On your left, look for the gray granite church frontage tucked into this little courtyard, with tall pointed Gothic windows and those unmistakable bright BLUE doors.
This is St Peter’s Church... and it’s a quiet little milestone with a big backstory. After the Reformation, Aberdeen didn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for permanent Roman Catholic churches. So for a while the faithful made do with something more low-key: in 1774 there was a small chapel here on the ground floor of a house, with living quarters above. Practical, modest, and easier to ignore if you were the suspicious type.
Then the congregation grew, and by the time Father Charles Gordon arrived in 1795, the place was getting tight. In early 1803 he started rounding up money and materials, and on 24 February the digging began right here. On 15 April, he laid the foundation stone... a real “we’re doing this” moment. He guessed the whole project would cost £1,049, which is roughly about £100,000 today. Not bad for a community build.
Architect James Massie designed it in Gothic Revival style, and the first Mass was celebrated in November 1803, even while work kept going until August 1804. It was dedicated that month by Bishop Alexander Cameron. Later came a gallery in 1815, a finished façade in 1817, and a high altar made in Belgium installed in the late 1890s.
The twist? It actually closed in 1860 when a new cathedral opened, briefly serving a boys’ school chapel, then a home for the elderly and infirm... before finally reopening for good in 1880. Some buildings just refuse to retire.
Ready for Castlehill Barracks? Just walk southeast for 2 minutes.
