Findhorn Parish Church And Church Hall, Findhorn

The Findhorn Parish Church and Church Hall were built in 1843, with repairs and alterations carried out in 1872. The church was designed by John Urquhart of Forres, with John Milne, also of Forres, responsible for the later work. It is a west-facing church with a gabled front and four-bay flanks, constructed of rubble with tooled and polished ashlar dressings. The main entrance features a pedimented and paired pilastered doorpiece containing a double-leaf plank door with ornate cast-iron hinges. Flanking the doorpiece are two round-headed blind windows linked at the cill level. The advanced centre bay rises in three stages, with the gable apex transitioning to a stumpy rectangular tower which supports a smaller corniced and louvred bellcote, complete with a square finial and cast-iron weathervane. The four-bay side elevations have simple square-headed windows, with four gallery lunettes below the eaves, all linked by a cill band. Square leaded quarry glazing is used throughout, and the roof is slate.

The interior is galleried, with a panelled gallery to three sides supported by cast-iron columns with lily-leaf capitals. A square platform-style pulpit, dating from 1872, features Gothic detailing to the panelling and a pointed-headed backboard, and is accessed by a short staircase with re-used early 19th-century cast-iron balusters. The pews are plain, with shaped ends; Art Nouveau coloured glazing is incorporated into the east-end windows.

A later single-storey church hall is situated at the rear, built of rubble with tooled ashlar dressings, and covered by a slate roof.

The church remains in ecclesiastical use. A bell, inscribed 'Free Church Findhorn 1843', and a fluted ashlar bellcote finial (now set inside the church, the present square finial having been the original base) are notable features. The church is noted for its relatively unaltered interior. It is possible that David Cousins, an Edinburgh-based architect who designed churches for the Free Church in a style similar to that of Findhorn FC, advised John Urquhart and the Free Kirk Session.