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

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

Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 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. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...

, in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

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 religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

and

stained glass windows Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

. It is an active parish church served from

Buckie Buckie () is a burgh town (defined as such in List of burghs in Scotland, 1888) on the Moray Firth coast of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically in Banffshire, Buckie was the largest town in the county until the administrative area was ...

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 ) 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 of Elizabeth I, and temporarily repea ...

as the Gordon family of

Gordon Castle Gordon Castle is a country house located near Fochabers in the parish of Bellie in Moray, Scotland. It was the principal seat of the Dukes of Gordon and was originally called Bog-of-Gight. The six-storey medieval tower dates from 1498 and in th ...

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 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 St Ninian's Church, Tynet is a historic Roman Catholic clandestine church located at Tynet about 4 miles to the west of Buckie, Scotland in the Enzie region. Erected in 1755, it is the oldest surviving Roman Catholic church built in Scotland a ...

. The church was completed in 1826, the architect being

James Gillespie Graham James Gillespie Graham (11 June 1776 – 21 March 1855) was a Scottish architect, prominent in the early 19th century. Much of his work was Scottish baronial in style. A prominent example is Ayton Castle. He also worked in the Gothic Revival ...

, 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 (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

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 19th-century church buildings in Scotland {{Scotland-RC-church-stub