Kinkell is a former parish in the Garioch region of Aberdeenshire. It was named Kinkell (Gaelic for "head church") because its parsonage oversaw six subordinate churches.[1]
The area where Kinkell once stood is now part of the town of Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. The ruins of the Kinkell Kirk sit on the East bank of the River Don, two miles south-southeast of Inverurie [2]
Kinkell Kirk
Kinkell Kirk is a medieval church built in the 1200s[3] and redesigned in 1538. It is dedicated to St Michael.[4]
The 16th-century church which stands in ruins appears to have been redesigned by Alexander Galloway, rector of Kinkell and architect of the first Bridge of Dee in Aberdeen, as his initials can be seen three times inside the remaining internal walls.[4]
Tombstone of Gilbert de Greenlaw in Kinkell Church
The church had a sculptured tabernacle or aumbry for the Holy Sacrament, a bas-relief of the crucifix and the performance of Mass, and two-thirds of an incised slab representing a knight in armour.[1] The church was lit by an enormous East window.[4]
