Documents

Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).

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

  SM11378_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600013947)

Summary

Description

The monument consists of the partly exposed, but mainly grass-covered, foundations and collapsed rubble-built lower walls of the parish church of Rathmuriel. The first certain reference to the church is at a date between 1191 and 1195, when it was granted to Lindores Abbey by the founder of that abbey, David, earl of Huntingdon; papal confirmation of this grant was issued in 1195, and a vicarage was established in 1257. By the Reformation (in 1560) the church had apparently become a dependent chapel within the parish of Kennethmont (which was also appropriated to Lindores). In the later Middle Ages it bore the dedication of Christ's Kirk, but is traditionally said also to have had a dedication to the shadowy St Muriel. The church was united with Kennethmont in about 1630, and probably fell out of use for worship soon afterwards, though both church and churchyard continued in use as a burial place.

The church appears to have had maximum dimensions of 22.5 m from E to W by 7.3 m from N to S; there is slight evidence of what may have been a cross-wall dividing chancel from nave. Most of the masonry of the walls has been robbed, and is assumed to have been re-used in building adjacent farm structures. The church was slightly to the south of the centre of a roughly rectangular churchyard, defined by collapsed dry-stone-built walls. One gravestone with the date 1767 remains to the south of the church, and it is likely there are others concealed within the vegetation. The church and churchyard are now largely lost to sight within a copse of pine and beech trees and saplings.

The area to be scheduled, which includes the churchyard walls, is sub-rectangular and measures approximately 53m from W to E and 41m from N to S, as marked on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

The monuments's significance can be characterised on the following criteria:

INTRINSIC CHARACTERISTICS. Although the masonry and timber fabric of the church is not well preserved, the preservation of the outline of its collapsed walls strongly suggests that the archaeological evidence for its plan and internal arrangements is likely to survive well. The possible indications of a structural distinction between the chancel and nave hint at a plan of more than basic simplicity.

CONTEXTUAL CHARACTERISTICS. The monument is of high significance as a structurally relatively unmodified example of a medieval rural parish church both on a national basis within the context of the Scottish Church, and within a more local context in the diocese of Aberdeen and the deanery of Garioch.

ASSOCIATIVE CHARACTERISTICS. A number of aspects of the history of this church give it an added dimension of interest. These include: its relationship with the distant royal foundation for the Tironensian order to which it was appropriated; the subsequent establishment of a vicarage for the cure of souls within its parish; and the eventual loss of its independent parochial status.

NATIONAL IMPORTANCE. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our understanding of the planning and liturgical arrangements of a medieval rural parish church that remained in use from at least the later stages of the reorganisation of the Scottish Church in the twelfth century up until the Reformation. Although it was presumably modified to some extent to meet reformed needs after the Reformation, since it passed out of use soon after being united with Kennethmont in 1630, it is likely to preserve the archaeological evidence for its medieval and early post-medieval dispositions better than would be the case with a church that had remained in use after then.

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.