Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

NIGG OLD PARISH CHURCH AND GRAVEYARDLB14044

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
25/03/1971
Local Authority
Highland
Planning Authority
Highland
Parish
Nigg (Highland)
NGR
NH 80441 71708
Coordinates
280441, 871708

Description

1626, renovated 1723-5, enlarged 1786; alterations 1864 by Andrew Maitland. Harled, T-plan church orientated E/W, with T-wing to N. Ashlar margins. 18th century birdcage bellcote with corner ball finials at W gable apex. S wall: 3 (fourth now door) long multi-pane windows in centre; doors to outer bays. Important Pictish cross-slab (see SCHEDULED MONUMENT No 1680) displayed within west end of church.

12-pane glazing to timber sash and case windows. Slate roof, ashlar skews. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: E and W ends of main kirk partitioned off, creating Minister's room to E and chamber at W, later used to house Nigg cross-slab (see Notes). Later 19th century fittings in traditional T-plan lay-out. Panelled demi-octagonal pulpit with panelled and corniced back-board. Coved and corniced ceiling. Remains of 18th century gallery, seating and stairs in west chamber.

GRAVEYARD AND BOUNDARY WALLS: graveyard around church on all sides. Various fine examples of 17th and 18th century funerary slabs, tabletop stones, headstones and grave markers. Some grave markers of medieval origin.

Square-plan ashlar gatepiers with shallow pyramidal caps; tall, coped rubble boundary walls with later render.

Statement of Special Interest

In occasional use as place of worship.

Nigg Old Parish Church is a fine example of a traditional 17th century Highland kirk and graveyard. Alterations to the building were carried out in the 18th century to form a T-plan. The birdcage bellcote was added in 1723-5. Its bell was cast in the Netherlands in 1624. Later interior changes by Andrew Maitland in 1864 include the removal of the north gallery and east and west galleries partitioned off.

An outstanding Pictish cross-slab (see SCHEDULED MONUMENT No 1680) stands within a room at the west end of the church. It formerly lay in the churchyard broken in two pieces and was subsequently re-erected at the east end before being taken inside.

The graveyard contains many excellent examples of 17th century funerary monuments including the box tomb of Marie Urquhart & John Grant dating from 1679 and the tomb of Alexander Gair, 1659 which re-uses a 14th/15th-century monument. The Cholera Stone dates from the 1823 cholera epidemic. Two or more grave markers are understood to be of medieval origin. The earliest reference to a church on this site occurs in 1255-6.

List description revised, 2012.

References

Bibliography

First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (The Statistical Account, Xiii, P.17. The New Statistical Account Xiv, (1836) P.36. George Hay, The Architecture Of The Post-Reformation Church In Scotland (1957) pp169, 273. John Gifford, The Buildings of Scotland - Highlands and Islands (1992) p440. Report on the Ecclesiastical Buildings of Nigg 1878 - Heritors Records (HR 361/4 Nigg). Highland Council Historical Environment Record, ID: MHG31396.

About Listed Buildings

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.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

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

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Printed: 28/03/2024 08:55