Galston Parish Church
Burial Ground (Period Unassigned), Church (Period Unassigned), Covenanters Grave(S) (17th Century), War Memorial (20th Century)
Site Name Galston Parish Church
Classification Burial Ground (Period Unassigned), Church (Period Unassigned), Covenanters Grave(S) (17th Century), War Memorial (20th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Brewland Street, Galstone Parish Church; War Memorial Cross Of Sacrifice
Canmore ID 43713
Site Number NS53NW 7
NGR NS 50006 36698
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/43713
- Council East Ayrshire
- Parish Galston
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Kilmarnock And Loudoun
- Former County Ayrshire
NS53NW 7 50006 36698
(NS 5000 3669). Galstone parish church, dedicated to St Peter, was granted to the Red Friars at Fail in 1252. The present church was built in 1808, renovated 1879 and added to in 1913. It occupies the site of an earlier church, a plain oblong building, which may have been built in 1596, and to which additions were made in 1626 and later.
S of the church is the grave of Andrew Richmond, marked by a stone, renewed in 1823, inscribed 'Here lies Andrew Richmond, who was killed by Bloody Graham of Claverhouse June 1679 for his Adherence to the Word of God and Scotland's Covenanted Work of Reformation...etc'.
A modern monument also in the churchyard states that James Smith of East Threepwood was shot near Bank of Burn Ann (NS 518 355) by Capt Inglis and his dragoons and buried there. His name is on a list of fugitives proclaimed in 1684, but nothing further is known of him.
J Hendrie 1909; G Hay 1957; J H Thomson 1903
No remains of the old church exist. The covenanters' monuments are as described.
Visited by OS (JLD) 14 August 1956
No further information.
Visited by OS (JRL) 30 July 1982.
(NS 500 366) An evaluation was carried out in August 2003 prior to an extension to Hogg Hall. Two trenches were dug and a deposit of disarticulated human bone was found 0.3m below the surface, extending to a depth of at least 1.2m. A buried gravestone and two intact graves were also found. One contained fragments of skull from an articulated skeleton, accompanied by a shroud pin and three coffin nails. The evaluation concluded that the medieval and post-medieval cemetery had been disturbed during the construction of the 16th and 19th-century churches on the site, but that articulated burials were probably intact at a depth of 0.8m below the surface.
Report lodged with WoSAS SMR and the NMRS.
Sponsor: Galston Parish Church.
K G McLellan 2003
NMRS REFERENCE:
ARCHITECTS: John Brash 1808-9
Allan Stevenson 1896 Proposed extension of burial ground.
Plans at Darley Hay Partnership, Ayr.
EXTERNAL REFERENCE:
PLANS:
Scottish Record Office
RHP 14293 - 14301 John Brash 1807 - 1810 - plans, sections and elevations
Excavation (February 2004 - March 2004)
NS 5000 3669 The foundation trenches for a new hall were excavated in February and March 2004 and confirmed the presence of a deposit, at least 0.7m deep and containing disarticulated bones, interpreted as the remains of an extremely disturbed burial ground. This was sealed by 0.3m of topsoil, beneath which, within the excavated trenches, were 23 fairly undisturbed articulated burials. The majority of the burials were accompanied by shroad pins, and fragments of wooden coffins and coffin nails were also detected. The artefacts indicate that the burials dated to the 18th or 19th centuries. A midden deposit contained residual medieval pottery. Two earlier walls, probably post-medieval and used as foundations for later walls, were also uncovered.
Report lodged with WoSAS SMR and the NMRS.
Sponsor: Galston Parish Church
E Stuart, H James 2004
Watching Brief (25 May 2010 - 3 August 2010)
NS 5000 3670 A watching brief was carried out intermittently from 25 May–3 August 2010, during the construction of a car park on the former site of 19th-century buildings, on the W bank of Burn Anne at Church Lane. Nothing of archaeological significance was recorded. The site had been built up prior to the construction of the 19th-century buildings and this material survives, apparently in situ, as an extensive spread of red sandstone and red and buff bricks.
Archive: RCAHMS. Report: WoSAS
Funder: East Ayrshire Council
Claire Williamson – Rathmell Archaeology Limited
