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Cardross, Old Parish Church
Burial Enclosure(S) (Post Medieval), Burial Ground (Medieval) - (Post Medieval)(Possible), Church (Medieval), Well (Period Unknown)
Site Name Cardross, Old Parish Church
Classification Burial Enclosure(S) (Post Medieval), Burial Ground (Medieval) - (Post Medieval)(Possible), Church (Medieval), Well (Period Unknown)
Alternative Name(s) Cardross, Levengrove Park; Old Parish Church Of Cardross; Dumbarton, St Serf's Church; Woodyard Road; Cardross, St Serf's Church
Canmore ID 42348
Site Number NS37NE 11
NGR NS 39349 75006
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/42348
- Council West Dunbartonshire
- Parish Cardross (West Dumbartonshire)
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Dumbarton
- Former County Dunbartonshire
NS37NE 11 3935 7500
(NS 3935 7500) Church (NR) (In Ruins)
OS 6" map (1922)
For successor (NS 3493 7728) and present (NS 3496 7726) parish churches of Cardross, see NS37NW 3 and NS37NW 29 respectively.
Between 1208 and 1233, the Church of Cardross with its lands and fishings was granted to Walter, Bishop of Glasgow by Maldoven, Earl of Lennox. The church originally stood in the eastern extremity of the parish opposite to Dumbarton, and separated from it by the River Leven. It was removed to its present site in 1600 (see Dunbar 17 SE4 for post-Reformation Church).
Orig Paroch Scot 1850
The earliest known reference to the Church of Cardross occurs in a charter granted by the Earl of Lennox to the Bishop of Glasgow about 1226.
J Irving 1879
The old church of Cardross is a small, plain, roofless edifice and lies within the bounds of Levengrove Park. In 1644 a new church replaced the old one in a more central position in the parish. St Shear's or St Serf's well, the holy well, supplied Under Kirkton village with water. It is now a drinking fountain in the Park.
D Macleod 1891
The remains of the old Cardross church consists of the nave, measuring 11.8m by 6.1m, and the north and south walls of the chancel. No identifiable remains of the holy well were located. The ruins are in the care of the Dunbarton Council and are in a good state of preservation.
Visited by OS (DS) 3 October 1956.
Cardross (Glasgow, Lennox). Granted, subject to the rights of his brother, by Maldoven, earl of Lennox, as a mensal church of the bishopric of Glasgow (1208x33), the church had become a prebend by 1394. Both parsonage and vicarage were annexed, while a vicar-pensioner served the cure.
I B Cowan 1967.
Successively scheduled as St Serf's Church, Dumbarton and St Serf's Church, Cardross.
Information from Historic Scotland, scheduling documents dated 23 February 2001.
Field Visit (August 1977)
Old Parish Church, Cardross NS 393 750 NS37NE 11
The remains of the old parish church of Cardross, which was in existence by the early 14th century, stand in Levengrove Park. It was replaced in 1643 by a new church on a site more central to the parish.
RCAHMS 1978, visited August 1977
(Stat Acct, xviii, 1796,218; Cowan 1967, 27)
Publication Account (1999)
The second medieval site, Cardross parish church figure 10 & 21.1, set within Levengrove Park, remained in use until 1644 as the church for the separate settlement of Cardross. Much smaller than Dumbarton's parish church, little is known of this structure, which still survives, albeit in a ruinous state. A small, simple building, the remains comprise a nave, measuring 11.8 m by 6. 1 m, and the north and south walls of the chancel. The south wall still remains to full height and was re-used in the nineteenth century for a funerary memorial. The remaining walls stand under a metre tall and are neglected and overgrown. In 15 70, much of the church was demolished and the stones taken to the castle. It seems unlikely that the church was originally much more extensive than the present ground plan suggests. The site is fenced off, but gaps in the fence mean vandalism is possible, and a number of mature trees growing in and around the ruins will undoubtedly cause further damage to the site over time. Excavation could retrieve dating evidence, a more exact ground plan and, perhaps, a structural history for this church, which is first mentioned as early as 1226.
Information from ‘Historic Dumbarton: The Archaeological Implications of Development’ (1999).
Watching Brief
NS 39240 74940 As part of restoration work within Levengrove Park, an enhanced historic building recording survey and watching brief was carried out on St Serf’s Church. The survey consisted of a full photographic and written description of St Serf’s Church and Shier’s Well, along with a measured survey of the northern and southern elevation of St Serf’s Church, and the southern elevation of Shier’s Well. The watching brief revealed the original structure of Shier’s Well as well as at least three in-situ burials and disarticulated human remains on the southern and eastern side of St Serf’s Church. All human remains were left in-situ and sealed over.
Information from D. McNicol - GUARD Archaeology Ltd, 2019.
(Source: DES, Volume 20)
OASIS ID: guardarc1-315330
