Welcome (01224) 485988 Scottish Registered Charity No. SC008157 © 2024 St Machar's Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Machar The Chanonry Aberdeen SCOTLAND AB24 1RQ office@stmachar.com

Open to visitors

Monday - Saturday

1 April to 31 October  9.30 am to 4.30 pm

1 November to 31 March  10 am to 4 pm

Sunday 2.00pm to 5.00pm


It’s all happening at Dunbar Street Hall


The rejuvenated Dunbar Street Hall, the church of the Cathedral Church of St Machar, is the venue of much of the activity associated with community life in Old Aberdeen.


The hall boasts a state-of-the-art kitchen designed to ensure that food is prepared and served under the most hygienic conditions. The kitchen is equipped with a splendid cooker comprising a double oven and five-position hob, a very capacious fridge-freezer and a dishwasher which operates on a two-minute cycle.


Venues to which the public have access are often judged by the standard of their  toilets; the Dunbar Street facilities are sure to earn top marks.


A major refurbishment programme was carried out at the hall in 2008-2009. The plans were drawn up by James Masson Building Consultants and the work carried out by JKM Property Services Ltd. This included the installation of a new, extended kitchen, new toilets, new lighting, improved insulation and neutral decoration..


Together, or individually, the main hall and the smaller Leslie Room are suitable for a wide variety of uses – meetings, birthday and other parties, coffee mornings, lunches, dinners, dancing classes, ceilidh dances, small wedding receptions, training sessions etc.


For much of the year an old-time dancing group occupy the main hall on the first and third Tuesday evenings of the month. Wednesday evenings, in the main hall, are taken up by the line dancing club, The Strollers. In the evening by a Scottish country dancing class. This venue is also used to introduce very young children to the world of music. From time to time Old Aberdeen Community Council and Old Aberdeen Heritage Society hold meetings in the hall as does Aberdeen branch of the Scottish Reformation Society. Kirk Session meetings are held in the Leslie Room as are Cathedral women’s group lunches.


The hall was erected in 1886 when the Misses Lamond, Isabella Jane and Helen Leslie of Powis granted a feu charter in favour of the ministers (there were two charges in those days) and senior lay member of the Kirk Session of the Cathedral Church of St Machar and their successors in office.


The hall belongs to the Kirk Session of St Machar’s; it was the Kirk Session which provided of the funding for the refurbishment. However, in acknowledgement of the hall’s role as a community facility Aberdeen City Council and Old Aberdeen Community Council both made significant contributions. The community council’s contribution included meeting the cost of the dishwasher.


For bookings contact the Cathedral office  Tel: (01224) 485988 E-mail: office@stmachar.com