Marr

Area : Marr
Parish : Kildrummy
Kirkyard : Kildrummy Parish Kirk.
N.G.R. : NJ 472 175
S.A.M. :
Listing Category : Kirk Cat. A.
Yard Cat. B.
St. Bride’s Kirk Cat. B.
Boundary wall and gate piers : All of the gates
and piers to the kirkyard are in good order,
though the rather grand entrance to the yard is
not maintained well. This entire area, which
should be covered with gravel, is coated with a
slimey moss. The steps on either side must be
cleaned and re-aligned. The boundary walls to
the kirkyard are in good order though the weeds
growing on the wall- head must be sprayed.
The Old Kirk : All that remains of the old
kirk of St. Bride, which stands at the summit
of the motte-graveyard, are the N. wall and the
S. aisle. The N. wall contains a Gothic arched
recess that is said to be an Easter Sepulchre,
containing the very fine relief effigy slab to the
3 rd Laird of Brux and his wife. Above this slab
stands a good 1730 memorial to James
Lumsden.
The entire sepulchre is protected by an arched
corrugated-iron canopy and timber doors. Alas,
this shelter is completely rotten with one door
shattered into pieces and a build-up of soil resting
on the carved effigy slab.
The S. Aisle, or 17 th - century Elphinstone Aisle,
is a rectangular crow-stepped structure, ‘restored’
in 1862, though it still exhibits an
skewputt initialled with “ I L ”. The aisle is lit
by a broken window above the rotten timber
door, the entire opening being formed from the
original sandstone window opening.
Though the range of thirteen crowsteps on the
E. gable are in good order, the ball finial is missing
from the top of the gable. There are some
missing and loose slates on the roof, the coping
stones to the rear are loose and the S. wall is
cracked at the l.h.s. A programme of remedial
works must be implemented soon to preserve
the aisle .
Kildrummy Parish kirk, built in 1805, is of a
rectangular plan with a bow front, containing
an internal staircase and crowned by a bellcote.
The E. façade is composed of two pointed Gothic
openings containing the original tracery windows,
-the pulpit is positioned between them.
The kirk is built of granite rubble with cherrypointed
joints and is in excellent order throughout.
Tombstones : There are well over one hundred
recumbent tombstones of which 20 are significantly
decorated. There are also in excess of
one hundred upright tombstones dating to the
late 19 th - century in the old yard.
The tablet to the Chrisitie enclosure has fallen
and must be put back. The rose bushes around
this enclosure could be trimmed.
The rear wall of the Reid enclosure must be
rebuilt as this is in danger of falling over. The
original iron gate is off its hinges and indeed
could be replaced prior to the enclosure being
re-painted.
Considering the number and quality of the recumbent
stones more effort should be ensured
that they are brushed and kept in good order.
Conservation Digest : Urgent details.
There are many features listed above that require
urgent remedial work.
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