Draft:History of Marischal College

Marischal College in the late 19th century

The history of the Marischal College (formally "Marischal College and University of Aberdeen") began with its foundation in 1593 when George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal established a new university in New Aberdeen, likely due to his rivalries with the Catholic Earl of Huntly (who had significant influence at King's College) and Alexander Fraser (who had established the University of Fraserburgh a year earlier).

Foundation

Marischal College, unlike the previous universities in Scotland (but like Edinburgh), was created without Papal bull due to the Reformation, and was founded on land previously belonging to the Greyfriars, preserving the old church, but demolishing the monastic elements. It became known as the Town College, since it was located in the bigger New Aberdeen (while King's College was located in the smaller Old Aberdeen).

The original charter of the university was lost by the early 18th century, but two near-contemporary copies exist – one of which was accepted by the courts in 1756 as being authentic. In this charter, Marischal College is described variously as a gymnasium, collegium (college), academia (academy) and universitas (university).

. As such, both Edinburgh and Marischal came to be known as the "Town Colleges" of their respective cities. The university was founded with the expressed aim of training clergy for the post-Reformation Kirk. Its Greek motto translates as "virtue is self-sufficient".

Some students were going from Marischal to King's in the 1610s, reason unclear, David Wedderburne was appointed interim replacement to Principal Glibert Gray in 1615, he found discipline had decayed, students ordered to swear obedience. Refused to open gates to the visitation ordered by James VI for the colleges of Aberdeen in 1619 (links to this being a Town College rather than royal college, like Kings).

During 1647 plague outbreak, King's went to fraserburgh, and Marischal went to Peterhead.

In the mid-18th century, the old building was replaced by one designed by William Adam.

This building was later replaced by a William Adam-designed building in the mid-18th century;

Caroline University of Aberdeen

King Charles merged the colleges, prev merged by Cromwell.

New Building

Between 1837 and 1844, Archibald Simpson was enlisted to replace the old buildings, which was in a state of disrepair, resulting in a U-shaped quadrangle, with a small entrance via an archway amidst unrelated housing on the west side. The building was substantially extended between 1893 and 1905 by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, and with its new "granite cage" front, enclosing the quadrangle, it became the second-largest granite building in the world (exceeded only by the Escorial Palace near Madrid). The congregation of the old Greyfriars church, which had been demolished to make room for the front of the quandrangle, was moved to the newly constructed 1903 Greyfriars Church, attached to the east side of the college. The Longacre home of Bishop John Skinner, site of the 1784 consecration of Samuel Seabury, was also demolished, and is now marked by a plaque on the east wall of the College's quadrangle.

James Clerk Maxwell FRS, FRSE (1831–1879), described as "the most famous and influential professor Aberdeen has ever had" was appointed as Professor of Natural Philosophy in 1856 and continued in that post until the merger of Marischal College with King's College.

The Mitchell Hall, where University of Aberdeen graduations previously took place, was built in the early 20th century. It is named after Dr Charles Mitchell, an alumnus of the university and a Tyneside shipbuilder. A large stained-glass window dominates the hall, executed by TR Spence of London and representing the university's history.

Post-Merger

Following the passing of the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858, in 1860 Marischal College was merged with King's College to form the new University of Aberdeen (which took King's College's foundation date).

The following extract refers to this merger:

Universities of Kings College and Marischal College, Aberdeen. First Report of the Commissioners, 1838. 1837–38. Vol. XXXIII, 75p. [123] Chairman: Lord John Cunninghame. The commissioners were in favour of a merger of the two colleges despite opposition from Kings College. They considered the unification as essential for the educational system of Northern Scotland although they disagreed with the proposed method of merger laid down by the last commission. The buildings of Marischal College were in very bad repair but new ones were under construction. Additions had been made in 1827 to Kings College buildings which were in a tolerable state of repair.

Throughout the 20th century, Marischall college housed all sciences and medicine. Between about 1960 and 1996, the college housed the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Biomedical Sciences, although in 1996 they moved to King's College and Foresterhill.

Senate Room (now called Grant Room after Sheena Grant)

There is an urban legend of unknown origin that Marischal College was Adolf Hitler's favourite building in the United Kingdom and that he would have liked to use it as a residence if the outcome of the Second World War had been different.

The building attracted high praise, such as from poet John Betjeman following a visit to Aberdeen in 1947:

"No-one can dismiss Marischal College, Aberdeen, when looking at the work of the present century. Wedged behind a huge town hall in an expensive and attractive mid-Victorian baronial style, I saw a cluster of silver-white pinnacles. I turned down a lane towards them, the front broadened out. Oh! Bigger than any cathedral, tower on tower, forests of pinnacles, a group of palatial buildings rivalled only by the Houses of Parliament at Westminster.

"This was the famous Marischal College. Imagine the Victorian tower with a spire on top, and all that well-grouped architecture below of lesser towers, and lines of pinnacles executed in the hardest white Kemnay granite and looking out over the grey-green North Sea and you have some idea of the first impression this gigantic building creates.

"It rises on top of a simple Gothic one designed by Simpson in 1840. But all these spires and towers and pinnacles are the work of this century and were designed by Sir Alexander Marshall Mackenzie. You have to see them to believe them."

Teaching had gradually been moving to King's College during the later part of the 20th century. While graduations and other events (e.g. concerts) took place in the cathedral-like Mitchell Hall in the north wing, for many years much of the building (including the frontage to the street) was derelict. In 2008, the majority of the building was leased to Aberdeen City Council, who carried out a significant re-development (including the gutting of much of the interior), in order to occupy the building as its new administrative headquarters.

The rear portion of the building was retained by the university including the former Marischal Museum and Mitchell Hall, which was used previously for graduation and other academic ceremonies before moving to Elphinstone Hall at King's College.

Marischal College, King's College, University of Aberdeen

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