The Old Kirk, Kirkcaldy
Posted in Architecture, Kirkcaldy, War Memorials at 13:00 on 6 February 2012
A few months ago on an open day we visited the Old Kirk, Kirkcaldy, the old parish church of the town, whose tower can be seen here from Kirk Wynd.
We knew before we went that there was some stained glass by the pre-Raphaelite (in its later phase) Edward Burne Jones.
The church is no longer in use as a place of worship having been closed as such by the Church of Scotland in November 2010. The congregation merged with that of St Brycedale Church – no more than 50 yards away! – to become known as St Bryce Kirk. St Bryce is the patron saint of Kirkcaldy. (See here.) These two Burne Jones windows are towards the back of the building if you were entering from Kirk Wynd and are only two of many stained glass windows whose splendour cannot be fully experienced from the outside.
The above much more recent stained glass windows represent the flames of the fire which damaged the interior a good few years ago. These flank the main entrance from Kirk Wynd.
One slightly older window by Crear McCartney is on the immediate left wall (see left.)
None of the pews remain as the space inside has been cleared for community use.
It is possible to climb the tower. Don’t do it on a windy day (of which there are a quite a few in Kirkcaldy) as you are fairly exposed on the tower parapet.
Before the stairs/ladders which allow the climb we passed the impressive memorial – see below – to the members of the congregation who died in the World Wars. (The 1939-45 addition blends in well.)
I had to stitch three pictures to get the full panorama of the memorial as the space to step back was limited. The passageway to the stairs is on the left of this.
Tags: Burne Jones, Crear McCartney, First World War, Great War, Kirkcaldy, Second World War, stained glass, War Memorials, World War 1, World War 2, WW1, WW2
Rosemary Potter
5 January 2015 at 01:48
The Old Kirk is still used for worship but is managed by a local Trust, so services are ecumenical and it is now a community arts venue and heritage centre as well. The church is the original site of Christian worship in the town and was dedicated to St Patrick and St. Brisse (or Bryce) in 1244 by Bishop de Bernham, so became known as the original St. Brice Kirk. In 2000 there was a Union of the Old Kirk and St. Brycedale Church, the later Free Church set up after the Disruption of 1843, and the new joint congregation retaining both buildings was called St. Bryce Kirk. In 2005 they took out the pews and turned the church round to face west. As you say, in 2010 the Church of Scotland sold the Old Kirk to Kirkcaldy Old Kirk Trust, a group of local people set up to conserve it for the community of which I am Chairperson.
The windows depicting fire in the Old and New Testaments were installed by John Clark in 1986 following the damage by fire to the originals; vandals had broken in and set fire to pews and hymn-books.
Crear Macartney’s window with the blues of the Sound of Iona, depicts the origin of the Columban missionaries who first brought the Gospel to this place and was installed in 1994 to commemorate 750 years since the consecration of the Old Kirk. This is the memorial window to Mrs. Jean Sim, wife of a former Minister who commissioned it.
jackdeighton
5 January 2015 at 19:06
Thanks for this, Rosemary.
Great to have some of the history of the building.
samuel gillespie
8 December 2019 at 15:55
Hello I just found out through research that this is where my ancestor George E Gillespie is buried. Love to visit that place some day.
jackdeighton
10 December 2019 at 20:56
Samuel,
I hope you will get to see the Old Kirk and your ancestor’s grave.
Thanks for looking in and commenting.