St Rufus Church, Keith

St Rufus Church stands on a low hill near the River Isla, on the eastern edge of Keith in Moray. It is a large rectangular building in the Perpendicular Gothic style, designed by James Gillespie Graham and completed in 1819. The church has crenellated walls, traceried windows and a tall four-stage bell and clock tower at its west end. The tower rises to 36.6 metres and has clocks on three of its faces. The church replaced a medieval building of the same name, parts of which were reused or preserved. The church is worth visiting for its unusual war memorial, which lists parishioners who died in the First and Second World Wars on the inner and outer sides of its main doors. The interior retains much of its early 19th-century character, including a tall pipe organ installed in 1890, a raised pulpit and a communion table with carved tracery. The sacrament house from the original medieval church was moved here and now serves as a memorial to a church elder. Inside, the nave is filled with numbered wooden pews and has a large gallery with tiered seating on the north and south sides. The gallery is supported by iron columns and reached by spiral stone staircases. The coat of arms of the Seafields hangs on the front of the eastern gallery. Outside, the church is built of rubble with sandstone ashlar detailing and a slate roof. The burial ground of the demolished medieval church survives nearby and contains carved memorials from the 17th to 19th centuries.