Church Of St Mary

This is a non-denominational church built in 1937 by William Gilmour Wilson as part of the Thorpeness village development, commissioned by Colonel Sholto Ogilvie. The church is constructed of rendered concrete and brick with stone dressings and has a plain tiled roof. It comprises a nave, sanctuary, and transeptal chapels, designed in a Neo-Norman style.

The west end features flush setback buttresses framing a round-arched doorway with three orders, and a round-headed metal casement above. North and south chapels project at the west end, each with a two-light leaded casement window. External wall arches are present on the north and south nave sides, with pilaster strips rising to a plain parapet and separating metal clerestory windows. The nave has a gabled roof. The south side features gabled transept chapels of three storeys, while the north side has two-storey transept chapels, both with clasping corner pilaster buttresses and mullioned leaded windows. A crossing tower, supported by side buttresses, rises square and then tapers into a belfry stage, featuring one horizontal louvred belfry window on each face, capped with a parapet and pyramid roof. The tall, unbuttressed sanctuary is lit through an arched metal window facing east.

Inside, there are three wall arches on each side of the nave, plus small arches at the east and west ends of both sides. A string course above is supported by corbels, carrying arches of a three-bay king-post roof. The ceiling is boarded and plastered, forming a shallow barrel vault. A west gallery features a simple panelled front balustrade. A stilted arch in the southwest corner of the nave leads to a baptistry and a plain octagonal font, each bowl panel of which has a recessed arch. Round arches lead to the crossing and downwards into the north transept chapel. The interior also includes plain altar rails and sanctuary stalls. The church is considered one of the principal buildings within the Thorpeness resort village. It was conceived and sketched out by Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie, the owner of the Thorpeness Estate, who then commissioned the architects involved.