Station 7 - West Door of Prayer House
As you can see before you, the West wall of the Kirk contains the entrance into the building but this wasn’t always the case as excavations have revealed.
In 2018, excavations carried out by Dr Clare Ellis uncovered that this doorway had been created from an existing window in the 1706 building, it is believed that this was created during the period of alterations which were carried out in 1744 when the original door was intentionally blocked up and the windows of the Kirk were enlarged.
The excavations have also revealed that following the 1876 abandonment of the Kirk, the West wall doorway was blocked using drystone. It is speculated that this was an effort to use the ruined building as a shelter for livestock by local farmers.
The wall has recently been consolidated thanks to generous grants from the Caraig Gael Wind Farm Community Trust and the Clan MacDougall Society of North America. It is the hope of Friends of Kilbride that the entire church can be consolidated but this can only be made possible through donations. The consolidation of the wall revealed that the building is mostly constructed from whinstone, however several stones of sandstone have been uncovered and it is believed that they were part of the medieval chapel which stood here before the construction of the 1706 Kirk.
When you are ready to proceed with the tour, please walk through the West door and enter the heart of Kilbride’s Kirk, there you will see the Session House off to the left, please make your way towards it as this is Station 8 of the Tour.
To move on to the next station click here
This audio clip was read by Seymour Adams.