Building record MAB41869 - ST TERNAN'S CHAPEL, ARBUTHNOTT

St Ternan's Chapel, now known as Arbuthnott Parish Church, and associated graveyard.

St Ternan's Chapel, now known as Arbuthnott Parish Church, and associated graveyard. Dedicated to St Ternan in 1242, confirmed by an inscription on the lintel of the door in the north wall of the chancel. It formerly belonged to the Collegiate Church of St Andrews. Part of the original 13th Century church survives in the chancel and possibly the nave, although its doorway may be 16th Century. The Arbuthnott Aisle was built at the end of the 15th Century and used to be known as St Mary's Chapel (Lady Chapel), as the lower of its two storeys was a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary. This chapel and the bell tower at the west end of the nave were built by Sir Robert Arbuthnott in 1500, and are excellent examples of medieval Scottish church architecture with strong tall buttresses and well-cut ashlar walls. Above the Lady Chapel is a Priest's Room with stone window seats and a squint to the chapel. Tusk stones outside the doorway in the north wall of the chancel suggest that a small sacristy or similar building was contemplated. The Arbuthnott Missal, completed in 1491, was written in this church. There is a monumental effigy to Hugo de Arbuthnott in the grounds of the church, as well as the grave of James Leslie Mitchell (Lewis Grassic Gibbon). The church was fully restored in 1896 by A Marshall Mackenzie when the stained glass windows by Daniel Cottier were fitted into the chancel lancets. It is still in use as a parish church. It is one of the few churches in Scotland dating from pre-Reformation times which still in use. A number of masons' marks are visible on the exterior walls. About 13m west of the main gate, on the exterior of the perimeter wall, a fragment of carved red sandstone is built into the wall. It is carved in low relief with foliage and measure circa 16 x 30cm. The interior of the church was assessed by Waterman HDC engineers in 2006 over concerns about an area of 'sinking' floor. An area was exposed by lifting the stone flags, revealing the underlying soft ground (made up soil with some small bone fragments) which stiffened at depth. This was probed with a steel bar to a depth of about 6 feet. No voids were revealed or encountered during probing suggesting a stable, albeit disturbed, subsoil. The base of the probe indicated that ground water could be a factor at depth, although there were no signs of such phenomena at the surface. The floor was reinstated, and continued monitoring was advised. A watching brief was carried out by Cameron Archaeology in September 2019 during groundworks for a small building extension and associated drainage works. Eight areas of disarticulated human bone were identified, along with four articulated skeletons of varying levels of preservation and completeness. A further watching brief in March 2020 during the excavation of a service trench to the church gates recovered further disarticulated bone and two deeper burials. The burials were the remains of two lairs dating to the 19th century, and have been reburied.

Period Notes
Dedicated 1242; Arbuthnott Aisle added c.1500; nave burnt 1890 and restored 1896; Robert Bruce Memorial 1919.

BM 26-9, BM 26-9 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB15961.

BN 17-25, BN 17-25 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB15963.

ORDNANCE SURVEY, 1871, Ordnance Name Book, No1(1864) 50 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1360.

JERVISE, A, 1879, EPITAPHS & INSCRIPTIONS,VOL 2, 199-208 (Bibliographic reference). SAB889.

MACGIBBON, T, 1896, ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND 1, 235-43 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1141.

McCONNACHIE, AL, 1898, THE ROYAL DEE, 136-8 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1136.

SCOTT, H, 1950, FASTI ECCLES SCOT, 452 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1806.

EASSON, D, 1957, MEDIEVAL RELIGIOUS HOUSES: SCOTLAND, 187 (Bibliographic reference). SAB440.

COWAN, IB, 1967, THE PARISHES OF MED SCOT, 8 (Bibliographic reference). SAB242.

PETERANNA & WOOD, M., 2006, GORDONSTOUN SCHOO MUSIC REHEARSAL FACILITY: WB, 9 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1466.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2019, THE CHURCH OF ST TERNANS, ARBUTHNOTT, LAURENCKIRK: WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION, WSI (Bibliographic reference). SAB8089.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2020, THE CHURCH OF ST TERNANS, ARBUTHNOTT, LAURENCKIRK: DATA STRUCTUURE REPORT, WB report (Bibliographic reference). SAB8073.

Feb 12 2008 , AAS/08/1/DG 8599-600, AAS/08/1/DG 8599-600 (Air-vertical Photograph). SAB19232.

Feb 12 2008 , AAS/08/1/DG 8603, 8605, AAS/08/1/DG 8603, 8605 (Air-vertical Photograph). SAB19233.

Feb 12 2008 , AAS/08/1/DG8607-15,17,18, AAS/08/1/DG8607-15,17,18 (Air-vertical Photograph). SAB19234.

Feb 14 2002 , GR/02/CT15, GR/02/CT15 (Ground Photograph). SAB17800.

Jul 1 1984 , BM 26-30, BM 26-30 (Ground Photograph). SAB33292.

Jul 1 1984 , BN 17-25, BN 17-25 (Ground Photograph). SAB33296.

Jul 7 2004 , GR/04/CT656-666, GR/04/CT656-666 (Ground Photograph). SAB37053.

Jul 20 1948 , KC/227, KC/227 (Ground Photograph). SAB15962.

Jul 28 1978 , AAS/78/02/S2/4, AAS/78/02/S2/4 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB15960.

Jun 29 2007 , AAS-GR-07-06-013 - 023, AAS-GR-07-06-013 - 023 (Ground Photograph). SAB36008.

May 6 1998 , AAS/GR/98/CT557-566, AAS/GR/98/CT557-566 (Ground Photograph). SAB33109.

May 6 1998 , GR/88/CT, GR/88/CT (Ground Photograph). SAB17006.

SDD, n.d., BLDS OF ARCH & HIST INTEREST, ARBUTHNOTT 3 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1827.

Author unknown, n.d., NSA, 159-160 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1269.

RCAHMS, n.d., S KINC LIST, No201 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1512.

Nov 22 2005 , GR/05/CT226-46, GR/05/CT226-46 (Ground Photograph). SAB18399.

Sep 15 2000 , AAS/00/13/CT156, AAS/00/13/CT156 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB17484.

Record last edited

Nov 17 2025 2:49PM