Cathedral Church of St Machar / Cathair-eaglais Naomh Machar
Address
The cathedral church of St Machar, The Chanonry, Old Aberdeen, AB24 1RQOverview
A place of worship was established here c.580 with many different subsequent building phases. That the Cathedral is a fine example of a fortified kirk, for example, is thanks to the work of Bishop Cheyne (1282-1328). While the landmark twin towers at the west end were constructed at the time of Bishop Elphinstone (1431-1514).
The work of the builders has been celebrated in the stained glass windows of Douglas Strachan, as highlighted below, and also in his ‘Three Bishops’ window of 1913.
The earliest glass in the cathedral dates from the 1870s with Clayton & Bell’s west window and a number by Daniel Cottier. There is an interesting opportunity to compare work from the 1920s by Margaret Chilton and Marjorie Kemp, who although working together on the manufacture of windows, undertook their own designs. The great east window by William Wilson was installed in 1953.
Highlight
St Machar window / Crombie Memorial windowArtist, maker and date
Douglas Strachan, 1908Reason for highlighting
The “St Machar” window by Douglas Strachan has scenes depicting the founding of the cathedral and life of St. Machar and is an outstanding and brilliant example of his work.
Artist/maker notes
Robert Douglas Strachan (1875-1950) was born in Aberdeen and initially trained as an artist. Indeed Strachan admitted later in life that he had been slow to realise that stained glass would be the best outlet for his artistic vision. It was a vision that enable him to become the foremost British stained glass artists of the generation after Christopher Whall. From 1909 to 1911 he was head of the School of Design and Crafts at the Edinburgh College of Art, before handing over to his brother, Alexander, due to pressure of work. His windows are found throughout Scotland and England, and are recognisable for their bold use of colour, and strong sculptural design and use of lead. Overseas he is renowned for his windows at the Peace Palace in The Hague, The Netherlands.
Sources:
In Praise of Douglas Strachan by Peter Cormack, Journal of Stained Glass, Vol. XXX, 2006
Arts & Crafts Stained Glass by Peter Cormack (Yale University Press for The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, 2015)
ECA Glass Alumni Exhibition Catalogue, pages 11-12
Comments by
Iain Galbraith and Peter Hildebrand