Church Overview

A delightful and compact Gothic chapel, in one of the most carefully planned villages in Scotland, containing some of the best Pre-Raphaelite stained glass in the country.

The Gordon Chapel was built at the behest of Elizabeth Brodie, Duchess of Gordon, who sold some of her jewellery to raise the necessary funds. The building was designed by Scottish architect Archibald Simpson, with a school and teacher’s home on the ground floor and the chapel above.

The chapel was dedicated on the 12 Aug 1834, heavily reordered in 1874 by architect Alexander Ross and substantially restored from 2009-11, when the building was reharled and re-roofed. The former schoolroom and teacher’s quarters are now the rectory and, in 2019, an elevator was installed to improve access for those visitors who may have difficulty with the stairs. 

The chapel’s original plain ceiling was replaced by Ross in 1874 with a fine hammer beam roof. It has a pine dado, pews and pulpit and a exquisitely stencilled north chancel wall. The chapel also possesses a fine organ by William Hill & Son, installed in 1874.

The chapel is renowned for its exceptionally fine collection of Pre-Raphaelite stained-glass windows from the workshop of William Morris & Co, many of which were designed by Edward Burne-Jones. These windows were added between the years 1874 and 1919 and each one commemorates a member (or members) of the Gordon Lennox family. The windows depict scenes from the life of Christ, the Saints Ursula, Michael, Andrew and Cecilia and the Archangel Raphael in vignettes against backgrounds of elaborate foliage, different for each window.

The windows were removed in 2010, for conservation and restoration by the Scottish Glass Studio in Glasgow, and returned to the chapel in May 2012, fully restored to their original brilliance. Theyhave been joined by a new window designed by Petri Anderson of the Chapel Studio. 

Services

Sundays at 10am (except the 5th Sunday of any month)

Opening Arrangements

Open by arrangement

       lift will take some wheelchairs

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.