Roman Catholic Church Of St Mary, Arisaig

The Roman Catholic Church of St Mary in Arisaig was designed by William Burn and built in 1849, with renovations completed in 1900. This tall Gothic church features heavily cement pointed rubble walls with tooled ashlar dressings. The structure has four-bay flanks and a three-storey square tower that projects from the west gable, along with a slightly lower gabled chancel at the east.

The tower has pointed-headed entrances at its base on the west side and each side, along with a large pointed-headed window in the centre of the west side at the first floor, which has been infilled with Fife stone, leaving a glazed cross as the central light. The upper stage of the tower has pointed-headed louvred windows on each side and a clock face on the south side. The tower is supported by angle buttresses that rise to full height, and it features a corbelled and crenellated wallhead.

The north and south elevations of the church are illuminated by long, pointed-headed windows that are divided by buttresses. The gabled chancel at the east has small high windows on the north and south sides, and a large traceried three-light window on the east with a blind oculus above. An apex cross finial is located at the east end of the nave, and the church has steeply pitched slate roofs.

Attached to the church is a lean-to vestry situated in the re-entrant angle between the chancel and nave, which connects the church to the adjoining presbytery.

Inside, the church has a lofty interior with a timber boarded ceiling that is ribbed and supported by braces and corbels. There is a stained glass window from 1900 in the east wall of the chancel, along with a carved reredos that is screened. A modern glazed screen divides the west end of the church, creating an ambulatory with a semi-circular centre portion serving as a baptistry, and a gallery above.

The presbytery, built in the later 19th century, is a two-storey and attic irregular three-bay gabled house constructed of dark rubble with tooled ashlar dressings. The east entrance front has a three-bay layout, with an advanced southeast gable and a simple lean-to porch that masks the entrance in the re-entrant angle. The symmetrical south elevation features a wide, slightly advanced gabled centre bay with an apex stack and flanking gabled dormers. Some gables have small round-headed attic windows, and the building has four-pane glazing, apex and end stacks, and slate roofs.