Irongray Church And Churchyard

The church at Irongray was originally built in 1803 by John MacCracken of Dumfries, and extensively rebuilt in 1872-3 by James Barbour of Dumfries, incorporating the earlier structure. It is a Romanesque style church, with a three-stage, square entrance tower situated on the southwest side. The church is constructed of white-washed rubble with red ashlar dressings. Features include round-headed openings, with arches predominantly decorated with chevron ornament, columned jambs or mullions topped with cushion or scalloped capitals.

The tower has a south-facing doorway, with a lean-to vestry attached in the northeast corner. The top stage of the tower is set back and features a louvred belfry opening in a round arched panel on each face. The nave has bipartite windows, and there is a three-light wall head gable window in the westmost bay of both long elevations. An east gable porch has a gabled, south-facing doorway. The roof is covered with graded slates and features saw-toothed skews and an apex ventilator with a parabolical roof.

The interior contains leaded glass windows dating from 1873 to 1960; the west window was designed by Stephen Adam around 1904. The roof is open timbered, resting on stone corbels. A round arched blind panel is located at the west end, while the pulpit and dado are modern additions.

The irregularly shaped churchyard is enclosed by rubble-built walls with ashlar coping. There are plain chamfered square gatepiers topped with pyramidal caps, and the wrought-iron gates were presented around 1961. A selection of 17th to 19th century stone monuments are set within the churchyard, including one dedicated to Helen Walker, the inspiration for Sir Walter Scott’s “Jeanie Deans”. The building remains in ecclesiastical use.

Records include an 1838 sketch by Wm Aitken held at Dumfries Museum. Plans from 1872 are in the possession of Sutherland Dickie & Copeland, Dumfries.