Our Church Building

Records speak of an Episcopal Chapel in Forres being destroyed during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745.  For the next 95 years Forres Episcopalians had to meet in private houses until a small group of local gentry initiated the construction in 1840 of a small Chapel measuring just 50 feet by 20 feet (the present nave).  The Chapel was dedicated to St John the Evangelist on 14th July and became a church on the institution of the first incumbent priest, Rev Alexander Ewing, on 30th April 1842.  A year later the building was extended by the addition of transepts, chancel and apse.  The Italianate design was suggested by Rev Ewing, who had been inspired by the church architecture he had seen during a trip to Florence.

The School (now the church hall) and the Parsonage (Rectory) were built in 1866.  In 1869 the stained-glass wheel window and apse windows were installed.  Other internal improvements were made over the next 20 years, such as the addition of gas lighting, central heating (after the existing stove set the church on fire), choir stalls and the mosaic floor.

In 1889 the old organ, which sat in the north transept, was deemed beyond repair.  It was replaced by the existing Bevington organ, but it was not until 1906 that the organ loft was created as a recess in the east wall of the north transept.

The final piece of the structural jigsaw was the insertion of the skylight and cupola in the roof above the chancel in 1898.  However, the work was poorly engineered (primary roof joists were cut through) and nearly brought about the demise of St John’s 100 years later.  By 1970 the roof was threatening to collapse and the estimated repair costs were so high that the Vestry seriously considered whether or not the existing buildings should be demolished and replaced by a church/hall and a modern house.  Fortunately, St John’s became a Category A Listed Building in January 1971, which gave eligibility to support grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Scotland, but it was still not until 1998 that the issue was resolved by the insertion of a steel support system at great expense. 

One factor in becoming a listed building was undoubtably our wall-mounted artwork.  In 1907 the renowned artist William Brassie Hole (RSA) was commissioned to produce a fresco in the apse.  As the wall was unsuitable for fresco work, he painted his 'Last Supper' on canvas and the finished picture was then attached to the wall.  Mr Hole himself claimed that the canvas was perhaps his greatest work.  Another painting by Hole was completed in 1911 and mounted behind the font.  A further two paintings were planned, but William Hole died before the commission could be realised and it was not until 1937 that Haswell Millar painted a copy of a Hole original which is wall-mounted in the south transept.  

When much needs to be done to maintain a church building there is always a risk that the congregation serves the building rather than the building serving the congregation.  St John’s has avoided this trap by ensuring that our buildings serve the wider community.  The church is open every day for private prayer and visitors, and occasionally hosts recitals and concerts in the evening. Above all, though, if we are to be candles carrying the light of Christ to the world, then St John’s church is our candelabra.