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Brechin Public Park BandstandBrechin Public Park Bandstand · Photo: Mary Rodgers · CC BY-SA 2.0
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History of Brechin · Historic Environment Scotland

172 listed buildings, 6 of them in the top category

On the Historic Environment Scotland list, all of them stand inside Brechin’s locality, 240 for every 10,000 residents. It also has 2 scheduled monuments. We have photos of 16 of its listed buildings.

6Category A63Category B2scheduled monuments32on High Street
Listed buildings
172
240 per 10,000 residents
Category A
6
national importance
Category B
63
regional importance
Scheduled monuments
2
1 garden or designed landscape
In pictures

Brechin in 18 photos

Tap a photo to step through them full screen.

Brechin Cathedral Church Lane.Brechin Cathedral Church Lane.Category A listedMaison Dieu Chapel Maisondieu LaneMaison Dieu Chapel Maisondieu LaneCategory A listedRailway Station, Including Former Goods Depot, Park Road.Railway Station, Including Former Goods Depot, Park Road.Category B listedDen Burn Works Montrose Street and Southesk Street (Front Portions Only)Den Burn Works Montrose Street and Southesk Street (Front Portions Only)Category B listedAngus Classic Interiors (former Drill Hall), 13 Bank Street, BrechinAngus Classic Interiors (former Drill Hall), 13 Bank Street, BrechinCategory C listed+13See all photos

Photos from Wikimedia Commons and Geograph, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the building’s page or its official list entry.

The map

Where Brechin’s history is

Every Category A and B building, monument and historic park.

Brechin Castle, garden or designed landscapeBrechin Cathedral Round Tower, scheduled monumentBrechin,Maison Dieu Chapel, scheduled monument'Castle View' 17 Church Street, Category BAndover (Originally Tenements) School, Nursery Lane, Category BBearhill 24 Castle Street, Category BBearhill Lodge 22 Castle Street, Category BBrechin Cathedral Graveyard Church Lane, Category BBrechin Mechanics' Institute, Church Street and St Mary Street, Category BBrechin Public Park Bandstand, Category BBrechin Public Park Drinking Fountain, Category BBridge to Cemetery Off Southesk Street., Category BDalhousie Fountain St Ninian's Square., Category BDalhousie Hotel 1, 3 Market Street and 2, 4, 6 St David Street, Category BDen Burn Works Montrose Street and Southesk Street (Front Portions Only), Category BEast Mill, East Mill Road North Section of Mill, Category BFormer Church of St Ninian (Now Roman Catholic Church) Bank Street, Category BGateway to Cemetery Off Southesk Street., Category BGlencadam House Off Trinity Road., Category BLodge, Entrance Gateway and Flanking Walls to Brechin Castle 25 Castle Street at St Michael's Mount, Category BMaisondieu Church, Witchden Road with Front Wall and Gatepiers., Category BMaisondieu Lane House (Closed 1978) Adjoining Maisondieu Chapel on East., Category BManse Bishop's Close, Category BNorthern Hotel 2, 4 Clerk Street and 1, 3, 5, 7 Panmure Street, Category BOld Town Hall 28 High Street and 2 Church Street, Category BPearsemount, 3 Pearse Street, Category BPublic Library St Ninian's Square, Category BRailway Station, Including Former Goods Depot, Park Road., Category BRosehill 15 North Latch Road, Category BSt Andrew's Episcopal Church, Argyll Street and St Andrew Street, Category BThe Mary Acre 11 Argyle Street, Category BViewbank, Park Road, Category B1, 3 High Street and 2, 4 Swan Street, Category B1,3 Swan Street and 2,4 Market Street., Category B10, 12, 14 High Street, Category B11, 13 High Street, Category B111, 113, 115 High Street, Category B16, 18, 20 High Street, Category B17, 19 High Street, Category B19, 21 Church Street and 1 Church Lane, Category B21, 23 Castle Street, Category B22, 24 High Street, Category B23 Church Street and Wall Church Lane, Category B25 Church Street and Wall Church Lane, Category B26, 26A High Street, Category B28 Panmure Street, Category B29, 31 High Street, Category B32, 34 Bank Street Town Clerk's and Police Offices, Category B33, 35, 37 High Street, Category B38, 40 High Street, Category B39 Church Street (The Rectory), Category B39, 41 High Street, Category B4,6,8 Castle Street, Category B41 Church Street, Category B42, 44 High Street, Category B43, 45 High Street, Category B46 High Street, Category B5 High Street, Category B5 Swan Street, Category B5, 7, 9 Church Street, Category B52, 54 High Street, Category B6 Airlie Street, Category B61, 61A High Street, Category B66 High Street, Category B7, 9 High Street, Category B8-12 Swan Street (Even Numbers), Category BBaptist Church (Formerly West and St Columba's Parish Church) and Halls, Panmure Street/Southesk Street, Category ABrechin Cathedral Church Lane., Category AGardner Memorial Church, St Ninian's Square and Damacre Road Including Church Halls and Vestries., Category AMaison Dieu Chapel Maisondieu Lane, Category A25, 27 High Street, Category A68-74 High Street, Category A
Category ACategory BScheduled monumentPark or garden400 m from Brechin Cathedral Church Lane.
4 of 6Category A buildings stand within 400 m of Brechin Cathedral Church Lane., a five-minute walk. So do 127 of the 172 listed buildings.

Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.

172 listed buildings by grade
6 Category A63 Category B103 Category C

Historic Environment Scotland lists buildings in three categories: Category A for buildings of national or international importance (about 7.5% of listed buildings), Category B for buildings of regional importance (about 50%), and Category C for buildings of local importance (about 43%). Listing protects the whole building, inside and out.

Every entry on Historic Environment Scotland’s designations whose point lies inside the NRS 2022 locality boundary. One list entry can cover a terrace or a group of buildings.

Category A

The 6 Category A listed buildings in Brechin

Buildings of national or international importance, about 7.5% of all listed buildings; 4 of these stand within 400 m of Brechin Cathedral Church Lane.. 4 are photographed. Each opens its own page, with the official list entry.

Category B

The 63 Category B listed buildings in Brechin

Buildings of regional importance. 11 are photographed.

Show the other 51
Historic streets

High Street has the most listed buildings

Streets by the listed entries with an address on them. One entry can be a whole terrace, so long rows count once.

High Street32 listed · 2 Category A · 19 II*
111, 113, 115 High Street43, 45 High Street
Panmure Street12 listed · 1 II*
Church Street9 listed · 2 II*
Castle Street8 listed · 2 II*
4,6,8 Castle Street
Pearse Street5 listed
St David Street4 listed
Park Road3 listed
Southesk Street3 listed
Swan Street3 listed · 2 II*

High Street holds 32 entries, 2 of them in the top category: more of the top grade than any other street. Of the 172 entries, 110 are named by a street address; the rest are named buildings such as churches, halls and bridges.

What’s protected

Most of Brechin’s listed buildings are homes

Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.

Houses, terraces & villas137
Public & civic buildings17
Churches, chapels & priories9
Walls, gates & bridges4
Inns, shops & warehouses3
Memorials, crosses & tombs2

137 entries (80%) are houses, terraces and villas. 9 are churches, chapels and priories, including 4 of the 6 Category A buildings.

Buildings are sorted by words in each entry’s name (church, gate, inn, memorial…): the list’s open data has no building type. An entry named only by its address counts as a house.

Category C

103 Category C listed buildings

This category covers buildings of local importance. Open any building to read its official list entry.

All 103 Category C listed buildings, A to Z
Angus Classic Interiors (former Drill Hall), 13 Bank Street, BrechinBalgownie 4 Airlie Street/1 Argyle StreetCity Royal Bar 26 City RoadEast Mill, East Mill Road South Section of MillEast Tollhouse, Montrose Road, BrechinExchange Bar 8 Church StreetGarden House at Bearhill, 24 Castle Street.Gatepiers at Rosehill 15 North Latch RoadGlencairn Infirmary StreetGrove House, 22 St Andrew StreetHall, Church LaneHaybarn at Viewbank Park RoadJehovah's Witnesses' Hall (Former East R C School) Bank StreetLodge at Cemetery Off Southesk StreetLodge at Rosehill 15 North Latch RoadLodge at Viewbank Park RoadLyndhurst 1 St Ninian's SquareMaisondieu Primary School St Andrew Street Original Part OnlyManse Offices Bishop's CloseOffices at 18 Castle Street.Park House 69-71 Park RoadPearse Croft 8 Pearse StreetSpringfield House, Cookston Road, BrechinSt Andrew's Episcopal Church Hall and Former Diocesan Library St Andrew StreetSundial St Ninian's SquareTownhead Primary School St Andrew StreetVanes Park Airlie StreetWall, Channonry Wynd.1 Castle Street1 Channonry Wynd1 Pearse Street/8 Airlie Street1,2 St James Place1,2,3,4,5 St Ninian's Place Southesk Street1,3,5 St Mary Street10,11,12,13 St Ninian's Place109 High Street11, 13, 15 Church Street12, 14 Panmure Street12, 14 St David Street13, 15 Panmure Street13,15,17,19 Castle Street14-20 Swan Street (Even Numbers)16 Panmure Street16 Pearse Street16, 18 St David Street18 Castle Street18 Church Street18 Pearse Street18, 20 Panmure Street19 Panmure Street19 Swan Street/1 Clerk Street Angus Steak House1B Clerk Street2 Airlie Street2 Castle Street20 Pearse Street20, 22 Church Street21, 23 High Street21, 23, 25 Panmure Street22 St David Street22, 24 Clerk Street Post Office22, 24 Panmure Street22,24,26,28 Swan Street.24,26,28 St David Street26 Panmure Street27 Church Street29 Church Street3 (Roseneath) and 5 St Ninian's Square3 Clerk Street, excluding 1930s bank extension to north and rear extensions to west, Brechin3,4,5 St James Place30 High Street30 Panmure Street32, 34 Panmure Street35, 37 Church Street4 Church Street4 Park Road4 Pearse Street4, 6 Panmure Street Clydesdale Bank4, 6, 8 High Street48, 50 High Street49 High Street, Former Co-Operative Building5 Castle Street51 Southesk Street51, 53, 55 High Street55 Southesk Street56, 58, 60 High Street57 High Street57 Southesk Street57-59 Park Road59 Southesk Street Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses.6 Pearse Street6 Swan Street6,7,8,9 St Ninian's Place62 High Street7 Castle Street7 St Mary Street7, 9, 11, 13 Park Road7,9,11,13 Swan Street City Hall Buildings76, 78 High Street8, 10 Panmure Street and 2,4,6 Martin's Lane84 Market Street9 Castle Street (Including Garden Wall and Gateway).9, 11 Panmure Street97, 99 High Street
Conservation areas

2 conservation areas cover 4.2% of Brechin

Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.

Brechin Town Centre12 ha
Brechin St Ninian's Square1 ha
13 hain conservation areas, of 323 ha inside the locality.

114 of the 172 listed buildings stand in one.

Historic Environment Scotland’s conservation areas layer, supplied by councils (incomplete in places, so a page fact, never graded). Hectares are the part of each area inside the locality.

How the list grew

More than half of Brechin’s listed buildings were added in one year, 1979

The year each building now on the list was first listed.

1979 · 1061971 · 60
19501960197019801990200020102020

The first 60 entries were listed in 1971, 6 of the 6 Category A buildings among them. 106 came in 1979, as Scotland’s list was resurveyed from the 1970s. Only 0 have been added in the last 15 years.

Monuments & landscapes

Monuments, parks and gardens

Designations that overlap the town by a tenth of their area or half a hectare.

2 scheduled monuments

Nationally important archaeological sites and monuments, protected by law; work on them needs consent from Historic Environment Scotland.

Brechin Cathedral Round Tower
Brechin Cathedral Round TowerEcclesiastical: tower
Brechin,Maison Dieu ChapelEcclesiastical: chapel

1 garden or designed landscape

Brechin Castle
Brechin CastleGarden and designed landscape
Born here

19 notable people born in Brechin before 1900

Their lives on one timeline, earliest first.

George Rose
David Low
John Tytler
John Smith
Adam Thom
Thomas Guthrie
John Kidd
Peter Smith Michie
Alexander B. Bruce
Harry Ross
Davie Glen
Alexander Small Matthew
Colin Hampton
James Small
Collie Martin
Robert Watson-Watt
Douglas Alexander Graham
Bert Eggo
Charles Sutherland
170017501800185019001950
Robert Watson-Watt
Robert Watson-Watt1892–1973 · Physicist (1892-1973)
Thomas Guthrie
Thomas Guthrie1803–1873 · Scottish social reformer and founding father of the Free Church of Sc…
Douglas Alexander Graham
Douglas Alexander Graham1893–1971 · Major General, army officer (1893–1971)
George Rose
George Rose1744–1818 · British politician
Peter Smith Michie
Peter Smith Michie1839–1901 · Professor of philosophy, USMA
HR
Harry Ross1881–1953 · Scottish footballer (1881-1953)
JS
James Small1889–1955 · British botanist (1889-1955)
Adam Thom
Adam Thom1802–1890 · Canadian journalist (1802–1890)

Everyone born in Brechin → Birthplaces from Wikidata; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.

Towns its size

Brechin has the 13th most Category A buildings of 230 towns its size

Scottish towns of 3,000–18,000 people, by Category A listed buildings.

Lanark25
St Andrews20
Helensburgh13
Montrose11
Banff11
Kelso10
Haddington9
Linlithgow9
Dalkeith8
Jedburgh8
Rothesay7
Brechin6
#14 of 230for listed buildings per resident (240 per 10,000). Kirkcudbright, Banff and Anstruther lead.

12 have more. The typical town its size has 0.

Neighbours

Listed buildings in the places around Brechin

TownPeopleListedCategory AHistory
Brechin7,1801726—
Montrose11,24126811—
Laurencekirk3,276100—
Forfar13,7741392—
Arbroath23,4871416—
In brief

Brechin in brief

The official list counts 172 listed buildings in Brechin, 6 of them in the top category. Its Category A buildings cluster together: 4 of them stand within 400 m of Brechin Cathedral Church Lane.. Only 12 of the 230 towns nearest its size have more Category A buildings. High Street alone has 32 listed buildings.

Its older streets lie in 2 conservation areas. Most entries on the list, 80%, are houses, terraces and villas. Of the 19 people born here before 1900, the best known include Robert Watson-Watt (1892), Thomas Guthrie (1803) and Douglas Alexander Graham (1893). The rest is about typical: it also has 2 scheduled monuments.

Questions about Brechin’s history

How many listed buildings are there in Brechin?

Historic Environment Scotland lists 172 buildings inside Brechin’s locality: 6 Category A, 63 Category B and 103 Category C.

What are the Category A listed buildings in Brechin?

6, including Baptist Church (Formerly West and St Columba's Parish Church) and Halls, Panmure Street/Southesk Street, Brechin Cathedral Church Lane., Gardner Memorial Church, St Ninian's Square and Damacre Road Including Church Halls and Vestries., Maison Dieu Chapel Maisondieu Lane, 25, 27 High Street and 68-74 High Street.

Which street in Brechin has the most listed buildings?

High Street (32), Panmure Street (12) and Church Street (9) have the most listed entries named by an address. One entry can be a whole terrace.

Are there scheduled monuments in Brechin?

Yes, 2 scheduled monuments, including Brechin Cathedral Round Tower and Brechin,Maison Dieu Chapel.

How many conservation areas are there in Brechin?

2, covering about 13 hectares of the town. The largest are Brechin Town Centre and Brechin St Ninian's Square.

When were Brechin’s buildings listed?

The first in 1971; the most, 106, in 1979.

Who was born in Brechin?

Among people born before 1900: Robert Watson-Watt (1892), Thomas Guthrie (1803), Douglas Alexander Graham (1893), George Rose (1744) and Peter Smith Michie (1839).

Brechin has no History Grade.

Listed buildings, scheduled monuments, gardens and designed landscapes, battlefields, conservation areas and World Heritage Sites: Historic Environment Scotland, Open Government Licence v3.0. Check an entry on Historic Environment Scotland’s portal before relying on it.

Sources: Historic Environment Scotland designations (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, gardens and designed landscapes, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the NRS 2022 locality boundary · Historic Environment Scotland conservation areas (compiled from councils; October 2026). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.