Building record MAB4966 - DRAINIE CHURCH

Remains of a church and graveyard that were largely destroyed when the airfield (NJ26NW0045) was built.

Remains of a church and graveyard that were largely destroyed when the airfield (NJ26NW0045) was built. It was a typical post-reformation church, with the church to the north of the cemetery. The site was chosen in 1651 and although the walls had been built to ‘above the height of the doors’ by 1655, work was halted in 1656, and the first service was not held in the church until April 1677. The kirkyard wall was added between 1794 and 1816. There were interior panels taken in 1821 to be re-used in the entrance hall at Gordonstoun House (NJ16NE0006). Following the move in 1825 to a second Drainie Church (NJ26NW0077), this old kirk fell into ruin. It is depicted as in ruins on the 1st and 2nd edition OS maps. Parts of the ruins were in existence in 1952, but were demolished at about this time, and the churchyard lowered by circa 3 feet. The church and individual graves are still occasionally visible as cropmarks. They are clearly visible on vertical aerial photographs taken in 1976 and 1988. The gravestones have been recorded by the Moray Burial Ground Research Group. A section of the remaining, buried, base of the kirk wall was excavated and recorded. Documents in the Gordonstoun School archives indicated that some of the masonry from the old kirk had been removed to the school in 1952, and that some stone has been reused in the structure of the new school chapel in 1963. Following information from ground staff that items of carved masonry had been found on a rubbish dump at the School and the MBGRG subsequently carried out a small dig to ascertain the quantity and type of masonry. About 40 pieces, including window sills, mullions and window traceries were recovered, initially all thought to have been part of the kirk though some pieces may be of greater antiquity. One item, a stone with incised cross pattee has been dated to between the 13th and 15th centuries.

Period Notes
Built 1666.

MACGIBBON, T, 1896, ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND 1, 533-4, PLAN (Bibliographic reference). SAB1141.

MACDONALD, WR, 1900, PSAS 34(1899-90) 344-429, 408 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1181.

CANT, R, 1948, OLD MORAY, 19 (Bibliographic reference). SAB216.

FARRELL, S, 1999, DES : MORAY GRAVEYARD SURVEY, 63 (Bibliographic reference). SAB547.

SURVEY

MORAY BURIAL GROUND RESEARCH GROUP, 2003, NEWSLETTER, Issue 2 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5098.

MORAY BURIAL GROUND RESEARCH GROUP, 2003, NEWSLETTER, Issue 3 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5098.

MORAY BURIAL GROUND RESEARCH GROUP, 2004, THE FORGOTTEN TOMBSTONES OF MORAY: VOLUME 2 OLD DRAINIE CHURCH (Bibliographic reference). SAB7662.

Jul 9 1976 , NJ16N 2636210, NJ16N 2636210 (Air-vertical Photograph). SAB31577.

May 6 1988 , NJ26 607 88 005, NJ26 607 88 005 (Air-vertical Photograph). SAB31785.

Author unknown, n.d., INSIDE MORAY, 06/12/16 (Bibliographic reference). SAB873.

Record last edited

Sep 4 2025 3:28PM