The most iconic of our buildings and located on the picturesque Old Aberdeen High Street, King's College was built to house the University after it was founded by Bishop Elphinstone under a Papal Bull issued by Pope Alexander VI on 10 February 1495. Of the original College building, only the Chapel and the Ivy Tower, constructed in 1525 and now obscured by the college's subsequent development, now remain, all other sides of the quad having been replaced over the following centuries. The college's facade and main entrance arch, attached to the Chapel, date to 1825, while the Cromwell Tower behind the Chapel was built in 1658.
King's Tower is the figurehead of the University, and small wonder. The building is famous not only for its physical appeal, but for its symbolism: the pursuit of knowledge. The crown is an Imperial crown, not a Royal one, and the significance of this is often missed. The Imperial crown is a symbol of universal dominion, as opposed to a national one, and it is likely that this crown was incorporated into the architecture to support the Scottish crown's claim to imperial authority within Scotland.
Aside from the Chapel, the college today houses the Sacrist's office, the Divinity Library, a number of recently refurbished state-of-the-art lecture theatres, the King's College Conference Centre and several classrooms and offices.
Disability Information
The AccessAble service provides a pan-disability access guide to this building.