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Rhynie |
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Rhynie |
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Associated Chapels: Chapel Cairn?
OS Ref: NJ 499265 RCAHMS No: NJ42NE 32.01
The ancient church of St Luag (Moluag) lay within the bounds of what is still the cemetery whilst the 'modern' parish church lies some distance away in the centre of the village. This later church was erected in 1823. Rhynie was sometimes known as Kilreny or Kilrynie. The old names led some to believe that the ancient church bore a dedication to St Rule, the patron of Kilrymont or Kinrimund (St Andrews).
Some remains of the pre-Reformation church are to be found against the boundary wall of the cemetery. Most notable is a tomb-recess containing the heraldic memorial slab of Alexander Gordon of Muirack, who died in 1668.
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Medieval tomb-recess and stone coffin. |
Memorial slab - Alexander Gordon of Muirack. |
A number of excellent symbol stones were found in or near the graveyard and are displayed in the car-park. Along with the nearby "Craw Stane" and other famous Pictish stones, we may be fairly certain that there was a Christian community here in very early times and that the dedication to St Moluag reflects this antiquity. Not far away are a number of vitrified forts, the most important of which is that on top of Tap O' North which dominates the fertile lands round Rhynie.
Rhynie was one of the earliest prebends of the cathedral erected by 1226.
The parishes of Rhynie and Essie were united in or about 1612.
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