Cathedrals · Scottish Highlands
St Machar's Cathedral
St Machar's Cathedral — church in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.

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 Machar's church was superseded by a Norman cathedral in 1131, shortly after David I transferred the see from Mortlach to Aberdeen.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
- District
- Aberdeen City
- Postcode
- AB24 1RQ
- Parliamentary constituency
- Aberdeen North
- Established
- 1131
- Nearest railway station
- Aberdeen — 3 km
- Official site
- www.stmachar.com
Sources
- wikidata: Q2380110 (CC0)
- wikipedia: St Machar's Cathedral (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- commons: Aberdeen St Machar cathedral 01.jpg (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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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.