Old Deer, Old Parish Church

Heritage listing

Date Added 15/05/1997 Type Ecclesiastical: burial ground, cemetery, graveyard; church Local Authority Aberdeenshire Parish Old Deer NGR NJ 97912 47686 Coordinates 397912, 847686 — The monument comprises the remains of the old parish church which lie immediately E of the present parish church in the centre of Old Deer, incorporated into two contiguous walled roofless burial enclosures, separated by the medieval chancel arch. The only surviving parts of the medieval church appear to be the chancel arch itself, the truncated E end of the nave, and some parts of the N and S walls of the chancel. The nave was 6.2m wide internally and of uncertain length, the W part having been destroyed completely when the parish church was built in 1788-9. Its overall width was probably 8.05m, the same as the present burial enclosure, though it is hard to detect any medieval masonry in the external walls as the facing has been greatly altered by repairs and the insertion into it of a various memorials. The W burial enclosure, of which it now forms part, extends 6.62m E-W, with a W wall 0.6m thick containing the entrance. This enclosure was probably formed in 1892, which is the date at which William Ferguson of Kinmundy erected a memorial against the S wall in memory of his ancestors, the earliest mentioned being James Ferguson of Kinmundy, who died in 1777. Medieval features of the nave that survive in situ include a splayed rounded-arched window in the N wall, and another facing it on the S. Just to the left of the latter is a scalloped piscina, set in a recess enclosed by a trefoil arch; this was probably intended to serve a nave altar placed to the right of the chancel arch. Immediately to the left of the chancel arch is another similar piscina, though less well preserved, indicating the

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.