Publication Info
Publication Details
Introduction
The origins of the burial ground at Portsoy are the subject of some debate. As part of Fordyce parish, Portsoy was served in former times by St Tarquin’s church, 2.5 miles away in the village of Fordyce. The kirkyard there is certainly of some antiquity, with a great many interesting tombstones and other architectural features. A preaching station was established at Portsoy in 1741 and a chapel of ease in 1836. Portsoy became a quoad sacra parish in 1871. It is difficult to find written evidence of any religious site in Portsoy before the 18th century and, unusually, the Statistical Accounts offer no clues. Yet the location of the burial ground is known to have associations with St Columba. Immediately adjacent is “St Comb’s Well”, which is shown on the earliest available Ordnance Survey map (1866). Also marked is the site of a chapel dedicated to St. Columba immediately south of the well and within the boundary of the existing burial ground. The survey carried out in 1961 by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland confirms that the “site of the Chapel now lies in the middle of the modern cemetery”. The existing graveyard at Portsoy consists of four main sections, two of which came into use for burials only in the late 20th century. According to Andrew Jervise in Volume 2 of his “Epitaphs and Inscriptions” the earliest burial ground dates to about 1720 and the oldest stone recorded by him is dated 1723. This inscription and others belonging to the original graveyard are published as AA098. An extension was added to the south of this sometime in the mid 19th century, the earliest stone recording a death in 1865 and a further extension on sloping ground to the west was created in 1927. This present booklet provides transcriptions of these two sections, which now make up the greater part of the burial ground. This project was conceived in 2009, when local ANESFHS members joined forces with volunteers from the newly restored Salmon Bothy in Portsoy. Working parties faithfully turned out in all weathers until every stone had been recorded and each transcription had been checked. This publication is the result of their dedication over a period of three years. The expert guidance of Gavin Bell, as well as his editing skills, should also be acknowledged. We were particularly impressed by his mapmaking talents! Having been introduced by Gavin to current conventions in relation to recording monumental inscriptions, we have attempted to follow them to the best of our ability. The entire wording on each stone has been transcribed in full and original spellings retained. For ease of identification, personal surnames have been rendered in bold type. In a few cases punctuation marks have been added in the interests of clarity. Caveat: although we have done our utmost to avoid errors, we are mere humans. As always, researchers are advised to check the original source whenever possible. Alison Smith
Comments
Done by ANESFHS & Salmon Bothy, Portsoy. Sold as set of 2 parts
