Building record MAB3336 - RAFFORD PARISH CHURCH

Church and graveyard, built by James Gillespie Graham in 1824-6, with alterations and additions by P.

Church and graveyard, built by James Gillespie Graham in 1824-6, with alterations and additions by P. MacGregor Chalmers, Glasgow, in 1907 and is in the Gothic revival style. It replaces an earlier church (NJ05NE0005), situated in a graveyard circa 200 m to the south and demolished in 1827. The present church is constructed from harl pointed rubble, with tooled and polished ashlar dressings. It has three large windows with perpendicular tracery on the long west elevation, with each window flanked by a stepped buttress terminating at the wallhead, with a substantial crocketted pinnacle. Three similar windows from 1907 light the east elevation, buttressed only in the outer bays. There is a large hoodmoulded, and similarly traceried, window in the centre of the north gable. The windows use clear quarried glazing (square glazing supported by lead strips) from 1907, except for a 1918 stained glass window at the north gable, which is a memorial to Major Galloway, who was killed in 1915 in World War I, by A. L. Moore and Son. There is a cross apex finial at the north gable, and a slate roof. The south gable is fronted by a 3-stage tower, with each stage is delineated by a string course. There is a recessed entrance with a perpendicular Gothic doorpiece flanked by ashlar dummy facetted lanterns with crocketted caps at the base of the tower. A hoodmoulded pointed-headed traceried window sites above the entrance. There is louvred fenestration in the upper stage on the north, south and west faces of the tower. An ashlar balustraded wallhead had substantial corbelled and crocketted angle pinnacles. There is a small hexagonal vestry from 1907 at the northeast gable. There is a clock, dated 1907, at the rear of the church that was gifted by Alexander Walker, a native of Rafford, then President of the Colonial Bank of New York. The bell is dated 1576, and came from the earlier church. The interior was largely re-modelled 1907, this re-modelling included the removal of a 3 sided gallery. A cusped panelled dado encircles interior, which is made from the former gallery front. There is also a cusped panelled pulpit, a holy table, rear screen, plain stained pine pews and a round-headed entrance into the church from the entrance lobby, all from the 1907 re-modelling. Monumental inscriptions within the churchyard were recorded by the Moray Burial Ground Research Group in 2005-6.

Period Notes
Built 1824-6, alterations and re-opened 1907. There is a re-used bell from 1576, and stained-glass from 1918. Listed designation given on 26/01/1971.

MORAY BURIAL GROUND RESEARCH GROUP, 2007, MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS: RAFFORD CHURCHYARD AND NEW CEMETERY (Bibliographic reference). SAB7656.

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

Record last edited

Nov 17 2025 3:23PM