Thura Mains
Cemetery (Period Unassigned), Church (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Thura Mains
Classification Cemetery (Period Unassigned), Church (Period Unassigned)
Canmore ID 8857
Site Number ND26SW 8
NGR ND 2433 6173
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/8857
- Council Highland
- Parish Bower
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Caithness
- Former County Caithness
ND26SW 8 2433 6173.
(ND 2433 6173) Church (NR) (rems of)
OS 6" map, (1970)
The remains of the old Established Church, built after the Reformation, situated in the graveyard a short distance S of Thura. (Replaced by the present church, built about 1840 at ND 2301 6058)
Name Book 1872
This unroofed, ivy-covered church, measuring internally 20.2m E-W by 5.6m transversely, survives to a height of 3.3m. The walls are lime-mortared and 1.0m thick. The entrance is in the S wall, but further entrances, now blocked, are visible in the N, E and S walls. All four windows are also blocked. The interior contains several graves, one of which is dated 1750, suggesting that the church was disused for some time prior to this date. As the parish records have been destroyed, the date and dedication of this church are unknown; the ratio of length to breadth of the building indicates either a pre-Reformation or pre-Reformation type church (information from Rev D Briggs, Bower Manse).
Visited by OS (N K B) 1 November 1965
No change to the previous field report.
Visited by OS (J B) 10 May 1982
Church. Dimensions: 25 x 7m. Ruinous church overgrown with ivy. Windows and doors are mainly blocked. A pre-Reformatin date is implied by a door with moulded frame and pointed arch and the presence of a water stoup. Orientation E-W.
R J Mercer, NMRS MS/828/19, 1995
