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Former parish church, no longer in ecclesiastical use. The church was built in 1792 and restored in 1884-85. The church is a rectangular-plan, four-bay building, orientated east-west, with a single-storey vestry adjoining to the north. The building is built with roughly squared and coursed rubble with stugged ashlar dressings. The west (gable) elevation has a door positioned centrally, flanked by small arch-headed windows with a taller arch-headed window above. There is an ashlar belfry dated 1690, within which there is a 1747 bell. This bell is said to have originally hung the former St Marnoch's Church to the south west (NJ54NE0003). The belfry is surmounted by five obelisk and ball finials which have been re-used from the earlier building. The belfry also bears date the 1880 and initials. The bell may be the oldest English bell in Scotland, having been cast at Whitechapel in London. The south elevation has 4 tall windows. Th east (gable) elevation has a tall arch-headed window positioned centrally at first floor level. The vestry adjoins on right (south) of this elevation with a door to the basement. There are two windows above the door. The north elevation has two large arch-headed windows on the church itself. The vestry is at right angles on the east end with a boarded door with a strip fanlight and 2 irregular windows to the left. The vestry has rectangular sash and case windows. The interior was remodelled in 1884-5. There is a gallery on 3 sides, supported by marbled cast-iron columns. The pulpit and organ are located in front of the east window with an altar table below. The rubble retaining wall has gatepiers on the south-west side with hooped wrought-iron gates. A mounting block is located outside the churchyard on the south side, comprising four ashlar steps (note: the mounting block is in the ownership and care of Aberdeenshire Council). The church was described as ‘old fashioned’ and barn-looking’ in 1842 in the New Statistical Account. However, the church holds an important place in the history of the Disruption. The congregation left in protest in 1841, following the appointment of Rev John Edwards as Minister, against their wishes. This infringement of the right to choose their own minister led to their departure to Aberchirder, where New Marnoch Church (NJ65SW0084) was built as a Secession Church, later Free Church of Scotland. Both churches were reunited as Church of Scotland in 1929, although the congregations remained separate until 1953. The remains of a stone circle surround the church (NJ55SE0004).
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Historic Environment Records (HER)