The Parish of Logie is among the oldest in Scotland, being established during the reign of King David I from 1124 to 1153. The first church serving the parish was dedicated to St Serf and dates back at least as far as 1183, when it was referred to in a charter by Bishop Simon of Dunblane as being the property of the monastery in North Berwick. Records suggest that this first church was replaced by another in 1380.
The kirkyard is home to a fine collection of old, and in some cases very old, gravestones. Symbols of mortality such as skulls and crossbones, angels, and hourglasses can be found on a number: these were common from the Reformation and into the 1700s when the traditional symbol of the cross was viewed as too papist for the Presbyterian Kirk. There are also examples at Logie Old Kirk of symbols signifying the occupation of the person buried: including malt shovels, smiths' hammers and horseshoes, and shoemakers' knives.
Much older, and rarer, are two Viking hogback gravestones found on the east side of the kirkyard. These are thought to date back to the end of the 1100s, though one has at some point been, literally, smashed to pieces to be reused as building material.
#Logie #Stirling #Scotland
28 сен 2024
