Crossmichael Parish Church

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Crossmichael Parish Church

The Crossmichael Parish Church is a church building of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland in the Scottish village of Crossmichael in the Council Area Dumfries and Galloway . In 1971 the structure was included in the Scottish monument lists in the highest monument category A. The Gordon Memorial in front of the church is also classified as a Category A individual monument. Both monuments together also form a category A monument ensemble.

history

The earliest mention of a church at this location dates from 1164. With the construction of Sweetheart Abbey , the Parish was added to the abbey in 1274. Under James I , the lands were expropriated in 1611 in favor of the crown. The current church building was built in 1751 and, like its predecessor, is dedicated to Saint Michael. In the 1780s it was repaired and expanded. The sacristy was added in 1965. A cross was placed in front of the church for a long time. This formed the focus of an annual Michaelmas festival.

description

The church is located on the main road ( A713 ) on the northern edge of Crossmichael. The building has a T-shaped floor plan. A round bell tower emerges in the middle. Round bell towers are very rare in Scotland and only the ruinous Portpatrick Old Parish Church has a comparable tower. The tower is the last fragment of the previous church building. It was probably built in the late 16th or early 17th century, possibly 1611. It closes with a slate-covered conical roof with a weather vane . The entrance portal is at its foot. Various simple pointed arch windows are arranged along the facade . The building closes with a slate hipped roof .

Gordon Memorial

The Gordon Memorial is located in the surrounding cemetery south of the church. The classicistically designed monument was created in 1757. It is believed to have been made by a self-taught sculptor named Rae and is part of the burial place of the Gordons of Greenlaw and Culvennan. The quarry stone structure is designed with rusticated corner stones . It is three axes wide, with a memorial plaque embedded on each axis. Corinthian columns flank the central plaque. They have a broken gable with a coat of arms in the tympanum . A quarry stone wall with further memorial plaques surrounds the monument.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  2. ↑ a b Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  3. ↑ Information from the parish
  4. ↑ a b Entry on Crossmichael Parish Church  in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)

Web links

Coordinates: 54 ° 58 ′ 52.2 "  N , 3 ° 59 ′ 11"  W.