St Machar's Cathedral begun in the 12th century, a few hundred yards from the river Don took centuries to build with the exception of the period of the episcopate of William Elphinstone (1484–1511). Gavin Dunbar, who followed him in 1518, completed the structure by adding the two western spires and the southern transept.
St Machar's Cathedral began construction in the 12th century, near the river Don, but it wasn't until William Elphinstone's tenure (1484-1511) that substantial work was done. Gavin Dunbar completed the structure by adding two western spires and a southern transept in 1518.