Dairsie Old Church facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dairsie Old Church |
|
|---|---|
Dairsie Church in the late 19th century, engraved by R W Billings
|
|
| Location | Dairsie, Fife, Scotland GB grid reference NO413161 |
| Built | 1621 |
| Built for | John Spottiswoode |
|
Listed Building – Category A
|
|
| Official name: Dairsie Old Church (St Mary's) | |
| Designated | 1 March 1984 |
| Reference no. | LB2610 |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
Dairsie Old Church, also known as St Mary's Church, is a very old church building in Dairsie, Fife, Scotland. It's about 1.2 kilometers south of Dairsie village. This church was built way back in 1621. It's special because it's one of the few buildings from after the Scottish Reformation that still uses the old Gothic architecture style. Today, it's no longer used as a church. It is protected as a Category A listed building, which means it's a very important historical site.
Contents
Discovering Dairsie Old Church's Past
When Was Dairsie Church First Built?
People first wrote about a church in Dairsie in the year 1183. Later, around 1300, the church was given to the Convent of St Andrews. It's possible that the church was rebuilt around that time.
Who Built the Current Church?
The church building you see today was built in 1621. It was built by a very important person named John Spottiswoode (1565–1639). He was the Archbishop of St Andrews. He had just bought Dairsie Castle, which is right next to the church. You can still see the Spottiswoode family symbol carved above the church's west door. It even has John Spottiswoode's initials!
Changes Over the Years
In the late 1700s, the church's original flat roof was changed. It was replaced with the sloped, or hipped, roof you see now. The church also had a big makeover between 1835 and 1837. This included changes inside the building. However, most of those interior changes have since been removed.
When Did the Church Stop Being Used?
Dairsie Old Church stopped being used for church services in 1966. The people who used to go there now attend a different church in Dairsie village.
