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The Great Britain Guide

Cathedrals · Scottish Highlands

St Machar's Cathedral

Norman & medieval♿ Wheelchair: limited

St Machar's Cathedral — church in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.

St Machar's Cathedral, cathedrals in Scottish Highlands

Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
1 h–2 h
Best time of year
Year-round
Nearest railway station
Aberdeen · 3.0 km
  • Family-friendly
  • Limited wheelchair access

About

St Machar's Cathedral is a cathedral in the United Kingdom — the principal church of a diocese. Records date its origin to 1131. Built in the Gothic art style. Heritage designation: scheduled monument. Affiliated with Church of Scotland. Address: AB24 1RQ. Wikidata describes it as: "church in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK". Coordinates: 57.1698°, -2.1024°.

Photo gallery

Heritage listing

St Machar's Cathedral is a Church of Scotland church in Aberdeen, Scotland, located to the north of the city centre, in the former burgh of Old Aberdeen. Technically, St Machar's is no longer a cathedral but rather a high kirk, as it has not been the seat of a bishop since 1690.

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.

From the Wikipedia article

St Machar's Cathedral is a Church of Scotland church in Aberdeen, Scotland, located to the north of the city centre, in the former burgh of Old Aberdeen. Technically, St Machar's is no longer a cathedral but rather a high kirk, as it has not been the seat of a bishop since 1690.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

St Machar is said to have been a companion of St Columba on his journey to Iona. A fourteenth-century legend tells how God (or St Columba) told Machar to establish a church where a river bends into the shape of a bishop's crosier before flowing into the sea. The River Don bends in this way just below where the cathedral now stands. According to legend, St Machar founded a site of worship in Old Aberdeen in about 580. Machar's church was superseded by a Norman cathedral in 1131, shortly after David I transferred the see from Mortlach to Aberdeen. Almost nothing of that original cathedral survives; a lozenge-decorated base for a capital supporting one of the architraves can be seen in the…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
57.1698, -2.1024
Postcode
AB24 1RQ
Parliamentary constituency
Aberdeen North
Established
1131
Nearest railway station
Aberdeen3 km
Official site
www.stmachar.com

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is St Machar's Cathedral?
St Machar's Cathedral is in the Scottish Highlands, United Kingdom (postcode AB24 1RQ).
When was St Machar's Cathedral built?
Built or established in 1131.
Is St Machar's Cathedral a listed building?
St Machar's Cathedral is officially recognised as scheduled monument listed.
How do I get to St Machar's Cathedral?
The nearest railway station is Aberdeen, about 3.0 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode AB24 1RQ.