Hamilton Old Parish Church is a Church of Scotland parish church serving part of the Burgh of Hamilton in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. [1] [2] It is notable for its Georgian architecture and the church and grounds are Category A listed. [1] [2]
Hamilton Old Parish Church is a Church of Scotland parish church serving part of the Burgh of Hamilton in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. [1] [2] It is notable for its Georgian architecture and the church and grounds are Category A listed. [1] [2]
The church was built between 1729 and 1732. [1] [3] It replaced the parish's 15th-century Collegiate Church, which was located at another site, close to the mausoleum in Strathclyde Park. The church is an unusual, largely circular design. The church was built to a design by William Adam. [4] It is said to be the only church building to have been designed by him. [5] [3] [2] The interior was recast in 1926. [1]
The church contains a memorial to four covenantors executed in Edinburgh in 1666. [6] The church contains a stained glass window by Ballantine and Gardiner, representing Jesus, Martha and Mary that was fitted in 1876 in memory of Mrs James Stevenson. [7]
The churchyard contains the Netherton Cross, an historic stone cross that dates to the 10th or 11th century. [8] [9] The cross is of red sandstone and is cited as a rare example of ecclesiastical sculpture from the former British early medieval Kingdom of Strathclyde. [8] The cross was found in the grounds of Hamilton Palace and moved to the churchyard in 1926. [3] [8] The cross is reported to be under threat due to years of weathering. [10]
The churchyard also contains several Covenanters memorials. [3] Several of the graves are stated to be burials from the Battle of Bothwell Bridge. [11]
The entrance to the churchyard from Cadzow street is marked by coped sandstone walls and entrance gatepiers. [2] The grounds of the churchyard cemetery are open to visitors but burials no longer take place. [3]
The current minister is the Reverend Ross Blackman BSc MBA BD(Honours) [12] , who was ordained and inducted on 19 November 2015. Mr Blackman studied at Highland Theological College and University of Glasgow. The previous ministers include: Rev John Thomson (2001-2014), and Rev Dr Hugh Wyllie, who was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1992. Dr Wyllie is one of three ministers of Hamilton Old to have served as Moderator of the General Assembly since the end of the Second World War, the others being Matthew Stewart in 1947 and John Fraser in 1958.
Until 1960 this was a collegiate charge with two ministers. After this date John McKechnie, who had been minister of the second charge, became minister of the united charge. There were also two buildings - the Old Church and Auchingramont Church. Auchingramont Church was closed during the ministry of Douglas Macnaughton, who succeeded John McKechnie.
Airdrie is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on a plateau roughly 400 ft above sea level, and is approximately 12 miles (19 km) east of Glasgow city centre. As of 2012, the town had a population of around 37,130. Historically part of Lanarkshire, Airdrie forms part of a conurbation with its neighbour Coatbridge, in what is commonly known as the Monklands, formerly a district..
Hamilton is a large town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It sits 10 miles (16 km) south-east of Glasgow, 37 miles (60 km) south-west of Edinburgh and 74 miles (120 km) north of Carlisle. It is situated on the south bank of the River Clyde at its confluence with the Avon Water. Hamilton is the county town of the historic county of Lanarkshire and is the location of the headquarters of the modern local authority of South Lanarkshire.
Cadzow Castle, now in ruins, was constructed between 1500 and 1550 at a site one mile south-east of the centre of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The earlier medieval settlement of Hamilton was formerly known as Cadzow or Cadyou, until it was renamed in 1455 in honour of James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton. The castle sits above a gorge overlooking the Avon Water in what is now Chatelherault Country Park, but was previously the hunting and pleasure grounds of the Duke of Hamilton's estate of Hamilton Palace - this area being known as Hamilton High Parks. The ruin is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Cambuslang is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a town hall, it may also be considered the largest village in Scotland. It is within the local authority area of South Lanarkshire and directly borders the town of Rutherglen to the west. Historically, it was a large civil parish incorporating the nearby hamlets of Newton, Flemington, Westburn and Halfway.
Alloway is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland, located on the River Doon. It is best known as the birthplace of Robert Burns and the setting for his poem "Tam o' Shanter". Tobias Bachope, the mason responsible for the construction of Hopetoun House, Craigiehall, and Kinross House, also hailed from Alloway. Some historic parts of the village make up a conservation area.
Wishaw is a large town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the edge of the Clyde Valley, 15 miles (24 km) south-east of Glasgow city centre. The Burgh of Wishaw was formed in 1855 within Lanarkshire. it formed a joint large burgh with its neighbour Motherwell from 1920 until its dissolution when Scottish local authorities were restructured in 1975, and was then in Motherwell district within the Strathclyde region until 1996. The town is part of the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency. It has the postal code of ML2 and the dialling code 01698.
Hamilton Palace was a country house in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The former seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, it dated from the 14th century and was subsequently much enlarged in the 17th and 19th centuries. Widely acknowledged as having been one of the grandest houses in the British Isles, the palace was situated at the centre of the extensive Low Parks, with the Great Avenue, a north–south tree-lined avenue over three miles in length, as its axis. The Low Parks also contained the Hamilton Mausoleum designed by David Hamilton and the 11th-century Netherton Cross, while the High Parks contain Chatelherault Hunting Lodge designed by William Adam. Hamilton Palace was demolished between 1921 and 1926 after coal works beneath the house were discovered to threaten its structural integrity.
Greyfriars Kirk is a parish church of the Church of Scotland, located in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is surrounded by Greyfriars Kirkyard.
Mauchline is a town and civil parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland. In the 2001 census Mauchline had a recorded population of 4,105. It is home to the National Burns Memorial.
The Battle of Drumclog was fought on 1 June 1679, between a group of Covenanters and the forces of John Graham of Claverhouse, at Drumclog, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
Stonehouse is a rural village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on Avon Water in an area of natural beauty and historical interest, near to the Clyde Valley. It is on the A71 trunk road between Edinburgh and Kilmarnock, near the towns of Hamilton, Larkhall and Strathaven. The population of Stonehouse is around 7,500.
Govan Old Parish Church is the name of the original parish church serving Govan in Glasgow from the 6th century until 2007. In that year, the Church of Scotland united the two Govan congregations with Linthouse and established the parish church at Govan Cross, making Govan Old redundant. Govan Old Church is no longer used for regular Sunday services, but the building remains a place of worship with a daily morning service and is open to visitors in the afternoons. The church dedicated to Saint Constantine of Strathclyde occupies a Scottish Gothic Revival building of national significance within a churchyard designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The church houses an internationally significant collection of early medieval sculpture known as Govan Stones. All the carved stones come from the churchyard and include interlace-decorated crosses, hogbacks, and burial monuments dating to the 9th - 11th centuries AD. Govan Old and the Govan Stones are open daily between April 1 and October 31 from 1pm-4pm. Admission to the museum is by donation.
The Battle of Bothwell Bridge, or Bothwell Brig, took place on 22 June 1679. It was fought between government troops and militant Presbyterian Covenanters, and signalled the end of their brief rebellion. The battle took place at the bridge over the River Clyde between Hamilton and Bothwell in Lanarkshire, Scotland. The battlefield has been included in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland and protected by Historic Scotland under the Historic Environment (Amendment) Act 2011.
Old Pentland Cemetery is a cemetery in Old Pentland, near Loanhead in Midlothian, Scotland. A category B listed building, the cemetery dates back to the early 17th century.
John Chalmers, QHC is a minister of the Church of Scotland. From 2010 to 2017, he served as the Principal Clerk to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. In 2014, following the withdrawal of Angus Morrison on health grounds, he was nominated to be Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 2014-15; he was duly formally elected as Moderator on the first day of the General Assembly's week-long annual session. He succeeded Lorna Hood as Moderator. After serving his one-year term, he was succeeded by Angus Morrison. He is a Chaplain in Ordinary to the Queen - a member of the Ecclesiastical Household in Scotland.
Corstorphine Old Parish Church, formerly St. John's Collegiate Church, is at the old centre of Corstorphine, a village incorporated to the west area of Edinburgh. Built in the 15th century, in the churchyard of a 12th-century or earlier chapel, the former collegiate church was listed category A by Historic Scotland on December 14, 1970.
Anwoth Old Church is a ruined church building which was built in 1626 to serve the parish of Anwoth in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is roofless, but much of the walls remain, including the west gable which is surmounted by a bellcote. A number of substantial monuments exist within the church and its surrounding churchyard.
