Anwoth Parish Church

The earliest records of religious activity at Anwoth date back to the 12th century, when the parish was granted to Holyrood Abbey. A cross slab, dating to around 1100, was found in the parish in the late 19th century. Anwoth Old Church was built on a nearby site in 1626, and in 1627, shortly after receiving his licence to preach the gospel, Samuel Rutherford took up residence as the minister at the invitation of John Gordon of Kenmure; Rutherford remained at the parish until 1636, when his disagreements with the church authorities led to his prohibition from practising as a minister and exile to Aberdeen. The old church remained in use throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, undergoing…

Anwoth Parish Church is of a plain, rectangular Neo-gothic design with a rubble exterior and polished red sandstone detailing. At the west gable is a square tower, built in three sections, separated by string courses. The lower two sections have pairs of lancet windows, and the belfry has a triple lancet, and is topped with battlements and pinnacles. The building has three bays, each with tudor arched windows with timber mullions and elaborate tracery. There is a single storey vestry attached to the east gable, which was built later in the 19th century using similar materials to the main church. Inside, the king post truss roof installed in 1905 is exposed, and along the west wall there is…