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A ruined medieval church stands among gravestones in a Ross and Cromarty churchyard.
Easter Ross

Fearn Abbey

A medieval abbey church near Hill of Fearn, founded by the Earl of Ross in 1225 and still a parish church, with roofless aisles.

Welcome

On the flat, fertile farmland of the Tarbat peninsula, just outside the village of Hill of Fearn, stands a long, plain church of warm sandstone among old gravestones.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

It looks like an ordinary parish church, but its story goes back nearly eight hundred years.

The Earl of Ross founded an abbey in 1225 at another Fearn, near Edderton, and in 1238 the monks moved here to better land, bringing the name with them. Around the church are the roofless mausoleums added over the centuries, and St Michael's Aisle, built for the tomb of Abbot Finlay McFaed, who died in 1485. After the Reformation the abbey church became the parish church.

Its darkest day came on a Sunday in October 1742, when lightning struck during a service and the stone-flagged roof fell on the congregation, killing as many as fifty people. The church was rebuilt in 1772, and it is still in use today.

Before you go

The churchyard and the ruined aisles can be seen at any time, free.

Fearn Abbey is still a parish church.

Where
By Hill of Fearn, two miles from Balintore.
Founded
1225, moved here in 1238.
Rebuilt
1772.

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Did you know

A weathered heraldic carving with a Latin inscription is set into the wall of a ruined Ross and Cromarty church.
Did you know

A borrowed name.

The abbey was founded at another Fearn near Edderton in 1225, and kept the name when it moved here in 1238.

A gabled ruin with a pointed window stands beside an autumn tree in a Ross and Cromarty churchyard.
Did you know

An abbot's aisle.

St Michael's Aisle was added to house the tomb of Abbot Finlay McFaed, who died in 1485.

Hidden Scotland

From our guide to Easter Ross

Fearn Abbey looks at first like a plain country church among old gravestones, but its story goes back some eight hundred years. The Earl of Ross founded the abbey near Edderton in the 1220s, and in 1238 the monks moved here to better farmland, bringing the name with them. Patrick Hamilton, the young Protestant martyr burned at St Andrews in 1528, held the abbey as a boy. In 1742 the stone-flagged roof fell in during a Sunday service, killing more than forty people. The church was rebuilt and is still in use today.

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Hidden Scotland

From our guide to Ross and Cromarty

Near Hill of Fearn, on the flat farmland of the Tarbat peninsula, stands a long, plain church of warm sandstone among old graves. Its story goes back nearly eight hundred years. The Earl of Ross founded an abbey near Edderton in the 1220s, and in 1238 the monks moved here to better land, bringing the name with them. On a Sunday in October 1742, lightning struck during a service and the stone roof fell on the congregation, with great loss of life. The church was rebuilt in 1772 and is still the parish church today.

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Where it is

Just east of Hill of Fearn, two miles north-west of Balintore on the Tarbat peninsula.

Close byThe Seaboard villages.
  1. AntaAnta1 mile 3 min by road
  2. Balintore InnBalintore Inn2 miles 4 min by road
  3. Mermaid of the NorthMermaid of the NorthA ten-foot bronze mermaid sitting on a rock on the shore at Balintore, one of the Seaboard villages, her tail under water at high tide.2 miles 5 min by road
  4. Hilton of Cadboll StoneHilton of Cadboll StoneA great Pictish cross-slab on the coast.3 miles 8 min by road
  5. Shandwick StoneShandwick StoneAnother cross-slab, in its glass case.3 miles 8 min by road
  6. Whitewashed church with bell tower behind a graveyard and stone wallTarbat Discovery CentreThe Pictish monastery at Portmahomack.7 miles 12 min by road
Directions
Rocky shoreline curves towards a coastal village beneath low hillsAttractionsHilton of Cadboll2.6 miles
Dune grass frames a curved sandy beach with scattered coastal housesAttractionsShandwick Beach2.7 miles
Grassy coastal path curving above a rocky shoreline under grey skiesAttractionsCadboll Point3.3 miles
Weathered standing stone against a sandstone wall behind green railingsAttractionsArdjachie Stone5.7 miles
Ornate lamppost beside a gravel path leading to a stone churchAttractionsTain Museum5.7 miles
Restaurant tables laid with cutlery beside large windows overlooking the streetRestaurantsGreens Restaurant5.7 miles
Sandstone station building with blue "Platform 1904" sign above the entranceRestaurantsPlatform 18645.8 miles
Single-storey clubhouse with terrace tables, rockery garden and lawn under grey skiesAttractionsTain Golf Club6.1 miles
White single-storey building with "Inver Inn" lettering under a dark skyRestaurantsInver Inn6.5 miles

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The Daily for 25 October, from Scotland with love. bare tree stumps standing in an autumn loch, forested hills reflected in the still water

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the abbey, and when each is next free.

A grand stone mansion glows with lit windows at dusk, bare autumn branches framing the facade.Links House at Royal Dornoch
  • To stay
  • In Dornoch
  • 8 miles from Fearn Abbey
Check datesA long sandstone steading with a conical-roofed tower at its centre stands beyond a field of young crops, trees framing it on either side in evening light.Newhall Mains
  • To stay
  • In Balblair
  • 11 miles from Fearn Abbey
Check datesA curved cabin clad in overlapping wooden shingles stands on gravel among wildflowers, arched windows and a door along one side.Boath Cabin
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Nairn
  • 14 miles from Fearn Abbey
Free 25–27 OctCulbin Edge, Inverness-shireCulbin Edge
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Brodie
  • 14 miles from Fearn Abbey
Free 9–11 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in Easter RossAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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The collections it is in and more in Easter Ross.

CollectionAbbeys in Scotland Worth the Detour
More in Easter Ross
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For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .