Blairs College

Blairs College stands beside the River Dee in Aberdeenshire, a group of stone buildings that once trained boys for the Roman Catholic priesthood. The Knights Hospitallers owned the land before the Menzies family acquired it in the 16th century. In 1827 John Menzies donated the estate to the Scottish bishops, who turned the old house into a seminary for twenty-five pupils. By 1829 the college had absorbed two smaller seminaries and grown into a larger institution. A major rebuilding between 1897 and 1902 added a chapel by Robert Curran and new classrooms and dormitories by Robert Gordon Wilson. Bishop Chisholm formally opened the enlarged college in September 1903. The place is worth the journey for its links to Scottish Catholic history and its notable alumni. Andrew Boyle became a well-known broadcaster and historian after his time at Blairs. Sylvester McCoy, later famous as an actor, also studied there. The college produced bishops such as Robert Fraser of Dunkeld and Edward Douglas of Motherwell. Fr Allan MacDonald, a priest and Gaelic scholar, left a lasting mark on Scottish literature. The New Chapel, designed by Robert Curran, is recognised as a Category A listed building. Visitors now find Blairs Museum inside part of the old college. The museum displays art and artefacts about Mary, Queen of Scots, the Jacobites and Scotland’s Catholic past. The chapel, once used for weekly Mass, has closed as a place of worship. Outside, the stone buildings and riverside setting remain largely unchanged since the early 20th century. The museum opens at weekends from April to September or by appointment. The surrounding landscape, once owned by the Knights Hospitallers, still carries traces of its medieval history.