Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

PRESHOME, ST GREGORY'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHLB15524

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
22/02/1972
Local Authority
Moray
Planning Authority
Moray
Parish
Rathven
NGR
NJ 41001 61454
Coordinates
341001, 861454

Description

Dated 1788, probably Father John Reid; chancel, altar and

some internal alterations Peter Paul Pugin, 1896.

Rectangular church orientated E-W with wide 5-bay Baroque

W front incorporating flanking stair compartments. Harled,

tooled and polished ashlar margins and dressings. Centre wide round-headed entrance with similar flanking entrances in

slightly set back outer square stair bay; 4 substantial

round-headed windows, slightly smaller similar centre window

raised into shape pedimented gable; all windows and doors

with keystones and blocked imposts. Shaped pedimented gable

crowns centre 3 bays, deep eaves band, eaves cornice and

blocking course 3 sides of stair blocks; urn and ball

finials, apex cross. Datestone above centre door, multi-pane

glazing.

Wide 3-bay S elevation with blocked round-headed centre door

and window above; flanking linear traceried windows (tracery

1896).

Demi-octagonal chancel with similar traceried N and S windows

linked to narrow round-headed lancets by continuous

hood-mould/string course. Slate roof.

INTERIOR: lofty interior; brilliantly coloured stencilled

chancel, nave dado and cornice. Ornate canopied, carved and

painted reredos with picture of St Gregory fronted by carved

varied coloured marble altar. Carved coloured marble

communion rails and flanking marble pedestals supporting

statues. Brass memorial plaques right and left in chancel;

coloured tiled floor.

1896 raised rear organ platform enclosed by curtained

railings; plain pews; Stations of the Cross; ribbed flat 1896

ceiling.

Entrance lobby with centre ceiling rose of 1788.

Statement of Special Interest

Ecclesiastical building in use as such.

St Gregory's church the first Roman Catholic place of worship

erected in Scotland after the Reformation which did not

attempt to disguise the fact that it was a church (Tynet RC

church, 1755 constructed so as to resemble a cottage).

Preshome church replaced a barn used as a chapel before 1788;

this barn was called the Craigs barn and the chapel was first

called Craigs chapel. Gordon of Letterfourie is said to have

contributed considerably to the erection of the church. The

area was staunchly Catholic.

Picture of St Gregory by Caracci gifted by Lord Findlater and incorporated in reredos.

Brass plaques erected each side of chancel mark burial sites

of Bishop James Kyle, 1788-1869 and his nephew, Rev. John

Kyle, 1828-1917.

Plaque above centre entrance in W front inscribed 'DEO 1788'.

References

Bibliography

THE STATISTICAL ACCOUNT (1792-3), Witherington and Grant ed.

1982), p.383. NEW STATISTICAL ACCOUNT (1842), p.265. Peter

Anson, 'Catholic Church Building in Scotland from the

Reformation until the Outbreak of the First World-War,

1560-1914', INNES REVIEW v (1954), pp. 126-7. George Hay,

THE ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTTISH POST-REFORMATION CHURCHES

1560-1843 (1957), pp.77, 154, 251. pl.20b.

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 28/03/2024 13:50