Approximately 10 miles north of Aberdeen lies the
village of Foveran. The parish church of the same name can be found by
following the A92 from Aberdeen turning off at the Newburgh junction on
the A975. The church is a little over a mile from the junction.
The building seen today dates from 1794, as you
can confirm for yourself if you check the stonework of the end gable
facing the road. Just at the roof eve you will see the date inscribed on
a corner stone. This plain but substantial building was originally
designed to accommodate 700 parishoners. Notice also the churchyard
walls, which were built from a fund bequeathed for that purpose by a
Miss Robertson. According to the 1845 Statistical Account the attendance
of the people was very exemplary, and their devout appearance and great
attention to the preacher was frequently taken notice of by strangers.
The years have been kind to this church and I
suspect that since its original construction there has been regular
maintenance undertaken on its stonework and roof. The grounds too are in
good order, though some stones have toppled or subsided. Overall though
the whole site seems in good order with the grass short enough to walk
on quite comfortably. Some trees and shrubs within the grounds could do
with some pruning as a number of stones are becoming enveloped, a fate
that is common to many graveyards with mature greenery. Thankfully there
is little sign of vandalism.
There are approximately 270 gravestones within the
grounds with the earliest that I could read dating from 1767. The
majority of the present gravestones however date from the 19th and 20th
century. Most are in reasonable condition apart from a few sandstone
ones which are beginning to crumble. There are quite a few horizontal
stones at ground level and these are difficult to read as they tend to
be either half submerged or covered in moss and general weeds.
Parking is easy just outside the church grounds,
though take care, as cars pass along the road at a very fast rate,
considering it is just a small country road.
Overall Foveran is an interesting graveyard within
the farming and coastal lands of Aberdeenshire. Well worth a browse on a
nice sunny day.
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