Methlick Parish Church

Methlick Parish Church is a large, striking building located in the heart of the small, linear village of Methlick. It lies on fairly flat land close to a small river and near to a junction of two rural roads. There is a large grassed area south of the church and to the north is a community garden with a variety of flowers and paths and benches. This church was built in 1865/67 to replace the older and smaller church of Methlick, the ruins of which lie a short distance to the north. The architects were Brown and Wardrop who used First Pointed style.

The church is a large structure with a nave, tower, transept and chancel. It was built with large granite blocks with ashlar dressing stones. The roofs of the church are slated. 

The square tower is located at the south-east corner and rises in two stages and is fairly simple in design. There is a wider base course and a stringcourse at head height level, features that are continued around the entire church. At ground floor level are tall, narrow pointed-arch (lancet) windows with latticed glazing. High up, below the belfry, is a large metal clockface on the west and south sides of the tower, set within a round recess. The belfry is slightly narrower than the main body of the tower and a stringcourse also acts to differentiate the two stages. The belfry stage is gabled (saddleback) and forms the top of the tower. Each face has lancet openings with large louvers and there is another stringcourse towards the top of the lancets. Additionally, there are small, blind (blocked) lancets in the east and west gableheads. In the centre of the slated tower roof rises a large finial, topped by a metal weather vane. 

The south face of the church is a busy elevation, with the tower (described above), a porch, large aisle and the chancel at the east end. The south aisle is a tall, gabled appendage, which is the same height as the nave. The gable has a pointed-arch window, composed of twin lancets and a quatrefoil opening, united by a hoodmould. Below is a group of three small lancets, which puncture the stringcourse band. High in the gablehead is a round vent opening and on the apex is a small stone cross finial. There is a single lancet window on the east side of the aisle. Inbetween the tower and the south aisle is a small porch or vestibule, which is the main entrance into the church.  There is a large pointed-arch doorway in which is a shoulder-arched door. There is a corbelled cornice course above the doorway, which partially masks the slate roof behind. 

The north elevation has pairs of lancet windows with hoodmoulds on either side of a vestry complex which includes a chamber for the pipe organ within the church. The continuous stringcourse essentially forms a sill course on this elevation, as the windows rest on it. The vestry building is built out from the nave towards the centre and has a north-facing gable which has two shoulder-arched windows with decorative relieving arches above. There is a tall chimney on the wallhead of the nave, behind the chance, showing there was a fireplace in the vestry (and possibly for a heating boiler nearby). Attached on the west side is a small hipped-roof side doorway and part of the organ chamber, which is encorporated into the vestry. 

The chancel is at the east end of the church. It has three faces, each with a lancet window matching those in the nave, and the slate roof is hipped at this end. Where it meets the ridge of the roof is a tall metal finial. On the south side, at the junction of the chancel and the aisle is a small side doorway, with a hipped roof and shoulder-arched door. 

The west gable of the church faces the road and the village, and has a large pointed-arch window to the centre. It is made up of three tall lancets with three round openings above and a large stringcourse. Below this large window is a pair of much smaller lancet windows with latticed glazing. There is a round louvered vent high in the gablehead and there is a large stone cross finial on the apex. 

The interior of Methlick Church is large but fairly restrained, with painted plastered walls, blue carpets and an exposed wooden roof structure, supported on stone corbels in the walls. 

The chancel is the main focus of the church. It is raised from the nave by around half a meter and accessed by central steps. There is a wooden communion table in the centre with grapes and vines carved into the top panels. There is a font on either side of the table. Around the edge of the chancel are placed plain wooden chairs, likely for use by the Elders. All of the chancel windows have stained glass, mostly modern and unremarkable. 

In the nave, there are wide rows of fairly plain wooden pews, divided by a central aisle or passage. A doorway in the north wall leads to the vestry and alongside is a large pointed-arch recess which houses the pipe organ. Opposite, to the south, is the south aisle's gallery. Round columns support the roof structure and the gallery has simple wooden panels to the front. The space below has been walled off from the nave and is now used as a separate room for various activities. 

At the west end of the nave is a large gallery, accessed by a staircase in the tower. It has a similar wooden front to the south gallery. The large west window is of clear, latticed glass. Underneath the gallery the space was walled off from the nave in 1976 and is used for a popular community-run cafe with round tables and chairs. Therest of the church was re-orientated in 1980.

The organ was installed in 1877 by Henry Willis. The stained glass in the chancel windows was the work of Brother Martin Farrelly of Pluscarden Abbey. in 1982.