Logie Fythenach

The name of this parish is given variously as Edenkellie, Logie Tytherach, Edinkelye and Logyfythenach. Quite regularly it is also called Brae-Moray.

Thomas Owen Clancy has recently published a paper in which he forensically investigates the place-name Logie and comes to the conclusion that it signifies an "ecclesiastical site".¹

The eminent historian Lachlan Shaw was of the opinion that, "most parts of this parish was anciently a forest." He derived this opinion from the fact that, in a charter of King Alexander II, dated 11 September 1236 and given at Dissington, in Northumberland, the king gave Andrew de Moravia, Bishop of Moray, three dabhaichean of Finlarig {NGR: NH 994254} in exchange for Curr Wood and Logie. The extensive lands² of Logie were very much part of the royal hunting forest and included the greater part of the Forest of Darnaway and the whole of the Forest of Drummine in what is now Morayshire. As early as 1369, we find Richard Comyn being appointed Forester of Darnaway.³ Shaw also seems to be correct when he says, "While that church stood (at Logie), there was no church at Edinkylie." This would imply that the original (parish) church in this area was at Logie and it was only at some later date, possibly after the Reformation, that it was moved to Edinkillie. Noting Blaeu's Atlas of 1654, we can see the "K. of Edinkell" marked very clearly just north of Edenkell (sic.) itself,⁴ and so we must conclude that the parish church building was located here by this date. But it is known that Blaeu based his map on the earlier one of Timothy Pont (ca.1583-1601) and it also shows the "Kirk of Edinkillie" at this southern location.⁵

Hew Scott, in his monumental Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae, comments that "Edinkillie was of old a vicarage".⁶ This is, in part, true but this is because, from 1207x1208, Edinkillie, (along with Forres), formed part of the prebend of the Archdeacon of Moray. This arrangement required the Archdeacon to make provision for both of these churches and, at Logie, this resulted in him appointing a vicar pensioner to serve the cure. But this did not imply that Logie was not a parish in its own right, it meant simply that the rectory and the rectory tithes were held by the archdeacon. Consideration of the charter evidence (see below) seems to indicate that the church lands were always in the possession of the bishops of Moray, but there is no certainty in this.

The patronage of the church was held by successive earls of Moray and, during these early times, the only village in the parish was Conicaval {NGR:NH 995534} , situated just south of Darnaway Castle, the seat of the said earls.

The present church was built in 1741 and 'improved' in 1813. The parishes of Edinkillie and Dyke were con-joined in 2018.

On Chapel Hill, about 1.5km east and slightly north of the present parish church, there is a significant collection of clearance cairns and hut-circles, and it is also said that, previously, there were two standing stones here. Local 'lore' tells us that 'the Danes' had a temple here and that it was this that gave the hill its name.⁷

Other Churches and Chapels in the parish .

Bridge of Ess. A number of sources speak of there having been a chapel at the Bridge of Ess where there was a crossing point over the Dorback Burn {NGR: NJ 008460} There are slight indications here of the remains of the walls of what could have been a chapel with a burial ground around it.¹⁰ The entry in the Ordnance Survey Name Book says that this was, "The site of a supposed ancient Roman Catholic chapel, no trace of which is now to be seen. It was considered to have been one of the first Christian places of worship in the parish."¹¹ The bridge carried the road from Relugas to Grantown.
It is significant that chapels were positioned at points where a stretch of water was to be crossed, and there is a causal relationship between this idea and the superstitious beliefs of the people of the time towards water. Water was always held by these people to be 'dangerous' since it was the home of sprites and spirits and other evil entities. The crossing of a river, by either a ford or ferry-boat, was not a matter to be taken lightly and, very often, chapels were built on one or other side so that the traveler could either pray for a safe crossing or give thanks after having made a safe crossing. It was the same with mountain passes, where one can often find a chapel at both ends of even remote paths. This is often the explanation for the situation of chapels in otherwise very isolated locations.

Tullidivie. It is recorded in the Fasti ecclesiae Scoticanae that there was a chapel at Tullidivie.¹² Although it is not marked on modern OS maps, Tullidavy is shown clearly on the maps of both Joan Blaeu (1654) (see above) and Timothy Pont (ca.1583-1601). This chapel is thought to have been located near to the ancient Doune of Relugas which recent archaeological excavations have produced radio-carbon dates of the 4th/3rd century BC from the lower occupation layers.¹³ It would not be surprising to find that there was a chapel at such an ancient site.

Logy Fythenach. The charter of Archibald, bishop of Moray, (see above) clearly records that this church was known as "the church of St John the Baptist of Logyfythenach". We have shown that it is most probable that the location of the first parish church was at Logie, not at Edinkillie. But our problem is not solved by this since the place-name 'Logie' is to be found in a number of locations locally, as recorded in the old maps of the area: the Park of Logie Buchannach;^{14 16} Buchannach;¹⁵ Jhons-Logy;¹⁴ Mekil Logy;¹⁶ Ihons Logy;¹⁶ Loggie.¹⁷ Of particular note here is Logie Buchannach which seems to embody a link to the ancient landholders. The Comyn family were the owners of Darnaway and Dunphail before the king gave much of Darnaway to the Randolph family. The chief of the Buchan family, Buchan of Auchmacoy, owns a church to this day, just over the River Ythan from his House of Auchmacoy, which is called Logie Buchan {NGR: NJ 989298} . This church was given to Aberdeen Cathedral by King David II in 1362 but is thought to date from the early 12th century.¹⁸
The question then remains as to which of these Logy place-names relate to the old parish church. Conclusive evidence is yet to be found but I would suggest that the location known as "Jhons-Logy" and "Ihons Logy" carry a link to the name found in the charters - "church of St John the Baptist of Logyfythenach". Certainly, they agree very well with the description of lying on the east bank of the River Findhorn.

Parish Clergy :