Church Overview

Built on the site of an earlier Celtic Christian Culdee church, founded by St Serf, a Cistercian Abbey was established in Culross in 1217 by Malcolm, 7th Earl of Fife, and dedicated to St Mary and St Serf. Much of the original medieval cruciform building remains, although a great deal of it is in ruins, and is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.

The monastery continued after the Reformation, but no new monks were allowed to join and by the 1580s, the monks’ choir was taken over for use for worship by the local Protestant community. In 1633, this arrangement was permanently formalised as the east end of the Abbey was converted to become the local parish church of the Church of Scotland and the rest of the building was left to decay.

The tower dates to around 1500 and the parish church itself was significantly modernised in 1824 by architect William Stirling, who removed many original architectural features, some of these were restored to the building in 1905 under the supervision of architect Sir Robert Rowand Anderson. The 17th century pulpit and canopy was restored in 1923.

The church also still contains many features of historic and cultural interest, most notably in the north transept which was converted to a burial aisle in 1642 for Sir George Bruce of Carnock, and finely carved alabaster effigies of him, his wife Margaret Primrose and their eight children were placed there. There is stained glass by the noted Scottish glass manufacturer Ballantine & Sons, influential artist Stephen Adam, contemporary designer Emma Butler-Cole Aiken, among others.

Culross Abbey Church was a Destination Hub on our St Mungo Pilgrim Journey. In August 2025, the Church of Scotland closed the building and marketed it for sale for offers over £35,000. Its future is currently uncertain.

Services

Unknown at this time

Opening Arrangements

Unknown at this time.

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.