A 100-foot tower announces a richly fitted late-Victorian church whose wide, near-triangular interior gathers worshippers around a horseshoe gallery.
Quick facts
- Date
- 1893–1897
- Architect / designer
- John Starforth; font by Andrew Davidson; stained glass by Hardman and Douglas Strachan
- Type
- Large First Pointed Gothic parish church with double-cruciform plan and tower
- Designation
- Listed building, Category A (LB38400)
- OS grid reference
- NH 87916 56405
Architecture and continuing use
Bull-faced rubble and ashlar dressings form a double-cruciform church with a four-stage eastern tower, stair turrets, canted gables and steep roofs. Inside, pine galleries, pews, pulpit and braced rafters survive with a marble font and twentieth-century stained glass.
Its story
John Starforth designed the church during Nairn’s late-nineteenth-century growth. The congregation’s present identity follows the union of Nairn Old and St Ninian’s with Cawdor and Croy, while the Academy Street building remains in worship.
Why it is included
Category A status, an unusually complete interior and continuing parish use give the church both architectural and civic importance.
What to notice
- The carved tympanum over the tower entrance.
- The horseshoe-shaped gallery within the broad plan.
- Andrew Davidson’s contrasting Carrara and Siena marble font.
Reading the surroundings
This is an active church. Use advertised service or contact arrangements, avoid disruption during worship and treat non-public rooms as private.
Timeline
- 1893–1897 John Starforth designed and completed the new parish church on Academy Street.
- 1899 The congregation received Andrew Davidson’s marble font as a gift.
- 2025 The united congregation adopted the name Nairnshire Parish Church.
- 2026 The church continues to advertise Sunday worship at Academy Street.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The building remains widely known as the Old Parish Church although the current congregation is Nairnshire Parish Church.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Nairn Old Parish Church, LB38400 — Designation category, mapped location, construction phases, fabric, authorship and architectural or historical interest.
- Nairn Old Parish Church — Current worship, contact information and an account of the 1894–97 building.
- OSCR: Nairnshire Parish Church — Current registered congregation name and charity status.
Location
OS grid reference NH 87916 56405 · Location confidence: High: the HES designation provides an official mapped National Grid Reference and the current source confirms the Place relationship or present identity. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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