Above is a 'then and now' comparison of the roofless ruin of Newburn Old Church, which is located to the north west of Upper Largo, close to Drumeldrie. The east end of the church is of pre-Reformation date and may be part of the original structure, which was dedicated by Bishop Bernham in 1243. The top postcard image above dates to the early years of the twentieth century, when the structure was covered with thick ivy, long since removed. Two very new-looking headstones appear in the foreground on the left, which appear more weathered and less straight today. The chain link has disappeared from the stone posts surrounding this plot. The gravestone on the extreme right above has been removed, apart from its base, while some neighbouring headstones have tilted with the passage of time.
Here's what RCAHMS had to report on the Old Parish Church following a field visit in 1927:
"At the south side of the road close to Little Dumbarnie, half a mile north-west of Balchrystie, stand the ruins of the old parish church, so densely clad with ivy that the external features are not apparent . The rubble walls rise to a height of about 12 feet, and there are east and west gables, the latter with a late belfry. The church measures internally 54 feet 10 inches in length by 12 feet 4 inches in breadth at the east end and 14 feet 10 inches at the west end the widening being all on tile north between the west gable and a transeptal aisle, which projects from the middle of the north wall and is a later addition.
The windows, one of which in the west gable has had a circular head, are now all built up, and other structural changes have been made. The original entrance is probably the round-headed door near the western end of the south wall, but the porch which covers it is later. An equilateral-headed credence in the north wall with roll-moulding and outer checks for a door and a small locker-recess beneath, is a pre-Reformation feature, as is also a recessed piscina, chamfered, with a bowl 10 inches in diameter opposite to it in the south wall. A larger recess at the southern end of the east gable, 2 ½ feet high by 1 foot 10 inches wide by 1 foot 2 inches deep, now closed by a memorial stone, may also be early."
A few hundred yards away is the the early nineteenth century parish church which replaced the old church around 1815. This later church closed when the last minister of Newburn, Reverend Frederick Cox retired in 1958. The Parish of Newburn was united with that of Largo at that time. One of the ways in which the Old Newburn Church was recognised by the united church was by the holding of open air services there on the Sunday closest to midsummer's day. The old ruined church is in a beautiful spot and is filled with interesting features and memorials - well worth paying a visit to.
Here's what RCAHMS had to report on the Old Parish Church following a field visit in 1927:
"At the south side of the road close to Little Dumbarnie, half a mile north-west of Balchrystie, stand the ruins of the old parish church, so densely clad with ivy that the external features are not apparent . The rubble walls rise to a height of about 12 feet, and there are east and west gables, the latter with a late belfry. The church measures internally 54 feet 10 inches in length by 12 feet 4 inches in breadth at the east end and 14 feet 10 inches at the west end the widening being all on tile north between the west gable and a transeptal aisle, which projects from the middle of the north wall and is a later addition.
The windows, one of which in the west gable has had a circular head, are now all built up, and other structural changes have been made. The original entrance is probably the round-headed door near the western end of the south wall, but the porch which covers it is later. An equilateral-headed credence in the north wall with roll-moulding and outer checks for a door and a small locker-recess beneath, is a pre-Reformation feature, as is also a recessed piscina, chamfered, with a bowl 10 inches in diameter opposite to it in the south wall. A larger recess at the southern end of the east gable, 2 ½ feet high by 1 foot 10 inches wide by 1 foot 2 inches deep, now closed by a memorial stone, may also be early."
A few hundred yards away is the the early nineteenth century parish church which replaced the old church around 1815. This later church closed when the last minister of Newburn, Reverend Frederick Cox retired in 1958. The Parish of Newburn was united with that of Largo at that time. One of the ways in which the Old Newburn Church was recognised by the united church was by the holding of open air services there on the Sunday closest to midsummer's day. The old ruined church is in a beautiful spot and is filled with interesting features and memorials - well worth paying a visit to.
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