St Mary's, Fochabers is a Roman Catholic church in the village of

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 ...

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Between 1975 ...

, in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and is a part of the RC Diocese of Aberdeen. The building is significant for the high quality of its

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

and

stained glass windows Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

. It is an active parish church served from

Buckie Buckie ( gd, Bucaidh) is a burgh town (defined as such in 1888) on the Moray Firth coast of Scotland. Historically in Banffshire, Buckie was the largest town in the county until the administrative area was abolished in 1975. The town is the ...

with regular weekly Sunday Mass at 10.00 am. Fochabers, and the broader Bog o' Gight area, had been a hotbed of Catholic

recusancy Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...

as the Gordon family of

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 ...

had clung to the Catholic faith from 1560 to 1728. Prior to this building there had been a chapel in the old village of Fochabers, which had been spared burning by the Duke of Cumberland's troops after the

Jacobite rebellion , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...

of 1745.Johnson, Christine (1983) '' Developments in the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland 1789–1829'', John Donald Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh , and later the area was served by the mission at St Ninian's Church, Tynet. The church was completed in 1826, the architect being

James Gillespie Graham James Gillespie Graham (11 June 1776 – 11 March 1855) was a Scottish architect, prominent in the early 19th century. Life Graham was born in Dunblane on 11 June 1776. He was the son of Malcolm Gillespie, a solicitor. He was christened as J ...

, with the foundation stone being laid by Father George Mathieson, who was born in Fochabers himself, in 1825. Fr Mathieson said of the new building that it will be 'an ornament to the town, and I hope draw respect to Religion'. In 1885 a

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

Peter Paul Pugin Peter Paul Pugin (1851 – March 1904) was an English architect. He was the son of Augustus Pugin by his third wife, Jane Knill, and the half-brother of architect and designer Edward Welby Pugin. Life and career Peter Paul Pugin was only a ...

was installed. Later, in memory of the Clapperton family, two

Images of the Interior

St Mary's Church, Fochabers interior 1.jpg, Chancel featuring the Pugin altar St Mary's Church, Fochabers interior 2.jpg, Pugin altar St Mary's Church, Fochabers interior 3.jpg, Franz Mayer & Co. window. St Mary's Church, Fochabers interior 4.jpg, Franz Mayer & Co. window.

References

External links

* * Churches in Moray Gothic Revival church buildings in Scotland 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom {{UK-RC-church-stub