Old St Peter's Church

Thurso, United Kingdom

Old St Peter's Church is a ruined parish church in Thurso. It dates to at least 1125, and at one time was the principal church for the county, administered by the Bishops of Caithness.

Early in the 16th century, the vicarage of Thorso was held by Sir John Mathesoun chancellor of Caithness, on whose demission or otherwise Queen Mary in 1547 presented Master John Craig to the benefice. Master Walter Innes, who appears in record in 1554, was vicar of Thurso in 1560, and continued to hold the vicarage between 1561 and 1566. About 1567, John Rag was minister, and in 1574, Alexander Urquhart was minister of Olrik and Thurso, and John Davidsoun was reader at Thurso. In 1641, Alexander Monro, minister at Durnoch had from King Charles I, a grant of 800 marks Scots or of eight chalders victual in augmentation of his stipend from the rents of the bishopric in the parish of Thurso and elsewhere.

Old St Peter's, still standing, was disused since 1832 when a replacement church was built for the parish. That church, St Andrew's and St Peter's, is of Gothic style and was built to a design by William Burn.

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Details

Founded: before 1125
Category: Religious sites in United Kingdom

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Glenys Goldsmith (7 months ago)
Open to all to visit, the local volunteers do their best to share their knowledge and to encourage support for the upkeep of the site. You can't enter the church itself due to the poor condition of the stonework. There are many interesting headstones to look for.
Sander Peters (9 months ago)
Nice to see an old building still around while it has been unused since the 18 hundreds. No need to make a detour for this, but nice to visit it if you are around.
D3tour (10 months ago)
Had a fine wee walk around here it’s awesome
Thomas Williamson (10 months ago)
Beautiful old church and was great to meet two ladies from the local historical group who battle to protect this wonderful old building. Knowledgeable and passionate about the place and so welcoming of all visitors. Certainly made the visit all the more interesting.
Tork Mackenzie (14 months ago)
The original parish church of Thurso stands within a stone-walled burial ground near the west bank of the River Thurso. Now a roofless ruin, Old St Peter's Church dates to at least AD 1220 and may have been built on the site of an earlier church. It was at one time not only the parish church of Thurso but the principal church of Caithness. Today its a fascinating place to wander about reading the inscriptions on the ancient stones and trying to imagine how it would have looked centuries ago
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