Riverside Parish Church

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Riverside Parish Church

The Riverside Parish Church is a church building of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland in the Scottish town of Dumbarton in West Dunbartonshire . In 1971 the building was included in the Scottish Monuments List in the highest category A. The church is still in use as such today.

history

The history of Christianity in what is now Dumbarton can be traced back to the 4th century. At that time, what is now Dumbarton Castle was the ruler 's seat of the Kingdom of Alt Clut , which in 314 sent three bishops to represent the kingdom at the Council of Arles . In the 6th century, the Irish princess Modwenna had a chapel dedicated to Saint Patrick built on the walls of Alt Clut.

During construction in 1848 a grave slab was found below what is now Riverside Church. It showed the cross and sword, which is why it is assumed that it dates from the time of the Crusades. Since nobles were often buried inside churches, this indicates a church was built at this location in the 11th or 12th century; at least on a Christian use. Furthermore, it can be assumed that there was already a church in Dumbarton when King Alexander II raised the settlement to Royal Burgh in 1222 . The oldest written evidence dates from 1320 when King Robert I assigned the church to Kilwinning Monastery . Little is known about this building, however. The predecessor of today's church could have been built in 1372. The building had a wide but short tower. A transept was added in the 17th century , creating a T-shaped floor plan.

On January 9, 1810, an application was made to rebuild the church. The cost was estimated at £ 5100. The original design submitted by the Glasgow architect John Brash would have caused too high construction costs, which is why his second design had a much simpler altar area and simpler ornamentation and was based on the architecture of the Old Galston Church , one of his earlier buildings. The building was completed in the following year. The interior was lit with candles until 1832 before switching to modern gas lighting. The building was electrified in 1912. With the formation of the new Parish Riverside in 1972, the church finally became a parish church.

description

The church is located in the south of the city near the Levenufer , diagonally opposite the episcopal St Augustine's Church . The building is built in the Georgian style . The masonry of the elongated building is made of quarry stone , but is clad with ashlar. A two-story bell tower with a square floor plan rises on the western gable side. Underneath is the two-winged entrance portal with a fighter window , flanked by blinding pillars . On the eaves side, windows are arranged on five vertical axes. They were redesigned in 1885. There is a sundial on the south side. The building ends with a slate-covered gable roof . The gable triangles are bordered. On the first floor of the bell tower, arched windows are embedded on each side, flanking Ionic pillars. On the second floor there are tower clocks on all sides. The tower closes with a pointed helmet with an octagonal floor plan. A weathercock sits on it .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  2. ↑ Information from the parish
  3. ↑ a b c Information from the parish

Web links

Coordinates: 55 ° 56'35 "  N , 4 ° 34'2"  W.