Building record MAB42647 - ST MARY'S CHAPEL, MARYCULTER

Remains of church and burial ground, also known as Maryculter Chapel, the chapel of St Mary, the Templar's Chapel and the Old parish Church.

Remains of church and burial ground, also known as Maryculter Chapel, the chapel of St Mary, the Templar's Chapel and the Old parish Church. Very little remains of the church beyond its foundations and part of the east gable, but in its heyday, it would have been a building of high quality and great significance locally. It is narrow rectangular building with two doors in the south wall, and is built in a simple Gothic style, typical of this period in Aberdeenshire. A piscina comprising a fluted bowl, supported by a shaft which rises from a water-holding base of 13th century character, is incorporated in the south wall at the east end of the building. A number of moulded stones, including fragments of windows and doors, can also be seen in this area. Maryculter was one of only two houses of the Knights Templar in Scotland, the parish of 'Marieculter' having been given to the Knights in 1187 by William The Lion. The chapel was founded by Walter Byst in the early 13th century. The Templars were suppressed circa 1309 but their lands and the parish church remained in the hands of the Knights Hospitallers until the early 16th century. The chapel ceased to function as the parish church in the 1780s. At this time a new church was built at a new location to the south east, closer to the village of Maryculter. It is described in the 1700s as being a rubble-stone building with moulded freestone facings. When the church was demolished, the materials were sold to fund the building of the church and churchyard. It is also said that the remaining rubble was used in forming the South Deeside turnpike road in 1842. The rubble-built enclosing walls of the churchyard average 2.4 m (8 ft) in height, and date from the mid 19th century but may incorporate earlier architectural elements. Traces of an earlier enclosure may extend beyond the present walls of the burial ground. Within the walls of the chapel the Irvine-Boswells and the Irvine Fortescue families are buried, descendants of the first laird of Kingcausie, Henry Irvine. He was granted the feu of the land by the Hospitallers in 1535. Among those buried here is John Irvine-Boswell. He introduced modern methods of agriculture and did much to improve the estate. In the surrounding graveyard, several ornate gravestones can be seen, decorated with memento mori symbols. Of note are two stones in memory of young people which show the hourglass in a horizontal position, symbolising that they died before the sands of time had run out naturally. At the other end of the age range are two unusual gravestones commemorating centenarians: George Forbes, who died aged 106 in 1716, and Uphemia Arthur, who died age 102 in 1823. A monumental effigy of Gilbert Menzies of Pitfoddels originally stood in this churchyard but is now in St Nicholas Church, Aberdeen. Removal of ivy on the southern boundary wall in 2021 uncovered a date or marriage stone on the churchyard side of the wall. It bears the initials I F A M, the date 1713, and two symbols which appear to be a hammer and a possible crown. The outline of a probable blocked doorway was also recorded on the south side of the wall. Just beyond the churchyard boundary, within the curve of the wall as it extends to the south (at NO 84447 99980) to the former walled garden, the ivy removal uncovered a doorway that had been blocked with brickwork. The doorway appears to have been fashioned from various pieces of carved stone which may have come from the old church.

Period Notes
Founded 1221-36; became Old Parish Church in 1535; ceased to function as a parish church and demolished in 1787. Listed 18/06/1972.

JERVISE, A, 1879, EPITAPHS & INSCRIPTIONS,VOL 2, 118-125 (Bibliographic reference). SAB889.

KELLY, W, 1889, SOME ANCIENT CHURCHES IN ABER, 26-33, 90 (Bibliographic reference). SAB956.

BRYDALL, R, 1895, THE MONUMENTAL EFFIGIES OF SCOTLAND FROM THE THIRTEENTH TO THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY PSAS 29(1894-5) 393-9, 398-9 (Bibliographic reference). SAB132.

SCOTT, H, 1950, FASTI ECCLES SCOT, 61 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1806.

EASSON, D, 1957, MEDIEVAL RELIGIOUS HOUSES: SCOTLAND, 131,133 (Bibliographic reference). SAB440.

SWANSTON, F, 2021, HAMP MARYCULTER SITE VISIT 13/4/21 - PHOTOS (Bibliographic reference). SAB4846.

Aug 3 2018 , AAS-GR-18-08-155 to 191, AAS-GR-18-08-155 to 191 (Ground Photograph). SAB35456.

Feb 22 2022 , ABS-GR-22-02-067 - 075, ABS-GR-22-02-067 - 075 (Ground Photograph). SAB36485.

SDD, n.d., BLDS OF ARCH & HIST INTEREST, MARYCULTER 11,12 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1827.

Record last edited

Aug 30 2024 4:11PM