Aquhorthies College or Aquhorthies House, located between Blairdaff and

Inverurie Inverurie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Uraidh'' or ''Inbhir Uaraidh'', 'mouth of the River Ury') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland at the confluence of the rivers Ury and Don, about north-west of Aberdeen. Geography Inverurie is in the va ...

in Aberdeenshire, was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

seminary in Scotland from 1799 to 1829. At the time it was the only Catholic seminary in the east of Scotland. The house still stands today as a private residence. It is a Category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and is very close to the

Easter Aquhorthies stone circle Easter Aquhorthies stone circle, located near Inverurie in north-east Scotland, is one of the best-preserved examples of a recumbent stone circle, and one of the few that still have their full complement of stones and the only one that has all i ...

.British Listed Buildings
retrieved 18 March 2013

History

Originally, priests for the east part of Scotland, or the

Vicariate Apostolic of the Lowland District The Archdiocese of Saint Andrews & Edinburgh ( la, Archidioecesis Sancti Andreae et Edimburgensis) is an archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Scotland. It is the metropolitan see of the province of Saint Andrews and Edinburg ...

were trained at Scalan college from 1717 to 1799. The house was very small and could accommodate just over six students, with one priest in charge. As numbers rose, a larger and less remote site was sought. The house was originally owned by the Leslies of Balquhain, who also owned Balquhain Castle. In the early 17th century, the land was leased by John Seton, the chamberlain to

Earl of Dunfermline Earl of Dunfermline was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1605 for Alexander Seton, 1st Lord Fyvie, fourth son of George Seton, 7th Lord Seton (see Earl of Winton for earlier history of the family). Seton had already been cre ...

Fyvie Castle Fyvie Castle is a castle in the village of Fyvie, near Turriff in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. History The earliest parts of Fyvie Castle date from the 13th century – some sources claim it was built in 1211 by William the Lion. Fyvie was the s ...

. In 1799, Bishop George Hay moved the college from Scalan to Aquhorthies. In fact, he died at the college on 15 October 1811. The college continued until 1829, when it was merged with the Catholic seminary in Lismore, and they were both closed and the students were transferred to the larger

Blairs College St Mary's College, Blairs (commonly known as Blairs College), situated near Aberdeen in Scotland, was from 1829 to 1986 a junior seminary for boys and young men studying for the Roman Catholic priesthood. Part of the former college now house ...

which continued as a seminary until 1986. The records of Aquhorthies were transferred to the University of Aberdeen in 1956.Archives Hub
retrieved 18 March 2013

References

{{Catholic seminaries in Scotland 1799 establishments in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Aberdeenshire Catholic seminaries in Scotland Educational institutions established in 1799 Educational institutions disestablished in 1829 Listed educational buildings in Scotland Former theological colleges in Scotland

History

See also

References