Building record MAB6377 - BIRNIE PARISH CHURCH, BIRNIE

Birnie Parish Church, erstwhile seat of the Bishopric of Moray before the foundation of Elgin Cathedral (NJ26SW0001) in 1224, and formerly dedicated to St.

Birnie Parish Church, erstwhile seat of the Bishopric of Moray before the foundation of Elgin Cathedral (NJ26SW0001) in 1224, and formerly dedicated to St. Brendan. Birnie is one of the oldest places of worship in Moray, having been built in the 12th century. It has since been variously repaired and altered, with the west gable rebuilt and the nave shortened in 1734, major restoration in 1891 by A. Marshall Mackenzie and alterations to the south windows by John Wright, architect, Elgin, in circa 1975. It is rectangular in plan, having a simple rectangular nave with a rectangular chancel at the east gable. It is constructed tooled squared rubble, with ashlar dressings. There is an off-centre round-headed entrance in the western side of the south elevation, which is lit by three later round-headed windows, and a blocked pointed-headed entrance in the north elevation, which has no windows aside from a small lancet in the chancel. There is a narrow entrance in the south elevation of the short chancel, with chamfered margins. It is under a re-set cusped medieval window. The chancel is lit only by single round-headed lancets to the north and south, but has no window to the east. There is a birdcage bellcote at the west apex, which is dated 1734, and slate roofs. There is a simple interior, with tooled ashlar walls and an 1891 timber ceiling. The chancel is separated from the nave by a plain Romanesque arch, supported by engaged columns with well-preserved cushion capitals. There are various mural memorials, including the Sanders memorial dated 1670, which may have been re-sited in the north wall during the 1891 restoration, and a pedimented country Jacobean plaque flanked by small engaged columns supporting winged souls as caryatids. There is also a war memorial erected in memory of Lt. George Duff Gordon (NJ25NW0057). There is a simple hewn stone basin font, which possibly represents a pre-12th century Norman date, which is supported by a thick circular stem with spiral fluting on square base. The Auchindoir sandstone stem and base are dated from 1884-5, and were gifted to the church by the Ecclesiological Society of Aberdeen. Also within the church is an ancient square bell, known as the Ronnel Bell. It was made form a single sheet of iron and coated on its outer face with a layer of copper alloy. There are no remains of earlier structures, but the oval churchyard probably preserves the outline of early Christian enclosure. There is a roughly square graveyard, still in use, enclosed by a coped rubble wall. Within the graveyard is an early Pictish stone (NJ25NW0002), and war memorial (NJ25NW0056). There is also the Commonwealth war grave of Lance Corporal A Murdoch, Royal Army Service Corps, who died in January 1919. There is a pair of square tooled ashlar gatepiers with pair cast iron spearhead carriage gates. During 2000 and 2001, a team from the Moray Burial Ground Research Group transcribed the inscriptions of all visible tombstones in the graveyard as part of a project to record all Monumental Inscriptions at Burial Grounds throughout Moray: subsequent survey recorded buried tombstones. The work also located a number of flat tombstones which lay just below the surface, dating from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The visible graves includes some early table stones and flat stones, and upright stones from the 18th century. The earliest recorded stone is from 1864. A building survey of the church in 2011 clarified its complex building history and recorded more of the medieval fabric than anticipated, including what may be a blocked piscina. See also (NJ25NW0022) and (NJ25NW0029) for excavations to the south of the present churchyard. Archaeological monitoring was carried out by AOC in November 2023 during stabilisation of headstones.

Period Notes
Probably built in the 12th century, on a probable earlier site. There is a Norman font. Mural monuments dated 1670. The West gable was rebuilt, and the nave shortened in 1734, which is also when the belfry dated from. There are gravestones from the 17th and subsequent centuries, and the graveyard is still in use. There was restoration work on the church in 1891. There were alterations to the South windows in circa 1975. It was listed on 26/01/1971, and the description changed on 26/08/2015. It was scheduled on 31/01/1969.

1948/MO 604, 1948/MO 604 (Ground Photograph). SAB30428.

Author unknown, , SCOTTISH NOTES AND QUERIES, VOL VI(1928) 141 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1839.

ANDERSON, J, 1879, SCOTLAND IN EARLY CHRISTIAN TIMES, pp177-178 (Bibliographic reference). SAB3623.

MACGIBBON, T, 1896, ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND 1, No1,218-20 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1141.

HOWAT, AJ, 1901, CHURCHES IN MORAY, 5 (Bibliographic reference). SAB729.

ALLEN, JR, 1903, EARLY CHRISTIAN MONUMENTS OF SCOTLAND 3, 118-9.136-7,ILL. (Bibliographic reference). SAB3.

DOE, 1966, A M's SCOT, 31 (Bibliographic reference). SAB353.

MACDONALD, ADS, 1970, PSAS 102(1969-70) 129-145, 140-1 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1164.

BISHOP, B B, 2001, RESEARCH INTO BURIED TOMBSTONES AT BIRNIE CHURCHYARD, MORAYSHIRE (Bibliographic reference). SAB3762.

JOHNS, R.A., 2002, CLODDACH QUARRY EXTENSION, REPORT (Bibliographic reference). SAB907.

EVALUATION

MORAY BURIAL GROUND RESEARCH GROUP, 2008, THE FORGOTTEN TOMBSTONES OF MORAY: VOLUME 6 BIRNIE CHURCHYARD (Bibliographic reference). SAB7666.

HUNTER, F, 2010, EXCAVATIONS AT BIRNIE, MORAY, 2009, pp50-1 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4340.

AOC ARCHAEOLOGY, 2023, MEMORIAL HEADSTONE STABILISATION PROGRAMME MORAY COUNCIL: ARCHAEOLOGICAL SUPPORT SERVICES WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION, WSI (Bibliographic reference). SAB8796.

AOC ARCHAEOLOGY, 2024, MEMORIAL HEADSTONE STABILISATION PROGRAMME: SUMMARY REPORT (Bibliographic reference). SAB8746.

Aug 11 1999 , AAS/99/09/CT13-5, AAS/99/09/CT13-5 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB31486.

Aug 11 1999 , AAS/99/09/G9/17-20, AAS/99/09/G9/17-20 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB31485.

Aug 11 2008 , AAS/GR/08/08/013 - 015, AAS/GR/08/08/013 - 015 (Ground Photograph). SAB32793.

Aug 19 1981 , AAS/81/10/CT 1-2, AAS/81/10/CT 1-2 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB31930.

Aug 19 1981 , AAS/81/10/S9/3-10, AAS/81/10/S9/3-10 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB31688.

Aug 30 2006 , AAS/06/3/DG484, AAS/06/3/DG484 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB31937.

Jan 1 1990 , AAS/GR/90/CT218-223, AAS/GR/90/CT218-223 (Ground Photograph). SAB32792.

Jul 9 1985 , ET 10, ET 10 (Ground Photograph). SAB30427.

Jun 17 2018 , AAS-GR-18-06-041, 042, AAS-GR-18-06-041, 042 (Ground Photograph). SAB35477.

Jun 18 1986 , GF 11-26, GF 11-26 (Ground Photograph). SAB30421.

Jun 18 1986 , GG 1-9, GG 1-9 (Ground Photograph). SAB30422.

Mar 14 2015 , AAS-GR-15-03-001 - 011, AAS-GR-15-03-001 - 011 (Ground Photograph). SAB30903.

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

Author unknown, n.d., THE NORTHERN SCOT, 16/01/15 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1270.

Nov 1 1984 , CNH 1-3, CNH 1-3 (Ground Photograph). SAB30426.

Nov 1 1984 , DW 8-9, DW 8-9 (Ground Photograph). SAB30423.

Oct 17 1984 , DU 31-37, DU 31-37 (Ground Photograph). SAB30424.

Oct 17 1984 , DV 35, DV 35 (Ground Photograph). SAB30425.

Oct 30 1989 , MJ 17-27, MJ 17-27 (Ground Photograph). SAB33391.

Sep 2 2008 , AAS/08/4/DG0331-43, AAS/08/4/DG0331-43 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB32173.

Sep 14 1989 , JI 35-37, JI 35-37 (Ground Photograph). SAB30652.

Sep 14 1989 , JJ 1, JJ 1 (Ground Photograph). SAB30651.

Sep 23 2017 , AAS-GR-17-09-014 - 030, AAS-GR-17-09-014 - 030 (Ground Photograph). SAB35600.

Record last edited

Mar 30 2026 3:40PM