A new books has delved into the history of one Aberdeen’s most historic churches.
St Machar’s Cathedral in Old Aberdeen will be the subject of the book, titled ‘St Machar’s Cathedral – A Living History’, which will feature over 150 stunning pictures and essays from a group of contributors including the serving minister Rev Sarah Brown and spiritual leaders from times past.
They cover a wide variety of subjects from the spectacular 16th century heraldic ceiling, stained glass windows, bells, the building’s history, memories of ministry, music, education, life in the manse and many more.
Published by The Friends of St Machar’s Cathedral, the sale proceeds will support ongoing preservation and cultural work at the fortified kirk – the oldest building in active use in the Granite City.
Located within the Old Aberdeen conservation area on a site with links to a place of worship dating back to around 580AD, it became a cathedral in the 1130s.
The book was edited by Clare Gimingham who has family connections with the building, which is a cathedral in name only. Her grandfather, Rev Dr John Wilson Baird, was a minister there for 25 years and her father was an elder for over 50 years.
Ms Gimingham found a “perfect quote” from a sermon her grandfather preached in the cathedral in 1935.
He wrote: “We must never forget that a building like this is in itself a book of history, with many chapters.
“We did not create the church in Scotland. We are not the first to worship here.
“We are the heirs of a long, long story, each chapter of which has something to teach us.”
Many of the photographs in the book were taken by Ms Gimingham’s husband Steve Davidson.
Open daily from 9.30am-4.30pm, the building has sandstone columns with carvings of a merman, mermaid and leaves as craftsmen drew on fantasy as well as on nature to the glory of God. It is maintained entirely by the congregation and donations from the public and the Friends group support developments and maintenance in partnership with the Kirk Session.
The Friends of St Machar’s Cathedral charity was founded in 1971 by Rev Dr A. Stewart Todd, who was the minister at the cathedral for 25 years.
Singer, songwriter and broadcaster, Fiona Kennedy OBE, honorary president of the Friends of St Machar’s, wrote an introduction for the book.
An excerpt reads: “The romantic story goes that St Machar was despatched by St Columba to evangelise the Picts and build a church at the place where a river formed the shape of a bishop’s crosier.
“The sceptic’s alternative is the Machair church was founded overlooking the low-lying grassy plain that is now Seaton Park.
“Whichever version you subscribe to, there can be no argument that those early Christians chose well.
“Even now while navigating that quirky path towards the Cathedral’s south porch a name on a gravestone catches my eye.
“There are merchants, voyagers, guildsmen, professors, politicians, botanists, kirk moderators, academics, social reformers, astronomers, inventors, philanthropists, musicians, artists, authors and those other gravestones so worn by the seasons that we can but guess at the people they memorialise and their connection to this historic place.
“St Machar’s is such a wondrous amalgam it makes it hard to put your finger on the one thing that makes it so special.”
St Machar’s Cathedral – A Living History costs £17.99, discounted to £15.99 for members of the Friends, and is available to buy in the cathedral shop. Postage and packaging is £3.
