Building record MAB6626 - ST MARGARET'S CHURCH, URQUHART

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Summary

Churchyard, graveyard and remains of church of Urquhart dedicated to St Margaret.

Protected Status/Designation

Listed Building (C) 14877

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Location

Grid reference	Centred NJ 2888 6265 (117m by 81m) Centred at - Polygon: Known Site Extent
Map sheet	NJ26SE
Authority	Moray
Civil Parish	Urquhart

Type and Period (8)

Full Description

Churchyard, graveyard and remains of church of Urquhart dedicated to St Margaret. The church of St Margaret, of which there is now no trace above ground, stood in the churchyard and is first mentioned in 1234. The earlier church was replaced in circa 1659 and subsequently demolished in 1844 after a new parish church was built to the north in 1842-3 (NJ26SE0100 - this replacement church was in turn replaced by another new parish church on the outer edge of the village, NJ26SE0039). A possible fragment of the 17th century church survives towards the centre of the site, in the form of a small section of wall on the south face of which is a memorial tablet to Reverend Alexander Gadderar (1714). The burial ground has been extended eastwards and is still in use. It has rubble and coped stone walls. There is a pair of square gatepiers with pyramidal caps in the northwest corner. Parts of burial enclosures remain, along with mostly 18th and 19th, and some 20th century gravestones. In the kerbed enclosure near the main gate is a plaque with moulded ogee arch on top over an angel with abstractly striated wings (commemorating Elizabeth Tod, d. 1781, George Gilzean, d.1784, and family). The graveyard also contains the Commonwealth War Graves of Corporal James Alexander Brander (Seaforth Highlanders) who died in December 1915 and Sergeant William Goodbrand (RAF Volunteer Reserve) who died in September 1944. Recording of tombstones within the graveyard has been carried out by the Moray Burial Ground Research Group.

Period Notes
First recorded in 1234. Replaced in 1659 and demolished in 1844. Gravestones dated from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Designated on 20/08/1981.

FINDLAY, D, 1979, ST MARGARETS, A SHORT HIST. (Bibliographic reference). SAB530.

MORAY BURIAL GROUND RESEARCH GROUP, 2003, NEWSLETTER, Issue 6 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5098.

MORAY BURIAL GROUND RESEARCH GROUP, 2006, THE FORGOTTEN TOMBSTONES OF MORAY: VOLUME 4 LHANBRYDE OLD CHURCHYARD, URQUHART CHURCHYARD AND SPYNIE OLD CHURCHYARD (Bibliographic reference). SAB7665.

WALKER, DW, 2015, THE BUILDINGS OF SCOTLAND: ABERDEENSHIRE: NORTH AND MORAY, p.755 (Bibliographic reference). SAB3422.

Feb 24 2015 , AAS-GR-15-02-026 - 031, AAS-GR-15-02-026 - 031 (Ground Photograph). SAB32227.

Mar 7 2015 , AAS-GR-15-03-022 - 050, AAS-GR-15-03-022 - 050 (Ground Photograph). SAB32228.

Other Statuses/References

Authority: MOR;
HES Listed Building Number: 14877;
NMR Card Number: NJ26SE9;
NRHE Numlink: 16583;
Old Historic Environment Record Ref: NJ26SE0046;

External Links (2)

https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB14877 (Historic Environment Scotland Portal Link)
https://www.trove.scot/place/16583 (trove.scot link)

Sources/Archives (6)

--- SAB32227 Ground Photograph: Feb 24 2015 . AAS-GR-15-02-026 - 031. Digital. AAS-GR-15-02-026 - 031.
--- SAB32228 Ground Photograph: Mar 7 2015 . AAS-GR-15-03-022 - 050. Digital. AAS-GR-15-03-022 - 050.
--- SAB3422 Bibliographic reference: WALKER, DW. 2015. THE BUILDINGS OF SCOTLAND: ABERDEENSHIRE: NORTH AND MORAY. Y. p.755.
--- SAB5098 Bibliographic reference: MORAY BURIAL GROUND RESEARCH GROUP. 2003. NEWSLETTER. Issue 6.
--- SAB530 Bibliographic reference: FINDLAY, D. 1979. ST MARGARETS, A SHORT HIST..
--- SAB7665 Bibliographic reference: MORAY BURIAL GROUND RESEARCH GROUP. 2006. THE FORGOTTEN TOMBSTONES OF MORAY: VOLUME 4 LHANBRYDE OLD CHURCHYARD, URQUHART CHURCHYARD AND SPYNIE OLD CHURCHYARD.