Mortuary Chapel, Old Parish Church, Fishwick

This is a circa 1835 mortuary chapel, located within a surrounding graveyard on a level site, forming part of the remains of the Mediaeval village of Fishwick, which was originally a separate parish before unification with Hutton in 1610. The chapel and graveyard are situated just west of the River Tweed and represent the only visible remnants of the original Fishwick Church, which dates back to the 12th century and was demolished around 1835 to make way for this structure. The chapel was commissioned by Mr James MacBriare, proprietor of Fishwick. It was last used in 1914 following the death of Mrs Anna MacBriare.

The chapel is a rectangular building constructed of coursed pink sandstone with dressed stone ashlar details. It exhibits a plain Gothic style, with gabletted, buttressed angles and gabletted buttresses to the sides. The west elevation features a gabled front with a pointed-arched entrance centred at ground level, framed by an architraved surround with engaged colonnettes. A rose window sits above the entrance, and a gabled belfry is positioned at the gablehead, although the bell is now missing. The north and south elevations incorporate gabletted buttresses dividing three blind bays. The east elevation features a three-light perpendicular window with columnar mullions, set within an architraved surround with engaged colonnettes. The glazing is now missing.

Inside, the chapel retains a stone slab floor and coursed sandstone walls. Evidence of a barrel-vaulted roof remains, consisting of timber rafters, round-arched timber collar braces with nailhead carvings, and corbelled sandstone springers.

The surrounding graveyard is a level area containing a variety of gravestones, including recumbent stones, those with “memento mori” carvings, and table-top monuments. Gravestone records indicate a total of 44 stones, with the oldest dated 1614, though J H Craw recorded eight sculptured stones. A rubble wall encloses the entire site. The chapel and graveyard were overgrown and out of use by 1999. Historic maps indicate that a “Kirk in Ruins” was marked on Armstrong’s map of 1771, and an “Old Graveyard” on the Ordnance Survey map of 1857.