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Old Free Church, Aberchirder

A Category B Listed Building in Aberchirder, Aberdeenshire

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Coordinates

Latitude: 57.5622 / 57°33'43"N

Longitude: -2.6221 / 2°37'19"W

OS Eastings: 362876

OS Northings: 852624

OS Grid: NJ628526

Mapcode National: GBR M8WQ.X3C

Mapcode Global: WH8MD.P6K3

Plus Code: 9C9VH96H+V4

Entry Name: Old Free Church, Aberchirder

Listing Name: Main Street, New Marnoch Church (Church of Scotland) with Boundary Wall

Listing Date: 22 February 1972

Category: B

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 354340

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB19914

Building Class: Cultural

ID on this website: 200354340

Location: Aberchirder

County: Aberdeenshire

Town: Aberchirder

Electoral Ward: Banff and District

Traditional County: Banffshire

Tagged with: Church building

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Description

James Henderson, 1841. New Marnoch Church, formerly Free church of Scotland (see notes). 2-storey hall church, gabled rectangular-plan with octagonal 4-stage entrance tower to S, single storey gabled vestry to N. Random rubble, ashlar dressings with eaves course, ashlar tower. Tall round-arched windows.

TOWER: entrance to S: 4-panelled 2-leaf door with blinded fanlight en suite, 4 additional fixed doors flanking. Tall, slender round-arched windows above in pilastered bays with cornice, clock with moulded surround to 3rd stage, bell tower above with 8 round-arched louvred narrow openings, eaves course, cornice and ogival lead roof with wrought-iron weathervane.

NAVE: entrance tower flanked by single windows, 4 windows to E and W elevations. 2 smaller windows to N with stained glass.

VESTRY: adjoining to N, single storey, adapted to accommodate N windows of nave. 2 round-arched windows to N, Door to E, window E and W.

Lying-pane and border glazing. Grey slates, coped ashlar skews

and stack to vestry, later brick stack and flue to N elevation of

nave.

INTERIOR: pulpit to N, with arcaded balustrade, panelled sounding board above with small bracketted canopy. Stained glass with New Testament scenes to flanking windows. Panelled raked gallery supported on cast-iron columns to 3 sides, painted pews, pine altar furniture.

Marble memorial plaques in entrance hall to Mr and Mrs Stronach, and Rev D Henry (see notes).

BOUNDARY WALL TO CHURCHYARD: ashlar coped, random rubble.

Statement of Interest

Ecclesiastical building in use as such. New Marnoch Church is important in the history of the Disruption, built as a non-intrusion church of Scotland, following the departure of the congregation from Old Marnoch Church (listed separately). The dispute began in 1837, on the appointment of Rev John Edwards as minister by the church patrons, against the wishes of the parishioners who wanted Rev David Henry. This infringement of the right of parishioners to choose their own minister led to the departure of the congregation on 21 January 1841, to Aberchirder, where the construction of New Marnoch Church began. The foundation stone was laid by Mr and Mrs Stronach of Ardmeallie. Opened in 1842 as a non-intrusion church, it joined with the Free Church when the Disruption spread in 1843. Although both Marnoch churches became Church of Scotland in 1929, the congregations remained separate until 1953. The joint church is now administered from New Marnoch Church. A Manse was built for the church in 1841, but has been demolished with a modern replacement to the E. James Henderson also designed South Sauchen Church, and the Free Church and Manse at Craigmyle, Gordon District.

External Links

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