Steading, Auchaber Church, Forgue, Huntly

Auchaber Church, Manse and Steading form a complete group of rural ecclesiastical buildings dating from the 1840s, prominently sited at a crossroads where Aucharnie Place meets the road to Ythanwells, south of Forgue. The group comprises a former Free Church (later Auchaber Parish Church), a U-plan steading immediately to the southeast, and a former manse. All three buildings are intervisible with one another and retain much of their 19th-century character, setting and historic fabric.

THE CHURCH

The church was designed by James Henderson and built in 1843–4 as Forgue Free Church, before being substantially remodelled in 1908. It is a simple, single-storey building on a T-plan, constructed in stone with harled exterior walls and slim margins. Church use ceased in 2022 and it is now in private ownership.

The front (northeast) elevation presents as a broad gable, three bays wide, with a central arch-headed entrance door and a tripartite window above. A stone bellcote with a ball finial sits at the gable apex. Attached to the southeast elevation is a three-bay aisle, slightly lower in height than the main body of the church, which was later reconfigured to provide a hall and a small minister's room at the rear. The northwest elevation has four leaded, arched windows, while 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 on the roof ridge opposite the bellcote.

Internally, the southwest end of the church is dominated by a Gothic platform timber pulpit of 1908, 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 incorporating emblems of the Free Church and the United Presbyterian Church, with a dove motif in the roundel window. The remaining windows are predominantly leaded with red borders. Timber wainscoting runs throughout — some painted, some stained to match the pulpit furniture — and the numbered timber pews remain in place. The timber roof trusses are supported by tension rods.

The 1908 remodelling raised the height of the walls and windows and fully renewed the interior decorative scheme and fittings, but left the original T-plan footprint and pared-back external character essentially intact.

THE STEADING

To the southeast of the church stands a single-storey, U-plan steading, most likely also dating from the 1840s. It is constructed in rubble stone, with the outer walls and gable ends predominantly harled, while the walls facing the courtyard are of exposed rubble. The roof is covered in slates, with rooflights on the courtyard-facing roof pitch. A circular chimneystack rises from the northeast corner, and there is a hayloft opening in the north range. Doors and windows are a mixture of traditional timber-boarded doors and timber multi-pane windows, with some later replacement casement windows at the rear. Timber horse stalls survive within one of the ranges. The steading's footprint appears largely unchanged from its depiction on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1870.

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 at the rear. The roof is covered in slates with straight skews and canted dormer windows in the northwest roof pitch. The house has ashlar end chimneystacks with clay chimney pots.

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

The manse was separated from the church at some point between 1947 and 1982 and became a private house. It sits within a large private garden with mature trees and planting, set back from the road in a manner typical of manses of the period, affording the occupants privacy.

THE SETTING

The immediate setting of the group has changed very little since the buildings first appeared on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1870. The site is enclosed by rubble-built boundary walls, with some later alterations to access points. The former functional relationship between church, manse and steading remains clearly legible.

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. In the years immediately following, over 700 Free Churches were built across the country, many accompanied by manses and schools.

The land on which the church and manse stand was gifted by Miss Wilson of Auchaber. The foundation stone of the church was laid on 15th August 1843 by the Reverend Joseph Thorburn of Forglen, and the building opened for public worship on 10th February 1844. The first minister was the Reverend John Matheson. The manse was completed within five years, with plans and specifications drawn up by J & W Smith Architects; a notice inviting contractors was 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, and the manse as a neat stone building with garden and office houses, then home to the Reverend Alexander Wishart, who served as minister for 45 years.

By 1904, the church required repair and a building fund was established. The remodelling was completed by 1908 and included the raising of the walls and windows, together with a full renewal of the interior, incorporating the platform pulpit, the pews, and the stained glass. The exterior extensions were reported at the time as being in keeping with the original masonry. 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. The manse was separated from the church between 1947 and 1982. Church services ceased in 2022, and the church, manse and steading are now all in private ownership.

ARCHITECTS

James Henderson (1809–1896), working alongside his older brother William, undertook almost all of the Free Church work in Aberdeenshire following the Disruption of 1843. The brothers held an almost exclusive patronage from the Free Church and James alone was responsible for the design of over 40 Free Church manses and churches. J & W Smith Architects also carried out numerous church commissions across the northeast of Scotland. Most of their manses were designed in a Tudor style, making the classical design of Auchaber Manse unusual within their body of work.