Aberdeen’s present meeting house is the fourth meeting house in Aberdeen. You may be interested to learn that Quaker meetings were held in Aberdeen from 1662, a surprisingly early date. We date the start of Quakerism in the north of England as 1652.
The first Quakers came to Aberdeen in Cromwell’s army, so they probably arrived in September 1651. Bishop Burnett witnessed their arrival ‘… Most of them were independents and anabaptists. They were all gifted men, and preached as they were moved …’. That sounds like Quakers, don’t you think? The Quaker Peace Testimony wasn’t adopted until some fifteen years later, in 1666.
The earliest Quaker meeting house in Aberdeen was built around 1694 in Quaker Court, in the Guest Row, behind Provost Skene’s House. It was used until 1827. After that a simple meeting house was built in the Gallowgate, but neither of these exists today.
In 1867 Friends moved to premises in Diamond Street, where the present meeting house dates from 1903. For many years this was the only purpose built meeting house in Scotland.
In 2003 Friends celebrated the centenary of our present Aberdeen meeting house, designed by William Kelly, a well-known Aberdeen architect. (William Kelly is also known for Kelly’s cats, the leopard statues decorating the balustrade of the Union Street bridge).
Tom MacDonald, once a member of Aberdeen meeting, remembered Kelly as his Church of Scotland Sunday School teacher, a tall man of immense dignity with a walrus moustache, who played the piano for the hymns with great vigour. Tom also reminded us of the surprisingly far-sighted restrictions affecting the Meeting House grounds: ‘ … we may not tan leather, refine tallow, make candles, soap or glue, slaughter cattle, erect gas works, distilleries or iron foundries, or make bricks or tiles for sale, only for our own private use, and from employing the premises in any trade which would be hurtful, nauseous or noxious to the houses and inhabitants in the neighbourhood …’.
Friends in North Scotland Area Meeting appreciate some of the features of this 100 year old building, for example it is set as far back as possible on the plot from the street, to prevent the intrusion of noise, and the original grass in front of the building has now been replaced by a car park. The elevated windows were intended to avoid distraction while they provided light. The raised gallery was originally used by the meeting’s elders, and some of the benches around the walls still exist, although nowadays Friends prefer to sit on chairs, which are more comfortable.
All are always welcome to visit the meeting house and worship with us.
Mary Dower, Aberdeen Local Meeting