Notes:

The parish church and churchyard of Culsalmond are about 5 miles north of the railway station at Insch. The place has been a hallowed spot from very ancient times, for church and churchyard occupy the site of a prehistoric stone circle, which has now disappeared, though some of the stones are said to be still buried beneath the soil of the churchyard. A two-storied building stands in the north-west corner of the churchyard. Its lower portion consists of a vault which was built for the purpose of storing coffins in safety till the bodies they contained were useless for anatomical purposes. The walls of the vault are 3 feet 6 inches thick at the back and sides, but 4 feet at the front where the entrance is situated. As the vault is partly underground, the entrance is reached by a short flight of descending steps. There are two doors, an outer of wood and an inner of iron. The outer one, which fits into an iron framework, is 6 feet high and 3 feet wide, and is formed of three layers of wood with a total thickness of 3½ inches. It is provided with two locks, each 1 foot 7 inches long, 11 inches broad, and 2 ½ inches thick, and is further protected by an iron rod 3 feet 6 inches long, 2 ½ inches broad, and  ½ inch thick, which slipped over and completely covered the key-holes, and was then fastened down with a massive padlock. The inner door is 6 feet high and 3 feet 4 inches broad, and is formed of iron 1 inch thick. It also is provided with two locks, the upper of which is now missing, though the lower remains in good working order, and is similar in size to those on the outer door. The interior of the vault is arched with stone, the height from the floor to the top of the arch being 8 feet 6 inches. The vault is 12 feet wide, and was originally fitted up with three tiers of shelves on which the coffins were placed. These shelves were 6 feet wide and 12 feet long, so that they provided space for storing about a dozen coffins, a number amply sufficient for the needs of the district. However, this vault was taken advantage of by a wide area, coffins being brought from district seven so far away as Buchan. There was therefore no necessity for removing any of the coffins for burial in the churchyard until at least six weeks had elapsed and all danger of the bodies being stolen was past. These shelves have been removed, and the interior of the vault is now used as a store for the gravedigger’s tools. The room above the vault, which forms the upper story of the building, is said to have been used occasionally as a watch-house in cases where the corpse was buried in the churchyard without having been previously stored in the vault. That some such precaution was necessary is shown by an attempt which was made long ago to lift a body from this churchyard. A young man had arranged to meet the manse servant on a certain evening at the gate of the garden which adjoins the churchyard. He arrived a little before the appointed time, and shortly afterwards heard a conveyance approaching, so,not wishing to be seen, he stepped behind some bushes which effectively concealed him. The conveyance stopped, two men, descended and, after looking round, entered the churchyard, and proceeded to open a recently made grave. The man in hiding not being able to see them, but suspecting what they were doing, crept cautiously out of his place of refuge and proceeded to investigate. In doing so he accidentally made some noise which alarmed the body-snatchers, who fled immediately, but were so closely pursued that they had not time to mount their conveyance. The body-snatchers escaped, but left behind them their tools, and a horse and gig, which were never claimed by the owners.  About sixty years ago a Sunday school was held in the room above the vault, but the meeting-place was not liked by the children, and the school was soon removed to more suitable premises. The room has also been used by the parish church choir and the minister’s bible class, and in more recent times the Parochial Board and the Parish Council have held their meetings therein.