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Carved stone panels and fragments laid along a shelf against the rubble wall of Kinkell Church.
Aberdeenshire

Kinkell Church

A roofless church of 1538 by the Don, with a rare sacrament house and a knight's effigy.

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Kinkell Church stands roofless in a field above the River Don, just south of Inverurie and across the river from Kintore.

It was dedicated to St Michael and built in 1538, probably on the site of an older church, and it was given up as a place of worship in 1771.

It is believed to have been built by Alexander Galloway, the parson of Kinkell, a remarkable churchman who also built the Bridge of Dee in Aberdeen. The church is a simple rectangle of grey rubble, with much of its north and west walls still standing.

Within the walls are two things worth the detour. One is a rare sacrament house, dated 1524, carved with Galloway's initials and coat of arms among other panels, where the consecrated bread was kept. The other is the effigy of a knight, a monument to Gilbert de Greenlaw, which the Forbes family reused as a grave marker in 1592. There is only a little parking, and the lane is not suitable for coaches.

A short drive awayThe FoghouseA quiet whisky, wine and coffee bar in Inverurie with over 400 whiskies by the dram.5 min by roadSee itThe front of the Foghouse on Market Place, Inverurie.
Before you go

Free and open at any time.

Little parking, and the lane is not suitable for coaches.

Where
By the Don, south of Inverurie.
Parking
Very little.
Where it is

Kintore.

Close byAround Kintore.
  1. Belvoir Farm elderflower, Perelló olives, baguette and salami on a checked tableclothThe Kilted Frog Delicatessen2 miles5 min by road
  2. The brick front of the Garioch Heritage Centre with its tall blue doors, in the old locomotive works.Garioch Heritage CentreThe story of the north-east told in a converted building of the old Inverurie locomotive works.2 miles6 min by road
  3. Dreamy Goat Coffee's white cottage front on North Street, Inverurie.Dreamy Goat Coffee Co.3 miles8 min by road
  4. The Brandsbutt Stone, pieced back together, its symbols and line of Ogham on the grey whinstone.The Brandsbutt StoneA Pictish stone in Inverurie carved with symbols and a line of Ogham, pieced back together.3 miles9 min by road
  5. Weathered standing stones in a circle overlooking fields and distant hillsEast Aquhorthies Stone Circle5 miles12 min by road
Directions
The front of the Foghouse on Market Place, Inverurie.BarsThe Foghouse1.9 miles
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White gabled building with red door, sign reading "Old Post Office" above windowsCafeOld Post Office Tea Room6.4 miles
A plate of toast, eggs, beans and chips at Café 83 in Kemnay.CafeCafé 836.7 miles
The whitewashed buildings and tall chimney of Glen Garioch Distillery in Oldmeldrum.AttractionsGlen Garioch Distillery6.8 miles
Marshall's restaurant, timber tables in a bright room of brick and stone.CafeMarshall's Farm Shop7.3 miles
The tall red granite Maiden Stone under Bennachie, its carving worn by weather.AttractionsThe Maiden Stone7.3 miles
The ring of standing stones at Loanhead of Daviot round its low central cairn, trees behind.AttractionsLoanhead of Daviot Stone Circle7.4 miles
Meldrum House's turrets seen through trees, heather in the foreground.AttractionsMeldrum House Hotel7.5 miles
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