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Church of Scotland, Kirkmichael, Ayrshire


There was a church built in Kirkmichael in the 13th century. It was granted to Whithorn by John de Gemilston – Ecclesia Santi Michaelis de Gemilston. It had various names over the next two centuries – St Michael of Munthyduffy/Mentorduff/Kirkmichael/Munterduff. It was annexed to the priory at Whithorn in 1381. 

About 1567 the church was rebuilt and twenty years later it was vested in the King who in 1606 granted it to the Bishop of Galloway.  In 1641 it was transferred to the University of Glasgow and to the Bishop of Glasgow in 1661. It was again vested in the King in 1689. A lych-gate was erected and contained a bell cast by John Meikle in 1702.

The building was replaced in 1787(67?) on the same site. The design was by Hugh Cairncross. In about 1835 a new manse was built and this was sold in 1988 and another manse built to designs by ARP Lorimer and Associates. The church belfry was replaced in 1887. In 1972 the church was linked to St Cuthbert’s Church in Straiton and that continues.

Kirkmichael has a first world war memorial at the lych gate wall where also are blue plaques indicating the two Victoria Cross holders from Kirkmichael. They are Sir William James Mongomery-Cunninghame & Samuel McGraw for bravery in the Crimean War.

The church is accessed by a stone World War 1 Memorial Lych Gate with an abutting burial compound. Inside the lych gate are stone benches and an earlier church bell made in Edinburgh. The lych gate has rusticated pillars on the road side The church is T-plan with the long wall being to the south and the wing to the north. It is roughcast with a two storey entrance porch on the west. There is a belfry on the west gable with a bell dated 188x. All of the windows are round topped. The doorway in the entrance porch is a simple rectangle with double-leaf panelled doors and a shallow fan-light above. At first floor level there is a multi-paned sash window and on the west corners decorative urns. On the west gable either side of the porch are small windows at ground floor level. The north west wall of the nave has two windows one above the other with the lower window being the smaller of the two. This is generally the case for other locations around the church. The north gable of the north wing has a doorway similar to the porch but without the fan-light. Above it is a crest with the date 1787. There appears to have been a central shield below a crown but this has disappeared. The north east angle contains a graveyard compound for the Wallace Family of Busbie and Cloncaird. This includes a memorial cross in Celtic style. There is no lower window on the east wall of the north wing because of the memorials, however the north east nave wall has the double configuration. The east gable has an external stair with a central entrance at first floor level. This is by a double leaf round topped part glazed doorway. Below this is a small porch with a rectangular multi-paned window on its north and a door similar to the west porch on the south. The south wall has a small single storey entrance porch at its centre. This has a small round topped window on its south wall and a single panelled door on its west wall. Above is a panel with the date 1787. On eith side of this porch is a tall round topped window and also the double window arrangement.

The Church is T-plan with the church aligned east/west and with a north wing. This meant that there were lofts on the east and west and the north loft was the Kennedy's Loft. They are supportrd on timber columns. The pulpit in the centre of the south wall has behind it an original access to the vestry. This is now blocked off and the vestry is now a toilet facility. The pulpit is in stone , octagonal and designed by James A Morris in 1920 as a First Word War Memorial. It has a cenral list of casualties from the war and on either side are sculpted angels sculpted by Alexander Carrick. The the side on the south wall is a holder for an hour timer. There uis a free-standing light dedicated to Rev Walter Moffat. The lectern was gifted in memory of his wife. On south wall is a board with the list of the ministers of the church and next to it a stained glass window depicting "Suffer Little Children" by Christoher Whall and dated about 1905. The est wing has two stained glass windows. The first on the south depicting "He went about Doing Good" by A Ballantine & Son dated 1911 and on the north depicting "What must I do to be Saved" by Clayton & Bell dated 1898. Between the two the doors have the date 1897. The organ is the third one and was replaced as a gift in 1996 by David, Marquess of Ailsa. On the North wall is a marble momorial plaque to the Rev Henry Fairlie and dates to about 1911. It was designed by James A Morris and with a bronze portrait by Robert Bryden. On the window sill of the west window in the north wing is a marble memorial plaque to Sir James Shaw Kennedy of Kirkmichael and dated about 1870. Also on the north wall is a marble memorial plaque to Col Francis Cunninghame of Cloncaird and dated to about 1817 and by David Hamilton & Sons of Glasgow. 

The baptismal font is in stone and  is in memory of the Rev G A Johnston and dated about 1970. On the east side of pulpit on the south wall is a stained glass window depictuing "The Resurection" and possibly by Clayton & Bell dated about 1890 and commemoration Sir William James Mongomery Cunninghame who won the Victoria Crossand also his father.

The Parishes of Medieval Scotland : I B Cowan : 2014 : Scottish Record Society

Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae - The Succession of Ministers in the CoS from the Reformation - Vol III - Synod of Glasgow and Ayr (Reprint) : Hew Scott : 1920 : Oliver & Boyd

Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae - Ministers of the Church from the date of publication of Vols i to Vii (1914 - 1928) and Addenda and Corrigenda from 1560 to 1949 - Vol VIII : John Alexander Lamb: 1950 : Oliver & Boyd

Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae - 1929 -1954 - Vol IX : John Alexander Lamb : 1954 : Oliver & Boyd

Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae - 1955 -1975 - Vol X : Donald Farquhar Macleod Macdonald : 1976 : St Andrew’s Press

Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae - 1976 -1999 - Vol XI : Finlay Angus John Macdonald : 2000 : T & T Clark, Edinburgh

Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae - Ministers of the Church from the date of publication of Vols i to Vii (1914 - 1928) and Addenda and Corrigenda from 1560 to 1949 - Vol VIII : John Alexander Lamb: 1950 : Oliver & Boyd

Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae - 1929 -1954 - Vol IX : John Alexander Lamb : 1954 : Oliver & Boyd

Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae - 1955 -1975 - Vol X : Donald Farquhar Macleod Macdonald : 1976 : St Andrew’s Press

Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae - 1976 -1999 - Vol XI : Finlay Angus John Macdonald : 2000 : T & T Clark, Edinburgh

Second Statistical Account of Scotland : 1834/45

Third Statistical Account – Ayrshire : Strawhorn & Boyd : 1951 : Collins

Buildings of Scotland - Ayrshire and Arran : Rob Close & Anne Riches : 2016 : Yale University Press

Church Bells of Ayrshire : 1947/49 : Ranald W M Clouston : Ayrshire Archaeological & Natural History Society Vol 1

The Architecture of Scottish Post-Reformation Churches : 1560-1843 : George Hay : 1957 : Clarendon Press

Caledonia or  a Historical and Topographical Account of North Britain from the Most Ancient to the Present Times: With a Dictionary of Places, Chronographical and Philological, Volume 3 : Georges Chalmers : 1824

HES Canmore : https://www.trove.scot/place/41535

HES Canmore : https://canmore.org.uk/site/41535/kirkmichael-patna-road-kirkmichael-parish-church

Historic Environment Scotland : Listed Buildings : LB7534 _B

https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/apex/f?p=1505:300:::::VIEWTYPE,VIEWREF:designation,LB7534

Dictionary of Scottish Architects : https://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/apex/f?p=1999:9:34556323789725::::P9_ID:201522

WIKI Commons Category : Churches in South Ayrshire

Property Details
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    site_id : 11545

    Name : Church of Scotland, Kirkmichael, Ayrshire

  • Street : 80 Patna Road
  • Town : Kirkmichael
  • Island :
  • City :
  • Postcode : KA19 7PJ
  • Parish : Kirkmichael (South Ayrshire)
  • Local Authority : South Ayrshire
  • Location
  • Easting : 234545
  • Northing : 608966
  • Dates
  • Record Created : 31/05/2023 15:03:38

    Record Modified : 13/05/2025 15:43:31

  • Name: Hugh Cairncross
  • Role: Architect
  • Dates: 1787
  • Name: James A Morris
  • Role: Architect
  • Dates: 1919-1929
  • Notes: Pulpit design
  • Name: John C Wilson of Glasgow
  • Role: Bell Casters
  • Dates: 188?
  • Name: Clayton & Bell?
  • Role: Stained Glass
  • Dates: 1898
  • Name: Christopher Whall
  • Role: Stained Glass
  • Dates: 1905 (about)
  • Name: A Ballentine & Son of Edinburgh
  • Role: Stained Glass
  • Dates: 1911
  • Name: David Hamilton & Sons of Edinburgh
  • Role: Stonemasons
  • Dates: 1917 (about)
  • Notes: Monument
  • Name: James A Morris
  • Role: Architect
  • Dates: 1911 (about)
  • Notes: Bronze monument
  • Name: Robert Bryden
  • Role: Architect
  • Dates: 1911 (about)
  • Notes: Bronze monument
  • Name: Alexander Carrick
  • Role: Stonemason
  • Dates: 1919-1920
  • Notes: Pulpit
  • Name: ARP Lorimer & Associates
  • Role: Architects
  • Dates: 1988
  • Notes: Manse replaced
  • Name: St Michael
  • Role: Dedicatee
  • Dates: 13th C
  • Title: Church rebuilt in T-plan
  • Description:
  • Date From: 1787
  • Title: Manse rebuilt
  • Description:
  • Date From: 1835 (about)
  • Title: Belfry rebuilt
  • Description:
  • Date From: 1887
  • Title: Linked to Straiton Church
  • Description:
  • Date From: 1977
  • Title: Old manse sold & new manse built
  • Description:
  • Date From: 1988