Cockpen and Carrington Parish Church facts for kids
Cockpen and Carrington Parish Church is a church found south of Bonnyrigg in Midlothian, Scotland. It is part of the Church of Scotland, which is the national church of Scotland. This church serves the southern part of Bonnyrigg, including new homes in Hopefield. It also serves the countryside area south of the town, like the village of Carrington.
The church as we know it today started in 1975. That's when the churches of Cockpen and Carrington joined together. The old Carrington Parish Church building, built in 1711, stopped being used as a church. It is now used as an office. Before 1975, it was connected with Temple Parish Church, which is also now closed.
The Church Building's History
The main church building, now called Cockpen and Carrington Parish Church, was designed in 1816. A famous architect named Richard Crichton created the plans. However, he passed away too soon. His apprentices, R & R Dickson, finished building the church between 1817 and 1820.
This church is very important, so it's a Category A listed building. This means it's protected because of its special history and design. It is still used regularly for services today. The current building replaced an even older church that stood there before.
The church has a very tall tower, which is quite unusual for a church of its size. Its design was so good that it was copied. A larger version of this tower was built for Kilconquhar Parish Church in Fife.
Who Leads the Church?
Cockpen and Carrington Parish Church shares a minister with other local churches. It is linked with Lasswade and Rosewell Parish Church. This means one minister looks after all these churches. The connection with Lasswade began in 1977. The link with Rosewell started later, in 1991.
Past Ministers of the Church
Here are some of the people who have served as ministers for this church recently:
- The Rev Wendy Drake (1992-2007)
- The Rev Matthew Ross (2009-2014)
- The Rev Lorna M Souter (2016-present)
