St Nicholas' Congregational Church And Church Hall, Belmont Street, Aberdeen

St Nicholas' Congregational Church and Church Hall, located on Belmont Street in Aberdeen, was designed by James Souttar and William Leslie in 1865. This outstanding two-storey, five-bay building showcases Italian Romanesque architecture and has been converted into a nightclub. It features a prominent, highly decorative curved apse at the rear, tall corner towerlets, and a distinctive corbelled arch motif on both the front and rear gables, with round-arched openings. The exterior is constructed from hammer-faced granite ashlar with pale sandstone dressings, and includes a base course, string course, and an upper storey cill course.

The principal elevation faces east and has a central round-arched doorway flanked by tall, narrow openings. The doorway is set within a stepped recessed marble Corinthianesque nook with nook-shafts. Above the entrance is a large central rose stained glass window with sandstone tracery, topped by a smaller quatrefoil opening. The tall, four-stage octagonal towerlets on either side of the entrance feature a top storey of free-standing columns capped by a slated octagonal roof. Additional tall and narrow openings are located on the outer left and right sides.

The rear elevation features an advanced five-window rounded apse with columned mullions and a multi-arched eaves gallery above. Square corner buttresses flank the apse, which is topped by a substantial moulded cornice and two-stage corner towers that rise above and break the eaves line at the base. The side elevations have a regular arrangement of openings.

Inside, many original features remain, including a gallery with interlacing-arch detailing and stylised floral stained glass windows. The painted ceiling in the apse displays roundels depicting biblical symbols, and fine plasterwork can be found throughout the building. Some alterations have been made to accommodate the nightclub use.