Strathdon, Strathdon Parish Church
Church (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Strathdon, Strathdon Parish Church
Classification Church (Period Unassigned)
Alternative Name(s) Invernochtie; Kirk Of Invernochty
Canmore ID 112399
Site Number NJ31SE 37
NGR NJ 35526 12758
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/112399
- Council Aberdeenshire
- Parish Strathdon
- Former Region Grampian
- Former District Gordon
- Former County Aberdeenshire
Kirk of Invernochty, 1853, James Matthews. Retaining ancient name for parish, the kirk and manse form a pleasing group, the former rubble-built but with precise Gothic windows to nave and transept and a tower at the southeast with a short broach spire. Within are wooden heraldic panels of Elphinstone of Bellabeg, and the Forbes and Skellater families, dated 1597, 1636 and 1688, and many marble monuments. The kirkyard contains a Tardis-like red granite ashlar Egyptian mausoleum of two storeys built for Mary Forbes, wife of Daniel Mitchell, 1829: the spare elegance suggests Archibald Simpson's hand, designer of nearby Castle Newe for Forbeses, 1831. Other stones of interest include a winged
soul (Donald McSween, on wall of kirk) and a primitive grim reaper in relief.
Taken from "Aberdeenshire: Donside and Strathbogie - An Illustrated Architectural Guide", by Ian Shepherd, 2006. Published by the Rutland Press http://www.rias.org.uk
NJ31SE 37.00 35526 12758
NJ31SE 37.01 35510 12738 Churchyard
NJ31SE 37.02 35544 12746 Mitchell-Forbes Mausoleum
NJ31SE 37.03 35534 12803 Manse (Manse of Invernochty)
Strathdon, of old Innernochtie.
H Scott 1915-61.
Invernochtie (Aberdeen, Mar). Granted to Monymusk by Gilchrist, earl of Mar, c. 1200 and confirmed by John, Bishop of Aberdeen (1199 x 1207), the gift proved non-effective and the church continued as an independent parsonage until granted as a prebend of Aberdeen Cathedral by Thomas, earl of Mar. This occurred during the episcopate of Bishop Alexander de Kyninmund, who duly erected the parsonage as a prebend in 1356. As such, it was conjoined with Auchindoir between 1361 and 1513, but even after the disjunction of the latter, this church, both in parsonage and vicarage, continued as a prebend, while the cure was evidently a vicarage pensionary.
I B Cowan 1967.
Field Visit (10 July 1996)
The parish church of Strathdon stands on a terrace on the S side of the River Don. The present building is a large gothic structure of mid-nineteenth century date, with a prominent steeple and spire. No remains of the predecessor of this building are visible. The graveyard is rectangular in plan, level in its N half around the church, but sloping upwards in its S half, and enclosed by a rubble and mortar wall. A large mausoleum of Egyptian style stands against the E wall of the graveyard, the burial place of a Major David Mitchell (d.1841) and his first wife (d.1829). In addition to many headstones of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries there are numerous eighteenth century ledger-stones, but grass and moss render the majority illegible. There are two stones of the ‘Rathmuriel’ type, one of 1767, propped against the kirkyard wall immediately S of the mausoleum, the other beside a burial aisle in the NW corner of the kirkyard. A number of stones have been incorporated in the exterior of the S wall of the church, including the oldest legible, the finely carved sandstone monument of Mr Donald McSween, minister of Strathdon (d.1730).
Visited by RCAHMS (IF), 10 July 1996.
Desk Based Assessment (29 June 2001)
The NMRS holds photographs of a group of 17th century wooden heraldic panels in the church, said to have been brought from Newe House (NMRS AB 1590, AB 1591).
Information from Dr Iain Fraser (RCAHMS) 29 June 2001.
