St Drostan's Parish Church, Markinch

St Drostan's Parish Church, Markinch

St Drostan's Parish Church comprises a Norman tower dating from around 1200, together with a church that was substantially rebuilt and probably designed by Thomas Barclay between 1786 and 1788. James Barclay redesigned the octagonal spire, and a north aisle was added, with work executed by Thomas and George Barclay between 1806 and 1807. An internal gallery was replaced by Alexander Leslie in 1807. A session house was added at the east in 1839 by Robert Hutchison. Between 1883 and 1884, James Gillespie added a north aisle stone vault and stairtowers, and probably a pulpit in the south wall. Internal improvements and an organ chamber were made by Gillespie and Scott in 1913. The tower was underpinned and lancets were re-opened in 1929.

The Tower

The four-stage tower has an almost square plan, measuring approximately 16 feet north-south by 17 feet east-west, and is topped by a later octagonal spire. It is built of coursed, dressed and squared large rubble blocks of nearly cubic size with ashlar dressings. The base course has chamfered coping, with dividing string courses featuring lozenge detailing (much eroded) and a later corbelled wallhead cornice and parapet. Round-headed doors and small lancets have keystones, voussoirs and stone mullions.

The first stage has a two-leaf boarded timber door on the west face with a semicircular plate glass fanlight off-centre right, set within a round-headed keystoned doorway (an alteration) and surmounted by a small arrow-slit. A lancet sits to the left below the string course. The original entrance comprises a small round-headed door to the right of centre above ground on the north face. A later lean-to dog-leg stairtower stands in the re-entrant angle to the south with a boarded timber door to the west and stair windows to the south and west. The east face adjoins the church.

The second stage features lancets off-centre right on the west face and to the south, with small openings to the right on the north face over the string course and a similar opening directly above. The east face adjoins the church.

The third stage on the west face has three irregularly displaced small openings near the base and a lancet off-centre right above, with a further small opening to the left above. The south face has three small openings near the base and a lancet at centre. The north face has three similar openings with a further small opening above to the right. The east face has a lancet at centre.

The fourth stage is set back over a string course. Each face has a two-light belfry opening at centre adjoining a string course at cill, with semicircular arches cut from a single stone. Centre and angle shafts have cushion capitals and heavy abacus. Flanking small openings sit at the base, with a Roman-faced clock above, surmounted by three further small openings. The octagonal spire is carried on a domed head and features three diminishing blind oval panels on each face, a smaller cap, and a cast-iron ball finial.

The Church

The church is of rectangular plan, originally aisless, with the tower to the west, a small session house to the east, and a three-part porch extension to the north. It is built of dressed, squared and snecked rubble with raised stone margins and quoin strips. The base course and eaves have chamfered coping. Openings are round-headed and shouldered with keystones and impost blocks to some, stone mullions and stop-chamfered arrises.

The north elevation features full-height round-headed windows to the outer right and left. An advanced, piended three-part entrance porch is positioned off-centre right, with a two-leaf boarded door in a round-headed and keystoned, architraved doorway with a blind fanlight and small flanking windows. Slightly recessed, lower flanking piend-roofed side entrances have timber doors and glazed semicircular fanlights in round-headed roll-moulded door surrounds. Shouldered two-light windows are positioned on the returns to right and left. Slightly higher, further recessed stair towers stand behind the side porches. The tower to the right has a lean-to roof adjoining the lower piend roof of the west side porch, with a shouldered two-light window at ground and first-floor right and a stair window to the left facing west. The tower to the left has a stepped east face with a shouldered two-light window to the left at both levels, a rounded corner chamfered to a square above to the right with a further shouldered window to both returns, and a recessed face with a pedimented memorial stone at ground below a narrow stair window beneath a lean-to roof adjoining the lower piended roofline of the east side porch. Three small gableted timber-louvred roof ventilators are positioned above.

The south elevation comprises seven bays at ground level. A curvilinear-headed memorial stone is positioned at centre ground, flanked by full-height round-headed windows and small square-headed windows to the outer bays, that to the outer left set in a blocked doorway. A glazed oculus sits close to the eaves at centre, with round-headed windows in bays 2 and 6. Three roof ventilators similar to those on the north elevation are positioned above.

The west elevation features the projecting tower at centre. A round-headed window occupies the bay to the left at ground with a square-headed window above, while the bay to the right has an advanced lean-to dog-leg stairtower set in a re-entrant angle with the tower. A timber door (the Laird's entrance) is positioned to the left, with a small stair window on the return to the right and a further stair window to the right. A small square opening sits to the left above.

The east elevation comprises a low five-part canted session house projecting at centre, with a boarded timber door on the return to the right and a small armorial stone of Prior John Hepburn above. Round-headed windows occupy the flanking bays and above, with a Diocletian gallery window at centre and a broken vase finial at the gablehead.

The windows are glazed with square and diamond-pattern leaded lights. Stained glass is noted separately below. The roof is covered with grey slates. Coped ashlar skews have gablet skewputts. Cast-iron downpipes with decorative rainwater hoppers and decorative wrought-iron hinges serve the Laird's Loft and north doors.

Interior

The interior features a vaulted entrance hall to the north porch and a U-plan galleried interior with rendered walls and a boarded dado. Fixed timber pews are positioned on the north, east and west sides (at ground and gallery level) and face a central pulpit and organ flanked by large windows in the south wall. Wire hangers beneath the pews may have originally housed top hats. A three-sided, raked, panelled gallery with pilastered corners is supported on Doric columns and is accessed from the north (via two square and one round-headed door) and from the Laird's entrance on the west wall. Plain cornicing features delicate plasterwork fan design at the corners. A curved stair leads to a two-tier, canted timber pulpit with blind quatrefoil-headed panels at centre, set within a panelled and bracketed organ case. A communion table and font are positioned on a platform below.

The windows feature coloured glass with a variety of astragal patterns, including an oval design reflecting the spire detail. A small square window in the south wall is inscribed "Suffer Little Children to Come Unto Me" and dates to 1921. The north aisle porch window, titled "The Sower" by John Blyth, dates to 1985. The south wall has coloured glass in the oculus, which is obscured behind the organ, and flanking tall windows with timber-traceried paired lancets and foil containing a red star with a repeated cross-in-circle motif, a pattern appearing on most windows. A commemorative armorial panel below the Balbirnie Loft on the north wall honours General Alexander Leslie, Earl of Leven. The west wall features a white marble memorial stone in a black aedicule with a swagged urn at the tympanum, commemorating John Pinkerton, former minister, inscribed "Born 9th August Old Stile 1717; died 16th of June N.S. 1784, in the 67th year of his age".