Benholm Parish Church And Churchyard
Burial Ground (Medieval) - (Post Medieval), Church (Medieval) - (Post Medieval)
Site Name Benholm Parish Church And Churchyard
Classification Burial Ground (Medieval) - (Post Medieval), Church (Medieval) - (Post Medieval)
Alternative Name(s) Benholm Parish Kirk; St Marnoch's Church
Canmore ID 36750
Site Number NO86NW 1
NGR NO 80447 69254
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/36750
- Council Aberdeenshire
- Parish Benholm
- Former Region Grampian
- Former District Kincardine And Deeside
- Former County Kincardineshire
NO86NW 1 80438 69251
NO86NW 7.00 80489 69215 Manse
Benholm parish church, dedicated to St Marnoch is an old irregular Gothic building. The former choir at the E end has long been 'used as a burial place. The remains of a font are...at one of the church doors, and other relics of superstition, which evidently show that the whole has been built before the Reformation'.
Statistical Account (OSA) 1795; H Scott 1925
The church described in the OSA was taken down in 1832. Two monuments from the burial aisle of the old church are built into the wall of the new church (at NO 8044 6925).
New Statistical Account (NSA) 1845
The recorded information and the presence of 18th century tombstones in the churchyard indicate that the present church is on or near the site of the pre-Reformation church.
Visited by OS (NKB) 22 December 1967
Simple 4-bay, rectangular-plan, classic church with pedimented gables and belfry; little altered fine interior with important wall memorial to infant daughter of George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal. Harled with ashlar margins and quoin strips. Continuous eaves and band course, latter forming pediment. Round- and segmental-arched openings. Multi-pane glazing pattern in timber sash and case windows throughout, those to S decoratively-astragalled. Grey slates. Ashlar-coped skews.
The church is upgraded to category 'A' (6 September 2005) in recognition of its rare early sacrament house and the fine 17th century mural monuments, particularly the significant Keith Monument which declares the Earl Marischal's connection with royalty (possibly the first recording of this) and his position asroyal representative in Scotland when James VI and I took up residence in England. The first church at Benholm, a 13th century gothic style building, was dedicated to the Celtic Saint Marnoch, with the parish subsequently coming into being in 1242. The old church was finally demolished in March 1832, when gunpowder was needed to remove some of thewalls.
The new church, built on sprung arches to avoid disturbing graves lying beneath the floor of the old church, was dedicated on 16th September, 1832 by Rev James Glen MA. The building w was intended to seat 768 persons, allowing just 16 inches of pew per person. The final service at Benholm Parish Kirk, by then part of the Mearns Coastal Parish, was held on 6th June 2004 and conducted by the Reverend George Hastie. Bruce dates the salvaged sacrament house to the 15th century as it was 'a gift from the Laird of Benholm, David Lundie' (p3). The carving is, however, stylistically similar to 16th century examples illustrated in Macgibbon & Ross at Auchindoir Church in Aberdeenshire (where the flanking buttresses and surmounting carved detail is very similar), Pluscarden Priory, and Airlie Church in Forfarshire. The two 17th century monuments, formerly housed in the choir of the old church, were removed to the new building at the expense of descendants of the Scotts of Benholm. The Keith monument was divided at this time, with a further stone placed in the railed enclosure immediately east of the church. The Latin inscription on this fragment reads 'Here lies Mary Keith, dearestdaughter of the most Noble Count and most illustrious Lord George Court Marischal, who died happy in the Lord, on the 14th October 1624 in the 5th year of her age'. George Keith was founder of Marischal College in Aberdeen, and his coat of arms on the monument is an early example bearing the portcullis (a badge of King James after 1603) which probably signifies his appointment as Lord High Commissioner to the Scottish Parliament in 1609. (Historic Scotland)
Field Visit (February 1982)
Benholm, Old Parish Church and Burial-ground NO 804 692 NO86NW
The early parish church of Benholm, 'an old irregular Gothic building', was replaced by the present church in 1832. This incorporates an ornately carved late-medieval aumbry, which is probably a relic of the early parish church. The parish of Benholm is first mentioned in 1349.
RCAHMS 1982, visited February 1982
(Stat. Acct., xv, 1795, 223-4; NSA, xi, Kincardine, 56-7; Cowan 1967, 16)
Watching Brief (23 April 2014)
NO 80430 69260 A watching brief was undertaken on 23 April 2014 during the excavation of a foundation pit for an interpretation panel in Benholm Kirkyard (NO86NW 1). No archaeological features or artefacts were recorded.
Archive: Aberdeenshire SMR and RCAHMS (intended)
Funder: Aberdeenshire Council
John Gooder – ACCESS Archaeological Condition Services
(Source: DES)
