St Ninian's Church, Mid Stocket Road, Aberdeen

St Ninian's Church, Mid Stocket Road, Aberdeen

A Scots medieval gothic church built 1897-1900 by the architect William Kelly of Kelly and Nicol. The building is constructed as a T-plan with an aisle on the east and west sides, a clerestory, short chancel, and transepts. The exterior is built of squared and snecked dark grey granite with contrasting light grey dressings finished to fine margins, with a base course and band course running around the building.

The principal (south) elevation is asymmetrical, with a gabled bay at the centre containing a broad chamfered segmental arched splayed doorway with windows to the inside returns. The doorway is closed by a 2-leaf segmental-arched boarded timber door with iron hinges. Above are 3 pointed-arched windows lighting the gallery, and 2 small lancets set in the gablehead beneath a tooled stone finial at the apex. Flanking buttresses stand to left and right, with a 1902 sundial set into the centre of the right buttress. To the right of the gabled bay is a tripartite window to the ground floor, and 3 small trefoil-headed windows with blind tympana under the eaves.

A square-plan tower in 3 stages adjoins to the right of the south elevation. The first stage has 3 windows and a panelled timber door with an arrowslit window flanking to the right on the left return. The second stage has 2 arrowslit stair windows and a bipartite window with relieving arch to the left return. The third stage has louvred deeply chamfered pointed-arched openings on each elevation, a crenellated coped parapet, and is topped by a slate spire with a decorative cast-iron finial.

The east elevation is asymmetrical and comprises 8 bays. A lean-to roofed aisle advanced to the ground floor covers the centre 5 bays, containing 4 tripartite windows flanked to the left by a bipartite window. To the right is a gabled bay with a tripartite window, with 7 bipartite windows to the clerestory above. A gabled bay advanced to the outer left contains a pair of trefoil-headed windows and a blind quatrefoil set in the gablehead. An addition to the ground floor of the bay at the outer right has a bipartite window flanked to the right by a single window. Above this is a 4-light round-arched chancel window with curvilinear tracery. A church hall adjoins to the far right, built in 1956-57.

The north elevation is gabled, with the ground floor obscured by a mid-20th century church hall. A 4-light round-arched chancel window with curvilinear tracery sits above. An early 20th century addition adjoins to the right at ground floor level.

The west elevation is asymmetrical and comprises 8 bays. A 5-bay lean-to roofed aisle advanced to the centre of the ground floor contains 4 tripartite windows flanked to the right by a bipartite window. A gabled bay is advanced to the left, with 3 ogee-headed windows with blind tympana to the centre. An early 20th century addition adjoins to the left at ground floor, containing a 2-leaf boarded timber door flanked to the right by a 2-light gableted window breaking the eaves, with single windows to the left and right. The left return of this addition is harred. Above is a 4-light round-arched chancel window with curvilinear tracery. The tower adjoins to the outer right.

Throughout the building, the windows are predominantly small-pane leaded windows with some stained glass, including a chancel window by the noted Scottish artist Douglas Strachan. The roof is covered in grey slate with a lead ridge, and is finished with coped stone skews with simple skewputts. Buttresses break the eaves in triple stacks on the east elevation, topped with circular cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods with decorative hoppers complete the exterior detailing.

The interior contains a broad panelled timber 2-leaf door with decoratively glazed panels leading to a porch with a leaded window looking into the nave. Timber stairs to left and right rise to the south gallery, which is supported on circular columns with decorative capitals. The gallery houses a central organ flanked to left and right by gothic timber pipe cases designed by William Kelly. The nave is covered by a segmental-arched boarded timber roof with a central strip of quatrefoil piercing, from which are suspended simple iron chandeliers. Geometric timber pews with trefoil-profiled finish occupy the nave. A round-arched deeply chamfered arcade leads to side aisles on the east and west. A pointed chancel arch with 4 stone steps rises to the chancel, which is panelled with decoratively carved furniture and a pulpit.

A boundary composition to the southwest of the church comprises square-plan granite gatepiers with chamfered angles and 2-leaf decorative ironwork gates. Coped Aberdeen bond granite walls flank the gates, with a pedestrian gate to the left of the west wall.