Church Overview

Raised on a site of Christian worship that is believed to date from the mid-13th century, this wonderful neo-Gothic building – designed and built from 1904-06 by Inverness architect John Robertson – is a fine example of the stonemason’s craft. Rectangular in plan, constructed of bull-faced rubble with exquisitely tooled dressings, its 120 ft high three stage tower and stone steeple is now a beloved landmark on the Forres skyline.

Visitors inside its expansive, open interior are immediately struck by the ornate timber ribbed ceiling that his held aloft on stone corbels and the full-height arcade of columns that divide the nave from the north aisle. There is a shallow chancel in the west end sitting snuggly beneath a large, bold Gothic arch. The galleries house the pipe organ by Ernest Henry Lawton of Aberdeen, that was specially made for the building. The vestry and baptistry are located beneath, the latter containing a white marble font by Stewart McGlashan & Co of Edinburgh, which is a replica of one located in Dryburgh Abbey.

In front of the chancel sits the delightful octagonal pulpit, carved from Caen Stone and reddish-brown marble by Hardman, Powell & Co of Birmingham. With its nearby altar-like communion table and large brass eagle lectern, the overall scene and the building’s dedication to a saint, visitors often remark that the interior feels more like an Episcopal church rather than a Presbyterian one. The reason for this is that the main instigator of the church’s construction, the Rev Alexander C Buchanan, minister in Forres at the turn of the 20th century, was part of the ritualist liturgical movement within the Church of Scotland and he left the denomination soon after to become an Episcopalian clergyman.

The east and west gables have stained glass windows designed by Percy Charles Bacon that were installed in 1922, while the windows elsewhere in the church are by Scotland’s most celebrated stained glass artist Douglas Strachan and were installed in the 1930s. help to create the special atmosphere of peace and beauty.  The font is a replica of one in Dryburgh Abbey and the octagonal pulpit is made of Caen Stone. The well-maintained three-manual Lawton pipe organ was installed in 1905.

The building replaced an 18th century church, built 1774-76, which had itself replaced an earlier building. The two largest bells in the tower are dated 1682 and 1781, presumably moved from the older building, and the belfry also houses an octave of bells, an extremely rare occurrence in Scotland. There is the remains of a congested graveyard on the slope beneath the church, the rest of the historic burials in the cemetery having been cleared away to create the flat plateau on which the current church now stands.

Latterly linked in a cluster of ten churches known as West Moray Church of Scotland, the church closed as a place of worship in January 2025, as part of the denomination’s nationwide programme aimed at reducing its overall building portfolio. A community group was formed soon after to look at taking the building in local ownership and in December 2025 the Scottish Land Fund announced that it had made an award to the St Laurence Forres Trust to purchase the church and make it available for musical events, exhibitions, community lunches and life events.

Services

Unknown at this time.

Opening Arrangements

Unknown at this time 

Disclaimer

The information about churches in Scotland’s Churches Scheme has been provided by the congregations or taken from the Historic Scotland list and published sources, in particular, the Buildings of Scotland volumes and the RIAS Illustrated Architectural Guides. To contact this specific church please complete the Contact this Church form above. The information is not authoritative; please contact Scotland’s Churches Trust to let us know of any errors or omissions.