Belmont Street is a north-south street in the centre of Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 that runs perpendicular to Union Street

Union Street, Aberdeen

Union Street is a major street and shopping thoroughfare in Aberdeen, Scotland.It was built, along with the adjoining King Street, in the beginning of the 19th Century under plans suggested by Charles Abercrombie to provide an impressive entrance way into the city, and nearly bankrupted the city...

.

Belmont Street originated with the late 18th century expansion of the town. It was part of an expansion out of the town into suburbs to the west by the towns richer denizens. For example, Thomas Menzies of Pitfodels, one of Aberdeen's wealthiest merchants of the time, moved from his long-standing town house on Castle Street (which is now the site of the North of Scotland Bank) to a five-bay two-storey house on Belmont Street in 1788. The street overlooked the valley of the River Denburn and was developed on vacant ground there in the 1780s, housing there initially comprising the domiciles of the wealthy, typified by large town houses with gardens running down to the river. A few of the houses from the late 18th century still survive on Belmont Street today, including Menzies'.

There were several churches on Belmont Street. The Triple Kirk, a free church established in 1844 at the junction of Belmont Street and Schoolhill, was deliberately sited with the intention of rivalling the established "Auld Kirk" of St Nicholas parish. A building to house the unification of the East, South, and West free churches of the town, it was designed by Archibald Simpson

Archibald Simpson

Archibald Simpson was one of the major architects of Aberdeen, .Simpson's buildings have contributed significantly to the architecture of Aberdeen. His first commission was for St...

. There is now a pub, the Triple Kirks, on the site. The South Church is also on Belmont Street. In November 1779, the anti-Burgher

Anti-Burgher

The Anti-Burghers were opponents of the Burgher Oath on theological grounds.In 1733 the First Secession from the Church of Scotland resulted in the creation of the "Associate Presbytery". This church split in 1747 over the issue of the Burgher Oath, which required holders of public offices to...

 United Presbyterian

United Presbyterian Church of Scotland

The United Presbyterian Church of Scotland was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination. It was formed in 1847 by the union of the United Secession Church and the Relief Church, and in 1900 merged with the Free Church of Scotland to form the United Free Church of Scotland, which in turn united with...

s of north Aberdeen moved to a purpose-built 800-seat church on Belmont Street. The Relief United Presbyterians established a Belmont Street congregation a little after 1778, when funds began to be raised for a 1000-seat church. In 1828, the Belmont Chapel of Ease, as it had come to be, became a fully fledged parish church, under the ministership of Reverend John Bryce.