Marischal College has been leased by The University of Aberdeen to Aberdeen City Council, and is being renovated to become the Council’s new headquarters.
The terra cotta statue on Simpson's building for the 'North of Scotland Bank' (1839-42) was by his friend James Giles, and was in appreciation of agricultural improvement in the northeast. It is a representation of the Greek 'mother-earth' goddess Demeter (adopted as Ceres in later Roman mythology).