St Fillan's Church, Hawkcraig Road, Aberdour

St Fillan's Church, Hawkcraig Road, Aberdour

A Grade A listed church of 12th century origin with substantial later additions. The building comprises a rectangular-plan nave with a square-plan chancel, a small squat north transept dated 1608, and a 16th century south aisle with porch. The original church is constructed in cubical ashlar, the north transept in ashlar, and the remainder in squared rubble. A bellcote sits on the west gable. The church was un-roofed in 1790 and underwent restoration in 1925–1926.

West Elevation

A late 16th century pointed arch window with 2-light tracery has been inserted into the west gable. Below it is a pilastered and corniced panel bearing an inscription reading 'PANS O PILGRIM THAT PASSITH BY THIS WAY UPON THYN END AND THOU SAL FEAR TO SIN AND THINK ALSO UPON THE LATTER DAY WHEN THOU TO GOD MAN COUNT THEN BEST THOU NOW BEGIN'. The former 16th century west window of the south aisle sits to the right, converted to a door in the 17th century to provide access to a former internal gallery (removed during the 1925–1926 restoration) and later blocked. A gable to the right extends over the south aisle to near ground level.

North Elevation

The chancel displays a narrow, single light, round-headed window with chamfered arris. The advanced transept features a door set to the left, partly sunken beneath ground level, with a moulded string course above it. At the centre is an architraved window surmounted by a triangular pediment inscribed 'DPCM 1608', with a corniced memorial panel centred above the door. The nave has a narrow, single light round-headed window to the left of the transept (matching the chancel window), and a 16th century door later converted to a window, flush to the right return of the transept and partly sunken beneath ground level. A small inserted square window of 17th century date sits above this, with an aedicule to the far right.

East Elevation

The chancel has a centred narrow single light round-headed window. Flanking aedicules frame this: the left features Tuscan columns with a centred winged face surmounted by a shaped pediment dated 1688; the right has an angel face on a pedestal surmounted by a curved pediment with skulls at the terminating ends, dated 1723. A blocked window to the recessed south aisle sits to the left of the chancel.

South Elevation

A sunken advanced gabled porch is located at the far left, with an obtuse pointed arch to the entrance and descending flanking stone steps. Three evenly spaced chamfered rectangular windows punctuate the aisle, with the rightmost window bipartite. A carved memorial panel to Robert Blair (minister at St Andrews and former chaplain to Charles) dated 1666 is set between the 2nd and 3rd window. The recessed chancel to the far right has a doorway to the left and two evenly spaced narrow single light round-headed windows matching those elsewhere on the building.

Roof and Other Features

Timber plank doors with nail studs (two-leaf to the main entrance) provide access. The roof is predominantly 1930s stained glass, with two late 20th century 'millennium' stained glass windows to the south aisle at its centre and close to the porch. The roof over the nave extends continuously over the south aisle to a low south aisle wallhead, finished with Angus stone slabs. Crowstepped gables front the nave and south aisle, with raised ashlar skews to the east gable of the chancel and south gable of the porch.

A slightly projecting ashlar birdcage bellcote, dated 1588, sits on the west gable. It formerly contained a bell from Dalgety Bay Church and features chamfered rectangular openings to each face, an eaves cornice below, and a stone pyramid roof with ball finial.

Interior

The porch contains stone benches to each side and a centred rectangular doorway to the church, with a roughly carved out benatura to the right.

The west nave retains exposed masonry of the original 12th century church near ground level. Five Morton family brass coffin plates are fixed to the wall. A projecting later 20th century timber balcony supports J.W.Walker & Sons Ltd organ pipes and flanks a 2-light 16th century window.

The north nave has a round arched opening from the nave to a barrel-vaulted north transept. The transept floor is set above the nave at the same level as the former nave door to the left (now a window). A 20th century square timber pulpit sits behind a timber screen in the transept. A single light window at the far right of the nave is deeply splayed to the inside (ingo).

The east nave features a central arch opening to the chancel with a hoodmould. A timber carved pulpit by Scott Morton & Co, dated 1926, sits to the left. A stone font with a 20th century polygonal shaft and an earlier octagonal basin is positioned to the right.

The south nave elevation opens to the south aisle via a three-bay stone arcade running from east to near west, with circular piers and cushion capitals supporting chamfered round arches. Timber chairs by Design Furniture Group, dated 1973, furnish the nave. The roof is timber.

The south aisle contains three rectangular splayed windows with deep ingos at their bases and a timber roof with exposed rafters and purlins.

The chancel is raised above the nave floor. Its windows have deeply splayed ingos to the base. Fixed timber pews line the side walls, and a central timber communion table with carved arcade detailing by Scott Morton & Co, dated 1926, stands beneath a timber barrel-vaulted ceiling.

Graveyard and Boundary Walls

A small graveyard surrounds the church, enclosed by random rubble boundary walls that incorporate high garden walls of Aberdour Castle. The boundary walls bear triangular copes to the north and west, with a doorway to the far right of the west wall leading from the graveyard to the castle terrace. A lane to the northeast is lined with a collection of early 18th century finely carved headstones with shaped pediments.