Holyrood Chapel, 15 Main Street, Newburgh

Holyrood Chapel, located at 15 Main Street, Newburgh, began as an 1838 school building, which was converted for ecclesiastical use around 1882 when a new public school was constructed. A Gothic clock tower was added around 1892, and the interior was extensively reconstructed between 1906 and 1909.

The former school building is L-shaped and features a single-story gable containing a narrow lancet window in the southeast re-entrant angle above the vestibule. It is constructed of granite rubble with a granite ashlar base course, squared quoins, and dressings. The pointed window openings have a double tier of radial voussoirs, likely added around 1882. Cruciform finials adorn the gable ends and the dormer gablet, also dating to the conversion period. The windows feature simple rectilinear tracery, with original coloured leaded glass remaining only in the window facing S/School Road.

The 1892 clock tower is two-stage and includes a narrow, pointed, segmental entrance within a gabletted porch topped with a cruciform finial. A fanlight above the two-leaf boarded door has simple rectilinear tracery and cast-iron hinges. A small polygonal ante-chamber is situated in the re-entrant angle. Tall, paired, louvered lancets illuminate the belfry stage, which is followed by a machicolated and parapetted section. Pinnacled polygonal angle shafts are corbelled out at the top stage, and a steep-sided, slate-covered spire rises above the parapet, featuring wrought-iron finials on each face, each displaying a round clock.

The interior was elaborately refurbished between 1906 and 1907 by John Robertson of Inverness. The nave is now characterized by a hammerbeam roof featuring cinquefoil cusped braces, over three-centred arched tie beams, herringbone patterned timberwork in the roof spandrels, and a dentilled cornice. A door within an arched recess in the west wall of the nave originally led to the schoolhouse. The chapel was re-orientated in 1962, transferring the chancel from the north to the south side. A richly carved organ case is now located at the north end, and the pulpit with a timber ogee-capped sounding board and communion table are positioned at the south end, all likely dating to the 1906 refurbishment. A simpler timber roof is present in the vestry.

The chapel was founded as a charitable school by John Mather, who later endowed the chapel and contributed to the funding of the 1882 school. Plans for interior refurbishment were considered as early as 1901, with appeals made to Andrew Carnegie. The timber ceilings are reminiscent of the work of John Robertson at St Laurence Church, Forres, and were reportedly installed by a local firm, Aulds of Ellon. The original glass in all windows except the south window was lost during World War II, and some windows have been restored in recent years.