St Mark's Church

The classical edifice of St. Mark's Church lies between Aberdeen Central Library and His Majesty's Theatre on Rosemount Viaduct, opposite Union Terrace Gardens in the centre of Aberdeen. Constructed in Kemnay granite in 1892, the building is the work of architect A. Marshall Mackenzie (1847 - 1933) for the South Church congregation which moved from the nearby Triple Kirks on Schoolhill. The site falls steeply to Skene Street to the north and the church therefore comprises three levels; the sanctuary at ground level with a large gallery above, while there is a substantial suite of halls below. Its facade comprises an immense granite Corinthian portico and classical dome, which was modelled on St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

The interior is on a grand scale, with fine stained glass windows and a two-manual organ by Willis and Sons, which was built in 1900. This was renovated in 1971 and underwent a further overhaul in the late 1990s. The baptismal font is unusual, being constructed of several different types of contrasting grey and pink granite.

The building was B-listed in 1967 and subject to a major restoration in the mid-1990s. In 2000, the Historic Buildings Council for Scotland described the church and its neighbours as "the most distinguished grouping of major buildings in Aberdeen" although elsewhere they have been humourously said to represent education, salvation and damnation.


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