Gordon Chapel is a nineteenth century church in

Fochabers Fochabers (; gd, Fachabair or Fothabair) is a village in the Parish of Bellie, in Moray, Scotland, east of the cathedral city of Elgin and located on the east bank of the River Spey. 1,728 people live in the village, which enjoys a rich mus ...

, Scotland. It is part of the

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...

, under the governance of the United Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness. Designated as a

category A listed building Category, plural categories, may refer to: Philosophy and general uses *Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally *Category of being *Categories (Aristotle), ''Categories'' (Aristotle) *Category (Kant) ...

, it was originally built in the 1830s by

Archibald Simpson Archibald Simpson (4 May 1790 – 23 March 1847) was a Scottish architect, who along with his rival John Smith, is regarded as having fashioned the character of Aberdeen as "The Granite City".Simpson, William Douglas, (1947) ''The Archibald S ...

under the patronage of the last Duchess of Gordon. Extensively renovated by Alexander Ross in the 1870s, it features the largest collection of

Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...

stained glass windows in Scotland.

History

The church was built at a cost of £900 from 1832 to 1834, according to a design by the noted Scottish architect

, who was responsible for the construction of many of the notable buildings in nearby

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

. The building was paid for by Elizabeth Brodie, wife of the fifth Duke of Gordon.

Gordon Castle Gordon Castle is located near Fochabers in Moray, Scotland. Historically known as the Bog-of-Gight or Bog o'Gight, it was the principal seat of the dukes of Gordon. Following 18th-century redevelopment, it became one of the largest country hous ...

, which was the principal seat of the Dukes of Gordon, is near Fochabers, but only partly survives. The first floor chapel was dedicated on 12 August 1834, some three months after a school had opened on the ground floor of the building, in the space that was later to become the parsonage. Elizabeth Brodie was an

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

at the time the church was built, but since she was born in London and her household, servants and many of her visitors were from England, she favoured services that followed the English

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

over the Scottish Episcopal liturgy. Controversies around this, and over whether it should be subject to the 'government and inspection' of the Scottish church, eventually resulted in Brodie deciding to close the church in 1848. Local Episcopalians, now without a place to worship and concerned that the building should fall into disrepair, petitioned her in 1852 to allow them use of the building again. Brodie, who by this time had joined the Free Church of Scotland, agreed to make the church and school over to her Episcopalian nephew, Charles Gordon-Lennox, the Duke of Richmond, and the church was reopened. Gordon-Lennox was succeeded by his son (also Charles) in 1860, who commissioned substantial improvements and renovations to the building by Alexander Ross, including the installation of a

hammerbeam roof A hammerbeam roof is a decorative, open timber roof truss typical of English Gothic architecture and has been called "...the most spectacular endeavour of the English Medieval carpenter". They are traditionally timber framed, using short beams pr ...

. The building remained in the hands of the Gordon-Lennox family until 1937, when it was sold by the ninth Duke to the

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

. Worship in the building was suspended during the

second world war World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and at one point troops were billeted within it; after the war, the Crown Estate considered selling it to house a cinema, but the congregation managed to raise the funds to purchase the building in 1950, and its use as a place of worship recommenced. The building was again subject to renovation work from 2008, when all its windows were removed for safekeeping and restoration during the construction of a bypass road nearby. They were reinstalled and the building reopened in 2012.

Description

The building is a two-level gothic design, with the parsonage (originally a school) on the ground floor and the chapel itself on the floor above that. It is oriented north–south, with the main entrance, leading onto Castle Street, on the south end which is faced with

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

sandstone, while the rest of the building is

harled Harling is a roughcast, rough-cast wall finish consisting of lime and aggregate, known for its rough texture. Many castles and other buildings in Scotland and Ulster have walls finished with harling. It is also used on contemporary buildings, w ...

. A projection in the north-west corner was originally a private entrance for the Gordon family. The chapel boasts the largest collection of

stained glass windows in Scotland, produced by

Morris and Co Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. (1861–1875) was a furnishings and decorative arts manufacturer and retailer founded by the artist and designer William Morris with friends from the Pre-Raphaelites. With its successor Morris & Co. (1875–1940 ...

, some designed by

Sir Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August, 183317 June, 1898) was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, J ...

. These include depictions of the

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

(1874),

Saint Cecilia Saint Cecilia ( la, Sancta Caecilia), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman virgin martyr and is venerated in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox, Anglican Communion, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She b ...

(1879),

Saint Ursula Saint Ursula (Latin for 'little female bear', german: link=no, Heilige Ursula) is a legendary Romano-British Christian saint who died on 21 October 383. Her feast day in the pre-1970 General Roman Calendar is 21 October. There is little infor ...

(1887), the archangel

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

(1902), Christ as the

Good Shepherd The Good Shepherd ( el, ποιμὴν ὁ καλός, ''poimḗn ho kalós'') is an image used in the pericope of , in which Jesus Christ is depicted as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Similar imagery is used in Psalm 23 ...

(1903) and the archangel

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

(1914). The St Michael window is dedicated to Bernard Charles Gordon-Lennox, third son of the seventh Duke of Richmond, who was killed in fighting near

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

in November 2014, aged 36, during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

File:GordonChapel, StUrsula.jpg,

St Ursula Saint Ursula (Latin for 'little female bear', german: link=no, Heilige Ursula) is a legendary Romano-British Christian saint who died on 21 October 383. Her feast day in the pre-1970 General Roman Calendar is 21 October. There is little inform ...

, commemorating Frances Gordon-Lennox, Duchess of Richmond File:GordonChapel, StRaphael.jpg,

, giving thanks for the return of Gordon-Lennox family members from the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

File:GordonChapel, StMichael.jpg,

, commemorating

Lord Bernard Gordon-Lennox Major Lord Bernard Charles Gordon-Lennox (1 May 1878 – 10 November 1914), was a British Army officer. Gordon-Lennox was the third son of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond, by his first wife Amy Mary, daughter of Percy Ricardo, of Bra ...

File:GordonChapel, StAndrew.jpg,

St Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

, commemorating

George Gordon-Lennox Lieutenant-General Sir George Charles Gordon-Lennox (29 May 1908 – 11 May 1988) was a senior British Army officer who served during the Second World War. Military career Gordon-Lennox was the eldest child of Lord Bernard Gordon-Lennox and a ...

File:Gordon Chapel, StCecilia.jpg,

St Cecilia Saint Cecilia ( la, Sancta Caecilia), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman virgin martyr and is venerated in Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She became the patroness of music and musicians, i ...

, commemorating

Amy Gordon-Lennox, Countess of March Amy Gordon-Lennox, Countess of March (24 June 1847 – 23 August 1879), formerly Amy Mary Ricardo, was the first wife of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond, and the mother of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 8th Duke of Richmond. She died befor ...

File:GordonChalel, TheGoodShepherd.jpg, The

, commemorating

Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond, 6th Duke of Lennox, and 1st Duke of Gordon, (27 February 181827 September 1903), styled Lord Settrington until 1819 and then Earl of March until 1860, was a British Conservative politician. Ba ...

File:GordonChapel, new.jpg,

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

, commemorating William and Ethel Baxter

Current usage

The church is still an active

place of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is somet ...

, and is part of the

Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness The Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness is one of the seven dioceses of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It covers Caithness and Sutherland (the old Diocese of Caithness), mainland Ross and Cromarty (the old Diocese of Ross), and mainland Inver ...

of the

, with weekly services celebrated by Rev Michael Last. The chapel is accessed by a flight of stairs, but services are relayed by

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

to the chapel room on the ground floor to allow people with mobility issues to partake in them.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Gordon Chapel website
Gothic Revival church buildings in Scotland Episcopal church buildings in Scotland Churches in Moray Category A listed buildings in Moray Listed churches in Scotland