Built in a Gothic style, with a square tower to designs by celebrated Scottish architect William Henry Playfair, this beautiful little rural church, with panoramic views of Teviotdale and Minto Hill, was built in 1831. It is one of only two known churches designed by Playfair, the other being St Stephen’s in St Vincent Street in Edinburgh.

Minto Parish Church generated numerous headlines in 1904 when the congregation accepted the offer of £100 from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie towards the purchase of their first pipe organ. Local landowner Gilbert Elliott-Murray-Kynynmound, the 4th Earl of Minto and then Governor-General of Canada, took serious umbrage to the proposal. He insisted that he, and other local heritors, should have been consulted beforehand on the matter and that they should be the ones to decide on any matters relating to the purchase of a pipe organ and the payment of an organist in his local parish church. The war of words between the kirk session and the minister on one side and aristocrat and his factor on the other, rumbled on over the summer, much to the delight of newspaper editors across the country.

The “musical enthusiast” minister, the Rev Alexander Galloway, eventually got his own way and Lord Minto backed down, agreeing to pay the lion’s share of the new instrument if Andrew Carnegie withdrew his offer. The magnificent Ingram & Co instrument was installed in September 1904.

The church’s interior was substantially recast in 1934, with the introduction of new seating, pulpit, lectern and communion table and the relocation of its once troublesome pipe organ. A new stained glass was installed in the chancel, designed by James Wright of the St Enoch Stained Glass Company of Glasgow, that was dedicated to the memory of indefatigable Rev Galloway.

The church is surrounded by a graveyard, containing mainly 19th and 20th century gravestones and a beautiful war memorial to the local fallen of World War One, depicting a life-sized statue of an advancing soldier with fixed bayonet, sculpted by Thomas John Clapperton and unveiled in 1921. The face of the soldier is said to have been modelled on a likeness of Lt Gavin William Esmond Elliot, the youngest son of the above mentioned Lord Minto, who very sadly died of wounds received at Ypres in 1917.

It was reported in 2022 that Minto Parish Church was facing closure during a period of nationwide rationalisation of the Church of Scotland’s property portfolio. The little kirk was marketed for sale in March 2026. The Minto family burial vault at the rear of the church has not been included in the sale and the surrounding graveyard is owned by Scottish Borders Council and will remain in their care.

Church was closed and Marketed for Sale by the Church of Scotland in March 2026

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.