OS1/15/25/57

Continued entries/extra info

[page] 57
Parish of North Berwick

[Continued from page 56]
Auld KirK - Near the harbour, on a small sandy eminence, close to the shore, stand the remains of
what is traditionally called the Auld Kirk; but these interesting vestiges have been sadly diminished,
even in very recent years. The main entrance, a strongly built archway, is still entire, and the
font is still permitted to remain in its primeval position and perfection. The building, said by
some to have been a chapel belonging to the Abbey, would seem to have been the Auld KirK of the
parish, and evidently was surrounded by the Parochial burying-ground, very long disused. Year
after year, in the violent storms which are not infrequent in winter and spring, the sea makes melancholy
ravages on this scene of ancient sepulture, and continues to disturb and discover many forms which
for centuries have reposed there. * * * It was in a vault at the Auld Kirk, in 1788, a metallic
seal was found in a stone coffin with the legend "Sigillum Willielmi de Douglas, - the
impression it produces is very distinct. * * * A large flat stone lies in the green centre
of the area which the building must have enclosed, And is said to mark the burying place of
the Lauders of the Bass. -- Stat: Acct: of Hadd; [Statistical Account of Haddington] Page 328