Churchyard, St Bride's Collegiate Church, Main Street, Bothwell

St Bride's Collegiate Church Churchyard, Main Street, Bothwell

This is a Late Perpendicular Gothic church built to a rectangular plan, designed by David Hamilton in 1833. It adjoins an original 14th-century choir to the east, which was restored in 1898 by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson. The church is constructed of droved pink sandstone ashlar with polished ashlar dressings and features pinnacled buttresses dividing the bays and positioned at angles. A single-storey rectangular-plan castellated entrance porch sits at the centre, with a 3-stage pinnacled tower positioned to the rear between the new and original structures.

The building's base course, porch cornice, gabled string course to the central buttresses at ground level, hoodmoulds over windows, and gable cornice and blocking course are all finished in ashlar. The pointed-arched windows throughout have chamfered and moulded reveals with stone mullions and transoms.

The principal west elevation comprises three bays. The entrance porch features a bipartite window with a quatrefoil motif to the castellated blocking course above, while a gabled door projection to the north side of the porch contains a part-glazed 2-leaf timber panelled door. The central bay rises with a tall perpendicular traceried window beneath a polygonal finial and crucifix at the gablehead. Plate traceried windows occupy each of the flanking bays.

The north side elevation spans nine bays, grouped as five and three sections. The 19th-century structure to the left comprises five bays: four bays feature plate traceried windows divided by stepped buttresses, while the gabled fifth bay contains a pointed-arched niche at the gablehead, flanked by pinnacled buttresses. The original 14th-century block to the right encompasses four bays. Its westernmost bay contains a basket-arched doorway with nook shafts and a deep-set boarded door with decorative wrought-iron hinges, topped by a multi-moulded traceried window. The remaining three bays each contain windows; one has an inscribed memorial plaque below, another features a triple gabled memorial below, and the outermost stands at the angle.

The south side elevation mirrors the north elevation's treatment across nine bays. A lean-to buttressed projection occupies one bay within the 14th-century block's left-of-centre section, with a tall, free-standing polygonal stack flanking it.

The east rear elevation consists of a steeply pitched single gabled bay with a multi-moulded traceried window flanked by buttresses and a crucifix finial above the gablehead. A deep-set carved stone memorial niche sits below to the right.

The tower comprises three stages with string courses dividing each. Hood moulds frame all openings, and a cornice with castellated blocking course crowns the structure. Stepped angle buttresses support each corner, each topped with a pinnacle. Clocks occupy each face at the first stage. Traceried windows light each side of the second stage. The third stage features trefoil-headed triple louvered openings set within square recesses on each face.

The roof is finished in grey slate with stone slabs covering the 14th-century choir. Ashlar coped skews and cast-iron rainwater goods with decorative hoppers complete the external fabric. The windows throughout contain fixed leaded stained glass.

The interior is arranged as a wide aisleless hall church with a boarded timber roof featuring exposed tie beams and braces. A narthex or vestibule with a pillared arcade occupies the west end, leading to a tall pointed arch at the crossing with lower arches flanking. The choir features a ribbed pointed barrel-vaulted roof and a large stained glass window, with wall-mounted memorials to the Duke of Hamilton (1634–1694) and the Earls of Douglas.

The Hamilton memorial was originally erected in the now-demolished kirk of Hamilton and transferred here in 1852. It is fashioned from black and white marble and Caen stone, the latter originally painted to imitate marble. Barleysugar columns with Corinthian capitals support a deep, decorative cornice, flanking a central urn on an inscribed base. Cherubs among clouds and drapery ornament the composition above. The Douglas memorial, more reserved in character, commemorates the earls who named the church after their patron saint.

The interior also contains timber pews, a carved pentagonal pulpit with timber canopy positioned against the crossing pier, a carved stone octagonal font on a marble pedestal in the north transept, and organ pipes set high above.

The churchyard is enclosed by low bull-faced red sandstone walls with ridged ashlar cope. Octagonal-plan red sandstone ashlar gatepiers with plinths, stylised ogee-headed panels to every other side, string course, cornice and curved dentilled cap frame the boundary. These piers are topped with wrought-iron and glass octagonal converted gas lamps.

The walled graveyard, situated to the north of the church with entrance from the north, is constructed of squared sandstone rubble walls with curved stugged ashlar cope. Square-plan sandstone ashlar piers with string course and shallow pyramidal caps support a wrought-iron gate. The graveyard predominantly contains 18th and 19th-century headstones.