Documents

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The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.

• Type

  Legal Documents

  Title

  SM11119_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600013878)

Summary

Description

The monument consists of the fragmentary remains of the old parish church of Crimond, and its burial ground.

The remains of the church are believed to have been built in the early 15th century, although the single remaining wall exhibits evidence of later alterations, and earlier description of the building suggest it was repaired just after the Reformation. The church may have been founded as early as the 13th century as it was apparently erected into a prebend of Aberdeen Cathedral by Bishop Richard de Potton in 1262 and definitely appears as such in 1437. The church was abandoned when a new church was constructed in 1812, after which it very quickly became completely ruinous; by 1840 the church was reduced to the portion of S wall that still survives.

The remains of the church are extremely fragmentary, with the only upstanding fragment a stretch of the S wall, built of random rubble masonry. It measures about 8m in length, 2.3m high and 0.8m in width. The wall incorporates a very unusual square-headed window with cable mouldings on the exterior face. Two very fine armorial panels, probably cut down from the ledger slabs of post-reformation table tombs, have later been built into the ingoes for their protection. To the W of this window is another, smaller and perhaps original, window which is now blocked up. Towards the W end of the wall is a large, round-headed opening, which may have accommodated a memorial, and slightly further W there is the scant remains of a doorway. At the E end of the wall there are the remains of another doorway, on this occasion with a exterior rebate. The gate piers of the burial ground have been constructed of salvaged graveslabs, one dating to 1617, the baluster legs from table tombstones and what appear to carved pediments perhaps from a pair of dormer windows or perhaps from a bellcote. The burial ground has a good collection 18th-century monuments

The area to be scheduled includes the church and the burial ground, including the gate piers, in which associated remains may be expected to be found. The area is roughly quadrangular in shape and has maximum dimensions of 38m E-W by 30m N-S as marked in red on the attached map. All modern burial lairs still in use are excluded from the scheduling.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as the site of a medieval parish church, perhaps dating to the mid-13th century which served as a prebend of Aberdeen Cathedral and which continued to serve as the parish church until the early 19th century. As such it has great potential to contribute toward an understanding of medieval art, architecture, religious practices and material culture. The survival of numerous fragments of very fine post-Reformation carved stone accentuates the importance of the monument.

References

Bibliography

About Scheduled Monuments

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).

The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.

Scheduled monument consent is required to carry out certain work, including repairs, to scheduled monuments. Applications for scheduled monument consent are made to us. We are happy to discuss your proposals with you before you apply and we do not charge for advice or consent. More information about consent and how to apply for it can be found on our website at www.historicenvironment.scot.

Find out more about scheduling and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.