Basic Site Details
| Name: | Blairs College, Menzies House |
| City or county: | Aberdeenshire |
| Country: | Scotland |
| Parish: | Maryculter |
| Status: | B listed |
| Grid ref: | |
| Notes: | St Mary’s College, Blairs, was founded in 1829 when a local landowner, John Menzies of Pitfodels (1756-1843), donated his mansion and estate of 1000 acres to the Catholic Church. The house (Menzies House) became a seminary for Catholic boys who wished to become priests. Partially demolished it is the oldest building on the site and the core of the later college buildings. |
Building Type Classification
| The building is classified under the following categories: | |||
| Classification | Original classification? | Notes | |
 | Mansion house | ||
| College | ||
Events
| The following date-based events are associated with this building: | ||||
| From | To | Event type | Notes | |
| 1827 | Alterations and extension | ||
People
Design and Construction
| The following individuals or organisations have carried out design/construction work. Where architects or practices worked together, matching letters appear beside their names in the Partnership Group column. | ||||||
| Name | Role | Partnership Group | From | To | Notes | |
| John Gall | 1827 | Alterations and extension | |||
Related Buildings, Structures and Designs
Parent Structure and Site
| This structure is related to the following parent structure or site (click the item to view details): | ||
| Building name | Notes | |
| Blairs College | St Mary’s College, Blairs, was founded in 1829 when a local landowner, John Menzies of Pitfodels (1756-1843), donated his mansion and estate of 1000 acres to the Catholic Church. The house became a seminary for Catholic boys who wished to become priests. Due to growing numbers a new three-storey college was begun in 1897, and was quickly followed by a new chapel. The College, which had been built at a cost of £33,000 , was formally opened on the 23rd September 1903 by Bishop Chisholm The college closed in 1986 due to falling numbers and has remained mosty empty since. Blairs Museum, the Museum of Scotland's Catholic Heritage occupies part of the complex and plans have been announced for a £115m hotel Check if some other part of this is A Listed. Lodge etc is C Listed. New wing to complete extension to cost £12,000 [Builder 1901] 'Buildings of Scotland' states that John Henderson was responsible for a doorway in the hall of the 1892 College and the dado and angle pilasters. This cannot be John Henderson (1802-1862) but it is not clear which other John Henderson might have been responsible. |
References
Bibliographic References
| The following books contain references to this building: | ||||||
| Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | |
| Anson, Peter | 1954 | Catholic Church Building in Scotland until the outbreak of the First World War | v5 | Innes Review, p131 | |
| Anson, Peter | 1963 | Catholic Church Building in Scotland | |||
Periodical References
| The following periodicals contain references to this building: | |||||
| Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | |
| Blairs Magazine | 1981 | |||
Archive References
| The following archives hold material relating to this building: | ||||
| Source | Archive name | Source catalogue no. | Notes | |
| Historic Environment Scotland | Listed Buildings Register | 19226 | Blairs College Menzie House |