Accessibility

Font Size

100% 150% 200%

Background Colour

Default Contrast
Close Reset

Aberdour, Saint Drostan's Church

Burial Ground (Period Unassigned), Church (Period Unassigned)

Site Name Aberdour, Saint Drostan's Church

Classification Burial Ground (Period Unassigned), Church (Period Unassigned)

Alternative Name(s) Old Aberdour Kirk; New Aberdour, Saint Drostan's Old Parish Church; Old Parish Church Of Aberdour

Canmore ID 19961

Site Number NJ86SE 2

NGR NJ 88422 64402

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/19961

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
Canmore Disclaimer. © Copyright and database right 2024.

Toggle Aerial | View on large map

Digital Images

Administrative Areas

  • Council Aberdeenshire
  • Parish Aberdour (Banff And Buchan)
  • Former Region Grampian
  • Former District Banff And Buchan
  • Former County Aberdeenshire

Archaeology Notes

NJ86SE 2 88422 64402

(NJ 8842 6440) St Drostan's Church (NR)

OS 6" map, (1959)

For successor and present parish church (NJ 8849 6337), see NJ86SE 29.

St Drostan's Church was mentioned in 1178, 1318, 1577 and 1599. The existing ruins are not earlier that the 16th century.

D MacGibbon and T Ross 1896-7.

The old church of Aberdour was built on the site of a church whose history goes back to the fifth century and was closed in 1818 when the present church (NJ 8849 6337) came into use. The parish records were destroyed during the removal.

A M Adams 1956.

The remains of the church survive generally to roof height, with the exception of the south aisle, which has a modern roof. The burial ground is still in use.

Visited by OS (RL) 14 March 1956.

The monument consists of the remains of St Drostan's, the old parish kirk of Aberdour, which dates from the 16th century. This building incorporates earlier fabric and is likely to be the last of a series of churches occupying the same site. The original chapel is thought to have been founded by St Drostan around AD 590.

The present rectangular-plan church measures 21.5m WSW-ENE by 6.5m transversely over walls 0.8m thick with a roofed SSE aisle, rebuilt in 1764, projecting 9.3m from the SSE wall. The walls are intact to

the wallhead apart from a portion of the SSE wall. The masonry is of red rubble, tooled red sandstone (badly weathered) and tooled granite dressings. The walls have latterly been harled. The WSW gable is intact and has a shallow pointed-headed window. The ENE end has been partitioned into two burial enclosures and the aisle is closed as a burial vault. In the NNW wall is a 16th century round-arched mural tomb, plus other mural tablets. The remains of a blocked transept arch can be seen between the nave and the SSE aisle. A number of re- used voissours are incorporated in the upper walls of the ENE end. At the intersection of the nave and the SSE aisle is an octagonal font.

Information from Historic Scotland, scheduling document dated february 1995.

This early 16th century church is rubble-built on the T-plan. It has a blocked chamfered semi-circular arch with impost moulding between the nave and the aisle suiple arched W window, skewputts at aisle, and triangular-headed recess on exterior N wall.

The monuments are of flaking sandstone. There are two arch-recess monuments at the N wall, the eastern illegible with two shields and the western to James Baird of Auchmedden, dated 1559. There is a slab to George Baird (mathematician), died 1593. The E part of the church is petitioned off with an inscription over the SE door: 'This Sepulchre/was enclosed by/ CHAS> LESLIE, M.P./FRASERBURGH MDCCCXIX'. There is no base for a steeple.

The remains survive generally to roof height, with the exception of the S aisle, which has a modern roof. The burial-ground is still in use.

NMRS, MS/712/19.

References

MyCanmore Image Contributions


Contribute an Image

MyCanmore Text Contributions