470 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1913.

VI. ECCLESIASTICAL REMAINS AT CEUDEN AND , . BY F. C. EELES, F.R.HisT.S., F.S.A. SOOT.

CEUDEN. parise Th f Crudeho s situate i ne eas th tn e Buchao dcoasth f o t n district of Aberdeenshire, immediately to the south of . According to a tradition, which perhaps originated with Boece, the church was founded by Malcolm II. soon after his final defeat of the Danes under Cnu 1012n i t , whic believes hi havo dt e taken plact ea this part of the coast. Boece's story is that one of the conditions of the peace which Malcolm concluded wit Danese h thath s battlee th wa t, - fiel e consecrateb d a buryin s a d ge slai placth botn o nr hefo sides, and that a church be built there under the title of St Olave, patron of Denmark and Norway. He goes on to say that this church, becoming overblown with sand, was rebuilt in another similar but more convenient place.Boece'w No 1 s story, like much thae h t wrote, is without question partly fictitious. For St Olave was only martyret seventeef no o s y wa bo de h a unti1012 n i d an l, 1030. The present church of Cruden is not near the shore. It is in a valley sheltere hilla y .b a dAbou se fro e mmilth a t e eastwardsa n o , e villag th e roadside f f knolPorth o o e e wes y d th tb l en t Errollt a , , formea e sit f th o e s i r church, where remain f wallinso g were visible as late as 1837, and where human bones were found in 1857. About a mile south-east of this site, in a hollow in the links close to the sea, a well bubbles up through the sand, and is known as St Olave's wellr Cock M e paris. th , h minister d Statistical,ol writine th n i g 1 Templo arenas ventorum impuls t frequentiuv u illin i t loois fi s s agitatae multitudine obruto, alteroque baud ei dissimili loco commodiori reaedificato. Scotorum Historian Hectoris Boethii, Parisiis, 1526, 1. xi., ff. cclii., ccliii. ECCLESIASTICAL REMAIN T CBUDET FERGUSS A S1 D 47 NAN .

Account PrattDr 1792in historia1 the , and , ?of n both assume that this ruin near Port Erroll was not the earliest church, t thabu t ther e d beeth ha e e a linksnstil r th Fo l n .earlie o e on r existenc f thio e s earlier churc e presenhth t write s neitheha r r seen nor heard any satisfactory evidence. It seems as if Boece's state- ment as to the similarity of the site of the second church, a statement whic s utterlhi y untrustworthy s misleha , d both writers s alsi ot I . stated in the fourth edition of Pratt's Buchan that the large blue marble matrix of a Netherlandish brass which lies in the churchyard of the present church was brought from the old church " about a hundred years ago." 3 This is most unlikely, and what is more, Mr Cock, who speaks of the slab, says nothing about this removal. The bell of the present church is dated 1519, and there seems no reason to doubt that this church occupies the site of the building to which the bell and the brass matrix belonged. It must be noted that there is neither record nor tradition of the removal of the church from the Port Erroll site to the present site. The present church dates from 177previoue th 6; s churcruinoua d hha s unglazerood - an fun d dan boarded window highls i t i n 1623, i sy d improbablan 4 ed thaha t i t then been recently built. The brass matrix already alluded to is not earlier in date than the fourteenth century. The font, recently taken fro mrockera e mansth n yi e garden described an , de th below f o s i , thirteenth century e thirteentTh . h e periocenturth s d wa ywhe n churches were rebuilt or repaired all over . The writer would suggest tha churce th t h near wher t succeeeno Por d ddi t Errolw no s i l y oldean r church dedicate s itsel t e namOlaveS wa th f f t n o edi bu , built under that dedication in the eleventh century, and that it was

vestigplac e o " th N seen e wels t eb i thif eo bu o l ,st known.chapew no s i l " 1 Stat. Ace., , 432v. . 2 " The site of the second church just referred to is still plainly discernible." Buchan, J. B. Pratt, 4th ed., p. 43.

. 3 Ib.,43 . p 4 A. Mackay, Cruden and its Ministers, Peterhead, 1912, p. 34. 472 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , 1913.

abandone favoun e dpreseni a churcth e sit f f th o eo r n tho buildin g abou middle thirteente tth th f eo h century. Crude bees nha n fortunat havinn ei g being mad subjece eth whaf o t t is almost a model parish history, written by the Rev. Adam Mackay,

Fig. 1. Font at Cruden, upper side. the present parish minister.1 In it Mr Mackay suggests the possibility of a mistake in regard to the question of the early church site, and presene th t write ventures ha r discuso dt mattee sth greaten ri r detail.

o FONTw T BASINS. Whe Mackar nM y wrot boos ehi k these font basins were half buried. They have now been unearthed and carefully cleaned. 1 The writer's thanks are due to Mr Mackay for much valuable help. ECCLESIASTICAL RESlAINS AT CBUDEN AND ST FERGUS. 473

firse lond Th t ha (figg ) lai1 . n covered with mos d othean s r plants partld an y submerge rockera mansn e di th n yi e garden. Whe cleaned n an take t dou n lasta summee founs b wa o t dt i r particularly good example of the simple cylindrical type of basin

Fig. 2. Font at Cruden, under side. common in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, well cut and of delicate proportions. It is now preserved in the church. e basi e th wal s f fairlni Th o l y straight both withi d withoutnan , and is 2£ inches thick at the rim. The basin is 1 foot 8 inches wide internally, 2 feet 1 inch to 2 feet 1J inches externally. The depth is 10 inches in the middle. The under side of the basin outside is sloped downwards to a simple angle moulding which ran round the 474 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , 1918. top of the shaft (fig. 2). The centre of the basin is 10 J inches wide wher t e circularesteei th n do r shaft, anpierces e middli dth t i f edo by a drain. The sloping part of the bottom of the basin outside is from 5o Jt | inche angle s th wide ed mouldinan , ge betweeth d an t ni part which rested on the shaft is about 2 inches deep at the sides, and abou inc1 t h wide below onle Th y . decoratio e verth ys ni simpl e and effective nail-head ornament which is placed in a groove round

Fig. 3. Ornamentation of the Font. the rim of the basin and edged with a narrow roll moulding on the outside (fig. 3). The hole which held the staple for the bolt that fixe covee dth abous ri t 1J inches squar fd incean h deep. The other fon s similarlt wa (fig ) 4 . ye gardet sunth S f n i ko n James's rectory, where Dr Pratt the historian lived. In his Buchan (1st ed. p. 310, 2nd ed. p. 335) he wrote :— " In front of the old house at , and in the centre of the • area wher e peoplth e e assemble o heat d r divine service froe mth windo e houseth f wo , there might have been seen unti vera l y recent ECCLESIASTICAL REMAIN T CRUDET FERGUSA S 5 D 47 NAN .

perio a drud e granite font, sunk deep int e groundoth , s eitheit y b r own weighr somfo r e o tdomesti c purpose s saii o havdt t I .e been du Danisd gol fro e ruine hmth th f churcLinkse so th approd n ho an , -

Fig . Fon4 . t from Sandend, Cruden, tipper side.

priated to the use of the ejected congregation. Regarded simply as a relic of olden times, it is invested with interest; but associated as becomd ha t i e wit e historhth fallea f yo n hierarchy s importancit , e is greatly enhanced application O . possessoe th o nt thif o r s remnant of antiquity, it was kindly resigned, without a moment's hesitation, 476 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH P O S , 1913. int e incumbene handoth th f so t James's S f o tremain d e an ,th t a s parsonage, an ecclesiastical curiosity." This statement was repeated by Dr Pratt's widow in the 3rd edition of Buchan. It has been said that the font was an old stone basin given

Fig. 5. Font from Sandend, Cruden, under side. to her to appease a quarrel, and that the donor made it rather more lik fona e beetd thaha n t ni before "e ejecteTh . d congregation " refers to the non-juring Episcopalians, who were particularly strong all over this part of Scotland, and who managed to retain possession of Cruden parish church until 1716, having even succeeded in settling a minister of their own in it some little time after the Revolution. ECCLESIASTICAL REMAIN T CEUDET FERGUSA S 7 D 47 NAN .

a hug s Ii te mas f graniteo s f somewhao , t irregular shape, about 1 foot 9 inches high and 3 feet 2 inches to 3 feet 4 inches in extreme diameter outside. There is a circular basin 1 foot 10 inches to 2 feet inchewidt7 n i d han se edge deeth inchet 9 ,pa se middle deeth n pi . Ther draina s ei , whic s almoshha t certainly been recently maded an , e bas th s beee ha (fig n) 5 dresse. d smoot modern hi e n timeson t A . side, moreover a sun, k vesica-shaped panel, wit e sacrehth d mono- gra raisemn i d letters bees t evidentl,ha ncu y whe draie mades nth nwa . The bottoe basi s alsth f nha omo been " improved regards "a s it s surfaces abundantli t I . y clear that someone too smalo kn l trouble mako t e basith e n more " ecclesiastical,s i thoughte t i h t s a " Bu . also clear tha basie tth n itsel oldvers d i f an ,y like som e fontd th eol f so extremely rude early type. Suc hugha e ston unliks t ei quern po a e , and would be most inconvenient either as a hen's meat dish or a pig l improbablal t a t no trough es i tha e t traditionaI th t. l history r Prats D givea s correcty i t tb i o n f d thae non-jurinan th ,t g episcopal congregation dug it out of the ruins of the old church at Port Erroll, and made use of it when they held services, as they did for many years, at Sandend. If this be the case, the thirteenth-century font which was in the manse rockery probably marks the date when d churcol e hth became overblown wit s abandoneh wa sand d an , d site foth er highevalleye th p ru . Drifting sand is notoriously fickle in its movements. At one period a site is covered with a vast accumulation, and at another it may be clear. Seeing that the church had to be abandoned, it was r doubo coveredn fa n dangeo i s t r o ,f bein o r - gin e coveredb o t s a , accessible hencd an thirteenth-centure , eth havy ma e n preferreyme d leav o font d burr ol eto e rathetrusy th ma t e r thaw f movI o nt . eit Boece cleas site th ,ewa r sixteente agaith n ni h century speake h s a , s of seeing bones therknoe w n 1500e i w d thaan , t walls were visible in 1837, and that it is clear of sand now. 478 PROCEEDINGS OP THE SOCIETY, 1913.

THE BELL. plaia n I n granite type belfrth ef yo usuall y erecte norte th f n hdo i Scotlan deighteente latth n ei h century, ther e threth ef ehango e on s

Fig . Belfr6 . y with Mediaeval Bel t Crudena l .

mediaeval bells (fig. 6) which are still left in Aberdeenshire. It is usua treao lt bellf o t s together rather than singly subjecthea s a ,e yar t very much by themselves, and the writer is now editing a full ECCLESIASTICAL REMAIN T CRUDET FERGUSA S S9 D 47 AN R .

accoun e churcth f o th bell f Aberdeenshiro s Spaldinw Ne e gth r efo Club. But the almost unique character of the inscription on this Cruden bell make t veri s y desirable tha t shouli t describee db d in print as soon as possible in the hope that some one may be able to read it, or at least to determine the language in which it is written. The inscription appears to run as follows : — & err * o

The diamete moute inchesbele th e 7 1 t th la Th f hs note i ro . ,th eA bell is somewhat short in the waist for a mediaeval bell ; the waist is less curved tha ne sound-bo th usual d an , w less projecting. There are six canons, which are small and straight, one single canon being broken e shouldeTh . s rathei r r e crowangularth d n an slightl, y curved. The inscription is between rims (one above and two below), e usuath n li place belo shouldee wth ; rther e are three th rim n o s crown, two immediately above the lip. Between the sound-bow and e waisth t ther a sor f mouldins eo i t g consistin f thrego e small rims joine de whol th together n a rathe eo bele s i Th l r. inferior casting, badly weathered and broken-mouthed. It appears to have been rehung when the church was rebuilt in 1776. The crown staple is broken, and a more modern clapper has been hung by bolts through the crown. letterine inscriptioTh e th f go vers ni y irregularly place firste th d,; second, and fourth stops seem to have been like small roses ; the third and the last appear to have been plain ; the rest are now of indeter- minate form. The cross, of course, marks the beginning of the inscription. Not- withstandin gmara k lik uppee estoa th n prlino e parth e f followino t g 480 • PROCEEDINGS OP THE SOCIETY, 1913. the'first letter nexe wordo th ,tw t s appea"e b der o t rc ooplieder," perhaps the Christian name and surname of the founder. The next three words are unintelligible to the writer. The sixth seems to be " scelle, wor"a d sometime Flemishd s belol usea r n clearli ld d fo an , y derived fro e Latimth n squilla, whic smala uses r hdwa fo l e bellTh . next two words are unintelligible; then follows the date "ao • xvc xix." The writer would be grateful for any suggestions. He has tried every European language that is in the least likely to have been used, but in inscriptioe vainTh . probabls ni somn y i loca d eol l Netherlandish dialect. It is much to be desired that this exceedingly interesting bell should be taken dow preserved nan e churc e hangingth th n di h ; wore ar s n out, the bell itself is much worn, and would scarcely bear quarter- turning and rehanging with a new clapper, a process which might perhaps result in its being cracked.

FRAGMEN SACRAMENF TO T HOUSE.

In the course of some alterations made upon the church during the past yea a carver d stonfouns wa ed build t ha inte wall t oth I . evidently formes use churchd s buildinwa a dol d e an th par, gf o t material at the erection of the present structure—an important piece of additional evidence that this church occupie a pree sit f th so e- Reformation church. This ston foo1 f inches e8 i t s long foo1 , inche3 t s high, and 5| inches thick. One face has formed the top of a sunk panel, with an ogee trefoil headed arch, crocketed on the outside. The cusps of the arch terminate in four leaved ornaments, and on the surface e panee heath o th ff do l enclosed withi e cuspn th three sar e circular, rose-like devices. The width of the arch is llf inches. The crockets have been very much broken. There seem havo st e beena pinnacl eacn eo hwhole arche sidth Th f e.o appear havo st e formed the top of a Sacrament House, the recess of which would have been ECCLESIASTICAL REMAIN T CR0DET FERGUSA S D NAN . 481

square-headed t surmountebu , e pointeth y db d e pane heath r f o dlo shallow niche. The doorway to the Sacrament House would have been small, it is true, but even in the cases of the large and elaborate Sacrament House f Deskforo s d Auchindoian d e e widtth th r f o h doorway foo1 t t 3bu |s s i inchefoo 1 inche2 d t san s respectively. This ston preservew eno e church. (fig s th i carvine ) n di .7 Th g probably

Kg. 7. Fragment of Sacrament House.

dates from the end of the fifteenth century or the beginning of the sixteenth. INSCRIBED STONE. Besides the fragment of the Sacrament House there was found in the wall of the church another piece of carving in sandstone (fig. 8). This is 1 foot 9| inches long, 9| inches high, and 6| inches thick. carveUpoe ar t nreliei n d i e letter th f s IP-VB, followe rose-lika y b d e ornament; belo wa raise d line carvear e n relie i de letter th f s GD, 1 3 VOL. XLVII.

ECCLESIASTICAL REMAINS AT CRUDEN AND ST FERGUS. 483

followe FIRGOy b d D (= Pear God) incised letterine Th . g seemo t s be of late sixteenth- or early seventeenth-century date.

MATRIX OF A BRASS. Agains norte th t hchurchyare walth f o l d liematrie sth larga f xo e Netherlandish brass (fig. 9), which has already been referred to. It f daro s ki blue limestone fee5 , t 8|- inches long fee3 , inche2 t s wide, 6o 1\t J inches thickflae tTh expose. d bordee stonth f eo r which surrounded the brass itself is 3 to 3| inches wide. Nine plug-holes filled with lea visiblee dar e stoneneaw th , ro f threr o a ,eac d n ei h en d threan e acros e middleth s . e usuaTherth e l ar eshallo w grooves at right angles to each other ; it is unnecessary to specify their exact position.

ST FERGUS. The parish of St Fergus was an outlying part of until it was transferred to the county of in 1890. It is situated on the Buchan coast immediately to the north of Peterhead. The remains of the ancient church stand in an isolated situation on the flat sand-blown land which skirt e shorth s e roun e north-easth d t corner of Aberdeenshire. These sand hills frequently alter their position, and in 1603 the Presbytery found that " both kirk and kirkyard is ouircassin with the sand," and proposed to build a new churce bur th f Cuttie no t ha n 161 I . 2 they complained that e "th Mother Kirk is now standin at the eastmost end of the paroch in ane wilderness oerblawin with sand." By 1615 they prevailed on the patron Eare th , l Marischal churc w builo t ,mile o ne da htw s wesd an t on higher ground openethis d san wa , 1616n di . Before this time eth paris s callewa h d Longley d earliean , r still . Froe mth languag Presbytere th f eo y Record t woulsi populatioe d th seef i s ma n had deserted the neighbourhood of the old church sometime before seventeente th h century. Ther reasos ei thino nt k tha populatioe tth n 484 PROCEEDING F THO S E SOCIETY, 1913.

of the Aberdeenshire coast was driven inland by shifting sands in more places than one. The parish of Forvie, immediately to the e Ythannortth s entirelf o hwa , y overblown with sand before th e seventeenth century. The old church of Cruden, which stood near

Fig. 10. Arched gateway, St Fergus churchyard.

the shore, was deserted for one further inland several centuries earlier. And it is probable that when the church of St Fergus was founde e populatioth d s chieflnwa y congregate e districth n i d t around it. There are very few remains of the church, only featureless fragments ECCLESIASTICAL REMAIN CRUDET FERGUST S A S5 D 48 NAN .

norte osoutth d f han h walls, against which mural monuments happen havo t e been placed norte Th h. formwalw e nort no lpar a th s f ho t wall of the large rectangular churchyard, but this was probably not case th e originally t woulI . d see nortme th tha churcn he o th ts hwa e churchyardsidth f eo doubo n , t nea e edge witd th r burialo an ,hn s to the north, as at Cruden, Birse, Glengairn, and numerous other place l oveal s r Scotland. Ther heaped-ue ear p stones, largely over- grown with grass, agains norte th t hpresene sidth f eo t wall, suggesting time e churchyarthaon eth t a t d wall became on w e ne ruinou a d san was built slightly furthe includo rt souts a norte o eth hs he walth f o l church churchyare Th . goon i dw wallorderno e havd ar s an , e been extensively repaired from tim timeo et , especiall 1833n yi , whee nth churchyar enlargeds dwa . e wese midsth th f e tchurchyar n o tI walth f o l plaina s di , semi- circular, arched gateway (fig. 10), above whic stona s i h e inscribed: ERECTE E EXPENSE PAKOCHINERTH TH T A DF O E T FERGUS F O SN I S THE YEAR 1751 R ROBERM . T GARDEN MINISTERe b . y Thima s compared wit a hsimila r gatewa t Philortha y mucd an , h finer ones at King Edward and at , the latter being extended in such a manner as to form a short covered passage or true lych-gate. Near the ground in the western part of the north wall of the church whas i t firsa t t sight looks lik semicirculae eth r arcnicha f ho e (fig) .11 that might have held a stoup. Closer examination shows that it is really a portion of the bowl of a rather small font, built into the wall sideways. The edge of the basin is about 4 inches wide, and on the inside there is a broad chamfer about 5 inches wide. The inside diameter of the basin, excluding this chamfer, is about 18f inches, t quitno t e bu hale basi th e deptf s lefti nTh s abouhi . inches7 t . The materia sandstoned re s li . Lying in the churchyard is a small cross (fig. 12) of finely grained sandstone, 1 foot 4J inches high, 11 inches across the arms, and 3J inches thick. The arms of the cross diminish in width from the inter-

ECCLESIASTICAL REMAIN T CKUDET FERGUSA S D NAN . 487 section outwards, in such a manner that the outside edges form, roughly speaking, section f foue croso s th e sid rf son o ecircle n o s; there 'are four triangular depressions with right angles markine gth intersectio e crosse e crosarmth th Th f f o ss. no appear o havt s e

Fig. 13. Tombstone at St Fergus. come from one of the gables, probably the east gable, of the old church. earlo Thern e y ear gravestone s visible therd y none an an , ar ef eo special artistic merit or noteworthy character, except perhaps that show . fign i 13 . e Alinscriptionth l . e churchyarA th . J n i sr M e give ar dy b n Henderson, Aberdeenshire Epitaphs Inscriptions,d an Aberdeen, 1907, pp. 213-232, where there are also notes on the history of the parish. 488 PBOCEEDIN0S OP THE SOCIETY, 1913.

The church of 1616 at the village of Kirkton of St Fergus has been twice rebuilt, first in 1763 and again in 1869. Fortunately the beautiful belfr s beeyha n carefull rathee th f yo r preservede on s i t I . less ornate example e typth ef o swhic h develope Aberdeenshirn di e e seventeentith n h century d whic an e speciall, ar h y characteristic perioe oth f d know Firse thas th na f to t Episcopacy.