Building record MAB4956 - ST PETER'S KIRK, DUFFUS

Remains of an 18th century rectangular parish church, built on the site of an earlier church, and associated burial ground.

Remains of an 18th century rectangular parish church, built on the site of an earlier church, and associated burial ground. There has been a church on this site since at least the early 13th century. It is known that it was burnt by King Edward I of England in 1298. It is built of coursed sandstone rubble, with ashlar quoins and dressings. Most of the remains date to the 18th century, probably 1739, when it was remodelled and re-cast for Presbyterian worship. However, there are some surviving sections of the medieval structure. All that survives of the medieval church are the 14th century barrel vaulted basement of the west tower, which served as a burial crypt for the Sutherlands of Duffus, and the porch on the south side built in 1524 by Alexander Sutherland, rector of Duffus. The rest of church was replaced by an 18th century structure, which is now roofless. The west gable has a small, rectangular window at the gallery level and a birdcage-style bellcote, probably from 1739, with stumpy pinnacles, and a small finial sits on the apex. The south elevation of the nave has four long rectangular square-headed windows in each bay and the west gable, and a small doorway towards the east end. The east gable of the church is fairly plain, with a central rectangular doorway, alongside which is an external stair which provides access to a rectangular gallery doorway. The north elevation has a centre rear forestair, leading to a small gallery doorway that opens into a former gallery. There is a second forestair at the east gable, leading to the former Laird's Loft. The entrance to the church is within a porch, and is closed by nail studded double leaf plank door, with a hand wrought handle with the date of 1739. The porch itself has a pointed-headed entrance with simple nook shafts, stylised quatrefoil detailing decorates the moulding above the imposts, and there is a stylised ball-flower ornamentation on the upper edge. Internally, socket holes in the walls show that there were galleries around the east, west and north walls. There is a ribbed vaulted interior with centre boss. There are various mural tablets set in the church walls, both within and without. There are also re-used fragments of carved stonework. The churchyard contains numerous 17th, 18th and 19th century gravestones and monuments within a walled graveyard, as well as the 18th century burial enclosure of the Dunbar family. In the east side of the graveyard is a small gabled watch house, which has a round panel dated to 1830. It is constructed from harl pointed rubble, with tooled and polished ashlar dressings. The entrance is in the south gable, with a dated and inscribed roundel above the lintel. There is a squat apex finial and end stack at the north. The church has been out of use since 1869, when a new parish church superseded it. An assessment was undertaken by Kirkdale Archaeology in February 2013 of seven slumped grave markers in the churchyard. Nothing of archaeological significance was noted in the original cuts for the gravemarkers, other than a few fragments of dressed sandstone presumed to have been used for levelling the markers when they were installed. There is a 14th century parish cross within the Church grounds (NJ16NE0003). Monumental inscriptions within the churchyard were recorded by the Moray Burial Ground Research Group between 2008 and 2010. They include the tombstone of Alexander Sutherland who died in 1479, the tombstone a calvary cross slab.

Period Notes
Burnt in 1298. The porch was built in 1524. The church was built in the 18th century, probably 1739. The site was designated on 26/01/1971.

Author unknown, , KNOCK NEWS, Issue 83, 48 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1032.

YOUNG, HW, 1896, RELIQUARY 2, 237-61, 52-3 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2131.

MACDONALD, WR, 1900, PSAS 34(1899-90) 344-429, 406 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1181.

HOWAT, AJ, 1901, CHURCHES IN MORAY, 16 (Bibliographic reference). SAB729.

MITCHELL, A, 1908, MACFARLANES GEOG COLL 1906-8, 233 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1155.

SIMPSON, WD, 1951, DUFFUS CASTLE & CHURCH (Bibliographic reference). SAB1683.

MOW, 1961, A M'S SCOT, 28 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1166.

DE FOLCO, J, 1966, KIRKYARDS IN THE LAICH OF MORAY IN PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 99, PP211-254 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4083.

DI FALCO, J, 1967, PSAS 90(1966-7) 211-54, 211-54 (Bibliographic reference). SAB352.

MORAY BURIAL GROUND RESEARCH GROUP, 2003, NEWSLETTER, Issue 11, p.7 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5098.

MORAY BURIAL GROUND RESEARCH GROUP, 2010, MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS: DUFFUS, ST PETER'S CHURCHYARD (Bibliographic reference). SAB7644.

KIRKDALE ARCHAEOLOGY, 2013, ST PETER'S CHURCH RECORDING, FEBRUARY 2013: HISTORIC SCOTLAND PROPERTIES IN CARE MINOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORKS 2013 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2776.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2014, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, NEW SERIES, VOLUME 14, 2013, p.129 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5483.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2024, DEWAR HOUSE, ACADEMY LANE, ARBROATH: WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION, p. 124-5 (Bibliographic reference). SAB8947.

Jan 1 1990 , AAS/GR/90/CT247-250, AAS/GR/90/CT247-250 (Ground Photograph). SAB32796.

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

Oct 25 1989 , MY 31-35, MY 31-35 (Ground Photograph). SAB33407.

Sep 7 2013 , AAS-GR-13-09-144 to 218, AAS-GR-13-09-144 to 218 (Ground Photograph). SAB35308.

Sep 20 1984 , DL 31-35,38, DL 31-35,38 (Ground Photograph). SAB30315.

Sep 20 1984 , DM 3-8, DM 3-8 (Ground Photograph). SAB30314.

Record last edited

Sep 5 2025 10:47AM