Building record MAB6005 - ROTHES PARISH CHURCH, HIGH STREET, ROTHES

Church, built in 1780-1, with alterations and the vestry added in 1812, the walls and gables were raised 2 feet (0.6 metres) in 1868, the clock tower was added in 1870 and internal renovations took place in 1887.

Church, built in 1780-1, with alterations and the vestry added in 1812, the walls and gables were raised 2 feet (0.6 metres) in 1868, the clock tower was added in 1870 and internal renovations took place in 1887. It has since been re-roofed and the interior modernised, and in 1954 the harling was removed and the walls re-pointed. The Church building was financed by the Earl of Findlater. It is a T-plan random rubble-built church, with tooled granite ashlar dressings and margins. There is a long symmetrical North elevation with four round-headed windows, and there is a round-headed entrance in the East gable and in the base of the tower at the West. There is a further door, which is now a window, in the centre of the rear bowed wing. The four-stage square tooled ashlar clock tower has stages delineated by moulded string courses. The third stage has clasped pilasters and tall louvred openings, with a shallow stage above that has clock faces breaking the wallhead under a semi-circular cornice. There is a pyramidal spire, with banded decorative fishscale slating and a cast-iron weathervane. Lattice-pane glazing is used throughout, and there are slate roofs. There is a small projecting rear single-storey vestry with a canted gable. The interior was renovated in 1887, retaining the traditional layout grouped around the central pulpit, fronting the organ from 1894 in the centre of the North wall. A five-sided gallery has a panelled front with cusped detailing. It is said to incorporate some materials from the former parish church (NJ35SW0003), which is stood to the North-East of Rothes. The clock was originally on Nairn Town Hall, and it was repaired and gifted to church by Nairn jeweller Mr Charles Spark, who was formerly of Rothes. The manse (NJ24NE0079) is circa 170 metres to the North-West. Memorials within the churchyard have been recorded by the Moray Burial Ground Research Group.

Period Notes
Built in 1780-81. The vestry was added to in 1812, and the walls and gables raised in 1868. The clock tower was added in 1870, and there were internal renovations 1887. The harling was removed and the walls re-pointed in 1954. Listed designation given on 26/01/1971.

HOWAT, AJ, 1901, CHURCHES IN MORAY, 44 (Bibliographic reference). SAB729.

MORAY BURIAL GROUND RESEARCH GROUP, 2011, MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS: ROTHES CHURCHYARD AND CEMETERY AND OTHER LOCAL MEMORIALS (Bibliographic reference). SAB7658.

Author unknown, n.d., NSA, 1842 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1269.

GRAY, JR, n.d., ROTHES PAST & PRESENT, 27-8 (Bibliographic reference). SAB620.

Record last edited

Jan 18 2024 2:37PM