Former Auchaber Church, Forgue, Huntly

Former Auchaber Church, Manse and Steading, Forgue, Huntly

This is a group of former ecclesiastical buildings dating from the 1840s, comprising a former Free Church (later Auchaber Parish Church), a U-plan steading, and a two-storey and attic, three-bay former manse. The buildings occupy a prominent position at a rural crossroads where Aucharnie Place meets the road to Ythanwells, south of Forgue.

THE CHURCH

The church was designed by architect James Henderson and built in 1843–4 as Forgue Free Church. It was substantially remodelled in 1908 and ceased to be used for church services in 2022. It is now in private ownership.

The building is a simple, single-storey, T-plan structure in stone with harled exterior walls and slim margins. The front (northeast) elevation presents a broad gable three bays wide, with a central arch-headed entrance door and a tripartite window above. At the gable apex there is a stone bellcote with a ball finial. A three-bay aisle, slightly lower in height, is attached to the southeast elevation; this was later reconfigured to form a hall and a small minister's room at the rear.

The northwest elevation has four leaded arched windows. The southwest elevation has double lancets and a roundel window. The roof is covered in grey slates with three triangular roof ventilators in the northwest roof pitch and a ball finial positioned opposite the bellcote.

Inside, the southwest end of the church is dominated by a Gothic platform timber pulpit dating from the 1908 remodelling, with twin approach stairs and a canted front. Behind it, the arched recess of the original pulpit survives, framed by fluted colonnettes. The south gable contains stained glass with emblems of the Free and United Presbyterian churches, and a dove motif fills the roundel window. The remaining windows are predominantly leaded with red borders. Timber wainscoting runs throughout the interior, some painted and some stained to match the pulpit furniture. Numbered timber pews remain in place. The timber roof trusses are supported by tension rods.

The 1908 remodelling involved heightening the walls and windows and fully recasting the interior decorative scheme. The work was reported at the time as being in keeping with the original masonry, and the building's simple, relatively plain, box-like Free Church plan form and unadorned exterior were retained and enhanced rather than compromised.

THE STEADING

Immediately to the southeast of the church stands a single-storey U-plan steading, likely also dating from the 1840s. It is built in rubble stone, with the outer walls and gable ends predominantly harled and the courtyard-facing walls left as exposed rubble. The roof is covered in slates with rooflights on the courtyard side. There is a circular chimney on the northeast corner and a hayloft opening in the north range. Doors are traditional timber-boarded and windows are timber multi-pane, with some replacement casement windows in the rear. Timber horse stalls survive within one of the ranges.

THE MANSE

The manse was designed by J & W Smith Architects and built between 1847 and 1849. It is a two-storey and attic building of three bays, cream-harled, with a railed stair leading to a central doorway. A single-storey, three-bay entrance extension is attached offset to the rear (southeast) elevation.

The windows are predominantly multi-pane glazing in timber sash and case frames, with some later uPVC replacements to the rear. The roof is covered in slates with straight skews and canted dormer windows in the northwest roof pitch. The end chimneystacks are ashlar with clay cans.

Internally, the entrance vestibule has a tiled mosaic floor. The principal rooms have simple cornicing, timber panelled doors, and working timber window shutters. The staircase is timber with a polished timber handrail and plain metal balusters.

The manse's overall austere classical style is largely intact and complements the neighbouring church. Its internal layout is little altered, clearly showing the traditional division between principal rooms and service areas to the rear and attic. Notably, most manses by J & W Smith were designed in a Tudor style, making Auchaber's classical design unusual within their body of work.

The manse was separated from the church at some point between 1947 and 1982 and became a private home. It is now in private ownership along with the church and steading.

SETTING AND BOUNDARY

The church, manse and steading are intervisible with one another. The manse is set back from the road within a large private garden with mature trees and planting — a common arrangement intended to afford the minister's household privacy. The site is enclosed by rubble-built boundary walls, with some later alterations to the access points. The immediate setting has changed very little since the buildings first appeared on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1870.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The Disruption of 1843 saw approximately 450 evangelical ministers break away from the established Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland, in protest at the British government's involvement in church affairs. The Free Church subsequently built over 700 new churches across Scotland between 1843 and 1847.

The land on which the church and manse at Auchaber stand was gifted by Miss Wilson of Auchaber. The foundation stone was laid on 15th August 1843 by the Reverend Joseph Thorburn of Forglen, and the church opened for public worship on 10th February 1844. The first minister was Reverend John Matheson. Plans and specifications for the manse were drawn up by J & W Smith, with a notice for contractors advertised in the Aberdeen Journal in May 1847.

The Ordnance Survey Name Book of 1865–71 describes the Free Church as a plain stone edifice built in 1843, with a capacity for 600 people. The manse is described as a neat stone building with a garden and office houses attached, at that time the home of Reverend Alexander Wishart, who served as minister and lived at the manse for 45 years. The footprint of the buildings appears largely unchanged on the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1900.

By 1904 the church was in need of repair, and a building fund for renovation was established. The remodelling was complete by 1908 and included heightening the walls and windows, recasting the interior, and adding the platform pulpit, pews and stained glass. Around the same time, the east aisle was divided off to form a church hall. The church became a Church of Scotland parish church in 1929.

James Henderson (1809–1896), along with his older brother William, carried out almost all of the Free Church building work in Aberdeenshire after the Disruption, sharing the patronage of the Free Church virtually exclusively between them. James alone was responsible for the design of over 40 Free Church manses and churches. J & W Smith were similarly prominent local architects with numerous church commissions across the northeast of Scotland.

Together, the former church, manse and steading at Auchaber form a rare, largely complete and little-altered group of rural Free Church buildings, retaining much of their 19th-century character, historic fabric and functional legibility both individually and as a group.