Christ's Kirk On The Green, Greenside, Leslie

Christ's Kirk On The Green, Leslie

This is a Grade B listed church, substantially rebuilt in 1869 by James Maitland Wardrop, but incorporating earlier fabric from 1819 designed by Thomas or James Barclay, possibly under the direction of Alexander Leslie, Inspector of Works. The building was further altered in 1932 by James Gillespie and Scott, and was undergoing conversion to residential use in 1994.

The church is a simple M-gabled aisless design with Gothic detailing, its north gable being of earlier construction. A two-stage tower abuts the south-east gable, while a gabled vestibule projects to the west with a bargeboarded lychgate abutting it. The windows feature plate tracery with some stained glass. The exterior walls are constructed of stugged ashlar and squared and snecked whinstone, with contrasting long and short work quoins with voussoirs to the rear. A chamfered ashlar base course sits on a rubble bed, with an eaves course above. The principal features include moulded doorcases, pointed arch windows with stop-chamfered reveals, hoodmoulds and label-stops, and stone Celtic cross finials to the north gables. Doors are boarded with wrought-iron hinges.

The south entrance elevation shows a four-bay nave with two two-light windows to the right and two to the left of the recessed two-storey entrance vestibule. The vestibule door sits against a re-entrant angle, with a recessed square dedication plaque reading "Our Lord Jesus Christ's Kirk on the Green, Leslie, rebuilt 1869" and a narrow light at approximately the centre above.

The tower is square with two stages and a steeply-pitched pyramidal roof, the first stage rising above the church ridge. A later bowed doorway in a re-entrant angle is approached by a straight flight of six steps with a curved roof, with pointed arch lights on the north, south and east faces lighting the stair. The second stage has a coped batter with two square-headed timber louvred lights immediately above on the south face and one each on the north, east and west faces, with a Roman clock face above. A four-course wallhead sits above a moulded string course with gryphon gargoyles at each corner. The roof carries a wrought-iron cockerel weathervane.

The east elevation is largely masked by the tower's left gable. A low pitch-roofed extension with a blocked south window and small east window clasps the tower at the north-east. A further low extension (boiler house) adjoins to the left of the north gable with a blocked north window in the re-entrant angle. A Doric memorial column with a large obelisk finial, possibly incorporated from elsewhere, stands at the outer right corner, with a multifoil window above at the centre.

The north elevation shows the earlier T-plan building: a piend-roofed jamb projects forward at the lean-to centre with an external stair featuring a boarded door entered from the left and a small opening lighting the stair. A triangular timber louvred vent sits in the piended roof, with pointed arch windows on the return walls and to the outer left and right of the nave, all partly blocked.

The west elevation has a projecting two-storey gabled entrance to the right with a centre pointed arch light just visible over the lychgate, a square-headed window to the left and a door on the return face to the north. A cusped circular window sits in the north gablehead to the left.

Windows throughout are glazed with diamond-pattern leaded lights; some contain stained glass. Roofing is laid in graded grey slates with ashlar coped skews, ashlar bracketed skewputts and coped ashlar stacks. Moulded gutters with cast-iron downpipes, square rainwater hoppers and ornate gutter brackets dated 1868 complete the external detailing.

Interior

The interior was undergoing alteration at the time of survey, with little original woodwork remaining. A three-sided gallery on cast-iron shafts with octagonal capitals occupies the space, the twin-gabled exterior evident over the east and west galleries with star-formation plasterwork and a centre boss to the north gallery. The pulpit and organ were originally sited at the centre south between two stained glass windows of 1889 depicting 'The Feeding of the Five Thousand' and 'Christ Blessing Children', both memorial windows to Henrietta, Countess of Rothes. Human remains were uncovered below the floor during work. The tower contains a very narrow stair leading to the bell loft, where a bell remains in situ.

Lychgate

A timber gabled lychgate, standing at right angles to the entrance gable, features a cusped arch and Celtic cross design with drop finials. A seat is set against the west boundary wall.

Boundary Walls, Graveyard and Monuments

A coped whinstone rubble boundary wall encloses the graveyard to the north, east and west. The graveyard contains a good collection of 18th-century headstones and monuments, including the Rothes and Douglas vaults which are listed separately.

The lychgate dates from 1875 and was designed by Rodgie.