Kirkton Churchyard

Broad open spaces characterize the terrain of the strath, or river valley, carved by the river Halladale.

No trace of a church associated with the grave yard has been found, but stories persist of its existence. The place name, Kirkton, which means "Church town." Kirkton and nearby areas were formerly noted on maps as the Gaelic version of kirkton or Balnaechlish, roughly translated as "enclosure or field of the church. "

The sun was out, so it was a great excuse to go a wandering. My husband had been through this church yard a few weeks ago with the farmer on whose land it rests, and since then my husband had been looking for a good time to take me to see it. The farmer had copied out some of the history to help us look for the mystery of the missing church or to enjoy the tranquility and the history of such a spot.

I had to grow into the knack of being able to read a cemetery. I am indebted to my friend M. who many many years ago first led me into a grave yard and showed me how to begin to read the stones and to remember the people and their stories.

The surviving stones here date from as early as 1747. The earlier stones are made of sandstone so they are severely weathered, in many places no longer readable. I photographed them in the hopes of being able to read the image more clearly and list as many of the names as we could.

Later stones tend to be of granite. They are better preserved and reveal names still familiar to this area and some less so.

The church yard probably dates to as early as the 16th century, but a stone salvaged from somewhere on the site in 1895 bears the date of 1630.