This parish church formed part of William the Lion’s generous endowments to his newly founded Abbey of Aberbrothoc (or Arbroath as it is now known), in the late 12th century. The church was dedicated by Bishop de Bernham in the 1240’s. It remained under the superiority of the Abbot of the Abbey of Arbroath until the reformation.
Although the church is dedicated to St Fittick, it is thought that ‘he’ is in fact an amalgam of two other saints, St Fotin and St Fiacre. Although there has been a church on this site since about the late 12th century, the ruins may date to either the late 17th or early 18th century.
The ruins feature a possible chain for a jougs, or scold’s bridle, a form of ecclesiastical punishment for women and gossips. One of the windows on the north side of the building is normally called a ‘leper squint’. It is unlikely that it is a leper squint, especially if this version of the church dates to the 17th or 18th centuries, when leprosy no longer existed in Aberdeen.
Throughout the medieval and early modern periods the church served the surrounding communities of Upper and Lower Torry, Balnagask, Tullos and all the scattered hamlets of the area down the coast of what was formerly Kincardineshire to Cove. Indeed people from Cove were carried to the graveyard of St Fittick’s for interment. An 18th century map of Tullos Hill shows what is called ‘Cove resting cairn’, which no doubt was a place where the funeral party would stop for a rest whilst bearing the deceased to St. Fittick’s.
The church itself was in use until 1829 when a new church was built. A need for a new church emerged as the population of the area grew: as people settled in new areas there was a need to build a new church in a more suitable location for the developing communities that it served.
The records of the church are very well preserved: pre-reformation material survived through the church’s association with Arbroath Abbey, whilst the post reformation Kirk Session records are also very complete. Three commonplace books, written by Dr Cruden, minister 1768-1826, have survived to this day in the care of Aberdeen City Archives. They contain notes on sermons but also extensive records of what crops he planted on his glebe as well as notes on his wider reading.
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