Roman Catholic Church Of The Incarnation, Tombae

The Roman Catholic Church of the Incarnation at Tombae is a Gothic-style church built between 1827 and 1829, with substantial interior work completed and remodelled between 1843 and 1844. The church was designed by John Gall of Aberdeen, with later design assistance possibly provided by Rev Walter Lovi, and interior work overseen by Bishop James Kyle. It is situated within a burial ground and is orientated approximately east to west, with a gabled west front acting as the main entrance.

The church is constructed from tooled pink granite ashlar to the front and dressings, with harled flanks and rear. A distinctive feature is the incorporation of priest's quarters under the same roof. The west front comprises three bays, articulated by stepped buttresses topped with pinnacles, and has a coped and partially crenellated wallhead. Centrally, a pointed-headed recessed entrance is flanked by narrow two-light and a three-light window above the door, all featuring simple wooden tracery and lattice-pane glazing; a datestone sits above the doorway. The side elevations each have three bays with windows similar to those on the west front, though the easternmost window on the east side is divided vertically and half blind. The east gable mirrors the west, with similar fenestration but without buttresses, and has a small window on the ground floor. The roof is covered in slate and features an apex cross.

The interior is accessed via a simple entrance lobby with a local flagstone floor. The lofty vaulted interior has narrow side aisles, with ribbed vaulting supported by timber-panelled cast-iron columns, decorative plaster capitals, and matching corbel stones set into the aisle walls. The altar is set within a shallow chancel, and a west gallery houses the organ with decorated pipes. A space between the chancel and the east gable, formerly a presbytery accessible via a door in the north elevation, is now empty. Tomintoul RC Church also incorporates a Presbytery within its building.

The burial ground is enclosed by a square, rubble-built wall containing 19th and 20th century tombstones, many inscribed with finely carved local slate. The burial ground wall itself (dated 1843) continues around the west front of the church, featuring a wide entrance flanked by simple capped gate piers. A bridge formerly spanned the River Livet opposite the west entrance.

A priest served the Tombae area from at least the mid-18th century, initially residing upstream at Kinakyle. A 'mass house' was constructed around 1790, its ruins marked on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of circa 1870, and was replaced by the present church, which opened for worship in February 1829, though it remained unfinished. The interior remodelling and completion in 1843-4 included the addition of priest’s dwelling accommodation and the construction of the vaulted interior, lobby, and organ gallery.