Glasserton Parish Church And Churchyard

Glasserton Parish Church and Churchyard

This is a Grade A listed building complex comprising the parish church, session house, churchyard with monuments and mausolea.

The parish church has 17th century origins but was largely rebuilt in 1732 as a rectangular box on an east-west axis. A north aisle and tower were added in 1836 by architect John Buonarotti Papworth, converting the plan to a T-shape. A 17th century bellcote, originally from Kirkmaiden Church (also in Glasserton Parish), was moved here in the early 19th century. The original part shows signs of much rebuilding and alteration, constructed of rubble walling with polished sandstone margins. Later work features uniform red sandstone margins with bold tails.

The south elevation presents a symmetrical four-window front with round-arched windows. The outer bays contain smaller windows while the two inner bays have large almost full-height windows, all sash and case with small-pane glazing. The jambs are mainly polished cream sandstone with segmental stones forming arch-heads, possibly later 18th century enlargements. At the centre is a large blocked round-arched opening that was the original access to the pulpit. At upper level, flanking the outer windows are blocked square-headed openings, presumably earlier windows lighting galleries. A worn partly inscribed red sandstone block is reused as part of the margin to the westernmost window. The east and west gables each have two large round-arched openings; the east ground level opening is glazed as a door. The north aisle has a single bay with round-arched openings featuring narrow rubble voussoirs, sash and case windows with small-pane glazing, bolection moulded eaves cornice, end skews with skewputts, and good graded slate roofs.

The west gable displays a small 17th century stone bellcote bearing a weathered date of 1680, originally from Kirkmaiden Church. It has a square section with four colonettes at the angles and cushion capitals supporting a moulded cornice, ogival canopy and ball finial to the east gable.

The tower, dated 1836, is a buttressed structure in three stages built in rubble with polished red sandstone margins. It features a pointed-arch moulded doorway, a second stage with a single blind wide lancet, dwarf lancets to the third stage (now blocked in brick), an embattled parapet, and pinnacles rising from buttress set-offs below eaves level to tall crocketted finials.

The interior is galleried on three sides with a pulpit centrally placed on the south wall.

The Session House is a single-storey, L-plan building located at the church gate. It comprises wings of two dates: an early 19th century one-room wing with a door set in an advanced bay, a window on the return elevation and one to the rear; and a mid 19th century two-room addition at right angles with a door and window to each room, now partly roofless. One window features diamond-pane glazing. The building is constructed of whinstone rubble with ashlar dressings and is roofed in grey graduated slates—those to the earlier wing are large local slate with overhanging eaves. There is a coped end and one brick mutual gable stack. The Session House was in poor condition; repairs to pointing and window replacements were in progress in 1993.

The churchyard is walled in rubble and contains many good 18th and 19th century gravestones. Two large free-standing mausolea stand to the southeast of the church. Abutting it is a rectangular burial site dating to circa 1595, now roofless with gables to north and south. Built into the north wall is a mural monument to Lady Garlies dated 159?. Detached to the east is a classical mid 18th century rectangular-plan roofless enclosure of rubble with rusticated red sandstone quoins. Its north wall contains a round-arched doorway with iron gate, a blind moulded panel over the door, an eaves band and good cornice with ball finials at the angles. A good pilastered aedicular mural monument stands on the west exterior wall.