Minister to downsize as £1m Aberdeen manse goes up for sale

The first £1 million manse has gone up for sale in one of Scotland's most prestigious postcodes.

The picturesque Rubislaw Den South. Picture: Google

For nearly a century, a string of ministers at Rubislaw Parish Church in Aberdeen have been blessed with a home fit for an oil tycoon.

Instead of a modest manse in the grounds of the kirkyard, those called to serve the West End congregation were given access to a six-bedroom mansion in the city’s own millionaire’s row.

Rubislaw Den South, a sleepy treelined avenue just a few streets away from the church, is home to some of the city’s most rich and powerful.

The postcode is one of the most sought after in the country, consistently bucking trends in the property market to be one of the top sellers.

But the congregation at Rubislaw now believe it is time for the current minister Rev Robert Smith to downsize to a more modest home.

Number 45 Rubislaw Den South, which is still occupied by the reverend and his family, is currently on the market for offers over £1.05m. It is understood that should the B-listed, granite, Edwardian house fetch over a million pounds then it would be a record breaker for the Church of Scotland.

And property experts believe that despite the recent downturn in the market it should still manage to attract a buyer.

Just over a year ago, Fraserburgh skipper Peter Tait purchased a house on the same street for £3.7m – making it the most expensive property ever sold in Aberdeen and one of the priciest in Scotland for the year.

Two other homes in the area sold for exactly £3m in July 2011 and in August 2014.

Since them house prices in Aberdeen have fallen by around 10 per cent and are expected to continue dropping throughout 2016 due to the downturn in the oil ­industry.

But Fiona Gormley, director of residential properties at Savills in Aberdeen, said the manse should still sell.

She said: “Homes in Rubislaw Den are the most expensive to live in in the West End of the city therefore they do command their own values and prices. If you take a house from the Den and position them in other parts of the city they would not have the same appeal. It is the most expensive, most desirable location.”