The Kirk of Botriphnie was dedicated to St. Fumach, who about 572AD had set up his mission here. The ruins of the original Botriphnie Kirk stand in the middle of the graveyard and are thought to date from ????.

The present Kirk was was built in ???

The following passage was written by the Rev Dr J S Stephen the last minister to live at Botriphnie Manse. 

ST FUMACS WELL 572 to 1972: "St Fumac was working in this area in the 6th century, having come from Whithorn when Columba was operating from lona and Moluag from Lismore. Unfortunately, we do not have as much information about him as we do about Columba and Holuag, but you can still drink from the clear, cold water of his Well: you can still see the site of his Kirk; and you can meditate amid the same hills as to why he came to Botriphnie - the little valley of the cattle.

We know that he was trained at Candida Casa, Whithorn, which had been founded by Scotland's first recognised missionary, St Ninian, in 397. It would appear that he came north by the "Cairn o' Mount" pass to Dinnet, where he formed a Christian community, before plodding on to Botriphnie. (Oh that we could fill in the gaps!)

Tradition tells us that he wore green tartan - surely a colourful personality. Then, before the days of parish boundaries, he is said to have crawled round the parish on his hands and knees asking God's pardon for the sins of the people. Whatever the origin of this, it indicates a man of stamina and character. The Well is the most positive and permanent record of his work. He was obviously a healer and concerned with helping the sick and the suffering.

St Fumacs Well is often described as being at the foot of the Manse garden, but that was before the present Drummuir-Mulben road was made. Now, the Well is some 50 yards to the right of the road - opposite the side road leading to the present Church and Fumac Kirk.

Another interesting feature is the outlet of the Well which originally ran directly into the infant Isla before the building of the railway changed its course. This tells us that the Masonry of the Well, and that of the outlet, dates to before 1860 or thereby. The Well, as formed by this masonry, is almost four feet deep and has a steady flow of water.

The memory of St Fumac was kept alive for centuries by St Fumac's Fair on May 3 and by the ceremonial washing of a wooden image of the saint, but one year in a spate "he" fell into the Isla and, when found at Banff, was "burned at the stake" by the minister, to have done with all such superstitious practices.

St Fumac's Cross, a richly carved monolith, stood at Botriphnie for centuries until taken by a local blacksmith to make a hearth for his forge."

Properties of the Well: Until the new manse was built at the end of the nineteenth century St Fumacs Well was the source of drinking water for the incumbent minister. Fortunately we have a good record of these ministers and their terms of office at Botrlphnie. Indeed I am informed that the Times ran an article high-lighting the extended terms of office of the Ministers which I believe is a record in Scotland and their longevity was credited to drinking from St Fumacs Well. (Unfortunately I have not as yet found a copy of the article.) 

Report from the Select Committee on Sites For Churches (Scotland). House of Commons 29 March 1847.

Primitive Beliefs: 

"At St Fumack's, Botriphnie, a gift would be made to the old woman who had charge of the Saint's image."

"Carrion in various forms was another of the witch's tools. Sometimes the whole carcase of an animal was employed. At Botriphnie on 12 February, 1656, compeared George Riach in Slagrein, complaining against Marjorie Barron for saying that his mother, in prejudice of his neighbours, buried a cat and her four feet upwards. Such an act prevented the kye and chickens from thriving. George Riach was removing from Slagrein, and being jealous of the incoming tenant, made his mother bury the cat, feet upwards, in order to spite the incomers. 'Nothing lucked there' it was said. Here the burial with the feet upwards was to do an injury to those cultivating the holding. But the same method might be employed for a beneficient end."

"In which case the washing of the wooden figure of St Fumack with water at Botriphnie may be regarded as a rain charm, and in fact may have caused the spate in the Isla, in which, according to one account, the image was swept away in the overflowing waters."