Field Visit
Date 24 May 1912 - 12 June 1912
Event ID 926596
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/926596
Closburn Old Church.
The old church, according to the 'Statistical Account', was rebuilt in 1740 with a north transept: of this building little more than the east gable remains, its place having been taken by a new church built on the south side of the old churchyard in the 19th century. The remaining east gable of the old church is 30 feet wide and the wall is 3 feet thick. It contains a doorway 4 feet wide, and has a semicircular arched head, with moulded archivolt, keystone, and imposts. In the upper part of the wall is a circular window, as a Morton and Dalton, and on the top is a belfry. The remains of the north and south walls are 2 feet 6 inches thick.
BELL. The bell still remains in the belfry, and is inscribed:-
+TREGINTA+DE+AGVST+APVD.POTERRAW
+ANNO+DOMINI+1606
On waist a crown with a hammer below, and letter G on one side, H on the other. Diameter 15 1/2 inches.
The inscription is in two lines, as shown: there are single rims above, below and between these lines. The lower line has smaller lettering. The lettering is very rude and irregular, the n's and the s are reversed, and all the letters, figures and ornaments appear to have been made by marking the mould with a sharp instrument instead of by the use of stamps. The initials are those of George Hog, who cast several bells during the earlier part of the 17th century, including one at Keith Marischal, Haddingtonshire. The hammer and crown are the insignia of the Incorporation of the Hammermen of Edinburgh, and "APUD POTERRAW" in the inscription evidently refers to the street of that name.
BRASS ALMS DISH. In the manse is preserved a brass alms dish 13 inches in diameter, bearing in the centre, in repoussee work, a representation of the Annunciation. It is German work, of probably the 15th century.
FONT FROM DALGARNOCK. In the porch, beneath the tower of the modern church, is the basin of the font of the old church of Dalgarnock. It is a plain octagonal basin, with a drain in the bottom, 2 feet 3 inches in diameter over all, 1 foot 9 inches in diameter across the actual basin, 1 foot 3 inches in depth outside and 8 inches inside. The name "Dalgarno" has been cut on the edge in modern lettering.
CROSS-SHAFT, etc. Beside the font lies a fragment of a cross-shaft, with two vertical panels of interlaced work formed from a four-cord plait. A fine beak-head, evidently from the cornice of a church of the later Norman period, is also preserved here.
RCAHMS 1920, visited by 24 May and 12 June 1912
OS 6 inch map xxxi.SE
