St Leonard's Parish Church, Kinghorn, Kinghorn, Fife

Entry Name: St Leonard's Parish Church, Kinghorn

Listing Name: Nethergate, Kinghorn Parish Church of St Leonard (Church of Scotland)

Listing Date: 10 September 1979

Category: B

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 380977

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB36241

Building Class: Cultural

ID on this website: 200380977

Location: Kinghorn

County: Fife

Town: Kinghorn

Electoral Ward: Burntisland, Kinghorn and Western Kirkcaldy

Traditional County: Fife

Tagged with: Church building

Description

George Paterson, Edinburgh, rebuilt 1774 with Roger Black, mason and Robert Kilgour, wright. S (Sailor's) aisle repaired 1608-9. N (Balmuto) aisle rebuilt 1774 by James Wilkie, mason and Robert Kilgour, wright. Sydney Mitchell & Wilson rebuilt W gable and added rose-windowed chancel and bell-tower 1894. Sanctuary reconstructed and dry-dash added 1937. Cruciform-plan, aisled church with 3-bay nave, and ogee-capped, 3-stage bell-tower. Dry-dash with ashlar quoins and margins. Moulded band course, bracketed cill course and continuous hoodmould. Pilastered and voussoired segmental-headed doorcase with broken pediment. Venetian, rose and segmental windows. Chamfered reveals and stone mullions.

W (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: broad gabled elevation with bell-tower very slightly set-back in re-entrance angle to left. Doorcase with 2-leaf panelled timber door and stained glass semicircular fanlight to centre of 1st stage with '1894' on tympanum of pediment abutting base of prominent Venetian window, keystoned oculus in gablehead.

NW TOWER: bell-tower engaged to half way up 2nd stage; all windows narrow and small. 1st stage with window to W; 2nd stage windows immediately above dividing course to N and higher up to W, and further narrower light high up to each face; tall round-headed bipartite openings to belfry with bell giving way to cornice and cross-finialled ogee cap.

N ELEVATION: aisled elevation with 3 windows; Balmuto aisle (Boswell crypt) projecting to outer left with steps down to segmental-headed door, carved table to right above 'Rebuilt by Claud Boswell of Balmuto 1774' with fragments of medieval grave slab to left., door and window on return to right and 2 windows (that to left bipartite) on return to left.

E ELEVATION: lower gabled chancel with rose window projecting to centre, window to right of set-back gable and flat-roofed extension in re-entrant angle to left with small porch to outer left. Remains of Old Kirk (listed separately) adjoin chancel.

S ELEVATION: 3 decoratively-astragalled windows to centre, small window in recessed bay to outer left and Sailor's aisle projecting to outer right with large 4-light segmental-headed window in cross-finialled gable with dated carved stone at gablehead; small windows high up to right on return to right and door and window on return to left.

Multi-pane glazing patterns, mostly with figurative coloured glass (see below). Slates. Coped, dry-dashed stacks, that to Balmuto aisle with thackstanes; ashlar-coped skews, flat skewputts and stone gablehead finials.

INTERIOR: galleried interior with fixed timber pews; boarded dadoes and ribbed ceiling. Timber-panelled gallery on narrow cast-iron columns with pipe organ. Stone chancel arch with panelled timber reredos, memorial stalls and WWII War Memorial Communion Table; panelled timber pulpit (see Notes). Classically-detailed part-glazed screen to laird's loft (see Notes) of Balmuto aisle. Sailor's aisle (apsidal chapel) with fine carved screen, model of HMS Unicorn (made 1567) and screen with painted panel. Turnpike stair to bell-tower.

STAINED GLASS: chancel window gifted by Rev W Jardine and Mrs Dobie. N aisle: 750th anniversary window depicting Jesus with fishermen and text 'I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN'; 1946 memorial to George Nicol, 'SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN TO COME UNTO ME'; clear glass (see Notes). Sailors aisle memorial windows of 1940s depict Ss Margaret and Andrew, and the Apostles.

Statement of Interest

Ecclesiastical building in use as such. The pulpit is thought to be a reconstruction of a 1659 example. 1937 marks the date of the sanctuary reconstruction. The Balmuto aisle laird's loft was converted in 1979 to a congregational lounge. The N aisle W window will remain clear as funds raised for this 750th anniversary window were sent to the foreign mission.

External Links

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