St Congan's Old Parish Church

There has been a church on this site since at least the the 11th century and possibly as early as the 7th century. The remains of St Congan's Church and the surrounding graveyard are situated on a prominent raised hillock, aurrounded by trees to the south and west. The church is at the southern end of the town of Turriff, not far from the western end of the High Street and the town centre. Large ornamental iron gates lead into the church grounds from the town and houses have been built around the northern boundary. 

The exact date of the latest church is unclear but it is thought to be mostly medieval with a slightly later choir at the east end. It fell out of use after a new, larger parish church was built in the town (see St Ninian's Parish Church, Turrif) in the late 18th century and gradually degenerated into the roofless ruin it is today. 

The latest church on this site, St Congan's, was noticeably long and narrow, 40m by only 6m wide, which apparently meant the minister could not be heard by many of the congregation. The church was extended to the east at the start of the 16th century when the choir was added. The church is built from rubble stone, mostly red sandstone and granite. It would likely have been rendered originally with lime mortar. The church is roofless apart from a small section at the eastern end, which is slated and appears to be Victorian. It is likely this encloses a later mausoleum. 

The east gable of the church has a number of features that show periods of change and alteration. There are several small, blocked window openings and a weathered sandstone block carved with ten heads has been inserted into the gable (it is thought to have derived from the lost Hospital of Turriff and be a memorial to the Early and Countess of Buchan). A stringcourse just over halfway up the gable marks where the upper masonry layers are a little narrower - a slightly thicker wall may have been required lower down fro strength. The upper levels of stonework in the gable differ from the lower stages: slightly better-coursed sandstone dominates lower down while the upper courses and gablehead make use of larger and more randomly-arranged rounded boulders. This may show a rebuild of part of the gable at some stage.

The east gable is dominated by the extremely large double bellcote mounted on the apex. Although weathered and eroded, one can still make out some of the fine carving on the ashlar uprights and top. The twin arch-topped openings would have contained a bell each, and a bell still resides in the southern opening. Just below the bellcote is a large metal square clockface, black with gold numerals. It is dated 1828 and was taken from a church in Carnoustie at an uncertain date. 

The north elevation of the church is largely featureless, with the western end said to be later in date. The wall shows various phases of repair work and repointing The western part of the church does not survive and the north elevation is reduced to footings here, which have been consolidated. The west gable of the church has not survived and numerous later gravestones have been placed in the area where this would have stood. 

The south elevation survives to a similar extent to the north, with only the lower courses of stonework surviving at the western end, while the east part and chancel wall survive to wallhead height. There has been much alteration to the south elevation. One small rectangular window survives and there are a number which have been blocked up. An octagonal sandstone font has been wedged into the surviving window and rests on the sill. There is a rectangular doorway low down in the elevation, which has been blocked and a gravestone inset into the space. There is evidence of roll-moulded jambs and lintel, but they are heavily weathered. A crude relieving arch is placed above the door to help spread the weight of the wall around the weaker door opening - this would have been hidden by the lime rendering. Further to the east in this elevation is a taller blocked window (or possibly a door leading to a gallery), which has clearly been reduced to half of its size in the past, before finally being blocked up. 

The interior of the church does not survive other than as a roofless shell, with the exception of the east end, which has a curious rebuilt 2m section, which has been re-roofed and a wall built to create a very narrow room. The reason for this is not clear, but it may be a later private family burial mausoleum or it may have been built to house the later clock mechanism, which was taken from a church in Carnoustie at an unknown date. There is a roof light in the slated roof and a window in the west-facing gable section, which would provide light for when the clock was wound or repaired, etc. The rest of the church interior has a variety of burial monuments mounted on the walls and in the former nave. There is a walled off section to the east, which has a round-arched doorway and gate. Inside is a single, large family burial monument. 

Interestingly, there is evidence to suggest the church was plastered and painted with colourful biblical figures such as saints. In 1861 builders were removing part of the old choir in the chancel and a blocked window was uncovered. On the splays were finely-painted bishops, one of which had lettering above which read 'St Ninianus'. This painting was recorded and photographed, but the other one was destroyed when it was revealed. A watercolour copy of the bishop survives.