A spectacular 19th-century granite mansion in Aberdeen’s prestigious West End has attracted more than 1.2 million views on TikTok, offering a rare glimpse into the city’s architectural heritage and highlighting the growing power of social media in luxury property marketing.
Rubislaw House, located at 50 Queens Road, has become an unlikely viral sensation after property content creator “This One’s Nice” featured the eight-bedroom Category A-listed residence in a video tour that rapidly spread across the platform. The property, currently marketed by Savills at offers over £1.5 million, represents one of Aberdeen’s finest examples of late Victorian domestic architecture and a significant piece of the city’s granite heritage.
Built in 1886 for John Morgan, a prominent Aberdeen builder and master mason, Rubislaw House stands as a testament to the city’s golden age of granite craftsmanship. Morgan, who lived from 1844 to 1907, specialised in high-quality granite cutting and carving, and was responsible for many of Aberdeen’s landmark buildings including Marischal College, Canada House, and the Northern Assurance building.
The house was designed by architects John Bridgeford Pirie and Arthur Clyne, whose monograms remain visible on a buttress of the building. The design represents what architectural historians consider the domestic high point of Pirie and Clyne’s careers, featuring a bold mixture of ecclesiastical and proto-Art Nouveau details that departed from their earlier Gothic influences. “The building represents not only the domestic high point of Pirie and Clyne’s careers, but also that of the granite carving trade in Aberdeen,” according to property documentation.
The original Rubislaw House, which served as the mansion house of the Rubislaw Estate, was demolished in 1886 as it stood out of alignment with the newly developed Queens Road. Morgan’s replacement building showcased exceptional craftsmanship with oversized angle turrets, oriel windows, superb bow windows, intricate granite carvings, and stunning stained glass features.
Property Specifications and Modern Amenities
Spanning 5,554 square feet across three floors, the property offers eight bedrooms, four bathrooms, outstanding reception rooms, and benefits from basement and loft insulation. The residence includes rear lane garages and has been awarded an EPC rating of D, relatively efficient for a building of its age and historic designation.
In December 1959, the property was converted into three separate apartments, remaining in that configuration until 2010 when the current owner purchased the entire building to restore it as a single family home. “The refurbishment was a labour of love, with much time, expertise and investment made to restore this unique property,” according to Savills marketing materials.
Social Media Transforming Property Marketing
The viral TikTok phenomenon demonstrates how social media platforms have fundamentally transformed property marketing, particularly for high-value and architecturally significant homes. The “This One’s Nice” account, which specialises in property tours across the UK, has helped estate agents reach unprecedented audiences through short-form video content, particularly engaging younger, digitally-native audiences who represent the next generation of homebuyers.
Aberdeen Property Market
The viral attention comes at a pivotal moment for Aberdeen’s residential property market, which has shown signs of recovery after years of challenges linked to fluctuations in the oil and gas sector. According to the Aberdeen Solicitors’ Property Centre, house prices in Aberdeen increased by 3.8% in the second quarter of 2025, representing the most optimistic period since before the pandemic.
However, Aberdeen’s property market continues to operate at significantly lower price points than comparable UK cities. As of September 2025, the average house price in Aberdeen was £140,000, down 6.2% from the previous year and substantially below the UK average of £272,000. For comparison, Edinburgh’s average selling price reached £307,412 in mid-2025.
Aberdeen’s West End, where Rubislaw House is located, represents one of the city’s most desirable residential areas, commanding premium prices due to excellent school catchment areas and proximity to the city centre. Over the past year, properties in Aberdeen West End averaged £209,788, though this represents an 11% decline from the previous year and stands 31% below the 2014 peak of £302,858.
As social media continues to reshape how properties are marketed and discovered, historic buildings like Rubislaw House should continue to benefit from exposure that extends far beyond traditional real estate channels.
