St Rufus Church, Keith

Christianity in Keith can be traced back to around 700 AD, when Máel Ruba, an Irish missionary monk, came to the area. Keith's old town, which ran along the east bank of the River Isla, was served by a medieval church that stood on a hill in the middle of old Keith. This original church was known as St Rufus, a latinised form of Máel Ruba. Keith's charter was granted by to Kinloss Abbey in the late 12th century, or 31 July 1195–96}} and the original church was granted to Elgin Cathedral in 1203. is known to have lodged there while visiting Keith in 1497. The church was rebuilt in 1569, and was 100 ft long and 28 ft wide. When the nation underwent the Scottish Reformation in the 16th…

St Rufus has been described as "a fine example of a more or less complete and original early 19th century church interior, on a grand scale". The main internal doorway into the nave from the entrance lobby at the east end incorporates an unusual war memorial. The outer sides of the recessed double doors bear polished panels, listing men from the parish who died in the First World War; the inner side of the same doors bear similar, albeit smaller and less elaborate, panels recording those who died in the Second World War. The doors are surrounded by a wooded frame with recessed, traceried panels; above, there is a frieze in the form of a crenellated parapet with quatrefoil tracery. At the…

St Rufus is a large, tall, rectangular building, built in a style described by Charles McKean as "flamboyantly perpendicular", which he contends is typical of Gillespie Graham's work. The church's most notable feature is the square, four-stage bell tower, with clocks on three of its faces, attached to the church's western gable. It sits on a low hill near to the River Isla, on the eastern outskirts of the village that surrounded the Old Keith church. New Keith, which began construction around 1750, lies to the south and east of the site.