St Athernase Church

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St Athernase Church

The St Athernase Church is a church building of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland in the Scottish town of Leuchars in the Council Area Fife . In 1973 the building was included as an individual monument in the Scottish monument lists in the highest monument category A.

history

A chapel was probably built on the site around the year 900. The construction of today's St Athernase Church spanned nearly eight centuries. The Ecclesia de Lochres , probably built between 1183 and 1187, was subordinated to St Andrews Priory . David de Bernham , Bishop of St Andrews , consecrated the church in 1244 and consecrated it to the local Saint Athanasius , also Ethernesc , (not Athanasius the Great ), about whom little is known. Athanasius lived in the 6th century and was believed to be a contemporary of Columban . In the course of the following centuries the church building was redesigned and expanded numerous times. The choir and apse still come from the original church . The bell tower was added in 1745. The present nave is largely from 1857. Sandstone from a local quarry was used for the construction. Reginald Fairlie carried out further restoration work at the beginning of the 20th century.

description

St Athernase Church stands on a hill on Main Street north of the town center. It is one of the most architecturally valuable Romanesque buildings in Scotland. The original church building, today's choir, took up an area of ​​about 6 m × 5.5 m. Two orders of blending arcades adorn the choir and apse. They were restored in 1858. The apse is continued as a bell tower with a curved hood. The single-nave aisle church was reconstructed in the course of the 19th century, with older fragments being included on the north flank. In the interior there are grotesque grotesque faces and depictions of monsters, which do not count among the Christian motifs, but rather go back to Nordic tradition and mythology. Similar works were made between 1120 and 1150.

Individual evidence

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

Web links

Commons : St Athernase Church  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 56 ° 22 '54 "  N , 2 ° 53' 0.4"  W.