‘An enduring embodiment of love’

John R Hume looks at the history of a former estate church in Aberdeenshire.

ARBUTHNOTT’S little parish church is in rural Kincardineshire (now south Aberdeenshire), inland from Inverbervie.

It is essentially an estate church, built in 1242 for the Arbuthnott family, who had been allocated the parish by the Crown in the early 12th century, and who still live in Arbuthnott House, close to the church. A celebrated illuminated manuscript, the Arbuthnott Missal, was created here in 1491-92 for the family by the then chaplain, Sir James Sibbald. In 1506 a chapel, dedicated to St Mary was added by Sir Robert Arbuthnott on the south side of the chancel, with a burial vault below the ground floor. The church was badly damaged by fire in the 1880s, and in its present form is as near to its 16th century form as the restorers could make it.

The 1242 church presumably replaced a 12th-century one, and was dedicated to St Ternan. By the time of construction of the 1506 chapel was undertaken the parish belonged to the collegiate church of St Mary in St Andrews, hence its dedication.

Christianity was probably brought to this part of southern Pictland during a mission by St Ninian of Whithorn, and it seems likely that St Ternan, who was based in a monastery at Abernethy in Perthshire, was building on the effects of Ninian’s mission, perhaps being responsible for building the first church on this site. Ternan may have had oversight of the early diocese of Brechin, which appears to have been founded by Ninian.

In his mission to the southern Picts Ninian seems to have used the model of St Martin, bishop of Tours, in western France, who following the adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire in 312 is said to have penetrated the remotest part of his diocese and beyond on foot, on donkey-back and by water. To make his message acceptable to people in remote areas Martin adapted pre-Christian worship sites for Christian worship. Martin had been a priest under St Hilary of Potiers, who introduced the singing of metrical hymns to make Christianity attractive to converts. One can imagine early Christians in Arbuthnott some 1600 years ago singing hymns in their own language, which was probably rather like modern Welsh, a Brythonic language.

As I wrote in last month’s Life and Work I am currently deprived by the Coronavirus Covid-19 of access to the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, with its fine collection of books on church history, so I must skate over most of the post-Reformation history of the parish of Arbuthnott. Worth mentioning, however, in view of the strong connection of the parish with the Arbuthnott family is the creation in 1641 of the Viscountcy of Arbuthnott. This was the first such creation in Scotland, so that since then the occupant of that post is termed the ‘Premier Viscount of Scotland.

A recent Viscount, John Campbell Arbuthnott, served as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1986-87.

This unique and delightful rural building has many layers of meaning. On the evidence available to us it has direct and immediate links with the earliest days of Christianity, not only in Scotland but also in western Europe. It also has links with an old and respected family of landowners. Most of all, however, it has over centuries been physical evidence of an enduring embodiment of love for the Church, the body of the resurrected Christ, and the home of all imbued with the Holy Spirit, and thus of real and lasting meaning to the Church throughout Scotland.

This article appears in the June 2020 Issue of Life and Work

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