Fintry Kirk

Last updated
Fintry Kirk, Stirlingshire
Fintry Kirk - geograph.org.uk - 259291.jpg
Fintry Kirk, Stirlingshire
Fintry Kirk
56°02′56″N4°12′23″W / 56.0488°N 4.20625°W / 56.0488; -4.20625
LocationCrow Rd, Fintry G63 0XG
CountryScotland
Denomination Presbytery (church polity)
Website https://fintrykirk.chessck.co.uk/
History
Status Parish church
Consecrated 1823
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architectural type Church
Administration
Diocese Presbytery of Stirling
Clergy
Minister(s) Rev Scott Brown (interim moderator)

Fintry Kirk is in the village of Fintry in Stirlingshire, Scotland. Fintry is a Church of Scotland Parish in the Presbytery of Stirling. The kirk is located to the East of the village. The parish minister for Fintry is shared with Balfron with the Manse located there.

Contents

The building

The Category B listed building, was built in 1823 using stone from the area and stands on a site that has been a site of Christian worship for centuries. [1]

Behind the pulpit is a stained glass war memorial with the names of the men and women from the village who died during World War I and World War II. This has recently undergone renovation. [1]

At the front of the Kirk is a cantilevered staircase, one of only two that have survived to today. [1]

History

The parish is first mentioned in 1207 and was originally dedicated to St Modan and was under control of the Collegiate Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Dunbarton. The only pre-Reformation vicar known by name is Stephen Culross in 1539. [2]

From 1560 Fintry shared a minister with neighbouring Strathblane and Campsie, this being Mr John Stoddart who was assisted by a reader, George Watson. However, complaint was made to the Privy Council that a James Galbraith of Kilcreuch had commandeered the manse and glebe. The same James Galbraith is noted as the main local force in removing the Catholic presence from the parish, and clearly thought he deserved their property for his actions. [2]

In 1634 the village had its first university trained minister: David Adamson who received an MA from Glasgow University in 1619 and served the parish until 1659. [2] In January 1641 Adamson publicly rebuked a group of parishioners for drinking on the Lord's Day at the house of James Provand. As the time in question was 10pm on a Saturday this tells us that the controls limiting activities on the Sabbath ran from sunset to sunset rather than midnight to midnight. This was normal prior to the widespread use of clocks. [2]

In May 1642 Jonet Miller was found guilty of "banning and cursing" and had to pay a fine of 4 merks and spend 4 hours in the public jougs. In January 1643 a Marion Ewing confessed to going to "Christ's Well" at Menteith with other persons, and collected water "to cast on her cattel": despite the well's name, this supersticious activity was frowned upon. A similar incident happened in 1649 involving a David Ewing who brought water to cast on his child from Strathfellen's Well. His sister-in-law Margaret Kessen went with him to get water for her husband's sores, it being bad luck to carry water for two tasks. They were required to spend three Sundays in the pillory, bare-footed and bare-headed. [2]

In 1654 Adamson organised a new school in the parish to combat the ignorance of the children, but noted the difficulty of some children crossing the River Endrick to reach the school. This addressed "a generation without knowledge of God". He introduced a rule for couples getting married that each would have to demonstrate knowledge of the Bible before they could be married. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milnathort</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Milnathort is a small town in the parish of Orwell in the county of Kinross-shire, Scotland and since 1996, the local council area of Perth and Kinross. The smaller neighbour of nearby Kinross, Milnathort has a population of around 2,000 people. It is situated amidst countryside at the foot of the Ochil Hills, and near the north shore of Loch Leven. From 1977 it became more easily accessible due to the development of the M90 motorway. The name comes from the Gaelic maol coirthe meaning "bare hill of the standing stones".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fintry</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Fintry is a small riverside village in Stirlingshire, central Scotland. It is located 16 miles (26 km) south-west of Stirling and around 19 miles (31 km) north of Glasgow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inverkip</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Inverkip is a village and parish in the Inverclyde council area and historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland, 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Greenock and 8.1 miles (13 km) north of Largs on the A78 trunk road. The village takes its name from the River Kip and is served by Inverkip railway station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canongate Kirk</span> Church in Edinburgh, Scotland

The Kirk of the Canongate, or Canongate Kirk, serves the Parish of Canongate in Edinburgh's Old Town, in Scotland. It is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. The parish includes the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Scottish Parliament. It is also the parish church of Edinburgh Castle, even though the castle is detached from the rest of the parish. The wedding of Zara Phillips, the Queen's granddaughter, and former England rugby captain Mike Tindall took place at the church on 30 July 2011. The late Queen Elizabeth II used to attend services in the church on some of her frequent visits to Edinburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liff, Angus</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Liff is a village in Angus, Scotland, situated 4+12 miles west-northwest of Dundee on a south-facing slope two miles north of the River Tay. It had a population of 568 in 2011. Surrounded by farmland, it has been described as 'haunted by wood pigeons and the scent of wild garlic' and having a 'wonderful view over the firth [of Tay]'. One-half mile east lies the site of the former Royal Dundee Liff Hospital, now given over to private housing. Further east lie Camperdown House and Park. One-half mile south is House of Gray, a large eighteenth-century mansion house in the neoclassical style, currently standing empty. The village contains twelve listed buildings, with others nearby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arbirlot</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Arbirlot is a village in a rural parish of the same name in Angus, Scotland. The current name is usually presumed to be a contraction of Aberelliot or Aber-Eliot - both meaning the mouth of the Elliot. It is situated west of Arbroath. The main village settlement is on the Elliot Water, 2+12 miles (4 km) from Arbroath. There is a Church of Scotland church and a primary school. The school lies 1 mile (1.6 km) further west, in the approximate geographic centre of the parish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auchtertool</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Auchtertool is a small village in Fife, Scotland. It is 4 miles west of Kirkcaldy. The name is from the Gaelic uachdar, meaning upland or heights above the Tiel burn. The Tiel Burn flows a few hundred yards south of the kirk and village, which was formerly known as Milton of Auchtertool. The parish belonged to the diocese of Dunkeld, having been given to Bishop Gregory by King David I in the twelfth century. Soon after, the church was given to the priory of Inchcolm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirkmichael, Perth and Kinross</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Kirkmichael is a village located in Strathardle, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is 13 miles north-northwest of Blairgowrie and 12 miles east-northeast of Pitlochry on the A924 Bridge of Cally to Pitlochry road, and is linked to the A93 Perth to Aberdeen road by the B950. The village is centred around Kirkmichael Bridge over the River Ardle.

Riccarton is a village and parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It lies across the River Irvine from Kilmarnock, this river forming the boundary between Riccarton and Kilmarnock parishes, and also between the historical districts of Kyle and Cunningham. The name is a corruption of 'Richard's town', traditionally said to refer to Richard Wallace, the uncle of Sir William Wallace. The parish also contains the village of Hurlford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirkoswald, South Ayrshire</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Kirkoswald is a village and parish in the Carrick district of Ayrshire, Scotland, 1+34 miles from the coast and four miles southwest of Maybole. It takes its name from its kirk (church), dedicated to Oswald of Northumbria, who is said to have won a battle here in the 7th century. The old church, which was built in 1244 and houses the baptismal font of Robert the Bruce, is now a ruin in the grounds of the modern church, which was built in 1777 to a design by Robert Adam. Kirkoswald is also noted for its connection with Robert Burns, whose maternal ancestors, the Brouns, were from the village. Burns also attended school here, and would later base the characters Tam o' Shanter, Kirkton Jean and souter Johnnie on village locals Douglas Graham, Jean Aird and John Davidson, the shoemaker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gladsmuir</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Gladsmuir is a village and parish in East Lothian, Scotland, situated on the A199 and near Tranent and Prestonpans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiltarlity</span> Village in Scotland

Kiltarlity is a small village in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is 12 miles (19 km) west of Inverness and 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south of Beauly, on the south bank of the Bruiach Burn. It has a population of under 1,000 people, and a local primary school, Tomnacross Primary. Lovat Shinty Club play at Kiltarlity, on a pitch beside the village's main street, Balgate Drive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durisdeer</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Durisdeer is a small village in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland, and in the historic county of Dumfries-shire. It lies 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Thornhill, above the Carron Water, a tributary of the Nith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coylton</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Coylton is a village and civil parish in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is five miles east of Ayr and 2+12 miles west of Drongan, on the A70. Sundrum Castle Holiday Park is to the west of the village, in the grounds of Sundrum Castle, which partly dates to the 13th century. A rocking stone stands atop the Craigs of Kyle near Coylton. It weighs about 30 tons and rests upon two stones. A large standing stone known as Wallace's Stone stands nearby. The village is also home to a parish church of the Gothic style, built in 1832.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Leith Parish Church</span> Church in Edinburghs harbour district, Scotland

South Leith Parish Church, originally the Kirk of Our Lady, St Mary, is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. It is the principal church and congregation in Leith, in Edinburgh. Its kirkyard is the burial place for John Home and John Pew, the man from whom the author Robert Louis Stevenson reputedly derived the character of Blind Pew in the novel Treasure Island. The church has been repaired, used as an ammunition store and reconstructed but still retains the basic layout of the nave of the old church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Leith Parish Church</span>

North Leith Parish Church is a congregation of the Church of Scotland, within the Presbytery of Edinburgh. It is serves part of Leith, formerly an independent burgh and since 1920 a part of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craigie, South Ayrshire</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Craigie is a small village and parish of 6,579 acres in the old district of Kyle, now South Ayrshire, four miles south of Kilmarnock, Scotland. This is mainly a farming district, lacking in woodland, with a low population density, and only one village. In the 19th century, high quality lime was quarried here with at least three sites in use in 1832.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Clason</span> Scottish minister

Patrick Clason was a Scottish minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly to the Free Church of Scotland in 1848/49.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Muirhead (minister)</span> Scottish minister

George Muirhead (1764–1847) was a Scottish minister of the Church of Scotland who joined the Free Church of Scotland in his final years and was one of their senior ministers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's Hall, Edinburgh</span> Church in Edinburgh, Scotland

The King's Hall is a church in Newington, Edinburgh, Scotland. Constructed as Newington Free Church in 1843, it is now used by Community Church Edinburgh: an independent evangelical congregation.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Fintry Kirk". National Churches Trust. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Smith, John Guthrie (1896). History of Strathendrick. p. 26.