St Mary's Episcopal Church, Carden Place, Aberdeen

St Mary's Episcopal Church, Carden Place, Aberdeen

St Mary's is a single-storey church of simple medieval-plan gothic design, built between 1862 and 1864 by the architects Rev F G Lee and Alexander Ellis. A hall and vestry were added by Arthur Clyne in 1904-1905, and the chancel was rebuilt by A Ross in 1952.

The exterior is constructed of coursed coloured Aberdeen bond granite rubble, finely finished to margins, with a red Tyrebagger granite base course. The building features tooled grey granite ashlar shallow buttresses to each bay—half height to the north-west and south-east elevations—and clasping buttresses with decorative red necks. Red, yellow, grey and dark grey dressings with chamfered reveals, red and grey dividing band courses, and a red and yellow sandstone eaves course complete the stonework.

The south-west entrance elevation is symmetrical, with a gabled entrance porch advanced to the centre of the ground floor. The porch contains a deeply chamfered pointed-arched doorway with a simple hoodmould, three stone steps leading to a two-leaf boarded timber door with decorative iron hinges, and three small stained glass pointed-arched windows set in the tympanum. Pointed-arched windows are set to the left and right returns. A decorative rose window is set in a slightly recessed pointed arch and flanked by two tall buttresses, with small rose windows flanking to the outer left and right. The gable is crowstepped and topped with a decorative stone cross.

The south-east elevation is asymmetrical and four-bays wide, with rose windows below the eaves at each of three bays to the left and pairs of pointed-arched windows between. A gabled flush transept extends to the right. The ground floor is obscured by the hall and vestry of 1905, which comprises a square-plan building with a piended roof and a canted window to the south featuring a pointed-arched window in a crowstepped gablet with quatrefoil detail inset to each of three facets and a hexagonal roof. Three pointed-arched windows open to the left and right returns, with a gableted basket-arched doorway with boarded timber door and inset cross patee to the re-entrant angle to the left. A rose window to the gabled bay behind is surrounded by four pointed-arched windows following the curve below, with a stone cross to the apex. Decorative square-plan finials clasping the gable to left and right have recessed red sandstone necks, pyramidal caps with decorative iron brattishing, and a bell set behind the final to the right.

The north-east elevation is predominantly obscured by the mid-20th century chancel, which is constructed of grey granite finely finished to margins. The advanced chancel has a canted end and diagonal buttresses, with small pointed-arched windows to each facet of the ground floor and three rose windows above. A single-storey lean-to addition occupies the re-entrant angle to the left, with irregular openings and a bipartite window set in a gabled left return, with two windows to the chancel behind. A flat-roofed addition is advanced to the re-entrant angle to the right, with a boarded timber door and a pointed-arched window to the centre of the ground floor, three pointed-arched windows above, and two pointed-arched windows to the chancel behind. A cross tops the nave apex.

The north-west elevation is asymmetrical and four-bays wide, with rose windows below the eaves at each of three bays to the right and pairs of pointed-arched windows between. A gabled flush transept extends to the left. A rose window with four pointed-arched windows following the curve below is present, with decorative square-plan finials clasping the gable to left and right, recessed red sandstone necks, pyramidal caps with decorative iron brattishing.

The roof is decorated coloured slate with a lead ridge, gableted ventilators to the north and south breaking the pitch, coped skews with decorative skewputts, and cast-iron rainwater goods. The windows are stained glass and leaded.

The interior comprises coloured brick, granite and sandstone. An entrance porch leads to a pointed-arched doorway to the nave on polished pink granite columns with floreate capitals and decoratively chamfered reveals. The aisleless nave features a Minton tiled floor and geometric timber pews. A decorative stone doorway with brick tympanum to a relieving arch is positioned to the west, with decoratively inset timber-lined walls at doorway level. Alternating bays are plastered with a fresco to the north-west. Polished pink granite colonnettes support paired arched windows above. A highly decorative painted timber roof features scissor and arch trusses. A decorative octagonal pulpit is positioned to the north-east, with a lectern to the south-east. Stone steps lead to the crossing, with choir stalls to left and right, each with a carved timber lectern. A polychrome pointed chancel arch with decoratively painted timber trusses leads to the replacement chancel with timber roof. A panelled timber door to the south-east of the nave leads to the hall and vestry, which are simple with boarded surfaces below a dado and decoratively panelled cupboards with quatrefoil motif to the upper panels.

The boundary comprises bull-faced pink granite gatepiers to the west with truncated pyramidal caps surmounted by decorative ironwork, low coped granite walls to the north and south enclosing a triangular site, and rubble walls to the east.