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]
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.
^Michael Turnbull, Why dispersing archives will rip the heart out of Scottish Catholic history from Herald Scotland, 3 July 2012, retrieved 15 June 2016
blairs, college, confused, with, blair, college, mary, college, blairs, commonly, known, situated, near, aberdeen, scotland, from, 1829, 1986, junior, seminary, boys, young, studying, roman, catholic, priesthood, part, former, college, houses, blairs, museum, . Not to be confused with Blair 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 Blairs MuseumSunset at Blairs College in 2001Established1829LocationBlairs Aberdeenshire Scotland United KingdomTypeCatholic churchWebsiteOfficial websiteStained glass in Blairs College Contents 1 History 2 Notable former pupils 3 Notable Staff 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory Edit nbsp St Mary s Chapel Blairs CollegeLying 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 EditSee also Category People educated at Blairs College Andrew Boyle 1919 1991 broadcaster historian Robert Fraser 1858 1914 Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dunkeld Sylvester McCoy actor Fr Allan MacDonald 1859 1904 priest poet and folklore collector in South Uist and Eriskay A highly important figure in Scottish Gaelic literature Notable Staff EditEdward Douglas Bishop of Motherwell 9 Peter Moran Bishop of AberdeenPresidents Peter J Grant 1864 1890 Aeneas Chisholm 1890 1899 Rectors James McGregor 1899 1928 Francis Cronin 1928 1939 Patrick McGonagle 1939 1947 Gordon J Gray 1947 1951 Stephen McGill 1951 1960 Francis S W Thomson 1960 1964 Daniel P Boyle 1965 1967 James Brennan 1967 1974 Benjamin Donachie 1974 1980 Keith P O Brien 1980 1985 John McIntyre 1985 1986 See also EditSt Peter s Seminary Cardross References Edit Regeneration and Renewal of Blairs College PDF The Muir Group Archived from the original PDF on 3 March 2016 Retrieved 18 October 2010 Blairs College Blairs Museum Archived from the original on 5 March 2011 Retrieved 20 October 2010 Aberdeen from British Listed Buildings retrieved 15 June 2016 Building News 31 March 1899 Michael Turnbull Why dispersing archives will rip the heart out of Scottish Catholic history from Herald Scotland 3 July 2012 retrieved 15 June 2016 Parishes from Diocese of Aberdeen retrieved 15 June 2016 Archived 23 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Historic St Mary s Chapel at Blairs set to close due to 2m of defects BBC News 14 June 2022 Retrieved 17 June 2022 Closure of St Mary s Chapel Blairs Independent Catholic News 16 June 2022 Retrieved 17 June 2022 Right Rev Edward Douglas Diocese of MotherwellExternal links EditBlairs Museum The Museum of Scotland s Catholic Heritage Blairs College Official website of the Friends of Blairs Buildings at Risk Register entry Urban Exploration of Blairs Another Urban Exploration of Blairs A third Urban Exploration of Blairs Article about new development Site entry at National Record of the Historic Environment 57 05 53 N 2 11 41 W 57 098028 N 2 194735 W 57 098028 2 194735 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Blairs College amp oldid 1180228667, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
