St Ninian’s Church, Fetternear, Aberdeenshire

St Ninian’s Church (ruins), Fetternear, Kemnay, Aberdeenshire

Visited August 2017

This site, in woodland near the ruins of the Bishops Palace, is a curious one. Apparently there’s been a church dedicated to St Ninian here since c. 1150, and a new chapel was then built in 1848. The present building, dating from 1878, stands over the foundations of the earlier buildings and their burials (including family tombs of the Leslie family, and at least one bishop), but due to a falling out between the landowning family and the Catholic Church it was never consecrated.

There’s a small graveyard around the ruin, which is now out of use. Most of the graves date to the 19th century, although there may be older ones lurk8ng in the undergrowth. The remains of the burials within the building aren’t visible, although a bit more poking around might have brought forth a few traces.

In winter the site might be more accessible, but in summer in was surrounded by bracken to be waded through, watching out for fallen walls, rabbit holes and ticks! Although the area is popular with dog walkers, they didn’t stray from the paths to come to this place, and there wasn’t much evidence anyone ever did...

St Dunstan in the East, City of London

 St Dunstan in the East, City of London

Visited June 2014

Not much remains of the churchyard of this simply gorgeous spot, which lies just to the north of London Bridge, between the Monument and the Tower. The church dates from before the Fire of London in 1666, and was repaired to a design by Christopher Wren after the Fire. It was damaged in the Blitz in 1941, and never rebuilt. After the War, it was decided to turn it into a park managed by the City of London, opening in 1970 in and around the standing ruins of the church. There are some gravestones around the walls, all dating from before the 1850s when the churchyard was closed to burials. 

This is a wonderful place to visit, and highly recommended for a visit - there might not be many gravestones to look at, but the atmosphere and ruins are an oasis in the busy City.