Birse Parish Church

Dated 1779. Alterations and repairs by Mackenzie and Mathews, 1854; internal remodelling in 1937 by George Bennett Mitchell. Single storey, rectangular-plan plain classical church with birdcage bellcote, almost certainly from earlier church and re-dated. Tooled coursed granite rubble with cherry cocking, finely finished and tooled dressings. Base course; round-arched openings; long and short quoins.

W (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: symmetrical; 3-bay; gabled. Modern 2-leaf boarded timber door to centre of ground floor, 2-pane leaded fanlight, notice-board to right; flanked to left and right by window. Large window centred above doorway; louvred timber bull's-eye opening set in gablehead. Corniced decorative bellcote, with 1815 bell, bell-pull chain tied to loop to right of ground floor; tooled datestone above cornice reading "1779", spherical finials to each corner, ironwork weather-vane to apex.

S ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 5-bay; 4 regularly spaced windows to bays to left, boarded timber door to earlier 20th century bay to right, flanked to left by small windows.

E ELEVATION: near-symmetrical; gabled; single stained glass window to centre, with finely finished granite ashlar dressings, small window to left of ground floor; spherical finial to apex.

N ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 5-bay; window to each of centre 3 bays. Advanced lean-to to bay to outer right, boarded timber door with glazed panels, coped stack breaking eaves to re-entrant angle to left. Earlier 20th century bay to left with stepped-up window and cherry-cocking.

Predominantly rectangular-pane leaded windows. Graded grey slate roof with tiled ridge. Stone skews with corniced skewputts. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: refitted circa 1937; originally U-plan gallery with pulpit on long wall, now broad-plan with rear gallery; simple timber pews; memorial stones set in S wall; clock by "Geo Angus, Aberdeen" to gallery; fine stained glass to E; 12th century stone set in wall of room to NW.

CHURCHYARD, GATES, GATEPIERS AND BOUNDARY WALLS: random rubble boundary walls with rubble coping enclose 2 chambered churchyard, with some 18th and 19th century stones. Square-plan tooled granite gatepiers with pyramidal caps to S and SE of graveyard with ironwork gates; small iron gate leading to Manse to E wall; gateway leading to lower terrace of graveyard to W wall, stone steps, modern railings. Ancillary structure within boundary wall to N.