Old Parish Church, Glencorse

Old Parish Church, Glencorse

This is an outstanding post-Reformation church, originally built in 1665, rebuilt in 1699 following a fire, and significantly altered in the early 21st century. It stands in a historic kirkyard on the site of an ancient place of worship called Erncraig.

The church is constructed as a cruciform-plan building with a central east-west rectangle to which north and south aisles have been added, each with stairs leading to lofts above. The walls are of random rubble with skew gables. A distinctive ashlar tower with a broached clap-boarded timber spire was added to the west in 1811, topped with a weathervane. The roof is early 20th-century slate.

The west elevation features the tower obscuring the centre of the gable, with rectangular windows on either side. The tower itself is square, constructed of stugged ashlar with a base band and string course. It has a slit window to the left return, a doorway with two steps and a small blocked square window above to the right return, and louvred windows to three sides at the second stage. Internal stairs lead to a window overlooking the church interior, and the timber-framed broach spire is clap-boarded.

The north elevation is plain rubble with square windows either side of the Glencorse Aisle and a door to the far left. The Glencorse Aisle is a two-storey structure of random rubble with string-courses and skew gable. Its gable-end window breaks the second-storey string course. A doorway with metal bars provides access to a stone vaulted undercroft below, which contains two pedimented marble funerary plaques. Small rectangular barred windows flank either side. Central forestairs with stone parapets lead to the Laird's loft above to the right return, flanked by sculptured armorial panels either side of a moulded doorway. A small rectangular window sits close to the eaves on the left return.

The east elevation is random rubble with skew gable and long and short ashlar quoins. A pedimented funerary plaque is inset to the left, with two to the right.

The south elevation is random rubble. To the left of the Woodhouselee Aisle is a doorway with a moulded plaque above. A rectangular window sits to the right with lintel missing. To the right of the aisle is a doorway with an inset funerary monument adjacent, and a small damaged window above, slightly offset, with another window to the left of the door. The Woodhouselee Aisle dates to 1699 and is constructed of random rubble with a crowstepped gable and string-coursed addition. Its central door has a hood-moulded panel above, from which the armorial sculpture is now missing. Above this is a small circular looped Gothic tracery window dated 1699. To the right return are two inset pedimented funerary stones. Forestairs with stone parapets lead to a moulded doorway, with lintel missing, serving the Laird's loft above to the left return. Sculptured armorial panels originally flanked either side of this doorway, though the right one is now missing.

Windows throughout are 12-pane glazing patterns in timber sash and case windows.

The interior is simple and unreconstructed, with exposed stone rubble walls. A modern timber roof structure dating to circa 2004 features shallow arched tie beams with vertical slatted boarding. A fireplace occupies the east elevation, and a door to the tower is in the west gable. The floor is slate.

The rectangular church was originally located on the site of an ancient place of worship. Following a fire, it was rebuilt in 1699 and then gradually extended to include the Glencorse and Woodhouselee Aisles. The Lairds and their families occupied the upper floors, with the Glencorse Aisle featuring a vaulted undercroft where they gathered, replacing their earlier practice of using lofts within the main body of the church. Robert Louis Stevenson attended the church in his youth, travelling over the Pentland Hills from Swanston, and later described it as "the most delightful place on earth." The church remained in use until 1885, when a new kirk was built to accommodate larger congregations due to increased numbers of troops at the barracks. Robert Trotter of Bush House either repaired or added the timber spire, and a later descendant contributed £400 towards the new church and donated a field at New Milton Farm as a parish cemetery, which remains in use today.

The building fell into disrepair and remained ruinous until it was re-roofed around 2004, bringing it back into use for religious services. The interior has been consolidated but retains an unfinished state with exposed stonework and freestanding pews creating a picturesque atmosphere. The historic burial ground contains interesting trade gravestones, listed separately.