Old Parish Church And Burial-Ground, Kirkmaiden

This is an A-grade listed church complex dating from 1638, built as a T-plan structure in rubble with later alterations. The church has undergone significant modifications over the centuries, including changes to its windows and doors, the addition of a bellcote in 1885, and a vestry adjoined to the west in 1921.

Exterior

The church features 12-pane sash and case windows with glazing, and a distinctive bipartite window with a coloured-margined design and sandstone mullion in the gablehead. Boarded doors with decorative cast-iron hinges provide access. The building is topped with coped skews (cement on the church, red sandstone on the vestry), decorative red sandstone finials to the gableheads, and slightly graded grey slate roofing. Cast-iron rainwater goods complete the exterior.

The north elevation displays a gabled jamb at centre, housing a McDouall burial vault at ground floor with the church gallery above. A bipartite sandstone-mullioned window sits in the gablehead. To the left is a studded boarded door with decorative cast-iron hinges leading to the burial vault; above it sits a polished pink granite plaque inscribed "Sacred to the memory of the family of McDoualls of Logan" with a date of 1897 when the vault was closed. A windowed opening with brick margin sits to the right.

The west elevation contains the low gabled vestry adjoined slightly right of centre, with the main entrance door positioned to the left. A window opens to the west, and a catslide lean-to structure occupies the re-entrant angle to the south, complete with a westward-facing door and brick margins. The gabled bellcote rises at the apex of the gablehead, constructed in red sandstone with a coped base inscribed "1885". It features a cushed opening with bell, surmounted by a stone finial and iron weathervane. A wallhead stack with an octagonal can interrupts the right skew. A blocked gallery-level window is also visible.

The south elevation contains three bays (arranged 1-2), each with a window; the centre bay has a smaller window. A blocked round-headed doorway lies between the centre and right bays.

The east elevation has a central door with a window directly above. A formerly existing gallery-level window is now blocked.

The bellcote of 1885 is a striking feature with red sandstone coping, a cusped bell opening, a stone finial, and an iron weathervane.

Interior

Inside, the church has painted plaster walls and timber dadoes with a coombed ceiling. Decorative plaster ceiling roses and deep window embrasures are notable features. The pulpit is positioned to the south with steps approaching from the right; a round-headed pilastered timber panel rises behind it.

A gallery occupies the north side, accessed by a central staircase with timber balustrades running up the centre aisle. A round arch springs from highly decorative corbels overhead. Doors at the gallery centre provide access to both east and west.

Timber pews line the church, several equipped with lamp stands. Two decorative brass former oil lamp fittings flank the pulpit, and six bronze oil lamp fittings are attached to the walls. Nineteenth-century marble mural tablets commemorate the deceased. A triangular timber panel dated 1618, carved with an inscription, hangs on the north wall. A bell, apparently cast in 1534 and inscribed in Latin, is on display.

Graveyard

The graveyard contains 18th and 19th century monuments, including fine 18th-century gravestones and several tablestones. A distinctive gravestone in the form of a lighthouse dates to 1852. Remains of the former parish school stand to the west.

The McDouall of Logan Monument and Enclosure (1877) dominates the graveyard on a hillock. This granite obelisk-type monument commemorates Colonel James MacDouall of Logan. It features a three-tier chamfered plinth with a polished pedestal; the west face is inscribed "In memory of Colonel James MacDouall of Logan". A copper portrait medallion is attached to the base. The stepped red sandstone ashlar base has a vermiculated upper step inscribed "1877". A low rubble enclosure wall with ashlar saddleback coping is surmounted by tall decorative railings and a western gate. Five polished pink granite Celtic cross monuments stand south of the enclosure.

Graveyard Walls

The graveyard is enclosed by rubble walls topped with coped rubble. A pair of piers stands to the northwest. To the southwest sit a pair of pyramidal-capped square rubble piers with double-leaf iron gates. A pair of pyramidal-capped, square bull-faced granite piers to the northeast also features double-leaf wrought-iron gates.

A later cemetery extends to the east of the main burial ground.