Crichton Collegiate Church

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Crichton Collegiate Church

The Crichton Collegiate Church , also Crichton Parish Church or Crichton Kirk , is a non-denominational church building near the Scottish town of Crichton in the Midlothian Council Area . In 1971 the building was included in the Scottish List of Monuments in the highest category A. Church services are held irregularly in the church.

history

William Crichton, 1st Lord Crichton , then Lord Chancellor of Scotland, initiated the construction of the church in the 1440s, which was finally completed in 1449. A chapel may have previously existed at the same location. In the course of the Scottish Reformation , all depictions of saints in the collegiate church were removed. Pictures, tapestries, statues and tracery with leaded glass windows were destroyed and the building was unusable.

In 1641 the building was partially restored and used as a parish church. Due to the unfavorable location, only a few churchgoers used the Crichton Kirk. After a revision in the 1820s, there was room for 600 people, whereas rarely more than 100 were counted. In 1898 and again in 1998 the church was restored. Today it is no longer used as a parish church.

description

The Gothic building is isolated around 600 m southwest of the hamlet of Crichton near the west bank of the Tyne in the middle of the associated cemetery. Originally the building with a transept had a cruciform floor plan, but the choir has since fallen into ruin and has not been rebuilt. It is largely removed today.

The entrance portal is on the west side, where the choir was once located. The high profiled pointed arch was filled with masonry. The two-winged, wooden entrance door with a Romanesque arch is located in the middle below the arch. The square bell tower was once a crossing tower , which now rises on the west side due to the demolition of the choir. It is designed with paired horizontal slit windows that separate stone window posts from one another. A cantilevered reinforcement runs underneath the massive gable roof . The gables are unadorned, but on the east side there is a small roof turret with a bell.

Just like the opposite east side, the ends of the transept are also designed with flat tracery. The lead glass windows show various scenes from the life of Christ. They date from the years between 1899 and 1908. All roofs are covered with slate.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  2. ^ Information from the Scotland's Churches Trust
  3. ↑ a b Information on Church History
  4. ↑ Entry on Crichton Collegiate Church  in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)

Web links

Commons : Crichton Collegiate Church  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 55 ° 50 '37.4 "  N , 2 ° 59' 25.1"  W.