thumb|240px|The kirk in 1895

Crathie Kirk is a small Church of Scotland parish church in the Scottish village of Crathie, best known for being the regular place of worship of the British royal family when they are in residence at the nearby Balmoral Castle.

Crathie Kirk is now united with neighbouring Braemar to form a single parish with two places of worship. Eventually this parish will be further enlarged to include Glenmuick (Ballater). The minister (since 2005) is Kenneth Mackenzie. Mackenzie was previously minister of the Church of Scotland congregation in Budapest, Hungary (1999–2005).

History

Crathie has been a place of Christian worship since the 9th century when a church was founded on the banks of the River Dee by Saint Manire (Bishop of Aberdeenshire and Banff and a follower of Saint Columba, the pioneer of Christianity in Scotland). It is traditionally held that Manire baptised Pictish converts in a pool of the Dee east of the modern village of Crathie. A single standing stone at Rinabaich is all that remains of Manire's church (where Manire himself is reputedly buried). Subsequent places of worship were situated further west, near the location of present-day Crathie village. The ruins of a 13th-century church, dedicated to Saint Manire, stand on the riverbank south of the current structure.

A later church was built at the current site in 1805. The British royal family attended the Sunday service here after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, on the morning of 31 August 1997.

Architecture

thumb|Interior

The walls are built of local granite and the roof made of Scots pine. Building materials were donated by the surrounding estates, and £5000 raised from the local population to fund construction. A gift of £2,000 was made by Queen Victoria's daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Louise who raised the money at a Bazaar held in the grounds of Balmoral Castle.

  • Victoria's devoted servant John Brown is buried in the churchyard.
  • Princess Beatrice, the youngest daughter of Queen Victoria, donated four bells which continue to hang in the belltower.
  • Edward VII donated two marble medallions commemorating his brother Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and sister Victoria, Princess Royal and German Empress.
  • Edward's son George V donated a communion table dedicated to the memory of his father. This was made from white marble quarried on the island of Iona, the site of Columba's monastery.
  • Elizabeth II donated a Bible decorated with the royal coat of arms.
  • Following the death of Elizabeth II at Balmoral, the church held a private service for members of the royal family on 10 September 2022.

Ministers

  • 1563 – Sir Laurence Coutts
  • 1567 – Richard Christison
  • 1574 – John Wilson
  • 1576–85 – Archibald Wilson
  • 1590–1608 – David Sanderson
  • 1626–63 – Alexander Ferries (Ferguson) M.A.
  • 1669–99 – William Robertson M.A.
  • 1700–14 – Adam Ferguson M.A.
  • 1715–48 – John McInnes M.A.
  • 1784–88 – James Wilson M.A.
  • 1789–1822 – Charles McHardy M.A.
  • 1822–40 - Alexander McFarlane
  • 1840–63 – Archibald Anderson M.A.
  • 1864–74 – Alexander Minty Beattie M.A.
  • 1867–73 – Malcolm Campbell Taylor M.A.
  • 1874–96 – Archibald Alexander Campbell D.D.
  • 1897–1918 – Samuel James Ramsay Sibbald M.V.O., D.D
  • 1919–41 – John Stirton C.V.O., D.D.
  • 1937–63 – John Lamb C.V.O., D.D.
  • 1964–71 – Ronald Henderson Gunn Budge M.V.O., M.A.
  • 1972–77 – Thomas James Trail Nichol M.V.O., M.B.E., M.C., M.A., D.D.
  • 1979–96 – James Alexander Keith Angus T.D., M.A., L.V.O.
  • 1996–2005 – Robert P. Sloan M.A., B.D.
  • Since 2005 – Kenneth I. Mackenzie B.D., C.P.S.

Burials of note

  • John Brown

See also

  • List of Church of Scotland parishes

References

  • Information on the history of the Crathie parish
  • Photo of Crathie Kirk