Maclaren Clan Burial Ground, Leckine, Lochearnhead

Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Planning Authority

Leckine Burial Ground is a private, walled burial ground for the MacLaren clan. The burial ground lies on the N side of Loch Earn, just to the E of Lochearnhead village, on the hillside above the shore of the loch. It is today surrounded by the settlement of Earnknowe, with the disused Lochearnhead to Crieff railway immediately to the N. There is documentary evidence of the existence of Leckine burial ground in the late 17th century, whilst the date of the oldest identifiable stone today is 1773. The last MacLaren with the right to interment within the ground was buried here in 1993. Today the burial ground is preserved and maintained by the residents of Earnknowe. The burial ground has associations with one of the most prominent clans of the area and is preserved in outstanding condition.

The burial ground is surrounded on all four sides by dry stane dyking, entered from the S side through a gateway formed by 2 tall, square plan, shaped rubble piers, which are probably mid 19th century. The wallhead of the S wall is level, and appears to have been repaired at the same time as the gateway was built. The walls to the sides and rear are in a poorer state of repair, and are less carefully coursed than the S wall, suggesting they may not have been repaired when the work to the S was carried out. In the wall to the W, a long wooden beam is built into the stonework, in roughly the same position as an old gate marked on the mid 19th century map of the burial ground. It is unclear what this beam was used for, were it to be a lintel it suggests dramatic changes in the ground levels. There are 13 standing gravestones, with numerous lying stones both marked and unmarked.