The parish of St. Lawrence's consists of three communities, St. Lawrence's in Dingwall, the community in Gairloch and St. Martin's in Ullapool. The parish covers an area greater than any other in Scotland.

Click each photo below to see a larger, better quality version.
 
The drawings for the buildings of St. Lawrence's were penned by local architect William C. Joass in 1902; the church was built the same year. The Gothic style of the church is reminiscent of church design at the turn of the century. Due to the age of the church and the toll the Scottish weather has had on its structure, much needed renovation was carried out throughout the course of 1999. Renovation meant a completely new oak floor, new carpeting, new heating, lighting and PA systems, full repaint, all pews sanded and varnished, new organ and resurfaced drive and parking area.
 
The interior of the church mirrors the gothic style of the exterior. The beautiful altar is made of solid carrera marble, and the font of Aberdeen granite. The arches around the tabernacle and windows are finished in Kilcoy sandstone. To complement the new interior a new sound system was installed to maximise the acoustics of the church. The church was re-opened with after renovation on Pentecost Sunday, 23 May, 1999.
 
Above the altar are three beautiful stained glass windows of St. Jude, St. Lawrence and St. Anthony (from left to right) which were made by Dom Ninian Sloane, a Benedictine monk of Pluscarden Abbey. The windows commemorate Alexander and Isobel McMahon Macdonald.
 

The beautiful baptismal font, dedicated in memory of John Farquhar Thomson, came to Dingwall with its first parish priest, Father Alexander Thomson, brother of the deceased whose family owned Aberdeen University Press. The goldleaf inscription around the rim reads 'Of your charity pray for the soul of John Farquhar Thomson MA, Aberdeen. Born Jan 15, 1865, died March 1, 1889'. The pyramidal lid (not shown) on the font was carved in Black Forest oak by Brother Auer OSB of Fort Augustus Abbey whose brother was the third parish priest from 1914-1934, hitherto the longest serving parish priest in Dingwall. The shrines behind the Sacred Heart and Our Lady were also hand-carved in Black Forest Oak at approximately the same time by Brother Auer OSB.

 
 
 
Gairloch has a small and very committed catholic community of just fewer than 30 regular worshippers, some of whom are undaunted by a journey of over 30 miles to reach the Community Centre for half past two on a Sunday afternoon to hear God's Word and to receive the Eucharist by attending Holy Mass. In fine weather their journey is well rewarded by the beautiful scenery some of which you can admire for yourselves on this site.
 
The numbers attending Mass are boosted in high summer sometimes to 80 by tourists and travellers willing to take time to worship and concious of God's words addressed to all "Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath Day".
 
 
To cater for the spiritual welfare of local Catholics, and in response to those visitors who would often express regret that there was no Catholic church in the West Highlands, Bishop Mario Conti (formerly Bishop of the Aberdeen Diocese, now the Archbishop of Glasgow) decided to open a church in Ullapool. This is how St. Martin's came to be dedicated on the 21st of September 1988. It is the most north-westerly Catholic church on the Scottish mainland and indeed the only Catholic church to be found between Dornie (Isle of Skye area) and Cape Wrath.
 
The architect who converted the building so tastefully from a bakery into a church was the late Nicky McIntyre of Inverness. St. Martin's is supported to a great extent by the generosity of faithful, worshipping tourists.


The dedication plaque at the rear of the church reads: "The heights of the mountains are His; to Him belongs the sea." from Psalm 95:4-5.
 
 
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