Dairsie Old Church, formerly St Mary's Church, is the former parish church of Dairsie

Dairsie

Dairsie, or Osnaburgh, is a village in north-east Fife, Scotland. It is south-southwest of Leuchars Junction, and east-northeast of Cupar on the A91 Stirling to St Andrews road. The village grew out of two smaller settlements , and developed principally around the industry of weaving...

, in north-east Fife

Fife

Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It is located around 1.2 kilometre (0.745647283979768 mi) south of Dairsie village. The present church was built in 1621, and is an unusual example of post-Reformation

Scottish Reformation

The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...

 Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 in Scotland. It is no longer in use as a church, and is protected as a Category A listed building, and as a scheduled ancient monument

Scheduled Ancient Monument

In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...

.

History

A church at Dairsie is recorded in 1183. In 1300 the church was granted to the Convent of St Andrews; it may have been rebuilt at this time.

In 1621, the present church was built by John Spottiswoode

John Spottiswoode

John Spottiswoode was an Archbishop of St Andrews, Primate of All Scotland and historian of Scotland.-Life:...

 (1565–1639), Archbishop of St Andrews

Archbishop of St Andrews

The Bishop of St. Andrews was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews and then, as Archbishop of St Andrews , the Archdiocese of St Andrews.The name St Andrews is not the town or church's original name...

, who had recently bought the adjacent Dairsie Castle

Dairsie Castle

Dairsie Castle is a restored tower house located south of Dairsie in north-east Fife, Scotland. The castle overlooks the River Eden.-History:...

. The Spottiswoode family crest, with John Spottiswoode's initials, is carved over the west door.

In the late 18th century the original flat roof was replaced with the present piend (hipped

Hip roof

A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...

) roof. A major refit was carried out in 1835–1837, including works to the interior, although most of this has since been removed.

Ecclesiastical use of the church ceased in 1966, the congregation now using the former Free Church in Dairsie village.

External links

• Excerpts From The 1861 Parochial Directory Of Fife And Kinross: Parish Of Dairsie, Fife Family History Society