In beauty

Early History

St John’s today can claim descent from the mediaeval burghal church of St Nicholas: in 1693 Dr George Garden, the first Rector of St John’s, was ejected from the second charge of the East Kirk of St Nicholas for refusing to conform to the Presbyterian establishment. Those of his congregation who still adhered to Episcopacy left with him. In 1720, after five years in exile, he returned to Aberdeen and gathered the remnants of his congregation together. This was the real beginning of St John’s Church.

Initially, the little congregation worshipped in a chapel in the clergyman’s house. However, after the repeal of the Penal Laws in 1792, they prospered and, in 1806, built a church in Golden Square. It was dedicated to St John the Evangelist and was said to be a handsome edifice with a spire. The Rev. Patrick Cheyne was the driving force behind the move to Crown Terrace and the foundation stone of the present beautiful building was laid on 20th November 1849. The church was consecrated and opened for worship by the Primus, Bishop William Skinner, on 6th May 1851.

Two other city churches may be regarded as daughter churches of St John’s. Mr Cheyne’s successor, the Rev. Frederick G Lee left, with his supporters, to form a new congregation and they built St Mary’s, Carden Place. His successor was the Rev. John Comper. He left St John’s to start a mission in the Gallowgate from which St Margaret’s Church evolved.

The Building

The architects were Messrs. Matthew and Mackenzie and the building in the early Decorated Style, prevalent at the beginning of the fourteenth century. The windows have geometrical tracery. When the church was consecrated only the chancel, nave and south aisle had been completed; the north aisle was added in 1898 and the tower was not completed until 1913. The walls are built of hammer-dressed Aberdeen granite but the dressings at the quoins and voids are in freestone from Burntisland. The nave roof is timber and the sedilia, piscina and altar are made from Caen stone (the present altar covers the stone altar), the fine shelly limestone from Normandy, which was often used in mediaeval buildings.

The Font

The wonderful font is pre-reformation and came from the ruined church at Kinkell near Inverurie. Alexander Galloway was the Rector of Kinkell from 1516 until his death in 1552 and he was also Rector of Kings College, Aberdeen, several times during this period. He designed and donated many works of art to the Diocese and this font is attributed to him; it bears his initials on the West panel. Other carvings are the five wounds of Christ, the crown of thorns and a rose, the symbol of the Virgin Mary.

The Reredos

This was designed by Sir Ninian Comper and was placed above the High altar in the 1930s in memory of his parents. Ninian Comper was the leading ecclesiastical architect and designer of his time and was the son of the Rev. John Comper and his wife Ellen. John Comper was the Rector of St John’s from 1861 - 1870 and was ‘a man…pervaded by a passionate pity for the poor’. He established a mission in the Gallowgate and persuaded the sisters of the Society of St Margaret to establish a community in Aberdeen. John Comper was one of the most advanced priests in the Anglo Catholic Revival in Scotland and in 1870 he became the Rector of the new congregation of St Margaret’s in the Gallowgate. Ninian Comper’s unusual ‘strawberry signature’ is a tribute to his father who died suddenly in the Duthie Park while giving strawberries to poor children. The strawberry can be seen in churches around the world.

The magnificent golden reredos is a celebration of the Incarnation. The Virgin Mary is writing the Magnificat in a book held by an angel and the inscriptions say: ‘For whom all things were made’ and ‘The word was made flesh’. The Christ child is holding the Ninian Comper strawberry signature.

The Stained Glass Windows

The East Window

This magnificent window should be viewed from the bottom to the top. The lower window shows a series of scenes from the life of St John with the crucifixion in the centre. The centre window immediately above this shows the risen Christ flanked by Peter, the Virgin Mary, John (beardless) and James (the great) and the top window shows Christ in glory wearing a rainbow coloured robe and surrounded by allegorical figures.

The Chancel Windows

North wall, beside the High Altar. Memorial window for the Priest of St Andrews, Aberdeen, who died in 1843, with images of St Peter and St Andrew.

South wall, beside the High Altar. Memorial window for Patrick Cheyne and his wife Margaret (possibly the parents of Rev. Patrick Cheyne, Rector of St John’s, 1818 - 1858) who died in 1848 & 1838 with images of St Patrick and St Margaret of Scotland.

North wall, opposite the organ. Memorial window for Elizabeth, wife of Inglis Stuart, who died in 1848. Images of Mary and Martha (left) and the Resurrection (right).

The Nave Windows

North wall, East end. Two memorial windows. Left: For Catherine Scott of Craibstone who died in 1855. Images from the early life of Christ. Right: For Isabella Cheyne who died in 1859. Images from the Mary and Martha story.

South wall, East end. The War-Memorial window. Memorial window for all the young men from St John’s who were killed in the Second World War. The theme of the images is the Resurrection.

West wall, beside the main door: The Falconer Memorial Window.
Memorial window for John Stewart Falconer, Rector of St John’s, who died in 1874 after only three years in office. Images of Timothy (left) and Paul (right).

Above the Choir Vestry door: An image of St Cecilia with angels with musical instruments, which is appropriate for the entrance to the Choir Vestry.