Kirk of Skulls
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Gamrie Church, in Banffshire; so called because the skulls and other bones of the Norsemen who fell in the neighbouring field, the Bloody Pots, were built into its walls.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Kirk of Skulls” mean?
Gamrie Church, in Banffshire; so called because the skulls and other bones of the Norsemen who fell in the neighbouring field, the Bloody Pots, were built into its walls.
Is “Kirk of Skulls” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.