History

Much is often made of the historical nature of Monymusk Church tracing its history back to the 11th century with the construction of the current building as the priory of St Mary’s Monymusk but if you trawl through the pages of local and national history as I have done over the last few weeks you find that our church heritage dates to around the same era though of course what makes a difference is that we no longer have any evidence as to what our early church in the parish of Cluny looked like. We know that from as early as 1233 the church here in Cluny was what is called a pendicle of Kincardine O’Neil church that is a way of say a branch of the main church of Kincardine O’Neil and in time during the next 30 years or so the church community had grown enough in Cluny to support its own vicar who was appointed to look after the parish. It may well be that there was a Christian heritage going back even further to the 6th or 7th Centuries as can be traced in Monymusk but I have found no evidence of this so far. We know that there was a Christian presence, a church here in the 13th century 800years ago. We don’t know what the church was like back then but we can say that it was Roman Catholic and it was linked through Kincardine O’Neil in the early days to the Cathedral of St Andrews as incidentally at this time Monymusk Priory was as well. Later this link would break and the link with the Cathedral in Aberdeen would be formed. Being associated with Kincardine O’Neil however had its privileges for the people in Cluny. Kincardine O’Neil is not that impressive a place now, a small village on the River Dee but back then this was an important stopping off place for it was one of only two bridges across the Dee and this meant a valuable resting place for many going north to the Mar and further a field. In Kincardine O’Neil there was a hospital for the poor established by one Alan Durward who was one of the most important figures in Scotland in the 13th century who ran the country while the king was a minor and the people of Cluny being part of the Kincardine O’Neil family could travel to this hospital for the poor for medical help. This is the middle ages and we have limited knowledge of what life wsa like in this parish. Farming would certainly have been the norm with little else to support the small number of people who lived here. Incidently later on the main industry in the parish of Cluny was knitting socks, after of course farming 

One account that I found says that the old churchyard where we now have the Fraser and Linton estates mausoleums etc was the probable site for this old church and indeed the old church was not called Cluny Church at all but St Machars Church. Named after the local saint St Machar who later on had a cathedral built in his honour and which still stands as you know in Aberdeen today. Indeed No doubt through the centuries this old St Machars church was rebuilt and the church became an important place of worship and discipline for the rural community, for we are told that in the era from 1500 – 1560 several local law suits were settled at the High Alter within the parish church of Cluny.


What could the church have looked like- well truthfully I could not find many references to it. One reference states that it was cruciform in floor plan with two aisle. This gives a clue that this was no small church because many of the cruciform churches were cathedrals and I show a simple plan of one of these. The church was supported by and possibly built with finances from the two great estates at this time which Cluny Parish served, the Cluny estate and Castle Fraser estate. Indeed records show that the North and South transepts on the plan of the church were the lairds pews one being Cluny estate and the other Castle Fraser 

For the next 150 years from 1560 or so the reformation was to play a changing roll in the life of the Church here in Cluny, for in that period the Church of Scotland came into being and this changed the life of the church here in Cluny. The reformation meant a move away from the practise of worship according to the rites and practices of the Roman Church and a new form of episcope and Presbyterianism was established and for a while it was not sure whether Presbyterianism or Episcopalians would be the national church but in time the Presbyterian church won out. The reformation meant that the church and its grounds were no longer owned by the Roman Church. In virtually all cases the church was purchased or in some cases taken over by the local land owners who became the patrons of the church. AT Cluny the reformation led to us having three patrons, The Gordon Family from Cluny Estate, the Fraser family from Castle Fraser and this may surprise you the Third was the Crown who had taken over Kinernie Church and in 1743 this was closed down and the original Kinernie parish split between Cluny and Midmar and Cluny benefited from this merger with an increase of area togther with half of the benefits that came from the crown to the old Parish of inernie.

The old Church was falling into disrepair, Possibly during the reformation many churches did not have the people or money to spend on them to keep them in order. The new reformed church was finding its feet and records say that Cluny was almost ruinous and so plans were made for a new church to be built. Our current church.

The church was not built on the original church yard but on part of the glebe and part of the ground given by Cluny estate. And so in 1789 our church was opened and the first minister was likely to be Rev Mr Robert Michie who wrote the Statistical account of the parish in 1799. He tells us of the union between Kinernie and Cluny, and the building of the new church. Which was opened in 1789, two years before we received the gift of the communion silver some of which we use today. 

Cluny was built after the reformation and as distinct from the early church with its High Alter at one end, the church being reformed and Presbyterian in polity, the Word of God was central to the people and so our church was established with the pulpit in the middle of a rectangular building. 

The Church was described as plain both internally and externally and was of its period. Its worth having a closer look at the original new Cluny Church as shown on this drawing showing the church in 1804.

First of all I take you to the top drawing of the outside of the building. The walls as we see them today, though a later renovation of the interior would open up other windows and close one of the main doors. If you go round the back of the church beside the bike shed you can see the outline of the original door.

The walls are cherry pointed and or rough masonry and are indeed the reason why our church has a Grade B listing which indicates that it is both of regional importance and of a style that should be protected.

The plain church was adorned with a bell tower and the bell came from the old church and this bell still peels people to worship today. It was made in Aberdeen, the same maker who made the bell for Monymusk and for Castle Fraser. Inscribed on the bell it says in Latin John Mowat made me in 1746. I ring on the Sabbath and I mourn at funerals.

The roof comprised of solid timbers of huge size, indeed I am sure that the thickness of the wood would carry far in excess of the weight of the sarked and slated roof.


Internally the church is completely different to the one we know and love. The reformation tradition of the centrality of the word of God was evident and can be seen still today in churches such as Lonmay where I was married and nearer to home in Fintray Church with its high Pulpit. So the minister can look at those upstairs as well as down. 


The pulpit is at the centre of the long east Wall and in front of it would possibly be a reading desk from where the Word of God would have been read from and in front of that a precentor desk from where the precentor would lead worship. At the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland the tradition in worship is to have at least one hymn without music being led by a precentor. I have a picture of the Chapel at Fort George which shows this relationship and it may have been similar here in Cluny

The area in front of the pulpit shows the boxed communion pews. This is repeated at the pews on both sides of the pulpit, tradition has it that at one side of the pulpit was that pews for the elders and the other side was the pew for the Manse family. I cant see my family wanting to sit at the front in such an open position though my ministers wife in Dundee took up her position each week at the front of the church in what was known as the Manse pew.

It is interesting to look at the pews downstairs under the gallery and see the strange way they are aligned. The people sitting in them would have been at right angles to the pulpit. I don’t know what this is for in the other churches of this ears all the pews faced the Bible and the pulpit. 

The Upper floor also has a couple of things worth noting

The upper floor is lined with pews with two areas where there is a shortage of pews . It is assumed that these areas were the Lairds pews ( or lofts) and the pews were absent to allow the local Lairds either to bring in their own more comfortable chairs or to have some form of larger more comfortable seating than wooden benches .

So the church remained, the disruption happened when a number of ministers left the church to form the Free Church and a free church building was erected at Sauchen. This divided the church in Cluny quite badly and indeed at the time of the disruption in 1843 our minister was disabled and was helped by an assistant. The new free church struggled for a number of years and indeed was the centre of a test case about the roll of its minister and session and as it continued to grow and shrink the parish church continued to be a source of blessing to the people in our parish area. A place for worship, a place of gathering, a place where people knew about the love of God.

I wonder if in a way to show the free Kirk that the Parish Church was still well endowed a new Manse was required. In 1852 the new manse was opened and the Ramage family were the first incumbants to stay there. It was described as a rather grand, two storey-and-attic, three windows broad and very deep, in granite ashlar with classical doorpiece. Offices in separate court.

Time moved on and with a newer form of worship and the introduction of an organ in the late 1800s a renovation of the church had to be planned to suit this new musical advance. So the church underwent another change. The pews were removed, the galleries changed and the church was altered to look very much as we know it today. It reverted to an Episcopal form of church with the pulpit at pone end with the Communion table in front. The one change from them to us today would be that where we have the open chancel area at the front with piano etc of the church there would have been side pews around the pulpit facing it.

We are all most up to date though the last major change to happen in the church came in 1965 when the church was electrified and the old boiler removed and new lights and electric heating installed. The windows were replaced and the church made fit for use in the late 20th century.

In 1983 as a result of congregations finding it hard to pay their way in the rural setting we were linked with Monymusk. This allowed for the congregation to sell the Manse and from the proceeds of the sale we were able to construct the hall. In this long history of our church I have not really touched on the union of the free church and the Church of Scotland, our parish with North and South churches Cluny is the North Church and Sauchen church was the South so that I could  focus on the building behind us. The hassles of the union are for another day as is the decision to keep this building as the parish church.

The Future

Our heritage is long and noble but tonight we have gathered not just to think about the past however we view it we are gathered here to launch what could be considered the next phase of church life in Cluny, with the launch of our roof appeal. It may sound grand to some to talk about the next phase of church life but this launch gives us a means of working together church and community to raise the funds required to pay for our new roof. It’s a cement that can bind us together as we strive to show the importance we place on our centre of worship and for the faith that it represents.

The work to be done consist of

Stripping the old slates off the entire roof over the main church, disposing of those what are past reuse and stacking for other projects those slates which can be reused. The old slates are to be recycled at Craigenlow Quarry and ground to dust or hardcore. I think

The roof covering boarding is to be stripped off and laid aside and will be turned into firewood

New roof boarding will cover the roof, then a breather layer membrane then the whole roof will be re slated in Spanish slates. The roof over the vestry will have its ridge re pointed and missing slates replaced.

The total cost for the work will be in the region of £32,000.

Detail of Work Cost of Work
Slater Work 23500
Joiner work 6500
Contingencies 2000
Total Cost (Approx) £32200


This is a lot of money to raise and while we have reserves built up over the years it is my hope that we can make a big inroad to this amount. I would hope that we may raise upwards of £16,000 some hope more. It’s a big ask but one which we will strive towards. If we don’t set targets we don’t get anywhere.

How are we to raise this money?

Well we hope to raise most of it through donations and fund raising, our buy a slate appeal, our donation book, we may organise a sponsored walk or games day in the summer and a concert in the autumn. We will also be asking members of the congregation to sue their gifts to raise money. To date we have raised not far short of £1000 before the appeal has been launched with generous donations, the sale of marmalade, the sale of quizzes, none of which were led by the Way Ahead group but arranged by members and friends who want the best for the church. Remember during this year we still have to raise upwards of £20,000 just to pay the regular costs of being the parish church. We are in for a hard year but with your help and encouragement we can do it and in the future people will remember that in 2010 the new roof was installed .

Thanks for listening and feel free to finish the wine or cheese and thanks for your continued support. 


Sourced from

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland

Statistical Account of 1793 By Rev Mr Robert Michie

Statistical Account of 1842 By Rev John Fraser & rev D Campbell

Notes from Dr R. O Scott

Proceedings of the Society 1981 By Slade

Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 111, 1981, H Gordon Slade

Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae: The succession of Scottish ministers in the Church of Scotland from the Reformation 


Part of a talk The History of Cluny Church  given by Rev Eeuan Glen to launch the roof appeal in Marc 2010.