Chapel of Garioch
Chapel of Garioch
Chapel of Garioch is not, as the name might suggest, a chapel, but a small village, located about three miles north-west of Inverurie. The lordship of Garioch dates back to at least the 13th century when the sister of Rober the Bruce was Lady of Garioch through her marriage to the Earl of Mar.

The chapel which gives the village its name was built as a private place of worship but was created a regular chapel in 1195 by the Bishop of Lindores.

It seems certain that the chapel was already in existence at that time. The chapel survived the Reformation and became a parish church of the Reformed Faith in 1583.

It was replaced in 1813 with the present church. Just to the north-west of the village is the Maiden Stone, a 9th-century Pictish cross-slab. There is another Pictish stone at Brandsbutt, and stone circles at Easter Aquhorthies and Loanhead, while just north of the village is Pitcaple Castle, a 15th-century tower house.