Birnie Kirk

Birnie Kirk is likely a 12th-century church that has undergone various repairs and alterations over the years. Notable changes include the rebuilding of the west gable and the shortening of the nave in 1734, as well as a major restoration in 1891 by architect A Marshall MacKenzie. In around 1975, architect John Wright from Elgin made alterations to the windows on the south elevation.

The church features a simple rectangular nave with a rectangular chancel at the east gable, constructed from tooled squared rubble with ashlar dressings. The south elevation has an off-centre round-headed entrance, which is illuminated by three later round-headed windows. There is a narrow south entrance to the chancel with chamfered margins, featuring a re-set cusped medieval light. The chancel is lit by a single round-headed lancet on both the north and south walls, and there is a mural sundial present. A blocked pointed-headed entrance is located on the north elevation, which has no windows except for the chancel lancets. At the west apex, there is a birdcage bellcote dated 1734, topped with a slate roof.

Inside, the church has a simple design with tooled ashlar walls and a timber ceiling added in 1891. The plain Romanesque chancel arch is supported by engaged columns with cushion capitals. The north and south chancel walls feature deeply splayed round-headed lancets. Various mural memorials can be found, including the Sanders memorial dated 1670, which is a pedimented country Jacobean plaque flanked by small engaged columns that support 'winged souls' as caryatids. The font, likely from the 12th century, is a simple hewn stone basin supported by a thick circular stem with spiral fluting on a square base, with the stem and base dated to 1884-5.

The burial ground surrounding the church is roughly square and enclosed by a coped rubble wall, containing various tombstones from the 17th, 18th, and later periods. The entrance features a pair of plain square tooled ashlar gatepiers with a pair of cast iron spearhead carriage gates.