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Marischal College viewed from the Gallowgate
Marischal College front viewed from Upper Kirkgate

Marischal College is a building in the Scottish city of Aberdeen belonging to the University of Aberdeen. It was formerly an independent university in its own right.

Contents

History

Marischal College and University of Aberdeen was the formal name of the former university, founded in 1593 by George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal of Scotland. It is believed that Keith desired a protestant institution alongside the pre-Reformation King's College, but King's had been Protestant since 1569. It is possible that the founding of another college in nearby Fraserburgh in 1592 was the true cause; its founder Sir Alexander Fraser was a business rival of Marischal.

The College was constructed on the site of a medieval Franciscan Friary, disused after the Reformation. This building was later replaced by a William Adam designed building in the mid-18th century, however this, together with the Friary remains, were demolished entirely for the construction of the present building between 1835 and 1906. The college's motto was "Apeth Atarkhs" — "virtue is self-sufficient".

The building was commended by John Betjeman as "bigger than any cathedral, tower on tower, forests of pinnacles, a group of palatial buildings rivalled only by the Houses of Parliament".1 It is also claimed that Marischal College was Adolf Hitler's favourite building in the United Kingdom and that he would have liked to have used it as a residence if the outcome of the Second World War had been different. 2.

University of Aberdeen

The university was created after the merger of Marischal College and King's College, Aberdeen in 1860.

The following extract refers to this merger:3

"Universities of Kings College and Marischal College, Aberdeen. First Report of the Commissioners, 1838. 1837-38. Vol. XXXIII, 75p. [123] Chairman: Lord John Cunninghame.
The commissioners were in favour of a merger of the two colleges despite opposition from Kings College. They considered the unification as essential for the educational system of Northern Scotland although they disagreed with the proposed method of merger laid down by the last commission. The buildings of Marischal College were in very bad repair but new ones were under construction. Additions had been made in 1827 to Kings College buildings which were in a tolerable state of repair."
Marischal College with the new front under construction; circa 1900

The building standing today, which replaced a number of older structures, was constructed between 1837 and 1844 by Aberdeen architect Archibald Simpson. This 1837 building formed a U-shaped quadrangle, with a small entrance via an archway amidst unrelated housing on the west side. The building was substantially extended between 1893 and 1905 by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, and with its new "granite cage" front, enclosing the quadrangle, it became the second-largest granite building in the world (exceeded only by the Escorial Palace near Madrid).4

Present use

At present, the only parts of the college building used chiefly by the university are the Mitchell Hall the Marischal Museum and the Anatomy department which is still used for 1st year medicine students. The Museum was re-established in 1907, but is not currently open to the public. It is also home to the University's Debating chamber.

The University has leased the Marischal College site as its headquarters of the building let to Aberdeen City Council for 175 years in exchange for £4.7 million.5

On 18 July 2007 new plans were unveiled detailing the refurbishment of the college. Aberdeen City Council aim to make the former college their new 16,200 square metre headquarters in early 2011, with facilities for up 1300 staff members. The refurbishment will take the form of removing everything but the granite façade, behind which the new building will be erected.citation needed6

Alumni

Notable alumni of Marischal College include:

References

  1. ^ http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/ACCI/web/site/CouncilDepartments/CI/cdp_marischal_college_heritage.asp
  2. ^ http://www.ausa.org.uk/downloads/handbook_web_small.pdf
  3. ^ Haythornthwaite, J.A.: Scotland in the 19th Century; hosted by Strathclyde University, pub. 1993
  4. ^ "University of Aberdeen website: About Marischal College".
  5. ^ "University of Aberdeen media release".
  6. ^ "Aberdeen City Council media release".
  7. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition

External links

Coordinates: 57°08′58″N 2°05′47″W / 57.1495, -2.0964
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