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

MONYMUSK PARISH CHURCH (AUGUSTINIAN PRIORY CHURCH OF THE BLESSED MARY OF MONYMUSK)LB15987

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
24/11/1972
Supplementary Information Updated
19/12/2017
Local Authority
Aberdeenshire
Planning Authority
Aberdeenshire
Parish
Monymusk
NGR
NJ 68486 15248
Coordinates
368486, 815248

Description

Late 12th/early 13th century, originally Augustinian Priory

Church, comprising aisle-less nave 52' 11" x 26" and chancel

52' 10" x 21' with W. tower 22' x 19' and about 60' high,

thin coursed granite with sandstone dressings; simple

round-arched W. door with hoodmould, plain round arch

from tower to nave, chancel arch with 3 shafts and cushion

capitals. Altered in post-Reformation times, particularly

1685/93, minister's door and other openings inserted in S.

wall mid 18th cent. with chamfer; reconstructed 1822, walls

lowered to 22' 6", re-roofed, S. flank remodelled to

standard pattern of 2 large windows flanked by 2 smaller

ones, (new work has granite dressings) piended N. aisle

added, 14' of tower taken down, 6' re-erected and

slated spire added. Altered July 1851, chancel largely

abandoned and unroofed as burial enclosure. Spire

demolished 1891 and bad crenellated parapet substituted.

Partial restoration. A. Marshall Mackenzie 1929, church

re-orientated to E., W. part of chancel restored and

chancel reopened, N. aisle closed off and converted to vestry

etc. Monuments: Forbes-Leslie of Abersnithick late 16th

century and large Grant series, Sir Archibald + 1820 by

Pistell, Commander Arthur + 1850, M.W. Johnston etc.;

clock Wm. Lunan 1792, clock face 1865; Mowat bell 1748;

part of jougs extant.

Statement of Special Interest

Place of worship in use as such.

The use of this site as a Christian place of worship predates the earliest surviving building phases (second quarter of the 12th century) . There were grants of land to Céli Dé (Servants of God – members of ascetic Christian monastic and eremitical communities) at Monymusk in 1130, probably to an established religious community. That same year a Papal Commission established that the Culdees would have a dormitory, a refectory and an oratory with burial right in the parish cemetery. A number of early Christian cross-incised stones from the burial ground further indicates that Monymusk was an early Christian centre. The Culdee community was transformed into an Augustinian priory dedicated to the Virgin by no later than 1245.

The church has a three-compartment plan, consisting of a rectangular chancel of uncertain initial length, a wider rectangular nave and a square west tower. This basic form was most likely established around the second quarter of the 12th century.

Listed building record updated 2017.

References

Bibliography

Cowan, I B. (1967) The parishes of medieval Scotland, Scot Rec Soc, vol. 93. Edinburgh. Page(s): 150-1.

Fawcett, R. (2002) Scottish medieval churches: architecture and furnishings. Stroud. Page(s): 72, 80, 93, 168, 206, 341, 366, 367.

Hay, G. (1957) The Architecture of Scottish Post Reformation Churches. Pages 22, 59.

MacGibbon, D. and Ross, T. (1896-7) The ecclesiastical architecture of Scotland from the earliest Christian times to the seventeenth century', 3v. Edinburgh. Page(s): 215-8 Vol.1.

MacPherson, W M. (1895) Materials for a history of the church and priory of Monymusk. Aberdeen.

Ritchie, J. (1911) Some old crosses and unlettered sepulchral monuments in Aberdeenshire', Proc Soc Antiq Scot, vol. 45, 1910-11. Page(s): 347-9.

Sharples, J. Walker, D. and Woodworth, M. (2015). The Buildings of Scotland - Aberdeenshire: South and Aberdeen. New Haven & London: Yale University Press, pp.676-678.

Simpson, W D. (1925) The Augustinian priory and parish church of Monymusk, Aberdeenshire', Proc Soc Antiq Scot, vol. 59, 1924-5. Page(s): 34-71.

Simpson, W D. (1943) The Province of Mar, being the Rhind Lectures, Aberdeen University Studies, 121. Aberdeen. Page(s): 109, 152.

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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