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Field Visit
Date 19 November 1996
Event ID 1037327
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1037327
In 1362 Kildrummy was granted as a common church to the dean and chapter of the cathedral of Aberdeen by Thomas, earl of Mar (Cowan 1967, 100). What remains of the former parish church stand on a steep-sided knoll on the crest of a ridge flanked by low-lying boggy ground. It served the parish until its partial demolition in 1805 (when the present building was erected at the foot of the knoll) and it is now reduced to a stretch of its N and E walls. These have been consolidated, probably in the nineteenth century, and a course of coping stones added. The N wall, presently 16.95m long from ENE to WSW, evidently continued beyond its present WSW end, as footings are visible continuing underneath the adjacent burial-enclosure. The E gable, which has been reduced to a uniform height with the N wall, survives for a length of 4.1m.
A number of features survive. In the outer face of the N wall a small blocked window with chamfered opening is visible. Internally this survives as a recess in the wall. The W side retains its splay, but the E side has been replaced, probably in the nineteenth or early twentieth century. The lintel is likewise a later repair. Just below the internal sill of the window is a rectangular socket of unknown purpose. To the E of the window a shallow recess on the inner face of the wall probably indicates the former position of a mural plaque.
Towards the ENE end of the N wall is its main feature. This is a pointed arched tomb recess, enriched with a moulded opening. On the E side of this is a decorated finial, possibly the remains of a pilastered frame. The tomb is afforded some protection by a now decrepit timber and asbestos shelter. The original effigy or other monument for which the recess was intended is lost, and it now houses two monuments brought from elsewhere in the church or burial ground.
The principal of these is a large, late medieval graveslab. As the slab is too long to fit into the recess, it has been slightly truncated, and the lower jamb stones of the recess have been removed. The slab bears on its upper face the effigies, in low relief, of (dexter) a knight, and (sinister) his lady, their heads resting upon rectangular, tasseled, cushions. The knight is clad in plate armour, his head encased by a large, visorless, plumed bascinet. His shoulders and neck are covered by a mail coif, although there is a possibility plate armour is intended. His body, arms and legs are all clad in plate. His hips are enclosed in a skirt of horizontal plates, or tasses. On his right side, slung from his waist, he wears a dagger with round pommel. The lady wears a long, close-fitting gown with plaited skirt, and a full coif. The hands of both figures are raised in prayer.
Along the exposed edge of the slab runs an inscription in Gothic lettering, cut in low relief: ‘hic iacet alxdar de forbes quondam dns de burchis et Mariota….’ (here lies Alexander de Forbes, late lord of Brux and Mariota …..). The remainder of the inscription has been lost with the truncation of the slab. Whyte (1936, 165) supplies the continuation as: sporsa eius 155- (his wife 155-), but it is not apparent from where this derives. Simpson (1949, 47-8; see also 1943, 144) discusses the problems encountered in dating this slab, and suggests that it is a fifteenth century slab reused in the sixteenth century. However, bearing in mind the conservatively styled effigies encountered elsewhere in the north-east, it is probable that the slab, both effigy and inscription, are of sixteenth century date. The second monument in the recess is a well-preserved eighteenth century graveslab. The remains of the E gable are featureless and it has clearly been partially reconstructed.
To the S of the remains of the wall stands the Elphinstone Aisle, an early sixteenth century burial aisle measuring 5.75m from N to S by 5.2m. It is of rubble and mortar construction, with steeply pitched crow-stepped gables and a slated roof. The SW and SE skewputts bear, respectively, the initials IL and IL LE. Entry to the aisle is currently by a door in the S gable, the lintel of which bears a weathered inscription. This is again supplied by Wright as ‘Yis yle vas built be A. E. in 1605 yeiris. Lord bliss us.’ (1936, 166). The interior of the aisle is illuminated by a glazed light over the doorway. Above this a plaque records the restoration of the aisle in 1868. The W wall preserves a blocked doorway with chamfered jambs. Although the lintel bears a similar chamfered, it is evidently in reuse, as it is intended for a narrower opening. Built into the doorway is an eighteenth century graveslab bearing the winged soul or angel, and symbols of mortality. Although now a free-standing building, the Elphinstone aisle formerly abutted the S side of the church. A single tusker stone still protrudes from the W wall, immediately N of the blocked doorway. A length of footings running E and W in line with this emerges from beneath a recumbent slab set against the aisle’s W wall.
Visited by RCAHMS (IF, AW) 19 November 1996.
