Building record MAB11774 - ST GREGORY'S CHAPEL, PRESHOLME

Roman Catholic Church, built in 1788-90, probably by Father John Reid, with a chancel, altar and some interior alterations done by Peter Paul Pugin in 1896, and further interior restoration in 1989-90.

Roman Catholic Church, built in 1788-90, probably by Father John Reid, with a chancel, altar and some interior alterations done by Peter Paul Pugin in 1896, and further interior restoration in 1989-90. It is the first Roman Catholic place of worship erected in Scotland after the Reformation which did not attempt to disguise the fact that it was a church. St Gregory's was a permanent, larger replacement of a barn used as a chapel (and known as Craigs Chapel) before 1788, and which had been an important centre for Catholicism in Scotland since the end of the 17th century. It is a large, rectangular church oriented East-West that is harled, with harled tooled and polished ashlar dressings, window and door surrounds and corner stones. Mostly plain in appearance, the church has an elaborate wide 5-bay Baroque West front made wider than the nave by flanking staircase pavilions. The slightly advanced central bay has a concave upswept gable, topped by a small pediment with urns and a cross above. The gable has a deep eaves band, eaves cornice and a blocking course continuing around 3 sides of the stair blocks. There is a centre wide round-headed entrance, with similar flanking entrances in slightly set-back square stair bays. The inscription above the door reads 'DEO 1788'. Both the gable and flanking pavilions have large 4 round-arched windows with clear multi-pane glazing, and one slightly smaller similar centre window above. All windows and doors have keystones and blocked imposts. The sides of the church are fairly plain. The wide, 3-bay South elevation has a blocked round-headed centre door and window above, and flanking linear traceried windows, with the tracery dating to 1896. The chancel at the East end of the church was built in 1896 and is slightly more elaborately finished. It is demi-octagonal, with North and South windows that have similar tracery, linked to narrow round-headed lancets by a continuous hood-mould/string course. The chancel has a piended slate roof. The church has an ornately-decorated, richly-coloured interior, with much of the detail seen in the sanctuary, which was designed in 1896 by Peter Paul Pugin. The nave has been altered at different points in time. The plastered walls have fine painted stencilling, which form a frieze above the wooden dado and a wide cornice below the panelled ceiling. The chancel appears to be little-altered since it was built. It has a fine marble and tiled floor and excellent painted wall stencilling, which also extends over the large chancel arch. There are brass memorial plaques to the left and right in the chancel, marking the burial sites of Bishop James Kyle (1788-1869), and his nephew, Rev. John Kyle (1828-1917). Separating the nave and chancel are very ornate metal railings, with painted traceried metalwork and marble communion rails with flanking marble pedestals supporting statues. An ornate canopied, carved and painted reredos with a picture of St Gregory, painted by Caracci, is fronted by a carved varied coloured marble altar. There is an 1896 raised rear organ platform that is enclosed by curtained railings and plain pews. There are Stations of the Cross and a ribbed flat 1896 ceiling. The entrance lobby has a centre ceiling rose of 1788. A presbytery, called Chapel House, was constructed to the East in 1830. A large renovation project was carried out to mark the 200th anniversary of the church, and it was reopened in July 2015. St Gregory's is well known for the huge collection of Catholic documents that used to be kept in the church. Known as the Preshome Letters, these total some 30,000 items and are now stored in the Scottish Catholic Archives and the National Library of Scotland. Memorials within the church have been recorded by the Moray Burial Ground Research Group.

Period Notes
Built 1788-90 on the site of an earlier chapel; internal alterations 1896; interior restoration 1989-90; re-opened July 2015; plaques dating 1788-1869 and 1828-1917. Designated on 22/02/1972.

Author unknown, 1799, OLD STATISTICAL ACCOUNT, 383 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1845.

HOWAT, AJ, 1901, CHURCHES IN MORAY, 41 (Bibliographic reference). SAB729.

ANSON, P, 1954, INNES REVIEW, 126-7, 126-7 (Bibliographic reference). SAB32.

HAY, G., 1957, THE ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTTISH POST-REF CHURCHES, 77,154,251 (Bibliographic reference). SAB720.

KEITH, DV, 1980, ST GREGORY, PRESHOME (Bibliographic reference). SAB983.

SHEPHERD, I, 1996, ABERDEEN AND NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND (2ND ED), p. 119 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4829.

MORAY BURIAL GROUND RESEARCH GROUP, 2003, NEWSLETTER, Issue 13 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5098.

MORAY BURIAL GROUND RESEARCH GROUP, 2010, MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS: ST NINIAN'S CHURCHYARD (CANDLEFORD) AND ST PETER'S CHURCH, BUCKIE, ST GREGORY'S, PRESHOME (Bibliographic reference). SAB7659.

Author unknown, n.d., INSIDE MORAY, 18/07/15 (Bibliographic reference). SAB873.

Author unknown, n.d., NSA, 265 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1269.

Sep 20 1984 , DK 21-29, DK 21-29 (Ground Photograph). SAB31016.

Record last edited

Sep 5 2025 11:27AM