1.6 km to the north of Duffus Castle stands the old ruined
parish church of Duffus, which is also maintained by the
Department of the Environment, and is well worth a visit. The
church was under the invocation of St Peter and was in
existence as early as 1226. It contained a chapel dedicated
to St Laurence, as well as an altar of St Catherine. The
medieval portions which survive consist of the basement of a
western tower and a porch on the south side. The porch was
built by Alexander Sutherland, rector of the church in 1524,
and displays his arms and initials on the keystone of its
vault. The outer door is pointed and has a row of well-carved
rosettes in a hollow moulding. The vault within is
quadripartite with ridge ribs: it is quite early in general
style, but the details of its mouldings and capitals, and the
florid Renaissance shield with the arms of Alexander
Sutherland, pointed loopholes with a broad chamber, like
those at the castle. On its west front is a stone bearing the
initials and arms of Alexander Sutherland. The rest of the
medieval church is now replaced by a dignified structure of
the eighteenth century, remarkable for the beautiful
proportions of its windows. In the usual Presbyterian manner,
the pulpit was in the middle of the south wall, and there
were galleries on the north, east and west. These were
reached by outside stairs against the north wall and the east
gable. Two stones with the Sutherland armorial bearings are
built into the north and south walls respectively. The Dunbar
burial enclosure now lies outside the east end of the church.
Inside the church are many interesting gravestones, mostly of
the early sixteenth century. To the south stands a fine
churchyard cross, over 4.3 m (14 feet) high. The graveyard
was formerly surrounded by a causewayed path, made by a party
of Cromwell's Ironsides who were stationed here, possibly in
the castle. Like the castle, the church was burned during the
rising of 1298 and the rector received a gift of 20 oaks from
Edward I to repair it. In addition to the parish church, the
lord of the manor had a private chapel for the use of his
household. This chapel, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was
founded before 1222. It stood on the farm of Unthank, to the
south-west of the castle
