About | St. Margaret's Braemar

Saving St Margaret’s Braemar

St Margaret’s is a unique performance, arts and heritage venue in Braemar, Scotland.

Breathing new life into this beautiful historic building has been a decade’s work for a loyal team of trustees and volunteers — transforming St Margaret’s from a neglected church into a vibrant arts and community space.

St Margaret’s Trust delivers an exciting and varied programme of events throughout the year, including concerts, exhibitions, talks, tours, farmers’ markets and workshops.

St Margaret’s of Scotland, Braemar, Conservation Plan

The conservation plan was first published in March 2020 and there have been minor revisions made to the document since then. It was commissioned by Historic Churches Scotland with financial support from Cairngorms LEADER.

Should you wish to download the latest full version of the document, please contact its author Andrew PK Wright direct by sending an email to the following address:

andrewpkwright@gmail.com

The history of

St Margaret’s Braemar

The former Scottish Episcopal Church of St Margaret is a monument to Braemar’s Victorian heyday – a period of unprecedented development in the second half of the 19th century which saw the village transformed into a fashionable holiday destination that welcomed royalty, Prime Ministers, and leading society figures.

1850s – 60s

Queen Victoria’s purchase of the Balmoral estate in 1852 set a trend for holidaying in Scotland. The expansion of the railway made travel quicker and easier, and in 1867 the railway reached Ballater, further increasing the numbers of visitors keen to experience Victoria’s “dear paradise”.

Throughout Deeside houses, hotels, and churches were built or enlarged to meet the influx of visitors during an extended summer season. That legacy of Victorian construction can be seen in Braemar today, including the Free Presbyterian Church (now Braemar Parish Church) and St Andrew’s Roman Catholic Church, the Fife Arms and Invercauld Arms hotels, and many of the large villas.

St Margaret's Braemar Crucifix Ninian Comper.jpg

1880 – 1921

In 1880 an Episcopal church, dedicated to Saint Margaret of Scotland, was built in the centre of Braemar on land given by the Laird of Invercauld. But this early wooden church was quickly outgrown and the Aberdeen-born architect John Ninian Comper was commissioned to design a new church paid for entirely from generous donations. Begun in 1899 the new building was ambitious, and its scale and grandeur befitted the patronage of senior Church of England clergymen who worshipped and preached in the church. St Margaret’s was dedicated in 1901 and consecrated in 1907. The impressive oak chancel screen was installed around 1910, and the carved rood figures added in 1921.

1900s

In the years following Queen Victoria’s death in 1901, Braemar’s fortunes as a fashionable destination declined steadily along with the number of seasonal worshippers that had once filled St Margaret’s. The small local congregation continued to worship in the church, utilising the smaller self-contained space of the Lightfoot Aisle during the winter months. In the decades that followed, despite their best efforts, maintaining the building proved difficult due to its size and problems with water ingress. By 1997 the challenge was too great and the congregation left St Margaret’s to worship in the chapel at Mar Lodge.

Architecture

St Margaret’s is a Category A listed building of outstanding significance within the UK for its architecture, and as a major work of Sir John Ninian Comper (1864-1960). Comper is regarded as the most important British church architect of the 20th century. Although his buildings are not prominent in Scotland, Comper is considered one of Scotland’s greatest architects.

The church contains fine examples of Comper’s characteristic stained glass. His reputation as an exceptional glass designer was international and brought him commissions for windows in India, China, South Africa and North America. Some of Comper’s best glass can be seen in Westminster Abbey, where his ashes are buried.

Also of significance are the ecclesiastical fixtures and fittings of St Margaret’s, including the outstanding rood screen. A collection of hand-embroidered textiles, also designed by Comper, are of national significance in their own right.

Sir Ninian Comper

Unity by inclusion

Sir (John) Ninian Comper (10 June 1864 - 22 December 1960) was born in Aberdeen and was regarded as one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects, noticeably for his churches. He is famous for his colourful stained glass and his sophisticated merging of Classical and Gothic styles in his work. He called this "unity by inclusion".

Early life

Comper was born to Ellen Taylor of Hull and the Reverend John Comper as the eldest of five children. He was educated at King's College, Aberdeen, Glenalmond School in Perthshire and then went to the Ruskin School of Art in Oxford for a year. Working for various established architects and stained-glass designers in London, he eventually formed a partnership with William Bucknall in London, 1888. Comper married Grace Bucknall in 1890 and they remained together until 1905.

Career highlights

Some of his most impressive work includes a line of windows in the north wall of the nave of Westminster Abbey; St Michael and All Angels in Inverness; the ciborium and House Chapel extension for the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Oxford (now St. Stephen's House) and the Lady Chapel at St. Matthew's in Westminster. This is just a small handful in the long list of his ecclesiastical commissions that are dotted around the country. His work also spread across the Atlantic with one major piece to note - the Leslie Lindsey Chapel of Boston's Emmanuel Episcopal Church. Comper designed its altar, altar screen, pulpit, lectern, dozens of statues, all its furnishings and appointments, and most notably the stained glass windows. In 1936-38 he designed "one of his most famous and original churches" - St. Phillip's Church at Cosham near Portsmouth.

St Margaret’s Braemar

St. Margaret's was a former Scottish Episcopal Church and was completed in 1907. It's described by Historic Scotland as "a remarkable example of a late Gothic Revival church", it is considered to be "one of the finest examples of his (Comper) work and shows an expert knowledge of the components and proportions of the different phases of Gothic style ... His symbol, a strawberry, is a frequent motif". The church construction cost £8,000 and the first meteorological station in the village was at the top of the tower.

The ‘English altar’

Comper is distinguished among other Gothic architects of that time as he re-introduced the 'English altar' frequently into his designs. This specific altar arrangement is surrounded by riddle posts. One of the finest examples of his medieval inspired altars is in Wymondham Abbey, Norfolk.

Later life

In his personal life, Comper lived in London with Grace from 1912. He had a studio close to Knights Hill which was tragically destroyed in World War II, and so he had to relocate to an outbuilding in his garden. Previously the outbuilding had been used by his son Nicholas Comper (1897 - 1939), to design aircraft. In 1950, Comper was knighted by King George VI. He died in December 1960 in the Hostel of God (now Trinity Hospice) in Clapham. His ashes are scattered under the line of windows he designed in Westminster Abbey.