THE
P RTAL
September 2015
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Blairs College
Jackie Ottaway and Ronald Crane discover
Scotland’s Catholic Heritage on the Banks of the River Dee
J
ust outside Aberdeen is Blairs, the museum of Scotland’s Catholic Heritage. Back in 1827
John Menzies gave his mansion and one thousand acres of land to the Catholic Church, together with
fishing rights in the River Dee, ten tenanted farms and the Home Farm.
This complex became a school and seminary until it
closed in 1986. Boys, aged eleven, came and stayed until
they were given two weeks holiday before entering the
Seminary. Today the decrepit remains of the mansion
await redevelopment as a hotel and expensive housing.
Ian Forbes
When we arrived we were met by
the knowledgeable Ian Forbes (right)
who had been a student at Blairs and
later taught there. He explained the
history of the place to us and some of
the exhibits.
Mary, Queen of Scots
The museum is a real treasure trove. A memorial
portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots guards the whole
room. It is life-sized and shows Mary as she was at
Fotheringhay prior to her execution. It also shows
Jane Kennedy and Elizabeth Curie, her maids. It
took three blows to dispatch Mary.
The first struck the knot in the
blindfold, the second killed her and
the third decapitated her. Then, from
underneath her skirts, emerged her
small terrier. The poor dog died a
week later.
There were usually some one hundred
and ninety eight boys in residence,
although by the late 1950s the house
was too small, so one ‘Year’ had to
go to an establishment on the Clyde.
One in ten of the boys actually became
priests. Still, nineteen to twenty every
year was not a bad return.
Before
her
death
Mary
commissioned
four
enamelled
miniatures to be made. One miniature
was given to her Lady in Waiting on
Ian Forbes standing beside the
the day of execution and it was she
magnificent life-sized portrait of
who commissioned the portrait from
Mary Quenn of Scots as she was at
her memory of the day. Blairs has one
Fotheringhay prior to her execution of the original miniatures. It contains
the relics of nine female and eighteen male saints, plus
strict discipline
a piece of the True Cross.
Blairs’ never used corporal punishment, but if you
broke the ‘grand silence’ from Compline until breakfast unique collection
three times, you were expelled.
Mary died in 1587. The memorial painting of Mary
was at Douai and survived the place being sacked. It was
Today the building stands empty, apart from a few hidden in a bricked up chimney! In 1829 it returned to
rooms let for commercial purposes, although plans Scotland. There is a copy of the picture at Windsor.
are in hand for the redevelopment of most of the site, Blairs also has a copy of Mary Queen of Scots’ death
apart from the Chapel and Museum, as a luxury hotel. warrant. The original is at Lambeth Palace. These are
the only two that survive.
breathtaking chapel
Walking into the chapel, the sight is breathtaking.
It opened in 1901 and quickly closed again because
of dry rot, re-opening in 1911. At a time when the
Seminary was threatened with removal, prayers were
offered to St Teresa of Avila. She now looks over the
altar from her stained glass window.
so much to see
There is so much else to see at Blairs: portraits of the
Stuart family and Jacobite memorabilia, sacred silver
and gold, vestments and chalices, and a host of other
historic gems.
The museum and chapel are open to the public on
Saturdays and Sundays and Holiday Mondays from
With spectacular collections spanning more than 2pm until 5pm. See the web site www.blairsmuseum.
five hundred years, Blairs Museum gives a unique com or telephone 01224 863767. Parties may be shown
insight into Scotland’s Catholic History and heritage. round at other times by prior arrangement.
Blairs Museum
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