BALLUMBIE

'Ballumbie' is located in Angus, near Dundee, Scotland.

Contents

Ballumbie parish church

References

Ballumbie parish church

First mentioned in 1470, the parish church of Ballumbie is last mentioned about a century later. Until recently its precise location remained unknown. Excavations carried out by SUAT Ltd in 2006 ahead of routine land-stripping for a new housing project uncovered burials associated with a stone building. The excavation revealed a simple rectangular stone building measuring 14m x 4m with both internal burials and an external graveyard.^[1]
A chantry chapel or ''laird's aisle'' measuring c. 4m square was attached to the south-east side. Such chapels allowed the laird and his family to be buried away from the commoners. In the case of Ballumbie, the lairds were probably the Lovell family. This family are recorded as the feudal owners of Ballumbie from the 12th century and they may have been the beneficiaries of a Norman-style plantation of new overlords by King David I. Their castle - now ruined - stands about half a mile from the church, which they may have founded.

References

1. Hall, D. 2007. The lost lairds of Ballumbie. ''Current Archaeology'' '207': 46-48