1864 – 1874
St. Mary’s was founded by Rev. F.G. Lee, an ambitious young man who led a number of the congregation of St. John’s away with him to his new charge. He oversaw the building of our church, which already needed a new heating system and roof repairs before it was ten years old due to Rev. F.G. Lee’s ambitious designs. In debt and unconsecrated, even after Lee’s backruptcy and departure the new congregation somehow survived and appointed new clergy (on a very low stipend!).
1874 – 1884
In April 1874, a Bazaar was proposed to liquidate the debt, and arranged for two days in October 1875: it was advertised over a year ahead. It made £1,000 (about £17,000 in today’s money), and by moving funds to the debt account from an overdraft account, the foundation debt was paid off.
1884 – 1894
In 1886 St. Mary’s first Scottish rector arrived, Rev. Francis William Christie from Dundee. Christie was relentless in clearing the debt and encouraging his congregation as a community, and more importantly, he stayed put at St. Mary’s, showing his own commitment as an example to others. St. Mary’s badly needed the continuity. The debt was whittled away gradually until it stood at £186 – which was cleared by an anonymous donation of gold coins in December 1889.
On 16th. April, 1890, St. Mary’s was finally consecrated.
1894 – 1904
1901 saw the death of Queen Victoria, and the end of the era in which St. Mary’s was founded.
The founder of the congregation, Rev. F.G. Lee, died in London in 1902.
1904 – 1914
In 1905, the Choir Vestry was built, the foundation stone laid by Bishop Arthur Douglas shortly before his death.
In 1909, St. Mary’s was proposed as the site for a new diocesan cathedral. The church was described as:
One of the most picturesque ecclesiastical edifices in Aberdeen … Internally the edifice is admirably adapted for a stately service.
The Churches of Aberdeen, historical and descriptive,
Alexander Gammie, Aberdeen 1909
Electricity was installed in the church in 1911.
1914 – 1924
Ninety-one men and four women from St. Mary’s served in the First World War, and ten of those men died. After the war the congregation suffered a bad blow with the death of Canon Christie in December 1923.
1924 – 1934
After some considerable debate, a porch was added to the church, built of Peterhead granite, in 1926. Of all the additions suggested to the church in its early years this was probably the most practical – others included a baptistry and a campanile.
1934 – 1944
This was not one of St. Mary’s best decades. In the Second World War, twelve members of the congregation were killed, including the Porter family in Bedford Road. In 1941 the Rector’s wife, Edith Lightfoot, died of cancer, and in 1942 the Rector himself died after a short illness. No sooner was the new rector, Mr. Milne, in place than the church was bombed.
1944 – 1954
A busy decade of restoration and repair. The Green Organ was installed in 1946. The new foundation stone for the chancel was laid in 1950. The crypt was reconsecrated in 1951, and the chancel was rededicated in 1952. The roof had to be repaired after damage in the severe storms of January, 1953,
In other news, St Mary’s won the Diocesan Youth Shield in 1949!
1954 – 1964
In 1956 the church purchased a car for the Rector for the first time. In the same year, the copy of Raphael’s Madonna of the Pomegranate was purchased and installed, to cover a gap left by the rearrangement of the organ pipes.
In 1957, St. Mark’s Church in Rosemount became the church hall, opened with a grand dinner (after considerable restoration).
1964 – 1974
The oil and gas industry started up in Aberdeen and the North East. St. Mary’s welcomed a series of mostly American oil families who brought life and variety to the congregation. The Rectory, across from the church in Carden Place, was the social hub of the church. However, a succession of short incumbencies and sudden departures led to some uneasiness in the congregation.
1974 – 1984
The present rectory was purchased in 1976, and Rev. James Alexander was appointed, restoring stability.
1984 – 1994
The Piper Alpha disaster in 1988 shocked Aberdeen – the rescue involved helicopter pilots connected with St. Mary’s.
1994 – 2004
The Millenium was marked around the world. In 2000, the current main organ installed, replacing the one damaged in the bombing. St. Mary’s celebrated again in 2004 at our 140th anniversary, and two banners were made by members of the congregation to ‘replace’ banners brought by Rev. F.G. Lee from St. John’s.
2004 – 2014
Another busy decade! St. Mary’s hosted two Labyrinth events as well as Doors Open Day. Rev. Mlu Mbele, the rector of our sister church, St. Mary’s, Mqanduli, came with his family to visit us. Our 150th anniversary was celebrated in style with a grand service.
A painting from Cyprus in memory of Susan Murdoch and her daughter Margaret Johnston was installed in the porch.
2014 – 2024
Perhaps again not the best of decades, with two vacancies. The Coronavirus pandemic closed all churches and drove worship mostly online, though St. Mary’s Sunday Breakfasts on Zoom were popular. Amidst the various lockdowns, St. Mary’s agreed to host the congregation of St. Andrew’s Cathedral during its restoration work and was styled ‘procathedral’. A restoration fund enabled us to re-design our grounds as a Peace Garden, coincidentally eighty years after our church was bombed, and this area is already well used by the public.
