St Nathalan’s Church
Before 1905, there was no Catholic church in Ballater; any Catholics living in the village walked up Glengairn to Mass, to Clashendrich, and after 1868, to Candacraig further down the glen, where the church was named St Mary Immaculate. The chapel at Clashendrich was built by Fr Lachlan Mackintosh, who was Parish Priest for an incredible sixty-four years, dying in 1846 at the age of ninety-three.
In 1850 the total number attending Mass from Glengairn and Corgarff exceeded three hundred. However, over the next fifty years these numbers declined quite drastically, in contrast to the growth of the population of Ballater, which was the result of two factors: the development of the mineral waters at Pannanich, and the coming of the railway in October, 1866.
By the end of the 19th Century, the numbers attending Glengairn had fallen to between fifty and sixty, of which only six were actually resident in Glengairn. The Parish Priest at the time, Fr Donald Matheson, therefore resolved to raise the necessary money to enable a new church and house to be built in Ballater. He received encouragement from a Mr John Mackintosh, formerly of Brinaloin (a farm near Crathie) who had returned from spending many years in the USA. During various discussions between Mr Mackintosh and Fr Matheson concerning religion, Mr Mackintosh urged the priest to build a new church in Ballater. When Mr Mackintosh died, he left £600 towards the cost of the new church. The total cost of building the church and house amounted to £2,000.
The new church was designed by Archibald Macpherson of Edinburgh. The stone used to build the church and house was local; it came from the Inver Quarry near Braemar.
The dedication ceremony must have been fairly spectacular. The Catholic Directory of 1905 states:
“A choir of boys came specially from Blairs under Father Miley and Mr Nisbet. By eleven o’clock some thirty clergy were formed in procession by Father Welsh, who was Master of Ceremonies. The deacons of the Mass were Fathers G.P.Shaw and Andrew Grant, and deacons at the throne Fathers Edward Miley and Macqueen, while Father D.A. Chisholm filled the office of assistant priest. Among the strangers present were Sir Allan Mackenzie, Bart., Glenmuick; Rev. J.R.Sibbald, Crathie; the town Provost and many more who showed a friendly interest by their presence. The Service was fully pontifical, and aided by the marvellous perfection of the choir the effect was such as to be long remembered on Deeside, where even ordinary High Mass is never seen. Professor McBain preached with much eloquence on the Real Presence.”
The statue of St Nathalan on the wall of the Church was apparently an anonymous gift (“of one who has done much to revive the memory of the Celtic saints, who has, besides, a special devotion to St Nathalan”).
Fr Matheson and his parishioners managed to pay off the sum of £1,400 within two years, and when he was moved to Huntly in 1908, the parish was debt-free. Fr Matheson apparently had plans for further embellishing of the church, but he was moved before he was able to undertake them.
Fr Matheson worked very hard in his parish, both in Glengairn and after the move to Ballater. The Catholic Directory shows that on a Sunday he had “Mass, Sermon and Catechism at 11.00 am, Sunday School at 5 ¼ (presumably this meant 5.15 pm), then Benediction at 6.00 pm”. On Holidays of Obligation Mass was celebrated at 11.00 am and there was also Benediction at 6.00 pm. There was also a Living Rosary group, Holy Family Group, and a League of St Andrew in the parish, all of which were run by him, or under his close supervision. He was also responsible for Corgarff, where Mass was occasionally celebrated (this carried over from the Glengairn days).
Over the hundred years of St Nathalan’s existence, there have been Parish Priests of differing character and dedication. Some have stayed a short time in the community; others have ministered here for many years. Of all the priests who have served St Nathalan’s, there is little doubt that Fr John Matheson (1930-1943) was the most outstanding. Not only was he the longest serving Parish Priest, but he also became Bishop of Aberdeen in 1947 (he died in 1950, at the age of forty-nine).
It was during Fr Matheson’s time that the church acquired the present Stations of the Cross. Mrs Maria Buxton, a parishioner who died in 1935, left the sum of £200 to purchase a new set of Stations of the Cross (the previous ones had been framed pictures). A plaque dedicated to her, in the form of a Celtic cross, is on the wall of the church next to the Fourteenth Station.
The internal paintwork of the church was done in 1928. When it was re-painted in 1990, the paintwork above the sanctuary was a navy blue colour, with the stars being hand painted in gold coloured paint.
