Old Church of St John

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Old Church of St John

The Old Church of St John , also Deskford Church , is a ruined church in the Scottish hamlet of Kirktown of Deskford in the Council Area Moray . The building is listed as a Scheduled Monument . The surrounding cemetery is classified in the Scottish monument lists as a monument of the highest monument category A.

history

A chapel at the site was first mentioned in 1541, which was rebuilt at that time. Four years later, there is talk of a church, so it is assumed that the current ruin essentially emerged from this construction phase. The church was on the land of Lords Deskford , a line of the Ogilvy clan who later held powerful positions as Earls of Seafield and Findlater .

The Tower House Tower of Deskford , which is also in ruins, was probably once directly connected to the church and is integrated into the monument protection of the church ruins. However, this connection is no longer traceable today. The Johannesbrunnen, known as a healing spring, has meanwhile dried up. A recess between the church ruins and the Tower House could mark its location, but this is doubted.

With the construction of the new St John's Church in 1872, the present church became redundant and obsolete. Your roof was then covered and the masonry reinforced with cement to preserve it.

description

The ruins of the elongated hall church stand on the eastern edge of the hamlet of Kirktown of Deskford. They take up an area of ​​20 m × 7.7 m. Your masonry is between 90 and 120 cm thick. The building openings on the south side suggest that the masonry has been changed several times over the centuries. An increase of 60 to 90 cm probably results from the consolidation measure after the roof has been removed. A wooden patronage box was installed after the Scottish Reformation . It was accessible via a non-preserved external staircase on the east gable and a door on the upper floor. The church once closed with a gable roof . On the west gable sits a simple roof turret that once carried the open bells.

graveyard

A quarry stone wall encloses the surrounding cemetery. The entrance on the north side is designed with square gate pillars with grooved cap stones. A simple cast iron gate is hung in this. The cemetery occupies an area of ​​around 0.23 hectares. The age of the tombs goes back to the 18th century. In 2005 the cemetery was still in active use.

Tower of Deskford

Little is known about the Tower of Deskford. From the 1790s it is said that it was a three-story tower house. It is said to have been designed to be relatively spacious with an inner courtyard. Today only two 1.4 meter thick fragments of quarry stone masonry up to a height of 2.3 meters have been preserved. The ground floor was designed as a vault . Fragments of a spiral staircase on the southwest side suggest a stair tower and support the assumption of an inner courtyard.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Scheduled Monument - entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  2. ↑ a b Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  3. ↑ a b c Entry on Old Church of St John  in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
  4. ↑ Entry on Tower of Deskford  in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)

Web links

Commons : Old Church of St John  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 57 ° 38 ′ 31.8 "  N , 2 ° 49 ′ 27.6"  W.