Monument record MHG42221 - Medieval cross slab - Inverallan Church and Graveyard

(NJ 0266 2602) Inverallan Church (NR) (Site of)
OS 6"map, Morayshire, 2nd ed., (1905)

The buried walls and foundations of church were uncovered and destroyed shortly before December 1888, (A Mitchell 1889) when the graveyard was extended. The building had been 80 feet long and 21 feet wide with a cross wall dividing it into two unequal portions. At West end were found a granite boulder with a basin, a font (H Scott 1915-61), standing in 1926 at entrance to graveyard, and a Pictish symbol stone, now built into the west wall of the grave- yard. The church is referred to in 1230 AD (L Shaw 1882) and is believed (H Scott 1915-61) to have been dedicated to St Futach.
A free-standing stone slab with a latin cross on each face, standing in the older part of the graveyard, was named by Mitchell in 1875 as the Inverallan Cross, but in 1888 as the Priest's Stone, while Scott names it as Futach's Stone (Futach, or St Fiacre, being a 7th century Irish saint.)
"St Futach's Well" partly filled with grass-grown mud, stood west of the road along the Spey a short distance from the graveyard (H Scott 1915-61).
L Shaw 1882; A Mitchell and J Drummond 1875; A Mitchell 1889; H Scott 1915-61; J R Allen and J Anderson 1903.

No trace remains of the church or well and there is no local knowledge of the dedication.
The granite boulder with incised cup, as described by Mitchell, is a baptismal font. It lies at the entrance to the graveyard at NJ 0274 2604.
The much-weathered Pictish symbol stone, as described and planned by Allan and Anderson (1903), and Mitchell, is built into the NW wall of the graveyard at NJ 0265 2603.
The incised cross-slab at NJ 0267 2601, generally as described, measures 1.3m high, 0.6m wide and 0.2m thick.
Graveyard still in use.
Symbol stone and incised cross-slab surveyed at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (N K B) 2 September 1966.

No change. The well shown on OS 6"map at NJ 0284 2655 is a natural spring issuing into a wooden rectangular box measuring 0.5m long by 0.4m wide by 0.3m deep. It could not be ascertained if this was St Futach's Well.
Visited by OS (R L) 8 February 1971.

Only the Pictish Symbol Stone is scheduled.

A stone with incised decoration on it is built into the wall at the south-east of the graveyard. The carving makes no distinct pattern.
See photos in Ass. Docs.
Information from Tom Gray to HC, 28.7.1991

Letter received from HS proposing to re-schedule the monument. According to this, the monument was first scheduled on 14 July 1964, but 'an inadequate area was included to protect all of the archaeological remains: the present rescheduling rectifies this. There are two areas to be scheduled, one around the Pictish symbol stone and the other around the freestanding cross-incised slab, both extending to 2m around each stone, as indicated by red crosses on the attached map extract' Full details, including the Statement of Cultural Importance from which the above quotations are taken, have been deposited in Assoc. Documents. File
John Wood 6.6.2000

Access audit 138 - HAW 11/2003

Site visited and photographed by John Halliday, 30/09/03. Highland Archaeology Challenge. See assoc. docs. File.
J Aikten : 20/01/04.