Churchyard, Monzie Parish Church

The churchyard or burial ground at Monzie has a rubble-walled enclosure, with a retaining wall to the roadside. It contains a representative collection of 19th century grave markers of relatively modest scale and carved detail, and a few earlier stones of note. A small Campbell burial enclosure, set adjacent to Monzie Parish Church, contains at least one monument dating from the mid-17th century. Elsewhere within Monzie Churchyard is a very uncommon dual-language stone (dated 1793) with a Gaelic inscription on the front and an English translation of the reverse. Other 18th century stones within the churchyard include the carved headstones of Andrew Mathie (dated 1754) and Neil McAra (dated 1779).

Historical background

The development of the churchyard at Monzie is directly associated with the development of the parish. The present church (LB5773) within the churchyard was built to the designs of William Stirling in 1830. It is located on or near the site of an earlier parish church of 1685 which may in turn have incorporated fabric from a church of 13th century origin. The footprint of the church and churchyard remain largely unchanged from that shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1863. The present church remains in use on an occasional basis, following the union of the congregations of Fowlis Wester, Gask, Madderty and Monzie churches in 2018 (2023).