The Parishes of Aberdeen Diocese
(alphabetic list)
The task of preparing a list of the parishes which formed the medieval Diocese of Aberdeen is at once both exasperating and impossible! Firstly, the time period involved - some four hundred years - means that parishes came and went; indeed the remarkable thing is that there is any degree of consistency at all! Parishes were united, split, moved and subjected to changes of name. Chapels became parish churches and parish churches became chapels or disappeared under sand-dunes, and, of course, the few historical records that do exist are notoriously unreliable!
To start to understand the subject the historian must accept that all that it is possible to do is to prepare a list of those churches which, we think, were parish churches at some point in the period leading up to the Reformation (c.1560). But, all the while, we must accept that other scholars may arrive at a list which is at variance with ours.
The list that is presented here has been arrived at by comparing other versions which have been published at different times, but it relies mainly on the work of Dr Ian B. Cowan in his masterful Ph.D. thesis presented to the University of Edinburgh in 1961. The main focus of his study was the extent of the 'Appropriation of Parishes in Medieval Scotland', but the starting point of his work had to be a determination of a reliable list of Scotland's parish churches. His work has been made available thanks to the generosity of Edinburgh University and there is a link to it in the Bibliography at the foot of this page. In addition, we examined four other 'sources' and for those who wish to see the evidence there is a worksheet available which cross-references the parishes with the sources.
The majority of the parish churches in the Diocese of Aberdeen were appropriated to various ecclesiastical 'institutions'. The details of the appropriations are given in the pages devoted to the five Deaneries - Aberdeen, Boyne, Buchan, Garioch, and Mar.
| Parish | Deanery ... | OS Ref. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen - Old Machar | Aberdeen | NJ: 939088 | The cathedral was also a baptismal and a parish church |
| Aberdeen - Snow | Aberdeen | NJ: 939080 | Church of "Our Lady of the Snows" |
| Aberdeen - Spittal | Aberdeen | NJ: 941077 | Following the suppression of St Peter's Hospital in 1427 |
| Aberdeen - St Nicholas | Aberdeen | NJ: 941063 | Parish Church of 'New Aberdeen' |
| Aberdour | Boyne | NJ: 884644 | |
| Abergairny | Mar | NJ: 353970 | |
| Aboyne | Mar | NJ: 541001 | |
| Alford | Mar | NJ: 554161 | |
| Alvah | Boyne | NJ: 678602 | |
| Auchindoir | Mar | NJ: 478245 | |
| Auchterless | Garioch | NJ: 714416 | |
| [Balhallach]* | Mar | NO: 330961 | Precursor of Glenmuick |
| Banchory-Devenick | Aberdeen | NJ: 907025 | |
| Banchory-Ternan | Aberdeen | NJ: 707957 | |
| Banff | Boyne | NJ: 690640 | |
| Belhelvie | Aberdeen | NJ: 969196 | |
| Bethelnay | Buchan | NJ: 786313 | Now called Oldmeldrum |
| Birse | Mar | NO: 554973 | |
| Bourtie | Garioch | NJ: 805249 | |
| Cabrach | Mar | NJ: 386268 | |
| Clatt | Mar | NJ: 539260 | |
| Cluny | Mar | NJ: 685126 | |
| Coldstone | Mar | NJ: 432057 | |
| Coull | Mar | NJ: 512025 | |
| Crathie | Mar | NJ: 265947 | |
| Crimond | Buchan | NK: 052576 | |
| Cruden | Buchan | NK: 089363 | |
| Cullen | Boyne | NJ: 507664 | |
| Culsalmond | Garioch | NJ: 650329 | |
| Cushnie | Mar | NJ: 506109 | |
| Dalmaik | Aberdeen | NO: 814985 | Now Drumoak |
| Dalmeath (Dunmeath) | Mar | NJ: 427372 | Now Glass. |
| Daviot | Garioch | NJ: 724395 | |
| Deer | Buchan | NJ: 979477 | |
| Drumblade | Garioch | NJ: 588483 | |
| Dyce | Garioch | NJ: 875154 | |
| Echt | Mar | NJ: 740057 | |
| Ellon | Buchan | NJ: 959305 | |
| Fetterangus | Buchan | NJ: 981506 | |
| Fetterneir | Mar | NJ: 733175 | |
| Fintray | Garioch | NJ: 872156 | |
| Forbes | Mar | NJ: 519169 | |
| Fordyce | Boyne | NJ: 556639 | |
| Forglen | Boyne | NJ: 679499 | |
| Forgue | Garioch | NJ: 611451 | |
| Forvie | Buchan | NK: 020266 | |
| Foveran | Buchan | NJ: 985241 | |
| Fyvie | Buchan | NJ: 769378 | |
| Gamrie | Boyne | NJ: 761645 | |
| Glenbuchat | Mar | NJ: 377151 | Chapel which was granted parochial rights in 1470 |
| Glenmuick | Mar | NO: 366948 | |
| Glentannar | Mar | NO: 476983 | |
| Insch | Garioch | NJ: 633281 | |
| Inverboyndie | Boyne | NJ: 667645 | |
| Invernochtie | Mar | NJ: 355128 | Now Strathdon |
| Inverugie (Longley) | Buchan | NK: 116508 | |
| Inverurie | Garioch | NJ: 783808 | |
| Keig | Mar | NJ: 619189 | |
| Kemnay | Garioch | NJ: 737161 | |
| Kennethmont | Garioch | NJ: 540295 | |
| Kildrummy | Mar | NJ: 472176 | |
| Kinbathoc (Towie) | Mar | NJ: 477119 | |
| Kincardine O'Neil | Mar | NO: 594996 | |
| Kindrochet | Mar | NO: 153992 | Braemar |
| Kinedward | Boyne | NJ: 709578 | |
| Kinellar | Garioch | NJ: 822144 | |
| Kinnernie | Mar | NJ: 725096 | |
| Kinkell | Garioch | NJ: 786191 | |
| Kintore | Garioch | NJ: 793163 | |
| Leochel | Mar | NJ: 550096 | |
| Leslie | Garioch | NJ: 598247 | |
| Logie-Buchan | Buchan | NJ: 989298 | |
| Logie-Durno | Garioch | NJ: 704264 | |
| Logie-Mar | Mar | NJ: 436024 | Also known as Logie-in-Mar |
| Lonmay | Buchan | NK: 056632 | |
| Lumphanan | Mar | NJ: 580039 | |
| Maryculter | Aberdeen | NJ: 844000 | |
| Methlick | Buchan | NJ: 858373 | |
| Midmar | Mar | NJ: 702059 | |
| Migvie | Mar | NJ: 437068 | |
| Monymusk | Mar | NJ: 685153 | |
| Mortlach | Mar | NJ: 324393 | |
| Oyne | Garioch | NJ: 881257 | |
| Peterculter | Aberdeen | NJ: 842004 | |
| Peterugie | Buchan | NJ: 128461 | Peterhead |
| Philorth | Buchan | NK: 001656 | Fraserburgh |
| Premnay | Garioch | NJ: 643352 | |
| Rathen | Buchan | NK: 001610 | |
| Rathmuriel | Garioch | NJ: 606268 | Christ's Kirk |
| Rathven | Boyne | NJ: 443657 | |
| Rayne | Garioch | NJ: 698302 | |
| Rothket | Garioch | NJ: 75204 | Moved to Inverurie |
| Skene | Garioch | NJ: 803076 | |
| Slains | Buchan | NK: 041290 | |
| Tarland | Mar | NJ: 485047 | |
| Tarves | Buchan | NJ: 869312 | |
| Tough | Mar | NJ: 615130 | |
| Tullich | Mar | NO: 391975 | |
| Tullynestle | Garioch | NJ: 558196 | |
| Turriff | Boyne | NJ: 722498 | |
| Tyrie | Boyne | NJ: 939629 | |
| 101 entries | |||
Bibliography.
Cowan, Ian B. (1961) Appropriation of Parish Churches in Medieval Scotland, Ph.D. thesis submitted to the University of Edinburgh (1961), 3 volumes. (This work has since been published but we have choosen to adhere to the original.) https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/30976
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