Kilbirnie Auld Kirk

The Kilbirnie Auld Kirk is a Presbyterian church building in the Scottish town of Kilbirnie in North Ayrshire Unitary Authority. In 1980 the building was added to the Scottish lists of monuments in the highest category A monument. It is dedicated to Saint Brendan.

History

The history of Christian sacred buildings at this location can be traced back to the 6th century. During this period, the Irish missionary Brendan built a chapel there. The architectural history of the present church building is complex and runs through five centuries. It begins with the construction of an elongated chapel in 1470. Already twenty years later, a bell tower was added. Two more phases are dated to the years 1597 and 1642. No other details were probably added in the 18th century. After an extensive restoration mid- 1850s, the construction of a new transept was made 1903-1905. As an architect responsible for the design of Charles Johnson from Edinburgh.

Description

The building is located at the intersection between Dalry Road and Kirkland Road in the south of Kilbirnie. The masonry of 1470 created the nave consists of roughly blocks freestone, which was made into a layered masonry. The two-story bell tower closes with a gable roof. Constantly gable sits the bell in a small, cage-like structure, with pyramidal roof of the mid-18th century. The transepts are working with stepped gables. The 1642 added section of the building is equipped with three lancet windows. To the east occurs a round stair tower with projecting entrance portal. The roofs are covered with slate.