- Kirk of St Nicholas, Aberdeen
Parish church
name=Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting
caption=View from the Kirkyard
dedication=St Nicholas
denomination=Church of Scotland United Reformed Church
tradition=Reformed
presbytery=Aberdeen
synod=Scotland
minister=Rev Stephen Taylor
website= [http://www.kirk-of-st-nicholas.org.uk www.kirk-of-st-nicholas.org.uk]The Kirk of St Nicholas is a historic church located in the city centre of
Aberdeen ,Scotland . It is now officially known as the "Kirk of St Nicholas (uniting)" as it is membership of both of theChurch of Scotland and theUnited Reformed Church . It is also known as "The Mither Kirk" (mother church) of the city.The earliest mention of a church on the site of the present Kirk can be found in a Papal document of
1157 . Given Aberdeen's proximity to the sea,St Nicholas was chosen as the patron saint of Aberdeen, as a miracle attributed to him was the rescue of some sailors in a storm.The Kirk was enlarged in the 15th century. St Nicholas and St Mary's,
Dundee , were probably the largest parish churches in medievalScotland . This work was dedicated by Bishop Elphinstone in1498 . The 500th anniversary of the dedication of the enlarged church was marked with the installation of a special stained glass window at the main entrance to the Kirk, overlooking Drum’s Aisle.The church contains the Drum Aisle (the ancient burial-place of the Irvines of
Drum Castle ) and the Collison Aisle, which divide the two congregations and which formed thetransept s of the 12th Century church of St Nicholas (architectural detail survives from this period). The West Church was built between1751 and1755 , to plans gifted to the burgh byJames Gibbs , in the Italian style, on the site of the medievalnave , the East in 1834 in Gothic-revival style on the site of thechoir . In 1874 a fire destroyed the East Church and the old central tower with its lead-clad timber spire and its fine peal of nine bells, one of which, Laurence or "Lowrie", was 4 ft (1.2 m) in diameter at the mouth, 3.5 ft (1.1 m) high and very thick. The church was rebuilt and a massive granite tower erected over the intervening aisles, a new peal of 36 bells, cast in theNetherlands , being installed to commemorate the Victorian jubilee of 1887. These were replaced in 1950 with acarillon of 48 bells, the largest in the UK.The building includes two sanctuaries under one roof (though only one is now used). Following considerable decay, the old nave collapsed in approximately
1742 . A rebuilt church - known as the West Kirk - was built in 1755. This is still used for regular worship. The other section - the East Kirk - though it was still complete and retained a wooden medieval roof similar to that which survives at [http://www.abdn.ac.uk/noblecollege/tour.htm King's College Chapel] ,Old Aberdeen , was rebuilt in1837 and had to be again rebuilt following a fire in1874 . Extensive renovation and archeological work is currently taking place in the East Kirk. The foundations of earlier phases of the kirk, many medieval burials, and large numbers of architectural fragments are among the rich finds from this important site.Despite the many alterations to the fabric of the Kirk over the year's, St Nicholas retains a larger number of medieval effigies than any other Scottish parish church, though none of these are in their original positions. The Vault or Chapel of Our Lady of Pity survives under the east end of the Kirk. It has been refaced externally, but retains its medieval vaults within. A number of pieces of late medieval and 17th century woodwork are preserved in this vault, which is currently used as a Fair Trade shop.
The present minister is the Rev Stephen Taylor.
ee also
*
Action of Churches Together in Scotland
*List of Church of Scotland parishes External links
* [http://www.kirk-of-st-nicholas.org.uk Official website]
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