Church Overview

This handsome little stone kirk was originally built for the local Free Church congregation 1851-52 to a design by Scottish architect William McCandlish. It was extended in 1912 with the introduction of a Gothic stone arch and chancel built by architect John Alexander McGregor to a design adapted from the work of James Kennedy Hunter.

A fine hammer-beam ceiling greeted visitors entering the church, along with a handsome plaster bust of Alexander Colquhoun-Stirling-Murray-Dunlop on a niche high up in the south west corner of the building. The advocate and Liberal politician funded the building of the church and was prominent in shaping the movement that resulted in the ‘Act of Secession’ (the withdrawal of membership of the Free Church from the Church of Scotland) in 1843. His family also gifted much of the communion plate and latterly the font. The adjacent stained glass window of the Good Shepherd is in memory of him and his wife.

Following the union of the United Free Church and the Church of Scotland in 1929, Corsock’s two churches were eventually joined into a single congregation in 1947 and the local parish church was closed, prior to its conversion into a residential home in 1951. Several stained glass windows were transferred from the former parish church to the former United Free building.

One of the windows that was relocated, along with an associated memorial plaque, was dedicated to the noted Scottish physicist and mathematician James Clerk Maxwell. The window depicted the three wise men following the star to Bethlehem, with a Greek inscription that translated as ‘All good things come from above’. The old parish church had been built in 1839 largely through the generosity, enthusiasm and support of John Clerk Maxwell, the scientist’s father.

Such was the strength of negative feeling at that time that there was considerable resistance from some members of the former United Free Kirk Session to the enlargement of the existing window space to accommodate the Maxwell memorial window. One member is said to to have threatened to “throw a hammer through it”, however the strong character of minister of the day, Dr. G.B Burnet, prevailed.

Some other stained glass from the former parish church was also installed in the church. The main chancel stained glass window behind the communion table represents the ‘three Marys’ at the Tomb and is in memory of Captain Henry Alexander Dunlop who died in 1919 and the other windows in the chancel, of a beautiful geometric but plain design, which were dedicated to the memory of William Barbour of Barlay. There was also a modern installation that symbolised the garden at Walton Park, capturing the spirit of the river Urr with its cascades and pools, and dedicated to Jan and Percy Brown of Walton Park.

The church was marketed for sale in November 2025 as part of the Church of Scotland’s nationwide rationalisation of its property portfolio. Graveyard outside remains in the care of the local authority and open to the public.

Church marketed for sale in November 2025

Disclaimer

The information about churches in Scotland’s Churches Scheme has been provided by the congregations or taken from the Historic Scotland list and published sources, in particular, the Buildings of Scotland volumes and the RIAS Illustrated Architectural Guides. To contact this specific church please complete the Contact this Church form above. The information is not authoritative; please contact Scotland’s Churches Trust to let us know of any errors or omissions.