Torphichen Kirk
| Torphichen Kirk | |
|
West Lothian | |
|---|---|
| Status: | Parish church |
 Torphichen Kirk | |
| Church of Scotland | |
| Presbytery of West Lothian | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NS96967255 |
| Location: | 55°56’6"N, 3°39’4"W |
| Address: | The Bowyett |
| History | |
| Built 1756 | |
| Information | |
| Website: | torphichenkirk.com |
Torphichen Kirk is an ordinary parish church in an extraordinary location, as it stands within the Torphichen Preceptory, the building which was the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller in Scotland in the Middle Ages. The church and the Preceptory are to be found in Torphichen in West Lothian.
The Preceptory was constructed from the late 12th century and comprised an aisleless nave, central tower, transepts and choir. The transepts and nave were rebuilt in the 15th century. At the Reformation, the property of the Knights Hospitaller was confiscated and the order dissolved. The nave of the old church of the Preceptory was reused as a parish church.
In 1756, the nave and domestic buildings of the Preceptory were demolished, and a new T-plan kirk was built on the original foundations, which is the church standing today.
The kirk is T-shaped with three galleries including a laird’s loft. Two centre pews can be tipped back to form extended communion tables. It is still furnished with early 19th Century box pews and galleries.
The large kirkyard has a fine collection of 17th–18th century headstones, with much intriguing 'folk art', including symbols of mortality, tools representing professions etc. There is a sanctuary stone in the graveyard, form the old Preceptory, which was a monastic building. Elsewhere in the churchyard is a fine collection of 17th-18th century headstones.
Outside links
- Torphichen Kirk
- Torphichen Kirk: Scotland's Churches Trust