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Publication Account

Date 1977

Event ID 1017869

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Publication Account

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1017869

The first mention of a church at Dumfries is in William the Lion's. Grant of 1179 x 1185 to Bishop Jocelin of Glasgow (Barrow, 1971, 264). The pre-Reformation church, dedicated to St. Michael, was cruciform in shape with no galleries and an altar facing east. It is alleged that St. Michael's underwent alterations after the slaying of John Comyn in the church of the Greyfriars (Paton, 1904, 11). The introduction of Protestant worship brought more alterations to the church, including the addition of a north wing and making the church square in shape to accommodate a larger number of parishioners (Paton, 1904, 12). Only the medieval nave and chancel were standing in the early eighteenth century when the weak condition of the church began to cause alarm. St. Michael's was pulled down in 1744 and was rebuilt by 1746. A second church, the New Church, was erected in 1727 at the head of High Street. Its successor, built in 1868, has been known as 'Greyfriars'.

Information from ‘Historic Dumfries: The Archaeological Implications of Development’ (1977).

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