Description

The monument consists of the remains of an 18th-century church which are likely to overlie the remains of an earlier church.

The parish of Dundurcas appears to have evolved prior to 1244. Around 1274 it is on record as a vicarage. It was subsequently annexed to the Hospital of Rathven. In 1445 the joint revenues were used to found a prebend in Aberdeen Cathedral. At the Reformation, the parsonage remained annexed to the benefice of Rathven. Its revenues were then utilised to support a staller in Aberdeen and six bedesmen

of the hospital.

Dundurcas appears to have been quite wealthy as the Abbey of Kinloss also received certain revenues from the fruits of this church. The present building and graveyard are located on the summit of a naturally mounded site which may have been utilised as a defensive site in the past, as there is a slight ditch on the SW side of the mound. The church is rectangular-plan, rubble-built, with a bellcote on the W gable. It measures 15.6m ENE-WSW by 8.1m NNW-SSE over walls 0.7m thick. The church was suppressed in 1782, its lands being divided between Boharm and Rothes.

The area to be scheduled is rectangular, extending 3m from the exterior walls of the church, measuring a maximum of 21.6m ENE-WSW, by 14.1m NNW-SSE, to include the upstanding remains of the church and any buried structures, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as an example of a well documented parish church. As the majority of evidence suggests that the sites of parish churches were resued in the Middle Ages, the present edifice is likely to be the latest of a series of churches occupying this site, the earliest of which is thought to date from the 13th century. Of additional importance is the fact that the church and graveyard are likely to occupy an earlier site of evidence, through excavation, which is likely to increase our understanding of parish evolution, ecclesiastical architecture, settlement history and material culture during the Middle Ages and possibly earlier.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NJ 35 SW 4.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland