The Haly Ruid howff.

The origins of Newburgh on Ythan date back to 1261 when a charter was drawn up by Lord Sinclair establishing a settlement here. Later Lord Sinclair acquired the Chapel of the Holy Rood and St Thomas the Martyr on the banks of the Ythan Estuary. The Chapel is long gone, but the 18th Century Udny Family Mausoleum, which formed part of the chapel, can still be seen in the Holyrood burial ground. Most of the surviving gravestones are Victorian or later but there are a few 18th Century recumbent slabs decorated with symbols of mortality and immortality.

Holy Rood is the anglicised form of the Scots Haly Ruid, meaning holy cross, and a howff is a burial ground or other enclosed area .