Monument record MHG8246 - St. Duthac's Church, Easter Suddie

NH65SE 14 6651 5473.
(NH 6650 5475) Suddie Church (NR) OS 6" map, (1959)

This was parish church of Suddie, abandoned in 1762 when new parish church for combined Suddie and Kilmuir parishes was erected at Knockbain (NH 6459 5224).
The Church was dedicated to St. Duthac of Tain (d.1065)
N Macrae 1923; L Pullan 1927; H Scott et al 1915-61.

All that remains of St. Duthac's or Suddie Church is E gable virtually intact; part of N wall, 1.2m high containing an aumbry; and turf-covered footings of a section of W wall. The walls, 0.8m thick, are of roughly coursed masonry with rubble infilling bonded with shell mortar. E gable contains a small plaque with a family crest on it. N wall is connected to a modern building: graveyard is still used. According to Minister of U.F. Church at Munlochy, Knockbain Parish Church was erected in 1754, and combined churches of Suddie and Wester Kilmuir in 1762.
Revised at 1/2500. Visited by OS (N K B) 17 March 1966.

Suddy (Ross). The parsonage, along with that of Kinnettes, was assigned to chanter of Ross in reconstitution of chapter of Ross which was confirmed by Pope Alexander IV in 1255/6. At some indeterminate date before 16th century, however, the two parsonages passed to chancellor of Ross who appears to have exchanged them with chanter who, in turn, received benefice of Kilmorack. Both parsonage and vicarage fruits were apparently annexed, cure forming a united vicarage pensionary with Kilmuir Wester.
I B Cowan 1967.

The church and burial ground were listed at Category B in 1971.

Easter Suddie: isolated group of a churchyard beside a farm.
Suddie Church: of the church abandoned in 1764, only the E gable and a short stretch of the bottom of the N wall still stand, both featureless but probably late medieval. In place of a N transept, a crowstepped, mid-19th century mausoleum.
Beside the church's E gable, two table stones with almost identical inscriptions in the same cursive script, both commemmorating Kenneth Logan (died 1774), one erected by William, the other by Robert, Logan.
In the churchyard's NW corner, the burial-enclosure of the Mathesons of Bennetsfield. On its N wall, a weathered, rustically classical tablet, probably late 17th cent. Beside it a much larger tablet to John Matheson (died 1768) with a coat of arms. On the tablet to John Matheson ('late merchant at Fortrose) and his son John (both died 1769) an inscription beginning: 'HERE. Lies the young the friendly/ And. The. Just/ Who. Were both quickly. Hurried/ Into. Dust'.
J Gifford 1992.

The monument consists of remains of late medieval old parish church of Suddie. The church known as St Duthac's was abandoned in 1762 when the parishes of Suddie and Wester Kilmuir were merged to form the parish of Knockbain. From this date Knockbain, built in 1754, was used as the parish church. All that survives upstanding of St Duthac's, a simple rectangular-plan church, is the E gable (height about 5m) and 4.8m of the adjoining N wall (height 1.5m) against which is faced a nineteenth century burial aisle. The remainder of the walls survive as turf-covered footings which are no more than 0.3m high. The church is made of roughly coursed masonry with rubble infilling bonded with shell mortar. It measures 13.2m E-W by 6m N-S overall, with walls
0.75m thick. A small rectangular credence niche is set in the N wall and a weathered armorial plaque is incorporated in the exterior wall of the gable.
Info from Historic Scotland, scheduling document dated 2 1993.

See also:
NH65SE0082 Graveyard
J Aitken : 19/12/02

Medieval font in the collegiate church at Tain (NH78SE0004) is said to have come from Suddie church - HAW 8/2004

The scheduled area was specifically omitted from the Category B listing following re-assessment by Historic Scotland in 2015. <1>