Stoneywood Chapel Cemetery

Newhills, Aberdeen City

Address: Stoneywood Chapel Cemetery, Stoenywood, Aberdeen, AB21 9TN

Latitude: 57.191139

Longitude: -2.222770

Find A Grave Link: https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2586517/stoneywood-chapel-cemetery29 memorials

Website: -

Description: The small burial ground of Chapel of Stoneywood is on the site of the one-time Kirk of St Mary, which probably ceased to be used in the 17th century, but a small number of burials continued until the early 20th century. In “Epitaphs and Inscriptions”, A. Jervise claims it was “chiefly used by Roman Catholics” but no other source appears to support this claim. Jervise gave an incomplete transcription of just a single stone, presumably because none of the others dealt with people grand enough for his taste. In the Library at ANESFHS there were two independent “draft” versions of the MIs. The first is a photocopy of “Stoneywood Churchyard Epitaphs”, a booklet published by Robert Murdoch-Lawrance in 1908. This includes information (some fragmentary) on some 19 stones, but with no plan. The second is an anonymous and undated typescript, with a sketch-plan of the burial ground, showing 14 numbered stones, but with inscriptions from only 11 of them. The plan also shows a group of stones in the SW corner with the note: “these 4 stones have disappeared since the site was first visited”, but there are some question-marks over this claim:  They are shown as being immediately adjacent to the ancient St. Mary’s Well, which is low-lying and liable to flooding (and consequently not very suitable for burials).  The arrangement of the “missing” stones (one table-stone, and three uprights next to it) looks remarkably similar to the arrangement of 4 stones still visible and readable in the NW corner of the burial ground, so this may be a mapping error.  While it is not possible to identify all of Murdoch-Lawrance’s stones, all but one of the “lost” ones are clearly described as being in other parts of the burial ground (“a headstone adjoining” or “close at hand to Dr. Fordyce’s tomb”). It seems unlikely that Murdoch-Lawrance, who appears to have been a careful observer, would miss 4 entire stones. To try and resolve these contradictions, a site visit was made on a glorious sunny afternoon in July 2008. This confirmed the existence of 16 stones (but with no evidence of the “disappeared” ones from the sketch plan) and the almost ideal lighting made it possible to confirm (and in a few instances correct) both Murdoch-Lawrance’s readings of the older stones, and the anonymous member’s readings of the more recent stones, as well as allowing a tentative identification of one stone recorded by Murdoch-Lawrance but now fallen.