Monument record MHG41436 - Old Parish Church, Kinettas, Strathpeffer

(NH 480 581 Graveyard (NAT) OS 6"map, (1971)

A graveyard, still in use, in which stood church of former parish of Kinettas, which name survived only as that of a farm house at NH 4818 581 in 1876.
No record is known of this church before period of Reformation, nor when parish was united to Fodderty, which is presumably when it was abandoned, but ruins were said to have existed towards end of C18th Bain gives "Killetash" as an alternative spelling and states that there was a 'Culdee' station or chapel here (presumably on strength of 'Kil' element).
OPS 1855; NSA (J Noble) 1845; Name Book 1876; R Bain 1899 <1>-<4>

Visited during the Highland Kirkyards project, run by Highland Buildings Preservation Trust. An old graveyard situated on a slope overlooking the village of Strathpeffer in the valley below. There is no church in use or redundant building.
The ground within the site is very uneven and slopes downhill from north to south. At the eastern side of the site the ground drops off steeply into deep hollow thick with vegetation, making it difficult to tell what, if anything, is there.
The north-east corner of the burial ground, above the hollow, is also very overgrown with many broken slabs, including a modern, 1935 gravestone.
The ground is not particularly well-maintained, at the time of the visit the grass had not recently been mown.
There do not appear to be any burials more recent than the first half of the 20th century. <5><6>

The last person to be buried in the churchyard was William Burt Fletcher of conon Bridge who died in 1987 aged 72 years. He was the grandson of the previous name on the headstone and had inherited his right to the lair. Dorothy Burr of Strathpeffer recalls that the Highland Council carried out works to tidy the cemetery and access road prior to the funeral. <7>