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Ayton, St Dionysius' Church
Church (Medieval)
Site Name Ayton, St Dionysius' Church
Classification Church (Medieval)
Alternative Name(s) Old Parish Church
Canmore ID 60273
Site Number NT96SW 8
NGR NT 92794 60953
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/60273
- Council Scottish Borders, The
- Parish Ayton
- Former Region Borders
- Former District Berwickshire
- Former County Berwickshire
NT96SW 8.00 92794 60953 St Dionysius Church
NT96SW 8.01 92819 60933 Churchyard
(NT 9279 6095) St Dionysius's Church (NR) (remains of)
OS 6" map, (1970).
The roofless remains of the original Ayton Parish Church, which was dedicated to St Dionysius, stand within a burial ground E of the modern church. It was erected in the early 12th century, though there is evidence of extensive alteration and rebuilding. It now stands in two sections, the main body of the church to the N, and a now detached transept S of the E end of the nave. The walls are 2ft thick and of uneven height, 18ft maximum. The best preserved portion, the S transept, measures 20ft by 29ft and has a segmental-headed doorway in its E wall, and a round-headed window, divided by mullions into three lights, in the S wall. It is now closed and used for burials.
RCAHMS 1915, visited 1908; D MacGibbon and T Ross 1897; J Ferguson 1892; RCAHMS 1980, visited 1979; I B Cowan 1967.
The remains of this church are in poor condition. It is divided by a modern footpath into two sections. The S transept appears to be of different construction to the remainder of the church, which in general is an early structure with some 'modern' work (e.g. window jambs, quoins, etc) incorporated in its walls.
Visited by OS (JLD) 2 November 1954.
Previous field report confirmed.
Visited by OS (WDJ) 25 January 1966.
Roofless remains of former Ayton Church, set in graveyard, to NE of later Ayton Parish Church. W and E gables and much of S wall missing. Majority of N wall, N aisle and bell tower, and SE burial aisle in place. Originally rectangular-plan, later made T-plan with addition of N aisle. Harl-pointed sandstone rubble (squared and weathered in part); ashlar upper to bell tower; ashlar dressings throughout. Quoins; long and short surrounds to openings (blocked in part). Various burial aisles and enclosures incorporated within remains, including Fordyce family aisle to SE with large, round-arched, traceried window centred in S gable (2 sandstone mullions; single transom; round-arched heads); gravestones within; iron-railed enclosure to side. Overgrown burial aisle to NE (Alexander Skene). Various plaques and gravestones set in walls. Full-width, single storey, lean-to projection adjoining S elevation N aisle. No longer in ecclesiastical use. A picturesque, ivy-clad group of ruins, thought to date, in part, from the 12th century, shortly after Ayton was granted to Durham Monastery. Dedicated to St Dionysius, this was originally a chapel attached to Coldingham, as Ayton was not a parish in its own right until after The Reformation. According to Binnie, as the "...first church of any size in Scotland", the building was used for a series of significant meetings between the Scots and the English, such as that which, in 1380, saw the renewal of the truce between the 2 countries. Much of what remains today is thought to date from the late 18th century when, according to THE STATISTICAL ACCOUNT, several improvements were carried out. These improvements are thought to include the building of the N aisle, the bell tower and the SE burial aisle. Originally thought to be the S transept, most now agree that this was built specifically as a burial aisle, added to the E end of the S wall. (Historic Scotland)
Field Visit (3 August 1908)
9. Ayton Church.
This ivy-covered ruin stands in a burial ground to the east of the present church. The only portion in fair preservation is a wing or aisle to the south of the east end of the nave, 20 feet across, and 29 feet in length along its east wall. It has a segmental-headed doorway in the east wall 5 feet in width, and at the south end a round-headed window 5 feet across, divided by mullions into three lights, crossed by a transom at the centre, with round-arched heads. It is now closed, and used as a burial-ground.
The church was dedicated to St Dionysius. It was often used as a place of conference by Scotch and English Commissioners in dealing with a truce.
RCAHMS 1915, visited 3 August 1908.
See Eccles. Arch., iii. p. 543 (illus.); Ber. Nat. Club, 1890-91, p. 93; Carr’s Coldingham, p. 131 (illus.).
OS Map: Ber., xii. NW
Photographic Survey (June 1961 - July 1961)
Photographic survey of buildings in Ayton Village, Berwickshire, by the Scottish National Buildings Record in June and July 1961.
