Deskford kirkyard

Grey Granite and Dr. Anne went on to visit the tranquil Kirkton of Deskford, a small hamlet clustered round Deskford Church.

The ruins of Deskford Church  in the corner of the kirkyard. The kirk, originally dedicated to St John the Evangelist, is thought to have been erected about 1541 as  a chapel serving the Ogilvy family whose 4 storey tower house stood nearby. By 1545 it was referred to as a church and the wondrous sacrament house was added in 1551.The Ogilvy's castle was demolished around 1830 when the family  moved to Cullen House by which time the family had risen to be Lords Deskford and eventually Earls of Findlater and Seafield. A replacement church was built nearby in 1872 at which point St John's was abandoned. Despite the great age of the church most of the gravestones in the kirkyard date from the 19th century.

A rare example of a Victorian cast iron grave-marker. Behind it  is the iron urn pictured below.

Another fascinating Victorian funerary relic, an immortelle. These grave decorations were popular in the Victorian era but, due to their fragility, few remain. This example probably owes its survival to the protective wire cage. The glass dome contains plaster ornaments including flowers and doves.

Looking out across the kirkyard from the shell of the kirk. Note the aumbry  on the right .

The astonishing Deskford Sacrament House, recently restored and protected from the elements, is inside the ruin of the church and contrasts remarkably with the apparent austerity of the building.

The sacrament House is far larger than Grey Granite has envisaged, it is about 8ft high and 3.5 ft wide. The quality of the recently restored carving is superb. The sacrament house, basically a cupboard set into the wall near the altar,  was built at the behest of Alexander Ogilvy in 1551, at a time when personal salvation was thought to be achievable through church endowment. the sacrament house would have been used to contain the consecrated elements of the mass

Detail from the exquisitely  carved Sacrament House shows two angels,very medieval  in appearance in the act of raising the host which is contained within an ornate monstrance. The details of the wings are particularly impressive. A border of what appear to be grape vines surrounds the main panel. The protective glass panel creates reflections but does not distract from the quality of the carvings.

This beautiful and unusual teardrop mural monument, known as The Ogilvy Monument,  commemorates Walter Ogilvy, a minister  in this church who died on 15th February 1658

Gravestone dated 1771, now set into what may have been  a doorway in the kirk.


Grey Granite and Dr Anne then progressed to Fordyce...