Another Visit to West Linton

More from West Linton now, and tonight's post is the first of several with a distinctly religious twist.

This isn't the parish church, but it's a very pleasant little church nonetheless, built in the eighteenth century and in use as such until the 1950s.  It's tucked away in a quiet part of the village and has now been converted into a private residence:-

I particularly like the Celtic knotwork motif on the front gable, just below the bell-cote...

A walk through the village revealed more carved stones in addition to the Gifford sculptures I featured yesterday.  Another house located just off the main street revealed another carving which shed further light on the village's history:-

Here's a close-up of the carving:-
 

It is, of course, Saint Andrew, Scotland's Patron Saint.  The carving appears to predate the nineteenth century building in which it now sits, which suggests that it originated elsewhere. 

When I stumbled across this carving, I deduced that West Linton's current church had replaced an earlier structure dedicated to Saint Andrew, and that this carving was a survivor from the early church.  I hadn't visited the church at this point: needless to say, I wasn't surprised when I discovered that West Linton's parish church is indeed a nineteenth century structure which occupies the site of an earlier predecessor. 

And the patron saint of the modern church?

Saint Andrew...    Who else?

 

Another Visit to West Linton

More from West Linton now, and tonight's post is the first of several with a distinctly religious twist.

This isn't the parish church, but it's a very pleasant little church nonetheless, built in the eighteenth century and in use as such until the 1950s.  It's tucked away in a quiet part of the village and has now been converted into a private residence:-

I particularly like the Celtic knotwork motif on the front gable, just below the bell-cote...

A walk through the village revealed more carved stones in addition to the Gifford sculptures I featured yesterday.  Another house located just off the main street revealed another carving which shed further light on the village's history:-

Here's a close-up of the carving:-
 

It is, of course, Saint Andrew, Scotland's Patron Saint.  The carving appears to predate the nineteenth century building in which it now sits, which suggests that it originated elsewhere. 

When I stumbled across this carving, I deduced that West Linton's current church had replaced an earlier structure dedicated to Saint Andrew, and that this carving was a survivor from the early church.  I hadn't visited the church at this point: needless to say, I wasn't surprised when I discovered that West Linton's parish church is indeed a nineteenth century structure which occupies the site of an earlier predecessor. 

And the patron saint of the modern church?

Saint Andrew...    Who else?