne started to make the church bigger. But his work was stopped by the Scottish Wars of Independence. Some of the pillars he started for the choir are still visible at the east end of the church. These pillars have beautiful stone carvings, even though they are worn from being outside for so long.

Later, Bishop Alexander Kininmund II took down the old Norman cathedral in the late 1300s. He began building the main part of the church, called the nave, and the towers at the western end. Bishop Henry Lichtoun finished the nave, the front of the church, and the northern side section. He also started the central tower.

Bishop Ingram Lindsay completed the roof and the floor in the late 1400s. More work was done over the next 50 years by other bishops. Bishop Gavin Dunbar is famous for adding the special ceiling with coats of arms and the two tall spires on the western towers.

Major Changes and Damage

In 1560, during the Scottish Reformation, the chancel (the part of the church where the altar is) was taken down. The church bells and lead from the roof were sent to be sold, but the ship carrying them sank.

In 1688, a big storm caused the central tower and spire to collapse. This destroyed the choir and other parts of the church. The western arch was then filled in, and services continued only in the nave. So, the church you see today is mainly the nave and its side sections of the original building.

The ruined parts of the church are now looked after by Historic Environment Scotland. They contain important tombs of bishops from the Middle Ages. The cathedral is mostly built from strong granite stone. The unique flat ceiling in the nave, built in the early 1500s, shows the shields of kings from Europe and important Scottish leaders.

A Fortified Church

St Machar's Cathedral is an example of a "fortified kirk," which means it was built to be strong like a castle. It has two towers, similar to a church in Perth. Their thick walls have spiral staircases and battlements, which are parts of a castle wall used for defense. The spires on top of the towers were added in the 1400s.

Famous People Buried Here

Many notable people are buried in the cemetery around the cathedral. These include authors, artists, and missionaries.

Church Leaders and Ministry

The church has had many important ministers over the years. From 2004 to 2011, the minister was Reverend Dr Alan D. Falconer. In 2011, Reverend Jane Barron became the first female minister of St Machar's Cathedral, which was a very special moment. Currently, the minister is Reverend Barry Dunsmore, who started in 2015.

Some of the past ministers include:

James Lawson, the first Presbyterian minister from 1569 to 1572.
Alexander Arbuthnot, who was also the Principal of King's College, Aberdeen.
George Chalmers, who was also Principal of King's College, Aberdeen.

Keeping the Cathedral Beautiful

Recent Restoration Work

In recent years, a lot of money has been spent to restore the cathedral and show off its old treasures. The battlements on top of the western towers, which were unfinished for centuries, have been rebuilt to their original height. This has made the outside of the church look much better.

Inside, several important stone monuments have been carefully displayed. These include:

A cross-slab from the 600s or 700s, which is the only proof of early Christianity in Aberdeen.
A rare cross-head from the 1100s.
Well-preserved statues of church leaders from the Middle Ages, which show what clothes were like back then.

A newer artistic addition is a carved wooden artwork that remembers John Barbour. He was an important church official in Aberdeen in the 1300s and wrote a famous poem called The Brus.

The Bells of St Machar's

In 1987, bells from another church were restored and put into St Machar's. Now, it is one of the few churches in Scotland that has bells designed for "change ringing." This is a special way of ringing bells in a set pattern.

In 2020, the cathedral completed a big project costing £1.85 million. This work involved replacing the roof tiles, cleaning the famous ceiling with the coats of arms, and repairing some of the beautiful stained glass windows.

Amazing Stained Glass Windows

In Scotland, new stained glass windows were not allowed in churches until 1866. So, the first windows in St Machar's were made by artists from England.

The stained glass in St Machar's is truly amazing, with many different styles and high quality.

The Builder Bishops window by Douglas Strachan

The main west window, made by Clayton and Bell in 1870, has seven tall, narrow windows.
The main east window, made by William Wilson in 1953, is flanked by smaller windows from the 1870s.
Many other beautiful windows can be found in the north and south aisles. These include windows by artists like Marjorie Kemp and Margaret Chilton from the 1920s.
The "Bishops Window" in the south aisle was made by Douglas Strachan in 1913.
Another window by Douglas Strachan from 1924 is a war memorial, showing St Michael and a dragon over Aberdeen Bay.

The Famous Ceiling

The heraldic ceiling of the cathedral

The special ceiling in the nave has 48 coats of arms arranged in three rows. These shields represent important figures and places from the 1500s when the ceiling was made. Some of them include:

The coat of arms of Pope Leo X in the center.
Shields of Scottish archbishops and bishops.
The shield of King's College.
The coats of arms of kings like Henry VIII of England, James V of Scotland, and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
The arms of St Margaret of Scotland.
The shields of Aberdeen and important Scottish families like Gordon, Lindsay, Hay, and Keith.

Around the edge of the ceiling, there is a decorative border that lists the bishops of Aberdeen from 1131 to 1560. It also lists the Scottish kings and queens from Máel Coluim II to Mary, Queen of Scots.