Inverurie Bass Cemetery, Aberdeenshire

 Inverurie Bass Cemetery, Aberdeenshire

Visited August 2020

The old cemetery in Inverurie is on the southern outskirts of this market town in North-East Scotland, between the rivers Don and Urie. Most of the burials are Victorian and later, and the cemetery is still in use, but this is not the main draw.

There are some wonderful historical monuments within the cemetery. Most noticeable as you enter, there are the remains of the first Norman motte and bailey castle in north-east Scotland, built by the Lord of Garioch in the 1100s. It was, as with so many castles in Scotland, used by Robert the Bruce at one point. These two hills give the cemetery its name, and are known as the Bass and Little Bass. They're fenced off, but there's a gate into the motte and a steep path up to the top and a stile to get into the bailey.

At the foot of the motte, in a glass case, are four carved Pictish stones. They used to be out in the open in the cemetery, but following conservation have been moved and protected from the elements. They were previously built into the walls of the old church which once stood in the cemetery, and were found when it was demolished in the 18th century.

Despite the age of the site, most of the memorials are late Victorian and later, with the cemetery still in use today. Memorials are organised in neat rows, with a couple of circles in the middle. There are some fine memorials in local grey granite, but no epic mausoleums.