Building record MAB16192 - KIRKTON OF CULSALMOND OLD KIRK

The remains of a church, its associated graveyard, and a mort-house, built on the site of a stone circle and an earlier Medieval church.

The remains of a church, its associated graveyard, and a mort-house, built on the site of a stone circle and an earlier Medieval church. A circle of twelve stones was overturned prior to the building of the first church and graveyard. The circle was in the centre of the churchyard. One stone was uncovered during the demolition of a building in 1821 and was placed within the churchyard until circa 1840, when it was subsequently removed. The other stones were presumed to be still buried.

The church is first mentioned in 1178, as dedicated to St. Serf, and its lands bestowed on Lindores Abbey. This church, and another structure attached to it, were removed in 1821, and two skeletons, side by side, and at right angles to the building were revealed. The position of the church is shown on G. Brown's 1770 plan of the lands of Williamston, approximately 12 m south of the current, ruinous, church.

The current church was built in 1789 but incorporates a bird cage belfry dated 1680. This church was dedicated to St. Andrew and was in turn abandoned in 1938 (in favour of the South Church) and is now roofless. It has round-headed windows and doors and the walling contains several reused stones.

The derelict mort-house in the kirkyard is early-19th Century. It is a one-storey structure on a subterranean basement with a pyramidal slated roof and a large window for surveying the kirkyard.

An excavation and standing building survey of Mort House was undertaken by MAS in 2007 prior to a renovation project. The earthen floor of the lower chamber was hand-excavated and the outlets of the air-vents in the north and east walls exposed. The underlying floor was of angular field stones set in a mortar matrix to form a roughly cobbled surface.

DG21-9, 33-4, 36-7, DG21-9, 33-4, 36-7 (Ground Photograph). SAB20020.

DG40-2, DG40-2 (Ground Photograph). SAB20021.

GR/01/CT351-359, GR/01/CT351-359 (Ground Photograph). SAB36886.

BROWN, G, 1770, PLAN OF LANDS OF WILLIAMSTON (Bibliographic reference). SAB151.

COLES, FR, 1902, REPORT ON STONE CIRCLES IN ABERDEENSHIRE IN PSAS 36(1901-2) 488-581, 577 (Bibliographic reference). SAB232.

SIMPSON, WD, 1943, PROVINCE OF MAR, 51 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1676.

HAY, G., 1957, THE ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTTISH POST-REF CHURCHES (Bibliographic reference). SAB720.

EELES, F. C., 1958, THE CHURCH AND OTHER BELLS OF ABERDEENSHIRE, PSAS 91(1957-8) 84-111, 101-2 (Bibliographic reference). SAB443.

MURRAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES, 2007, Culsalmond Mort House: excavation & building surve, report (Bibliographic reference). SAB4587.

Excavation, survey

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2007, DISCOVERY & EXCAVATION SCOTLAND, p.15 (HK Murray) (Bibliographic reference). SAB4029.

Jan 1 1980 , AAS/GR/80/CT64-69, AAS/GR/80/CT64-69 (Ground Photograph). SAB32566.

SDD, n.d., BLDS OF ARCH & HIST INTEREST, CULSALMOND 1,2 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1827.

LAING, A, n.d., LINDORES ABBEY & ITS BURGH, 53 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1082.

Author unknown, n.d., NSA, No12(1845) 732 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1269.

Record last edited

Jul 15 2026 5:40PM