Old West Kirk

The Old West Kirk of the Church of Scotland, authorised by a 1589 Royal Charter and first opened in 1591, is noted as the first Presbyterian church built in Scotland following the Scottish Reformation, and the first approved by the Parliament of Scotland. At an early stage, east and west aisles were added as transepts, giving the church its cruciform plan. Over time, the town of Greenock grew around the church, which was enlarged and had galleries added to accommodate the congregation. From 1761 other churches were built to serve the growing population, and in 1841 the Old West Kirk was closed when the congregation moved to a new West Kirk. The old kirk gradually became derelict, then it was heavily restored and reopened on Christmas Day 1864. The architect James Salmon supervised the works and added a tower, and the church subsequently incorporated a major collection of Pre-Raphaelite stained glass windows. Shipyards developed between the churchyard and the Clyde, and in 1917 Harland and Wolff began negotiations to enlarge their yard over the churchyard. They provided a site further along the coast, and built the Pirrie Hall on the new site as a church hall which was used as temporary accommodation for the congregation from February 1925, while the kirk was rebuilt. In January 1928 the Old West Kirk opened in its new location on the Esplanade of Greenock. In 2011 it was amalgamated with two other churches into the Lyle Kirk, Greenock. It was subsequently opened to the public on days when cruise ships called at Greenock, and Inverclyde Tourist Group provided guided visits with a talk on the history of the kirk, but with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic tours became unavailable. The church was sold in 2022 for continuing use as community space, in February 2024 minor improvements were organised.