St Mary's Church, Auchindoir
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St Mary's Kirk at Auchindoir, between Rhynie and Lumsden, in
Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...
, Scotland, is one of the country's finest surviving medieval parish kirks. The main doorway is early Romanesque, and there is a well-preserved early 16th-century sacrament house, similar to those at
Deskford Deskford (Scottish Gaelic: ''Deasgard'') is a parish and a small settlement in Moray, Scotland, formerly in Banffshire. A number of significant historical and archaeological remains have been found in the area, notably the remains of a carnyx ...
and Kinkell. The early 13th-century kirk has been roofless since the early 19th century, but the walls and gables are nevertheless in good condition. In the care of
Historic Scotland Historic Scotland () was an executive agency of the Scottish Government, executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage and promoting its und ...
, it is registered as a
Scheduled Ancient 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, visu ...
.


Unusual survivor

St Mary's is rare for a Scottish church in that it has survived into the modern era without any major alterations. Although surviving medieval churches are reasonably common throughout the country, almost all were significantly altered during and after the
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
, often so heavily transformed that it is difficult to see their medieval origins. Of the few other churches which have survived the Reformation largely intact, e.g.
Rosslyn Chapel Rosslyn Chapel, also known as the Collegiate Chapel of Saint Matthew, is a 15th-century Scottish Episcopal Church, Episcopal chapel located in the village of Roslin, Midlothian, Roslin in Midlothian, Scotland. The chapel was founded by William Si ...
in
Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...
, nearly all are of a later date than Auchindoir. Another factor making Auchindoir unusual is that most surviving Romanesque structures in Scotland are either large monastic houses or
cathedrals A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
, or else chapels and churches associated with larger monastic or ecclesiastical complexes. As a modest parish church St Mary's is an unusual survivor.


History

St Mary's Kirk was built in the early 13th century and served as the place of worship for the nearby
motte and bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...
castle, next to a gorge to the south-east of the church. First mentioned in 1236, the church was dedicated to the
Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
. West of the church was a source called St Mary's Well, which was supposed to relieve toothache. In 1514 the church was elevated to a
prebend A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...
of King's College in Aberdeen, thereby receiving the income of a
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...
. It was subsequently used as a parish church, surviving the Reformation largely intact. However, in the 17th century it was redecorated, with most of the
lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...
s replaced with larger windows. In 1810, the church ceased to be used as a place of worship and the old timber work was sold publicly. The following year, a new village church—the North Parish Church, also called Newton of Auchindoir—came into use, and St Mary's was abandoned.
Andrew Jervise Andrew Jervise (1820–1878) was a Scottish compositor, drawing teacher and antiquarian. Life Born 28 July 1820 at Brechin, Forfarshire, he was the son of Jean Chalmers, a nurseryman's daughter, and with her he lived all his life. Leaving school ...

"Notes respecting the Castle of Craig and the Old Kirk of Auchindoir, etc., in Aberdeenshire"
''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland'', vol.8, 1871. Pages: 328–9.


Architectural features

The church has been described as one of Northern Scotland's finest specimens of 13th-century First-Pointed architecture. It is said to belong to the period when "the already softened features of the Norman were beginning to merge altogether into the still more flexile and varied forms of the First-Pointed style." One peculiarity is that the church stands north and south rather than east and west. It had already lost its roof at the beginning of the 19th century but the walls of rubble and freestone
quoins Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th-century encyclopedia, ...
remain intact. The nave leads directly into the chancel without any structural division. Alterations were made in the first half of the 16th century and during the 17th century when doors and windows were added. The belfry on the west gable dates from 1664. One of the most impressive feature of St Mary's is its Norman-arched doorway with well-preserved chevron decorations. Standing next to the outer wall in the north-east corner of the church, a grave slab dated 1580 and dedicated to "O.L.H.M." and "A.S.", together with the arms on the adjacent plaque, is associated with the Gordons of Craig from Craig Castle. Inside the church, at the east end of the north wall, there is a highly decorated sacrament house in the Second-Pointed style of the early 1500s, set in what used to be a
lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...
."St Mary's Kirk"
''Undiscovered Scotland''. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
It is surmounted by a representation of Christ on the cross. There is an inscription on the sacrament house that reads: "HIC•E•CORP D N I C V M" (''HIC Est CORPus Domini Nostri Iesu Christi Virginis Mariae'' meaning "Here is the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Virgin Mary").Smith, Alexander (ed.
''A New History of Aberdeenshire''
Lewis Smith: Aberdeen (1875). p.237. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
Two shields are set in the east wall near the sacrament house—one dated 1557 with the Gordon arms and motto "Hoip in God" while another, initialed V.G : C.C., bears the arms of Gordon and Cheyne with the motto "Grace me Gyid". They correspond to the time when William Gordon and Clare Cheyne were laird and lady of the castle.


References


Sources

*Jervise, A: "Notes respecting the Castle of Craig and the Old Kirk of Auchindoir, &c., in Aberdeenshire", ''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland'', vol.8, 1871. Pages: 327–330. *Simpson, William Douglas: "Craig Castle and the Kirk of Auchindoir, Aberdeenshire", ''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland'', vol.64, 1930. Page(s): 59 figs. 6, 9. {{DEFAULTSORT:Auchindoir, Saint Mary 13th-century church buildings in Scotland Romanesque architecture in Scotland Ruins in Aberdeenshire Historic Environment Scotland properties in Aberdeenshire Churches in Aberdeenshire Listed churches in Scotland St Mary, Auchindoir Church ruins in Scotland Listed ruins in Scotland