Watch House, Mortlach Parish Church

This is a burial ground associated with Mortlach Parish Church, primarily of the 19th and 20th centuries, but incorporating older fabric from the medieval and post-medieval periods. The church was restored and extensively altered by A Marshall Mackenzie and Son and George between 1930 and 1931. The north return gable is of harled rubble with dressed ashlar detailing.

The church itself is of a T-plan form. A substantial north wing, likely dating to around 1830, features two later 19th-century pointed-headed entrances linked by a continuous hood mould. A large, pointed-headed three-light window is set within the gable, mirroring a similar window in the south gable. The east gable is distinguished by three re-worked medieval lancet windows, with a comparable lancet in the east bay of the long south elevation. The south elevation’s central projecting, shallow gabled bay is flanked by a pair of square-lintelled windows, each featuring two mullioned lights and embedded shutter hooks. Dormer windows are visible in the rear gallery, with varied glazing throughout. The main body of the church has a steeply pitched slate roof with skewputts dating to approximately 1700; other areas have slated roofs. A forestair provides access to the organ loft at the rear. A canted minister's porch was added in the northeast re-entrant angle between 1930 and 1931.

The interior includes an entrance lobby in the north wing, which houses a collection of 16th and 17th-century tombstones. The main body of the church was remodelled in 1931, reorienting it towards a raised chancel at the east end, with a new pulpit and communion table. A recumbent effigy, thought to date from around 1550, is set within a segmental mural recess created in 1931. A substantial mural monument from 1694 by J Faid of Elgin is located on the south wall, featuring armorial bearings, an inscription, and two sculpted busts. A recessed war memorial chapel occupies the centre of the south wall, previously the location of the organ bay. North and west galleries are present, with plain panelled fronts. The organ is housed in the west gallery. Stained glass includes a memorial window dating to around 1918, designed by Douglas Strachan, in the east gable. Various 19th-century memorial tablets are also present.

A small, square, harled watch house with a canted west front is situated nearby. It features a central door flanked by pointed-headed windows, a tall renewed stack at the rear, and a piended slate roof.

The burial ground is large and irregularly shaped, sloping south and east down to the valley bottom, enclosed by coped rubble walls with spear-head railings along the road frontage. A pair of carriage entrances are located at the east and west sides, marked by simple capped piers. The ground contains a range of interesting tombstones dating from the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, as well as a Pictish battle stone with a Celtic cross motif (identified as SM350).