Polwarth Church

Polwarth Church

A prominently sited church, originally built in rectangular plan and rebuilt in 1703 incorporating earlier structure, with the interior recast in 1928. The building is now arranged on a T-plan with a gabled aisle projecting to the north. A four-stage square-plan tower stands to the west, and the former Marchmont aisle occupies the east, beneath which lies a burial vault.

The exterior is finished in whitewashed harl with red sandstone ashlar dressings. Features include narrow quoin strips; bead-and-hollow and roll-moulded door surrounds; and chamfered margins to round-arched, pointed-arched and square-headed windows, some with architraves. Windows have flush cills.

The west entrance elevation displays a projecting four-stage tower centred in the nave, with a two-leaf boarded timber door set in a wide, round-arched doorway and a small-pane fanlight above. Single windows are centred at the first and second floors, with a carved armorial panel set between them. Small pointed-arched openings appear at both floors to the left. An engaged sundial stands to the right (gnomons missing). A round-arched louvred opening is centred at the upper floor, with a broached spire above (finial missing). Single windows recessed at ground level sit in the flanking bays. A rubble-walled burial enclosure is adjoined to the left of the tower, with a blind elevation to the north aisle recessed to the outer left.

The south elevation features the four-stage tower to the outer left with a rectangular panel at ground level, single windows at the first and second floors with a carved armorial panel set between, an engaged sundial to the left, and a round-arched louvred opening at the upper floor. A five-bay nave extends to the right with boarded timber doors at the centre bay and in bays offset to left and right, each with roll-moulded surrounds and basket-arched lintels. Inscribed rectangular panels are aligned above the doors. Pointed-arched windows flank the centre, with inscribed sandstone panels to the outer left and right.

The east rear elevation displays a bipartite vault opening centred at basement level, with a pointed-arched window aligned above it and an inscribed rectangular war memorial set between. A crowned orange finial surmounts the gablehead. The tower is set behind with two louvred openings at the upper floor and a central wallhead stack. A blind elevation to the north aisle is recessed to the outer right.

The north elevation shows the projecting north aisle with a single window centred in the gablehead, a blind elevation to the nave recessed to the left, and a later lean-to addition recessed to the right. A rubble-walled burial enclosure obscures the four-stage tower recessed to the outer right, which has a sandstone panel at ground level and a round-arched louvred opening at the upper floor.

Glazing throughout is predominantly small-pane timber casement and sash-and-case windows. Iron bars secure the burial vault opening. The roof is graded grey slate with stone skews and scrolled skewputts; some beak skewputts have carved coats-of-arms set below. A corniced sandstone wallhead stack rises to the rear tower, though its can is missing. A slated broach spire surmounts the tower.

The interior comprises a boarded timber vestibule with a chequered stone-slab floor and a circular sandstone Norman font set in a corner. The T-plan nave, with a raked north aisle, contains a boarded timber floor, boarded timber dado panelling, timber pews, and a whitewashed open timber roof with axe-hewn rafters. The chancel at the east end, formerly the Marchmont aisle and pew, has a Laudian railing to its front, with a simple communion table and chairs. A timber-panelled pulpit stands in the nave. A polygonal sandstone font on a square-plan plinth dates from 1928. A mort bell dated 1715 sits on a balustered base from 1928. A 1928 organ is installed. A Maxwell bell dated '1697 & 1717', originally set in the bell tower, stands in the north aisle. An embroidered pulpit vallance by Lady Grisell Baillie (1703) survives.

A narrow timber-panelled door in the west end provides access to the tower. A stone stair leads to the first floor vestry, originally the laird's loft with a spyhole into the church, which has a sandstone surround to a cast-iron fireplace. The beadle's chamber occupies the second floor, with rope in place. A spiral stair ascends to the bell tower, which has an open timber roof, rubble walls, louvred openings, and a 19th-century bell in place. The burial vault, approximately 75 square metres, contains four ornate coffins.

The surrounding graveyard has an irregular plan with gravestones from the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, including symbolic stones, classically-detailed stones, and a single table-top monument. Rubble-coped squared rubble walls enclose the site with stone mounting steps. Two-leaf iron gates with capped polygonal piers provide access.