Blairs College

St Mary's College, Blairs (commonly known as Blairs College), situated near Aberdeen in Scotland, was from 1829 to 1986 a junior seminary for boys and young men studying for the Roman Catholic priesthood.[1] Part of the former college now houses Blairs Museum, the museum of Scotland's Catholic heritage.[2] The New Chapel is a Category A listed building, with the other buildings listed as Category B.[3]

Not to be confused with Blair College.

Blairs Museum
Sunset at Blairs College in 2001
Established1829
LocationBlairs, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
TypeCatholic church
WebsiteOfficial website
Stained-glass in Blairs College

History
St Mary's Chapel, Blairs College

Lying on the south bank of the River Dee, between Kirkton of Maryculter and Aberdeen, the land on which the seminary was built was originally owned by the Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem, before passing to the Menzies family in 1542. In 1827 the land was donated by John Menzies of Pitfodfels (1756-1843) to the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, and the original building, Menzies House, converted into a seminary for 25 pupils. In 1829, Lismore Seminary and Aquhorthies College were merged, then closed and the students moved to Blairs College.

A major expansion was executed from 1897 to 1902 with a new chapel by Robert Curran of Warrington and new lectures rooms and accommodation by Robert Gordon Wilson of Aberdeen. The new buildings were formally opened by Bishop Chisholm on 23 September 1903.[4]

The college's book collection is housed in Aberdeen University Library,[5] and the archives at the Scottish Catholic Archives.

The college closed in 1986, but the chapel continue to be used as a place of worship. There is a Sunday Mass in the chapel every week at 9:30am.[6] In June 2022, it was announced that the chapel would close as a place of worship. A final decision is to be made by the end of September 2022.[7][8]

  • The college now homes Blairs Museum, a museum of Catholic History with significant collections of art relating to Mary, Queen of Scots, the Jacobites and the history of Catholicism in Scotland. The museum is open at weekends from April to September or by appointment.

Notable former pupils

Notable Staff

Presidents

Rectors

See also

References
  1. "Regeneration and Renewal of Blairs College" (PDF). The Muir Group. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  2. "Blairs College". Blairs Museum. Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
  3. Aberdeen from British Listed Buildings, retrieved 15 June 2016
  4. Building News 31 March 1899
  5. Michael Turnbull, Why dispersing archives will rip the heart out of Scottish Catholic history from Herald Scotland, 3 July 2012, retrieved 15 June 2016
  6. Parishes from Diocese of Aberdeen, retrieved 15 June 2016 Archived 23 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Historic St Mary's Chapel at Blairs set to close due to £2m of defects". BBC News. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  8. "Closure of St Mary's Chapel, Blairs". Independent Catholic News. 16 June 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  9. "Right Rev. Edward Douglas", Diocese of Motherwell

57.098028°N 2.194735°W / 57.098028; -2.194735

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