An eighteenth-century kirk, its burial ground and a simple sundial preserve Auldearn’s post-Reformation worship beside the separately protected medieval church ruin.
Quick facts
- Date
- 1757; substantially refitted in 1898
- Architect / designer
- Original designer not recorded; 1898 alterations by John Robertson of Inverness
- Type
- Harled parish church with burial ground, gates and sundial
- Designation
- Listed building, Category B (LB1647)
- OS grid reference
- NH 91941 55561
Architecture and continuing use
The long harled church presents an eight-bay south elevation with round-headed, keystoned doors and windows. A two-bell gablet marks the west end. John Robertson’s 1898 work added the circle-traceried glazing and recast the interior in a Gothic manner, including a bowed pulpit, reredos, gallery front and cusped roof braces. Rubble walls, late nineteenth-century gates, graves and the circular sundial complete the listed group.
Its story
The present building was erected in 1757 to replace the medieval church whose walls remain immediately east. A 1650 mural monument was retained, while the burial ground accumulated memorials from the seventeenth century onwards. The 1898 renovation was funded through a bazaar. In 2017 the legal description was clarified so that the separately scheduled medieval ruin was explicitly excluded from this listing.
Why it is included
It shows how a long-used religious site was renewed rather than abandoned, and how later designation now separates the living church, burial landscape and sundial from the medieval fabric.
What to notice
- The west-gable bellcote made for two bells.
- Circle tracery inserted during the 1898 refurbishment.
- The distinct boundary between the listed church group and scheduled medieval ruin.
Reading the surroundings
The Church of Scotland has recently advertised the property for sale, so regular worship and interior opening must not be assumed. View from public approaches, respect graves and mourners, and follow all current ownership or site notices.
Timeline
- 1757 A new parish church was completed beside the surviving medieval building.
- 1898 John Robertson reshaped the windows and interior in a Gothic idiom.
- 2017 The statutory record was amended to exclude the separately scheduled medieval ruin.
- 2026 The owner marketed the former worship building for a new use.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The sales brochure confirms marketing, not completion of a sale or any approved future use. The original architect remains unrecorded, and access arrangements can change without notice.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Auldearn Parish Church, Burial Ground and Sundial, LB1647 — Current designation status, statutory identity, official mapped point, date, fabric and significance.
- Church of Scotland: Auldearn Church property brochure — Current owner-published sales evidence that the former place of worship is being marketed for a new use, subject to the sale process and permissions.
- Trove: Auldearn Parish Church — National heritage inventory entry for designation identity, mapped position, related records and available archive material.
- Highland Historic Environment Record: Auldearn Old Parish Church — Local historic-environment evidence distinguishing the 1757 church from the adjoining medieval ruin and recording their shared site history.
Location
OS grid reference NH 91941 55561 · Location confidence: High for the current HES designation point; public text separately qualifies access, component identity and any mapped-area or location uncertainty. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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