Insch

A dramatic hilltop ruin with stunning views over the surrounding countryside.

Pictish class 1 stone with part of a Salmon and Horseshoe symbols.

Class 1 Grey Whinstone Pictish Symbol Stone, 201cm x 102cm x 60cm. Three carved symbols on the south face, from top: Double Disc and Z-rod; Snake and Z-rod and a mirror. The stone stands on its original site, a low cairn, which is in a fenced enclosure, in front of the stone was a grave, this association makes this stone important to those who support the theory of symbol stones as memorials to dead individuals.

The two medieval burial monuments have been placed against the outer face of the WNW gable. The first, which measures 1.05m in height, is the head and torso of the effigy of a knight dating to the late 13th- or early 14th century. It is heavily weathered, and the figure's face has sheered off, but traces of detail survive along its more sheltered sides; the figure is clad in mail armour, with a coif, a surcoat, a belt, and a large shield. Beside the effigy there is a grave-slab of red sandstone measuring 1.8m in length by 50mm in thickness and tapering in breadth from 0.43m to 0.34m. At its wider end a wedge-armed cross has been incised within a circle. Running along the slab is an incised inscription reading: ORATE:PRO:ANIMA:RADULFI:SACERDOTIS:.
Although the inscription has been damaged, it suggests it may be dedicated to a priest Radulfus, Chaplain to the Bishop of Aberdeen between 1172 and 1194. A Radulfus is recorded as being a witness to a grant of land in Rayne to the convent of Melrose in 1172-99. Sandstone The stone, a Scheduled Ancient Monument, is a simple rectangle incised with an inscription and a simple circle enclosed cross. A badly eroded half of a figure statue lies beside the tombstone.

A weathervane that combines the traditional cock with an anvil leaving no doubt about the trade conducted in the premises below.

All that remains of the old kirk of Insch, said to be gifted to the Abbey of Lindores before 1195, is the W. gable complete with a stunning example of a 17th - century pedimented bellcote, in ornately carved red sandstone. The elaborate carving includes the letters M I L , The minister John Logie and the date 1613
The remains of the former parish church of Insch stand in its burial-ground on the E side of the town of Insch (NJ62NW 42). The visible portion of the church has been reduced to the WNW gable and the stumps of the NNE and SSW sides; it measures 6.2m in internal breadth and the random rubble walls are 1.05m in thickness. The gable incorporates a rectangular-headed doorway, and, above it, an arch-headed window, both of which splay internally. A scarcement at a height of 2.2m on the internal face of the gable indicates the former existence of a loft in the WNW end of the church. The apex of the gable is surmounted by the ashlar plinth of an elaborately decorated bellcote, which is dated 1613 and bears the initials M I L around a shield on its S side.

Pictish Class 1 stone bearing the rectangle symbol sometimes described as a book case and a wolf, plus the mirror and comb symbol.