The Logie Old Churchyard is an 11-minute drive from the Stirling Train Station, and is situated in a mostly-isolated plot of land among the Forth Valley. It is up a narrow road passing the New Church on the way. It was built in 1598, though more buildings were built before that, but they’re no longer standing. The first church was built on the site in around 685, but we learned that the first building on the site is thought to be from 1500BC, though that was not a church.
Our video about Logie Old Churchyard
This video, presented in 2 parts, features a Q&A session with local archaeologist Dr Murray Cook, with questions asked by Etive House students. (Captions are created automatically and are mostly correct!)
Logie Old Church
This Church was built in 1598 and it has been through quite a lot; The church was abandoned during the 19th century when the new Logie Church was built, and they used some bricks and parts of the roof from the old church. The church was partly restored around 2009 but it only in its incomplete state. It is looked after by a group of volunteers known as Logie Old Graveyard Group.
Important Graves
In the graveyard, there are 2 long thin graves that are Norse or Viking “Hogback” stones. You might notice that the grave looks a bit like a dinosaur’s tooth. They date from around 1080, and are believed to have been moved to this location. This type of grave is super rare in Scotland. One is still intact, and the other has been pieced together. Note how some pieces look out of place.
Many of the graves have ancient emoji’s engraved on them. These are usually about mortality and trades symbols telling of life and work over the centuries at Logie. Lots have what look like random letters on, which are actually the initials of the people buried there. It seems the cost per letter means some people couldn’t have their whole name.
One really important grave is the burial site of James Bryce and his wife. We found out that James Bryce had 3 wives, but because of the beautiful gravestone, we think this was his favourite wife. There are lots of symbols (we think they’re emojis) on this gravestone. The heart, for example, has been pierced by an arrow. It shows he loved his wife. The book is the Bible. There’s a skull and crossbones and an hourglass to remind people that life is short.
One of the big Memorials is for Alexander Paterson MD, born in 1822 and died in 1898 aged 76. He was the doctor to Robert Louis Stevenson and looked after the health of the people of Bridge of Allan for 50 years. (We learned that there is also a clock in Dr Patersons memory just up the road in the centre of Bridge of Allan).
We were particular interested in graves linked to the British Empire, and found one for General Sir James Alexander. He would have been really involved in the Empire and was considered a hero at the time. But as we’ve discovered, many of the people involved in the Empire were not so great after all.
Our Photos from around Logie Old Churchyard
Credit
This content was written, photographed and videoed by pupils of Etive House at St Modan’s High School, Stirling, as part of the Ceangail Skills Connect Academy. You can also see information about upcoming Academy sessions here.
Find out more about Logie Old Churchyard at www.LogieOGG.com
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