Description

Gothic hall church of different periods, consisting of tower and spire at W dated 1690, plain rectangular chancel dated 1794 incorporating 15th century W wall, chancel and gallery stair Alexander Hutcheson, 1899. Rubble built, harl pointed at S elevation of chancel, stugged and snecked with ashlar dressings at 1899 additions, irregular quoins to earlier parts, slate roof. 2-stage tower with spire. Large pointed windows with timber Y-tracery at S elevation, rectangular windows to N with round-headed cross-shaped astragals and cathedral glass at gallery level, stepped pointed windows to chancel, Tudor-arched doors and windows to stair tower and chancel porches, round windows and square- headed louvred belfry openings to tower; wallhead course, leaded coped skews with skew blocks, cross-finial to E gable.

W GABLE: tower advanced to centre, slightly advanced 1st stage with door, tall 2nd stage with 3 round windows (date plaque to lowermost), round window to return elevations, belfry opening and 2 round blocked openings to top at N, S and W elevations, balustraded parapet, further set-back stage with slated broached spire and lucarnes, clock face to E and W, weathercock finial; 2-stage stair tower recessed at right re-entrant, rounded angle, door and window to 1st stage, 3 windows to 2nd stage, curved roof; single storey rounded heating chamber to left re-entrant, door, curbed roof; evidence of earlier smaller gable within current gable recessed to left and right.

S ELEVATION: 5 windows, centre blocked, sundial to left angle.

E GABLE: datestone at gable apex, chancel gable advanced to centre with tripartite window, pentice-roofed porch at left and right re-entrants each with door (window to left return).

N ELEVATION: 3 windows to ground floor, 3 windows at gallery level above.

INTERIOR: boarded dado, panelled gallery at W end, pitchpine pews with plain poppyhead finials; pierless round-headed chancel arch with carved memorial panels to members of the Paterson of Castle Huntly family, Robert Lorimer 1900; 2 manual and pedal organ, John Compton Ltd, London W4, 1924; octagonal pulpit with carved panels of unknown date or origin depicting various Biblical and allegorical scenes; various stained glass windows, including chancel window in memory of William (d1889) and Anne Brand (d1885) of Mylnefield, by Robert Burns, Edinburgh; memorial plaques on N wall, Forrester family of Millhill, Lyon of Ogil (late 18th century), John Gelychtly grave slab (15th century); Mylnefield pew contains fragments of pre-Reformation font, bell presented by Earl Patrick, memorial stone to Appollonia wife of David Lyon of Castle Lyon dated 1698; 2 grave slabs on N wall of tower (circa 13th century), grave slab on S wall, Andro Smyth, dated 1643.

CHURCHYARD, GATEPIERS AND OUTBUILDINGS: rubble churchyard wall to N, S, E and W, round-and rubble-coped, ashlar gatepiers at N; tombstones of 16th-20th centuries, including cast-iron Wilkie tombstone (1865), large Gothic Low of Mylnefield tombstone at E wall, Paterson of Castle Huntly tombstones at S wall, (Robert Lorimer). Rectangular-plan, rubble piend-roofed building (possibly hearse house) at NW angle with large paired doors to Main Street; small square-plan rubble building at SE angle of original churchyard, pyramidal stone slate roof, door and window; lychgate at original S wall leading to churchyard extension, stepped walls and quadrant.

Statement of Interest

The church was supposedly established here by St Modwenna, a disciple of St Patrick circa 500AD. The building has been adapted and rebuilt several times, the rebuild of 1794 consisting of widening and shortening the chancel incorporating the existing west wall. Box pews and galleries on the north, east and west walls were installed at this time, only to be removed in 1899 when Alexander Hutcheson re-aligned the church and added the chancel and stair tower. The ground floor of the entrance tower was formerly a gaol, the arrow slit ventilator being its only window. The date panel on the tower reads 'This panel restored 1900. Founded in the year 1690 and finished at the charge of Patrick Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, Viscount Lyon, Lord Glammiff, and the bells wer giun by feffion and the clock by the frank contribution of the people' (weathered original stored in tower); segmental arch in original W gable now masked by tower, formerly part of W window.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17846890

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)