St Brandon’s Kirk, Inverboyndie, Banffshire.

I’d like to take you on a wee tour of St Brandon’s Kirk, Inverboyndie, on the Banffshire coast.  It is also known as the ‘Boyndie, Old Parish Church’.  It is worth a visit! 

Location - The kirk can be found at grid reference  NJ 66652 6453, however, the best map and site location guide is provided by the Trove website -the link is here.   If you approach from Whitehills, St Brandon’s seems to have been overtaken by farm buildings, housing  and a local industrial site. As you turn onto the road towards Inverboyndie, the road literally curves around the wee graveyard walls.  However, if you are approaching Inverboyndie from Banff, the wee kirk and surrounding graveyard can be seen prominently, as it sits on  raised ground. St Brandon’s itself has a panoramic view of Inverboyndie and the expanse of the Banffshire coastline. Parking at the site is very limited, I suggest parking at the nearby new cemetery and walking the short distance.

History - Not much of the original kirk survives – the most prominent remains are the gable end wall featuring the kirk bellcote, surrounded by the kirkyard wall and a cluster of graves ranging from around the 1600’s or so, onwards.  The kirkyard is a category B-listed site, the remains of the kirk are a scheduled monument.
 
The site hasn’t been used as a place of worship since the 1770’s, although the graveyard has more recent burials and gravestones – it is also a Commonwealth War Grave Site. Recently, the kirk and surrounding graveyard has undergone some much-needed conservation work. I’m going to explain a little of the history and background to St Brandon’s and then some information on  the work which has being carried out to preserve the site.

It is suggested that there was a medieval church on the site, which the current ruin was built upon.  It’s known there was a settlement at Inverboyndie as far back as AD 962, when Danes and Scots fought there.  There are two areas of Inverboyndie, - Arrdanes and Swordanes which are supposed to be where the battle took place.  Human bones and damaged skulls were reportedly found when the north wall of the graveyard had to be extended, with further findings nearby in 1853. (1) 

About 1213, the Scottish King gifted St Brandon’s Kirk and St Mary’s Kirk (Banff) to Arbroath Abbey. This seems to be the first time that St Brandon’s was mentioned in   official records.  Comparing the age and designs of the gravestones at St Brandon’s and St Mary’s, it’s easy to see that they share the same timeframe – albeit the St Brandon’s stones show more weathering.

At some point during the 1300’s, the two kirks were served by the same minister. I wonder what the travel conditions were like back then as he journeyed between the two kirks preaching his sermons!  The link between Arbroath Abbey and the two kirks  most likely existed up until the Scottish Reformation.(2) The ‘Annals of Banff’ compiled by  William Cramond (1893), give a very detailed account of the history of the churches of Banff. The Annals do not mention St Brandon’s by name, rather they talk of the kirk located at Inverboyndie, (also spelled Inverbundy and Inverboindie) but it’s clear that it is St Brandon’s.(3)

The kirk was abandoned probably prior to  1773 and it was replaced by St Brandon’s Church, at Boyndie.  There is an interesting article written by Aberdeenshire Council’s Banff & Macduff Heritage Trails, which give details of how some of the St Brandon’s Kirk vestments and furniture were moved to the new church.  The link to the article can be found here. (4) Another source notes that although St Brandon's original bell was amongst the items moved to the new church, a leading member of the congregation ordered a replacement to be erected in the old kirk. This was to ensure that the traditional ringing of the bell at St Brandon's Kirk could still ring out while internments continued to occurr there. To quote the gentleman, he refused to be "buried like a dog", when his time came to be laid to rest there.(4)
     

The above photographs show the internal (left) and external (right) side of the gable wall, prior to the restoration work being carried out.




     

The gravestones at St Brandons give such a rich insight to the lives of the people who lived and worshipped,  and were later laid to rest there. The historian, Betty Willsher carried out  research on the earlier gravestones, which depict symbols. The gravestone above, top left, commemorates George Mar and Mary Main, dated 1741. The top right gravestone is a memorial to the children of William Dick and Margaret Main.(5)

Below are some examples of other gravestone on site, these are dated 1737 and 1766. 

Current Conservation and Restoration - Last September I attended a fascinating event held by the Whitehills & District Community Council, to discuss the kirkyard and future plans for repairing  St Brandon’s and its surrounding burial ground. Aberdeenshire Council Historic Asset Management Project (HAMP) already had St Brandon’s on their radar after surveys on the site in 2014, 2015 & 2020. Recent concerns raised by local residents highlighted that the conservation needed to be carried out with more urgency. This resulted in the Community Council, Aberdeenshire Council,  Historic Environment Scotland (part of Trove) and Pilgrim Trust working together to help repair and conserve St Brandon. 

The event  explained  the work which had already been undertaken - repairing parts of the graveyard wall, and also future work still to be carried out. Prof Richard Oram from Stirling University gave a fascinating talk about the history of St Brandon’s, indeed, I almost signed up to study for a degree in Medieval Scottish History, there and then!

In early 2025, I noticed that there was scaffolding surrounding the St Brandon site and renovations were being undertaken.  Once the renovations  were finished and decorated, the building  was completely restored – which meant that the outside wall would have been painted/harled in lime, while the internal walls would have been left uncovered.

If you have found the history of this site as fascinating as I have, you are welcome to attend an event which is being held on the site itself, on  Thursday  31st July.  

Details of the event and nearby parking are on the poster.  I hope to see you there! 


References:-
1.    Trove.Scot (2025) Inverboyndie. Available at: https://www.trove.scot/place/18447#images-1 (Accessed: 6 July 2025)
2.    Aberdeenshire Council (2024) St Barndon’s churchyard repairs begin. Available at: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/news/2024/apr/st-brandon-s-churchyard-repairs-begin (Accessed 26 February 2025)
3.    Cramond, W. (1893) The annals of Banff. Available at: https://archive.org/details/annalsofbanffcom02cram/page/12/mode/2up (Accessed: 26 February 2025)
4.    Aberdeenshire Council & Historic Environment Scotland (2021) For whom the bell tolls. Available at: https://banffmacduffheritagetrail.co.uk/for-whom-the-bell-tolls/ (Accessed 26th February 2025)

Aberdeen Press & Journal (1973) Digging in the celebrate Boyndie bicentenary. Thursday 11th January 1973, page 3
5.    Trove.Scot (2025) Inverboyndie. Available at: https://www.trove.scot/place/18448#images-1 (Accessed: 6 July 2025)