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Auldearn old parish church is a ruined medieval church situated in Nairnshire in the Scottish Highlands. The building stands on bedrock composed of Middle Old Red Sandstone, a Devonian conglomerate interspersed with sandstone, siltstone and mudstone that underlies much of this region. This red sandstone geology is characteristic of the local landscape and would have supplied stone for the church's construction.
The church served the parish of Auldearn and represents the ecclesiastical centre of the medieval settlement. Like other parish churches in the Highlands, it would have been constructed and rebuilt across several centuries, with the surviving ruins reflecting the successive phases of medieval religious life in this inland valley setting.
The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under scheduled monument reference SM5418, ensuring the survival of this important record of medieval parish organisation and religious practice in Nairnshire. The site remains a tangible connection to the spiritual and social structures that shaped communities in this part of the Highlands.
Auldearn, old parish chuch is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5418. View the official record →
Auldearn old parish church is a ruined medieval church situated in Nairnshire in the Scottish Highlands. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5418.
Auldearn, old parish chuch is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM5418.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Laikenbuie, cairns 300m SSW of (3.5 km), Rait Castle, enclosure 320m NE of (3.7 km), Higher Hillhead, cairn 715m NNE of (3.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Auldearn, old parish chuch's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Auldearn, old parish chuch stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.