The original Tarves Parish Church was dedicated to St Murdebur/Muirdebar, and traces of the medieval church can be found in the churchyard by the Tolquhon monument. The present church was built in 1798 and later renovated in 1825. The church is a rectangular granite building with areas of cherry cocking; a process of construction which embeds pebbles into the mortar at regular intervals. This was originally done to allow undressed blocks to be fitted easier into each row, but was still used for decorative effect even when the dressing of granite became cheaper through mechanical method. Stones from an earlier building and sections of carved gravestones can be found externally. Four 17th Century gravestones can be found leaning on the south side. There is a bell capped bird-caged bellcote on the west gable. The porch and vestry is dated later than the original church, with crow-stepped gable end and arched openings. The organ chamber apse was later rebuilt by James Cobban. There are two stained glass memorial windows in the nave that date from 1954 and 1965, and the window in the gallery dates from the late 1970’s.The original wooden gallery can be found inside, with its fixed pews. The church is a good example of original fittings and fixtures preserved within such a building.
William Forbes was the 7th laird of Tolquhon, and him and his wife Elizabeth Gordon are commemorated in a monument that was scheduled by Historic Scotland. The Tolquhon Tomb of 1589 can be found in the churchyard, and is the last surviving part of the south aisle of the kirk. It is an important example of a combination of medieval and classical ornamentation representative for that time, and well worth a look.
Parking is available in Tarves Square, opposite the published coordinates.
References:
http://www.scottishchurches.org.uk/sites/site/id/844/name/Tarves+Parish+Church+Tarves+Grampian
https://canmore.org.uk/site/84554/tarves-kirkbrae-tarves-parish-church
https://canmore.org.uk/site/19831/tarves-kirkbrae-tarves-old-parish-church-and-tolquhon-aisle
The cash cannot be found at the given coordinates! These will take you to the war memorial at Tarves Parish Church, by the junction of Kirkbrae and the B999. To locate the cache you must first use the following clues and the inscriptions on the front of the war memorial, to work out the actual coordinates.
The cache can be found at: N 57o 22.ABC W 002o 13.XYZ
A- Village vowels
B- 4th date – 3rd date
C- Lines on stem of cross
X- Sergeants – Corporals
Y- Privates/13
Z- Number of men who held same rank as Wm Urquhart of Braeside
Gloves may be required to extract this cache!
If you would like to add to the Church Micro series yourself then please look here
http://churchmicro.co.uk/
There is also a Church Micro Stats & Information page that can be found at
http://www.15ddv.me.uk/geo/cm/index.html
Well done Beano and Dandy on FTF!!