Building record MAB3909 - KINLOSS PARISH CHURCH

Parish church, built in 1765 by mason David Low to replace an earlier church from 1652-7.

Parish church, built in 1765 by mason David Low to replace an earlier church from 1652-7. This initial construction consisted of a 4-bay nave, with round-headed south windows. There have been various subsequent alterations and additions. There were repairs and re-fenestration of the south elevation in 1830 by William Robertson, architect. A central aisle was added by Alexander Urquhart, Forres, in 1834. In 1863, A. and W. Reid built an extension to the west, creating a T-plan building. They also added the tower with a crenellated parapet, as a memorial to the Grant Peterkin family, added a porch and re-cast and re-modelled the interior. Further interior work took place in 1904. It is a plain Georgian style church with skew gables, and an irregular plan. It is harled, with tooled ashlar dressings, and the tower is constructed of tooled rubble. At the base of the tower there is a hoodmoulded entrance. The 1863 porch is in the southwest re-entrant angle. Four substantial 1830 square-headed hoodmoulded windows with mullion and transom have been re-set in the southwest 1863 gable, and there are two 1863 pointed-headed hoodmoulded windows in the west gable. The 3-stage tower is at the east, with pointed-headed louvred Gothic openings in each face of the upper stage, and a corbelled and crenellated wallhead. Lattice-pane glazing is used. There is a slate roof and an apex cross at the west. The interior is plain and it was re-cast to the west in 1863. There is a gallery at the east, a pine dado and pine pews. A re-located plain, possibly 18th century, panelled pulpit stands on a reduced base, and without a sounding board at the side of the chancel area. An 1863 Gothic backboard to the former pulpit is in the centre of the west wall. There is a 1688 mort bell by John Cowie of Elgin. It is reputed to have been the first church in the north of Scotland to install an organ, in 1879. A low, coped, rubble wall from 1830 encloses the church, with a pair of squared gatepiers with squared caps in the southern corner of the enclosure wall.

Period Notes
Built in 1765, replacing an earlier 17th century church. Repairs and re-fenstration in 1830. A central aisle was built in 1834. An extension to the West was built in 1863, at which time the porch and tower was built, and there was interior work done too, the bell is dated to 1688. The organ was installed in 1879, and there was interior work done in 1904. It was designated on 26/01/1971.

HOWAT, AJ, 1901, CHURCHES IN MORAY, 33 (Bibliographic reference). SAB729.

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

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

Record last edited

Mar 3 2023 11:58AM