In the vicinity of Kinloss Abbey there are four distinct graveyards - two municipal cemeteries, one military cemetery and the historic graveyard. It is the historic graveyard that is of concern to the Kinloss Abbey Trust as it lies almost entirely within the confines of the Abbey precinct, most of the graves being in the church nave or the Cloister area some dating back to the 1680's.

As with many historic graveyards their state of repair can leave a lot to be desired and Kinloss is no different. Many of the graves have been overgrown with ivy, elder and other vegetation and a lot are badly damaged or have toppled over. There are a large number of family 'crypts' some of which are no longer tended and have fallen into disrepair. The grass around the graves is maintained by the local authority, the landlords, but this is in itself causing some damage to the grave stones and their surrounds.

It is the intention of the Kinloss Abbey Trust to carry out work on the historic graveyard as part of their long term restoration of Kinloss Abbey. This work is split into various areas which are detailed here.

Graveyard survey - members of the Trust have been helping this summer to clean gravestones and make a full and accurate survey of the historic graveyard.  The Moray Burial Ground Research Group are in the process of recording every grave within the confines of Abbey precinct. This includes the War Graves area and the modern cemetery.  They will be publishing their work in the spring of 2010.

Graveyard Clearance - Project One of the Trust included the clearing of the ivy and undergrowth from the ancient gravestones.  This work was carried out in autumn 2008 and is an ongoing project.

Graveyard Restoration - Funding is to be sought to enable the repair and restoration of the historic graveyard. Using specialist contractors and under the guidance of Historic Scotland and the Carved Stones Advisor it is hoped to be able to repair and re-erect many of the damaged grave stones.

Examples of some of the problems facing the Trust can be viewed in the Gallery