Brechin Cathedral dates from the 13th century. As a congregation of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

, which is

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, the church is not technically a cathedral, in spite of its name. It is in the Pointed style, but suffered maltreatment in 1806 at the hands of restorers, whose work was subsequently removed during the restoration completed in 1902. The western

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

with its flamboyant window,

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

door and massive square tower, parts of the (much truncated) choir, and the nave pillars and clerestory are all that is left of the original edifice. The modern stained glass in the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

is reckoned amongst the finest in Scotland. The cathedral is a category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and the attached Round Tower is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

Round Tower

Immediately adjoining the cathedral to the southwest stands the

Round Tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and fu ...

, built about A.D. 1000. It is 86 ft.(26.21 m) high, has at the base a circumference of 50 ft.(15.3 m) and a diameter of 16 ft.(4.9 m), and is capped with a hexagonal spire of 18 ft.(5.5 m), added in the 14th century. This type of structure is somewhat common in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, but the only Scottish examples are those at

Brechin Brechin (; gd, Breichin) is a city and former Royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin was described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese (which continues today ...

and

Abernethy Abernethy may refer to: Places Scotland * Abernethy, Perth and Kinross, a village ** Abernethy (NBR) railway station, a former railway station in this village * Nethy Bridge, Highland, a village formerly known as Abernethy * Abernethy Forest, ...

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

. The quality of the masonry is superior to all but a very few of the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

examples. The narrow single doorway, raised some feet above ground level in a manner common in these buildings, is also exceptionally fine. The door-surround is enriched with two bands of pellets, and the monolithic arch has a well-preserved representation of the

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

. The slightly splayed sides of the doorway (also monolithic) have relief sculptures of ecclesiastics, one of them holding a

crosier A crosier or crozier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholi ...

, the other a ''

Tau Tau (uppercase Τ, lowercase τ, or \boldsymbol\tau; el, ταυ ) is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless dental or alveolar plosive . In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 300. The name in English ...

''-shaped staff. Two monuments preserved within the cathedral, the so-called 'Brechin hogback', and a cross-slab, 'St. Mary's Stone' are further rare and important examples of Scottish 11th century stone sculpture. The hogback combines Celtic and Scandinavian motifs, and is the most complex known stone sculpture in the Ringerike style in Scotland. The inscribed St Mary's Stone has a circular border round the central motif of the

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

and Child which echoes that on the Round Tower.

Present

Between 1999 and 2009,

Scott Rennie Scott Martin Rennie (born 31 March 1972) is a Scottish clergyman who is the Minister of Crown Court Church of Scotland, London. He was formerly Minister of Queen's Cross Church, Aberdeen (2009-2022) and Brechin Cathedral in the Church of Scotl ...

was minister of Brechin Cathedral. In February 2020, the

Presbytery of Angus The Church of Scotland has a Presbyterian structure, which means it is organised under a hierarchy of courts. Traditionally there were four levels of courts: the Kirk Session (at congregational level), the Presbytery (at local area level), the S ...

agreed to a dissolution motion, under which ownership of Brechin Cathedral transferred to the General Trustees of the

, who would shut down and sell the building. Nonetheless, the Brechin 2020 committee planned to mark the 800th anniversary of the cathedral on 7 June 2020. In the event this proved impossible due to Covid restrictions. The Cathedral closed its doors for the final time at a special service on 28 November 2021.

References

* ''Brechin Cathedral and Round Tower'', Lumina Technologies, July, 2005

External links

Brechin Cathedral

Brechin Cathedral Round Tower

Brechin Cathedral WebSite
{{Coord, 56.730744, N, 2.661497, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Medieval cathedrals in Scotland Cathedrals of the Church of Scotland Church of Scotland churches in Scotland Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Angus Category A listed buildings in Angus, Scotland Listed cathedrals in Scotland Protestant churches converted from Roman Catholicism History of Angus, Scotland Tourist attractions in Angus, Scotland Culdees

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

Towers in Scotland

Round Tower

Present

See also

References

External links