Fife graveyard’s historic monuments at centre of restoration bid
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Crail Preservation Society is asking Fife Council for planning permission to “comprehensively conserve” the two mural monuments at Crail Parish Kirkyard.
It has more than 20 mural monuments that are second only to those of Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh in terms of the large number that survive and the quality of their workmanship. Now, two of them – monuments XVI and XIX – could be in line for “comprehensive conservation” plans, if Fife Council signs off on the listed building consent requests lodged this week.
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Hide AdThe church, Kirkyard walls, and the gravestones are all A-listed, remarkable historical monuments.


“The monuments are important for their ability to demonstrate the development of a particular regional response to the new commemorative fashions and behaviours triggered by the Scottish Reformation,” information from the Crail Museum website said. “John Knox preached here in June 1559 so Crail church has strong associations with the Reformation.”
The monuments were built after Parliament banned burials within church buildings in 1593 – which promoted “ever grander graveyard monuments”.
“Crail was a prosperous place which was reflected in the size and quality of the monuments. These are important on the grounds of the large numbers that survive and the quality of the workmanship,” the museum said.
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Hide AdHowever, the monuments are now in “desperate need of repair” which is why the Crail Parish Trust has come forward with plans to conserve two of them.
“The main threat to the significance of the monuments [are] the continued deterioration of its condition and loss of the little serving detail of the carved surfaces,” the trust said in a planning statement. “They should be preserved for current and future generations."
If Fife Council agrees, the trust will create a full record of the monuments before, during and after the conservation works take place.
Then, it intends to “conserve the structure and detail of the monuments ‘as found”, by cleaning, repairing, repointing, and conserving them for future generations. Fife Council will consider the applications in due course.
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