Built Heritage

The city council ruled last year that the iconic Marischal College should become the local authority’s new headquarters by creating 16,000 square meters of new, modern office space in the building, over four floors.

2. Timeline

3. Summary

Marischal College is a building in the Scottish city of Aberdeen, and it is belonging to the University of Aberdeen. It is claimed to be the second largest granite building in the world and the one most defining landmarks, exceeded only by Spain's Escorial, once the home of the Spanish monarchy. The frontage is over 400 feet long, with an average height of 80 feet, its scale, quality of design and the distinguished work of the principal architects mark it out as a building of considerable importance and the culmination of 200 years of experience working with granite. It was formerly an independent university in its own right.

Marischal College located at the Broad Street, on 1593; Marischal College was founded by George Keith 5th Earl Marischal of Scotland. Marischal College is second largest granite building in the world.

        There are Marischal museum, Mitchell hall and Mitchell Tower inside the college. The college is used chiefly for its grand Mitchell Hall and Marischal museum, open free to public. The Marischal museum possesses a superb anthropological collection, for example, the exhibits from Egypt, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii and Tibet.

        Between 1837 and 1844, the college was constructed and the college which stands today replaced the number of older structures. It originally formed a U-shaped quadrangle, with small entrance via an archway amidst unrelated housing on the west side. Until recently the building housed the University Medical School, but now the majority has transferred to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

        The city council plans to demolish a tower block opposite the college and make the Marischal its headquarters. The use of Marischal’s Mitchell Hall will retain for graduation ceremonies, and also maintains the Marischal museum.

(PAUL CLERKIN, 2008 )

4. Historical significance

Marischal College was founded in 1593 by George Keith Earl Marischal of Scotland .The College was constructed on the site of a medieval Franciscan Friary as the second university in Aberdeen, following the foundation of King's College in 1495. After that, the two universities were united in 1860 as the University of Aberdeen in Foresterhill.  Marischal College was created as a Protestant alternative to King's College in Old Aberdeen in 1569.

         Earls Marischal’s motto “Thay haif said, Quhat say thay, Lat thame say”, while the other "APETH A¡TARKHS" translates as "Virtue is self-sufficient". Between 1836 and 1844, the Marischal College was built to the design of architect Archibald Simpson and extended as far as the small towers in the quadrangle.

Marischal College was originally housed in the former monastery of the Franciscan or Grey Friars, whose 16th century church became the College Kirk.   The entrance – College Gate – was through pend from the Broadgate; the narrow arched gateway, built about 1623, had above it the Keith coat-of-arms.   The college buildings were extended in 1676 and 1694 and a south wing was built in 1747, by William Adam.   These buildings incorporated parts of the old friary.  

This old college was replaced, between 1836 and 1844, by a new building around three sides of a quadrangle and in an austere style of Tudor Gothic by Archibald Simpson.   The college was completed in its present form, including the great Mitchell Tower and Hall and the spectacular new frontage, by A. Marshall Mackenzie, in 1906.   The 16th century Greyfriars Kirk had to be demolished, along with that stretch of Broad St., from Queen St. northwards to the Gallowgate.

 Marischal Museum

In the centre of Aberdeen, the Museum lies in the University of Aberdeen's Marischal College. The museum was founded in 1786, was re-established in 1907 as the University’s Anthropological Museum with material that has been donated by generations of friends and graduates of the University since the later 19th and 20th century have resulted in a collection of international importance, augmented in 1997 by the addition of the University’s Fine Art collection.. This has resulted in collections of high quality material, most notably Egyptian and Classical antiquities, non-Western ethnography, Scottish prehistory and numismatics that rank alongside the largest in Scotland.

(UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN, 2004  )

5. Architectural design

5.1 Broad Street Elevation:

Broad Street, Marischal College. Detail of roof finials.

• In 1905, 3-storey basement and attic with central 8-bay section treated uniformly. Buttresses divided the bays with crocket spires and finials, tripartite leaded windows with stone mullions and sidelights to principal floors and bipartite wallhead gablets to attic with pierced stonework.
• Advanced entrance bay to left with engaged corner towers; wide, shallow-pointed arch with painted shields above; arcaded pend with ribbed vaulting leads to courtyard. Mackenzie's 1903 Greyfriars Church at far right with tower and spire detail continuing in the Neo-Gothic style

5.2 Quadrangle:

• Quadrangle of Marischal College.

1837 Simpson´s restrained Tudor-Gothic U-plan building:

• -2-storey with base course, cill course, hoodmoulds and simple blocking course;principal entrance with double-leaf timber door at Mitchell Tower to NE elevation flanked by 3-bay arcades to ground; 9-bay wings return, terminating with engaged octagonal ogee-capped towers.

Later infill by Mackenzie completes quadrangle

• cill courses, hoodmoulds, blocking course and window treatment reflecting Simpson's earlier work. Exit bay with triangular attic pediment flanked by engaged 4-stage ogee roofed towers; 3-bay to left and right of towers with large shallow-pointed arch windows to ground floor. Predominantly bipartite windows with decorative tracery set in square-headed openings to upper levels throughout.

5.3 Mitchell Tower:

Mitchell Tower

1895 addition

• tripartite, canted windows at 1st and 2nd floor with parapet above; clock face to quadrangle elevation only; large, mullioned and traceried tripartite openings to all four sides; ribbed clasping pinnacles and crocketed central spire.

5.4 Mitchell Hall:

Stained glass window in Mitchell Hall

• abutts rear of quadrangle at right angles;
• 3-storey with main hall at upper level; dominated by tall, narrow gable to NE elevation with clasping pinnacled towers; tripartite canted bay rising to second floor with castelated parapet.
•  Large round arched window above with intricate tracery. 5-bays to returning SE and NW elevations with perpendicular buttresses flanking openings. Pitched roof with flanking towers.
• Mitchell’s main hall divided into two distinctive sections separated by a tall, narrow pointed arch. Larger section with Gothic timber panelling to dado and parquet floor. Smaller ante-room dominated by large stained glass tracery window (details). Pointed arch dividing `nave' from `chancel'.

The Great Window of the Mitchell Hall

• At the end of the Mitchell hall is the striking commemorative window, executed by TR Spence to the designs, PJ Anderson, one of the institution's most distinguished historians.
• Upper part of the window contain arm of the founder, shield of Chancellors of Marischal College are grouped around them a post that was held by the Earls Marischal until their forfeiture after the Rebellion of 1715.
• The centre of the window fixes the date of the window at the end of the 19th century, The centre of the window fixes the date of the window at the end of the 19th century
• The full-length figures to the left of the window represent some eminent men associated with Marischal College in the 17th century, to the right those of the 18th century, while those of the 19th century are recorded in the medallion portraits.
• The shields on both sides of the window are those of the College Principals from the foundation to the fusion with King's College in 1860. The bottom section of the window displays the shields of thirty benefactors.

5.5 Interior:

         

Interior - view of staircase hall from SW      Interior -view of chapel/assembly hall

Interior -view of chapel/assembly hall

U-Plan Simpson building:

• Entrance hall with bifurcated stone stair and pointed arch arcading and decorative Gothic timber handrail; fine fan-vaulted plaster ceiling with quatrefoil pattern; pair of halls flank central landing to NW and SE; both with corbelled Tudor arched ceiling with decorative Gothic timber ribs; timber gallery at NW hall. Remaining interior predominantly plain treatment with some parquet flooring and timber dado panelling and timber doors.

5.6 Architectures

Archibald Simpson 1837-1844;

Robert Mathieson 1873;

W W Robertson 1888-1889;

Alexander Marshall Mackenzie 1893-1906

The plans for Simpson's extant 1836 design are held at Aberdeen University's King's College Library. Mathieson, Robertson and Mackenzie plans are currently held at Marischal College.

5.6.1 Archibald Simpson 1837-1844

• In 1844, Archibald Simpson replaces 2 storey Tudor styles U-plan quadrangle in white Rubislaw granite.
• The South façade front fronts an earlier quadrangle designed by Archibald Simpson
• Archibald Simpson supplied the plans for the huge four-winged edifice.

5.6.2 Robert Mathieson 1873

• In 1873 some additions and alterations to the basic design undertook by Robert Mathieson.

5.6.3 WW Robertson 1888-1889

• SE wing of the quadrangle was doubled in width by WW Robertson in 1889.

5.6.4 Alexander Marshall Mackenzie 1893-1906

• Simpson's central tower, originally three storeys high, was extended with Mackenzie’s Mitchell Tower
• Large and predominantly Tudor-Gothic granite collegiate complex based around quadrangle dominated by Mackenzie’s Mitchell Hall (80 meter) extended the North West wing, added the North East corner tower and rebuilt Greyfriars Church between 1803- 1897
• At the beginning of the next century, a final scheme by Mackenzie dispensed with the earlier Broad Street elevation and replaced it with his masterful Neo-Gothic curtain wall and integrated tower extension to Greyfriars Church. Mackenzie took full advantage of newly developed machine technologies of the time, allowing the granite to be cut in ways that were previously impossible.

(Scottish Ministers' Statutory List, 2009

 )

6. Current use- redevelopment

Exciting new images have been unveiled of Marischal College transformed into Aberdeen City Council’s new corporate headquarters.

At present, the only parts of the college building used chiefly by the university are the Mitchell Hall the Marischal Museum and the Anatomy department which is still used for 1st year medicine students.

On 18 July 2007 new plans were unveiled detailing the refurbishment of the college. A leading Scottish architectural practice has been appointed to design the scheme to convert Marischal College into City Council. Current plans will see the rest of the building let to Aberdeen City Council. The City Council plans to demolish a 1960s tower block opposite the college and to make Marischal its headquarters. The University will retain the use of the rear block of the Quadrangle, including Mitchell Hall for graduations and the museum. The refurbishment will take the form of removing everything but the granite façade, behind which the new building will be erected

(ADRIAN WELCH/ ISSABELLE LOMHOLT, 2008  )

7. Social Issues

Marischal College was an old building structure, and it was a monument for the people and the City.  The college is the heyday of the city’s granite, as the second largest granite building in the world.

The Marischal College provided a good education to the students for study as well. It provide adult a learning opportunities and there are a range of course for the adult from the beginner level to advance.

For the Marischal museum, the museum has a collection of material from throughout the word, are displayed in an exhibition that explores how they came to be in the museum. While the exhibitions offer an opportunities for teaching and learning, and it’s contributes to teaching in a number of subject area. For example, the subjects are Cultural History, History of Art, Anthropology, women’s studies and Archaeology. This can involve studies of exhibition theory and techniques, principles of conservation, visitor research and approaches to interpretation as well as the ways the objects were made and used by different people. There is also a reconstruction of the part of the Marischal College museum of 1833, displaying range of curiosities.

        Now, the current use of the Marischal College has changes to City Council, but it will retain the use of Mitchell hall and the museum.

8. Setting

        Marischal College was founded in 1593 and originally located in the former Greyfrairs monastery in the city of Aberdeen. It was extended in the seventeenth century and again in 1837. The eastern side of the college was formed by the late Scots Gothic church of the Greyfrairs, built between 1518 and 1532. In the early 1890s, Aberdeen University needed to expand, and eventually decided to rebuild Marischal College on a massive scale and in a very elaborate manner. The original setting intention was to restore Greyfrairs Church as the University church. Eventually it was decided to rebuild at the same time as the college proper and in complementary manner, balancing in the entrance block further north along along Broad street. Aberdeen University has now moved out of Marischal College and the building was converted to others uses.

9. Conclusion

        Marischal College is an old structure in Aberdeen, around 400 years, and it has very unique design, large and impressive predominantly Tudor-Gothic granite collegiate complex based around central quadrangle and courtyard. Marischal College is Aberdeen's largest granite building and one of its most defining landmarks.

Marischal College category A-listing indicates its national significance but it is above all an iconic monument for the City of Aberdeen. A. Marshall McKenzie's Broad Street frontage is not that old, it is a 20th century building completed in 1906. This period, however, was the heyday of the city's granite industry and Marischal College, reputedly the second largest granite building in the world, can be seen as the high point of the use of granite as a building material. The Marischal College remains arguably the most striking landmark in the city.

As a conclusion, conservation of the Marischal College has to remain, and it is worth for people to visit the building and for the future generation.

References

Books

1. JAMES RETTIE, 1972.  Aberdeen 150 Years Ago.  Aberdeen:  University of Aberdeen Centre.  pp 80-85

Websites

1. PAUL CLERKIN, 2008.  Marischal College.  [online] Aberdeen:  Archiseek.  Available from :         [Accessed:  8 March 2009]
2. UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN, 2004. Marischal College

Available from:

[Accessed:  8 March 2009]

3. ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL, 2009. Marischal College Heritage [online] Available from:                                                                     [ Accessed : 12 March 2009]
4. SCOTTISH MINISTER' STATUTORY LIST, 2009. Historic Scotland,                     Available from:                             [ Accessed : 12 March 2009]

5. ADRIAN WELCH/ ISSABELLE LOMHOLT, 2008. Marischal College redevelopment, [online] Aberdeen:  e-architect.                                 Available from:                                                                                                     [ Accessed : 19 March 2009]                        

6. Yahoo, 2007. Marischal College [online] Aberdeen:  flickr.                   Available from:                                                                       [ Accessed : 19 March 2009]        

                                       

Appendix

MARISCHAL COLLEGE GREYFRIARS CHURCH

MARISCHAL COLLEGE