Description

Description

The monument is the remains of Logie Old Church, dating to the 17th century, its churchyard, of likely early medieval date, and two hogback monuments, probably dating to the 11th century. The church is visible as the standing remains of the west gable and part of the south wall. Footings of the remainder of the church extend to the east and two hogback stones lie around 20m southeast. The church and stones are enclosed within a churchyard which is curvilinear on plan. The monument is located at the foot of the Ochils at about 40m above sea level.

The standing remains of the church, consisting of the 7.5m wide west gable and about 9m of the west part of the south wall, survive to wall height. There are two doors, a square-headed door in the centre of the surviving part of the south wall and a door inserted into the west gable, as well as three round-headed windows, two in the south wall and the third in the west gable. A fourth window has been inserted to the west of the south door and has a re-set sill bearing the date 1598. Close to the gable and at an upper level there is a gallery doorway and checks for an outer stair, while on the southwest angle of the building there is a sundial with the date 1684. The west gable is topped by a square bellcote. A level platform extends around 8m to the east of the standing remains and likely represents the buried footings of the remainder of the church, giving the church a total length of around 17m. Two hogback monuments lie within the eastern part of the burial ground. The northern 'stone' has been moved and it has been suggested that it may comprise the partial remains of more than one hogback stone. The southern stone is complete. A fragment of a further hogback can be found encoportated into the eastern wall coping of Logie Old Church. All are carved from grey sandstone. The complete stone measures about 167cm wide and 39cm high and is aligned east-west with traces of ornamentation on the north side, representing tiles.

The scheduled area is irregular on plan, and includes the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling extends up to but does not include the boundary wall and watch house and specifically excludes all enclosure walls, metal gates, railings and active burial lairs and all memorials apart from the hogback stones.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

Cultural Significance

The cultural significance of the monument has been assessed as follows:

Intrinsic Characteristics

The church is oriented east-northeast by west-southwest and survives as the standing west gable and western part of the south wall. A level platform extending around 8m to the east of the visible ruins of the church likely represents the buried remains of the east end of the church. The standing remains largely date to the late 17th century, when the church is known to have been rebuilt, though records indicate there was a church at Logie from at least the 12th century. Therefore it is likely that the existing building occupies the site of an earlier church and may incorporate part of its fabric.

The hogback stones are of likely 11th century date. Although one is broken, the second is intact with faint traces of ornamentation in the form of carved tiles and traces of moulding along the gable edges. The broken stone may also have been similarly carved. Both stones have the potential to expand our understanding of commemoration, memorialization and belief in early Christian Scotland. They have the potential to help further the study of craftsmanship, design influences and artistic significance of early Christian stone carving.

The presence of the hogback stones indicate the site was used for burial from at least the 11th century, though the first documented evidence of ecclesiastical use is from the 12th century when a church at Logie was mentioned in a charter of Simeon, bishop of Dunblane. An early date is also supported by the curving form of the churchyard, suggestive of an early medieval ecclesiastical enclosure. The re-used date stone of 1598 is thought to be associated with the extension of an earlier church building and the present structure represents the rebuilding of the church around 1684. The church was eventually abandoned in 1805 when a new church was built around 270m southeast. The monument was therefore used and developed over a long period of time and offers high potential to study changes in belief and religious practice over that long time period. Scientific study of the form and construction of the church and churchyard has the potential to clarify the date of the remains and the development sequence at this site. It can provide information about the design, construction and development of a medieval and post-reformation ecclesiastical site.

There is good potential for the survival of archaeological deposits spanning several centuries within, beneath and around the remains of the church and within the churchyard. These include structural remains, human burials, artefacts and environmental remains such as charcoal or pollen. The buried archaeological deposits have the potential to add to our understanding of ecclesiastical structure, land-use and environment during the medieval and post-reformation periods. They can clarify the layout of the present church and its predecessors, their nature, date and development sequence. There are likely to be burials spanning a considerable time-depth within the church and churchyard, with potential to enhance our knowledge of status and burial practice at medieval and post-reformation ecclesiastical sites.

Contextual Characteristics

Logie was part of a network of parish churches covering Scotland and served as a central place of worship, prayer, baptism and burial for the local community. It is of particular significance because of its long history as an ecclesiastical site. Comparison of the local ecclesiastical architectural features in this area with those on other Scottish churches has the potential to enhance our understanding of regional variation in ecclesiastical architectural in the medieval and post-reformation periods.

Hogback stones are a distinctive form of 10th or 11th century burial monument, found largely in central Scotland (with a focus around the Clyde and Forth) and northern England. They are an Anglo-Scandinavian form of sculpture, considered to represent boat-shaped Scandinavian houses and are usually found within ecclesiastical contexts. Hogbacks are a rare form of monument in Scotland but the focus around the Clyde and the Forth may reflect the importance of these river systems as a routeways across Scotland. In the vicinity of the Forth there are other examples at Abercorn (scheduled monument reference SM7545, Canmore ID 251979), Tulliallan (scheduled monument reference SM2246, Canmore ID 319363), Tullibole Churchyard (scheduled monument reference Canmore ID 77379),  Tillicoultry (scheduled monument reference SM2328, Canmore ID 48298) and Inchcolm (Canmore ID 50898). The hogback stones at Logie therefore have the potential to expand our understanding of the nature and extent of Scandinavian influence in eastern central Scotland, social and ecclesiastical links within northern Britain and more widely across the regions of Scandinavian influence.

Associative Characteristics

A church at Logie is first mentioned in a charter of Simeon, bishop of Dunblane, in 1178, confirming its possession to the convent of North Berwick. It was appropriated to the uses of the nuns by Abraham, bishop of Dunblane and by Malcolm, earl of Fife in around 1228. Alexander Fargy is listed as minister at Logie Church in the first register of post-reformation ministers in 1567. In 1596 Dame Margaret Hume, prioress of North Berwick, resigned the convent's surviving properties, including Logie Church, to the King. The fabric of the church was found to be in a very poor condition in 1684, and the Presbytery instructed the reconstruction of the church. The mason Tobias Bachop of Alloa signed a contract to reconstruct the church. An inspection of the church in 1801 found it to be in a ruinous condition and the church was abandoned in 1805.

Statement of national importance

The monument is of national importance because it makes a significant contribution to our understanding of medieval and post-reformation ecclesiastical foundations, architecture and religious practices. It is of particular significant because of its longevity of use, and because of the survival of two rare hogback monuments. The hogback monuments help us to understand the nature of Scandinavian influence in southern Scotland. The monument is a good example of a multi-period ecclesiastical site with potential for the preservation of buried features and deposits, including architectural remains and burials.  It can help us understand much about ecclesiastical architecture and the role of the church in medieval and post-reformation society. It has the potential to make a significant contribution to our knowledge of changing belief and religious practice and the development of places of worship over an extended time period. The loss or damage of the monument would diminish our ability to appreciate and understand the origins and development of places of worship in Scotland and the role of the church in wider medieval and post-reformation life.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

References

Historic Environment Scotland http://www.canmore.org.uk reference number CANMORE ID 47164 and 47165 (accessed on 24/01/2017).

A Corpus of Scottish Medieval Parish Churches - Blairlogie Parish Church (https://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/corpusofscottishchurches/site.php?id=157867) (accessed on 24/01/2017).

Cowan, I B (1967) The parishes of medieval Scotland. Scottish Record Society 93, 136.

Fergusson, R M. (1905) Logie: a parish history, 2v. Paisley. Page(s): Vol.1

Lang, J T. (1974) Hogback monuments in Scotland, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. 105, 1972-4.

RCAHMS. (1963) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Stirlingshire: an inventory of the ancient monuments, vol. 1. Edinburgh.

RCAHMS. (1979) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. The archaeological sites and monuments of Stirling District, Central Region, The archaeological sites and monuments of Scotland series no 7. Edinburgh

Williams, H. (2016) Citations in Stone: The Material World of Hogbacks, European Journal of Archaeology, 19(3), 497-518.

Young, E. A. (2001) Logie Kirk: A history of the Kirk 2001. Erskine Print.

Young, E. A. (2016) Logie. The first 1000 years. Stirling.

Young, E. A. The Old Kirk and Kirkyard at Logie. A short history and guide. Erskine Print.

Canmore

https://canmore.org.uk/site/47164/
https://canmore.org.uk/site/47165/

Source: Historic Environment Scotland