Rothiemurchus Old Church

The grave of Seath Mor Sgorfhiaclach (Shaw Mhor) who led his clansmen to victory over the Davidsons 'in combat at North Inch, Perth in 1396', in the graveyard of Rothiemurchus Old Parish Church. The Church is also known as the Doune Church for its secluded position in the grounds of the Doune of Rothiemurchus ancestral home of the Grants of Rothiemurchus. Shaw's grave is protected by 5 'Home Stones' said to have been brought from a prehistoric mound at the Doune. When the Grants ousted the Shaws from the Doune the Shaws' good luck sprit, Bodach an Duine, remained to protect the grave and placed the heavy stones on it. Superstition says that anyone who removed the stones would be cursed and meet an untimely death. A footman to the Duke of Bedford who tempted fate by removing the stones subsequently drowned in the Spey. Since then so many further attempts have been made to disprove the curse by moving the stones that they are now protected by a heavy iron mortsafe. The modern gravestone was erected by Shaw clansmen in the 1970s.

The present ruinous Doune Church was rebuilt in 1830 on the site of a much earlier church by Sir John Peter Grant, brother of Elizabeth Grant of Rothiemurchus whose Diary of a Highland Lady provides an evocative account of 19th century Highland life. The Church fell into disuse in 1929 and was partially restored as a Job Creation Project in 1977.