St Thomas' Catholic Church, Chapel Street, Keith is a Grade A listed building in the Moray local planning authority area, Scotland. First listed on 22 February 1972. 1 related planning application.

St Thomas' Catholic Church, Chapel Street, Keith

WRENN ID
moated-quartz-ash
Grade
A
Local Planning Authority
Moray
Constituency
Aberdeenshire North and Moray East MP: Seamus Logan (SNP)
Country
Scotland
Date first listed
22 February 1972
Address
St Thomas' Catholic Church, Chapel Street, Keith, AB55 3AL
OS grid reference
NJ 429 502
Coordinates
57.53864, -2.95407
Source
Historic Environment Scotland listing

Also on this page: related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The presbytery of the Roman Catholic Church of St Thomas, located on Chapel Street in Keith, was built in 1831 under Father Walter Lovi and features a dome, enlarged sanctuary, and internal decoration by C J Menart from Glasgow, completed in 1916. This prominently sited church is designed in a neo-classical and Baroque style, with a cruciform layout and a two-storey presbytery at the rear.

The church's east front is made of polished ashlar, while the flanking sides are constructed from tooled rubble with ashlar margins and dressings. The entrance front has three bays with pilasters, where the central bay is slightly advanced and features two stages, each defined by paired pilasters. The upper stage is pedimented and adorned with bold decorative scrolled consoles on either side. The entrance consists of a pedimented doorpiece flanked by corniced panels that include inset round-headed niches, each housing a statue.

The church has a substantial octagonal dome covered in copper, with facetted sides and shaped lunettes on each face, topped with a cross finial. There are two round-headed windows in the north and south transepts. The rear of the church includes two bays that house the presbytery, which has two windows on each floor, including a dormerless attic in the west gable. A projecting two-storey canted window is located at the southwest corner, featuring two-pane glazing. The building has a ridge stack and slate roofs.

Inside the church, the 1916 interior showcases Corinthian pilasters, with a panel that incorporates Francois Dubois' painting, 'The Incredulity of St Thomas', serving as the altarpiece. The interior features a deep main cornice and simple plaster details on the dome. There is a gallery at the east end with a plain front and pine pews.

Local climate

St Thomas' Catholic Church, Chapel Street, Keith sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 970 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 75% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 99% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 48 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 90% of listed buildings. Of these, 36 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 1 application
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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Nearby listed buildings

  1. Presbytery, Roman Catholic Church Of St Thomas, Chapel Street, Keith Grade A 19 m
  2. 14 Chapel Street, Keith Grade C 39 m
  3. 12 Chapel Street, Keith Grade C 52 m
  4. 56 Land Street, Keith Grade B 81 m
  5. 54 Land Street, Keith Grade B 85 m
  6. Cuthill House, 11 Chapel Street, Keith Grade B 111 m
  7. 42 Land Street And Steading To Rear, Keith Grade C 118 m
  8. Cuthill Lea, 86 Land Street, Keith Grade B 158 m
  9. 17 Reidhaven Square, Keith Grade B 168 m
  10. Chapel House, 88, 90, 92, Land Street, Keith Grade C 175 m