Cowie Graveyard (St
Mary of the Storms) is one of great antiquity. St Nathalan (Nauchlan)
was the patron of the chapel which was established prior to 678 AD. The
chapel was subordinate to the church at Fetteresso and in fact never has
been a parish church. The chapel today is ruined having been plundered by
Montrose in 1645 and never rebuilt. The graveyard continued to be used
until recently. In fact it was extended in 1892 and this extension can
clearly be seen beyond the original boundary, mostly on a lower level.
Take time to inspect the ruined chapel as it is a
particularly fine example of its type. The building was lengthened at the
west end in the 15th century and the architecture is quite different at
both ends. The east end boasts three very fine lancet windows (though
never glazed) while the west end is much coarser featuring one large
square window. Many other features can be seen if you look closely
including the adjoining burial vault built in 1842 to prevent grave
robbing!
The graveyard today is in good condition being
maintained by the local council. The site is near the
cliff edge and the view out to sea is quite
spectacular. It is a very special place to
me, partly because many of my ancestors are buried there, but also because
I find it a very atmospheric place. See what you think.
Cowie is located just to the north of Stonehaven
and access to the graveyard is easy if you park at the Cowie golf club.
Note that if you are coming from the north the entrance is a sharp left
just after the railway bridge. Drive at an appropriate speed and you
will have no problem. As you can probably guess I
highly recommend a visit to this graveyard.
If you require a specific gravestone photo from the above send me your relevant details and
I'll e-mail you what I have. Contact me
here
Click on photos below to enlarge
