A weathered twelfth-century grave cover links Tillicoultry to a wider family of medieval roof-shaped monuments around the Forth.
Quick facts
- Date
- Probably twelfth century
- Architect / designer
- Unknown medieval stone carver
- Type
- Coped sandstone grave cover with roof-like carved ornament
- Designation
- Scheduled monument (SM2328)
- OS grid reference
- NS 92388 97579
Architecture and continuing use
The long sandstone monument has a coped, roof-like profile. Earlier recording identified rows of tegula-like blocks along its sloping sides, although weathering has made parts of the ornament difficult to read. Its form is sometimes described as hog-backed, but specialist comparison favours a related coped grave-cover tradition rather than an uncomplicated label.
Its story
The stone probably marked a high-status burial in the twelfth century at Tillicoultry’s older church site. Antiquarian and national surveys recorded it as the church itself disappeared. It entered the Schedule in 1963, and later cataloguing retained its distinct legal identity within a churchyard that is separately listed.
Why it is included
It is the oldest selected object and provides rare sculptural evidence for medieval commemoration, ecclesiastical connection and regional artistic exchange.
What to notice
- The pitched or coped profile resembling a small stone roof.
- Faint rows of block-like ornament on the sloping sides.
- Its placement among later gravestones without moving or touching anything.
Reading the surroundings
Do not touch, rub, clean, climb on or place objects against the stone. Use only lawful churchyard access and keep to stable ground; scheduling does not create a right of entry.
Timeline
- Probably 12th century A carved sandstone cover was made for a burial at the early church site.
- 1927 A national survey visit recorded the monument and compared its distinctive form.
- 1963 The grave cover received scheduled-monument protection.
- 2021 HES updated the supplementary designation information while retaining the protected point.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The dating is stylistic rather than documentary, and weathering limits how confidently all carved details can now be interpreted.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Medieval Grave Cover at Tillicoultry Old Churchyard, SM2328 — Current designation status, statutory identity, official mapped point, date, fabric and significance.
- Trove: Tillicoultry Old Parish Church and churchyard — National heritage inventory evidence for the medieval church site, early carved stones, mapped position and survey history.
- Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture: Tillicoultry old churchyard — Specialist scholarly description and dating discussion for the medieval grave covers and former church site.
- Historic Environment Scotland: SM2328 legal document — Formal scheduled-monument document defining the protected object and location.
Location
OS grid reference NS 92388 97579 · Location confidence: High for the current HES designation point; public text separately qualifies access, component identity and current use. · 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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