Dyce old burial ground, Aberdeen

Dyce Old Burial Ground, Aberdeen

Visited August 2018

On a hillside near Aberdeen Airport (just the other side of the River Don, near the new bypass) is Dyce Old Burial Ground. It's adjacent to Dyce Cemetery, which is still in use, with beautiful views over the river.

In the old part lies the ruined St Fergus's Church, and inside the door of this are the Dyce Symbol Stones - more the stones can be found on the Historic Environment Scotland website. The church itself dates to the 13th or 14th century, although it has been much repaired and restored - you can see lots of blocked up windows and doors, and some older stones are now built into the walls. It was in use until the mid-19th century.

Outside the chapel, most of the gravestones which remain are Victorian or later, although burials have been carried out here for much longer. One noticeable thing is that names don't always appear on the stones; people are referred to as 'mother', 'father' or even 'uncle'. I've never seen that anywhere else.

Beside the old graveyard is a Commonwealth War Graves cemetery, reserved for airmen - Aberdeen Airport was an RAF station during the Second World War, and this extension to the graveyard was created just for the burial of airmen. Next to this is the current burial ground.