Larbert Old Parish Churchyard
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LARBERT OLD PARISH CHURCHYARD Geoff B Bailey The churchyard at Larbert is one of the largest in the Falkirk district, having been extended several times in the 18th and 19th centuries. In its latter form it was dominated by the presence of the Carron Company, which was one of the major factors in the massive increase in the population of the parish and which contributed greatly to its wealth. This is reflected in the lavishness and variety of the later monuments and in the extensive use of iron for grave markers and for plot boundaries. Amongst the latter are some of the oldest cast iron railings in the world. This large scale and richness is in marked contrast to the church‘s humble beginnings. By 1160 there was a subordinate chapel of the Church of St Ninians (Stirling) at Larbert and in that year they were gifted by the Bishop of St Andrews to the Abbey of Cambuskenneth, along with a similar chapel at Dunipace. After the Reformation, in the 16th century, one reader served both Larbert and Dunipace, though Dunipace had more people. Around 1585 Larbert was erected into a separate parish, but in 1617 was re-united with Dunipace by Parliamentary Commission – evidently there were too few Illus 1: General phase plan of Larbert Churchyard. 1 people in the parish to sustain a separate charge. Over the next few years Larbert Church got caught up in national politics. King James VI exiled Reverend Robert Bruce of Kinnaird to Inverness, and subsequently allowed him back to his home parish. Bruce naturally started to preach from the pulpit of the old semi-deserted church, fulfilling the roll of minister for the parish despite the lack of any stipend. It is said that he attracted very large audiences with attendees from all over central Scotland. Around 1624 he paid to have the decaying church building demolished and a modest new one constructed in its place. It stood in the northern part of the contemporary churchyard and its location can still be made out on the ground (A on illus 1). When Robert Bruce died in 1631 he was buried under the pulpit and his grave is well marked. Being a Presbyterian church we might expect the pulpit to occupy a position near to the centre of the north wall. From his grave a narrow low mound can be seen heading westwards almost as far as the present path – this is the line of the north wall. To the south-east of his grave the stone walls of the east end of the church survive to their original height. Here the south and north walls of the Dundas Tomb (3 on illus 1) re-use those of the church. Both contain blocked up windows and the 17th century moulded eaves courses remain. In the east wall is the wide public entrance formed in 1663 by Sir Robert Elphinstone of Quarrel – the lintel still bears the date and initials. This end of the church is narrower than the main body and presumably contained a loft in the roof space for that noble family. Just beyond the N/S path already referred to lie the table tombs of the early ministers (nos. 719-721), taking their traditional place outside the west door. The path presumably marks the position of the west wall. An 18th century map shows that there was also an aisle on the south side (RHP 1497A). Illus: Table tomb nos. 719-721 of the early ministers. The precise size and shape of the early churchyard cannot be discerned, but the area outlined as (B) on illus 1 gives a good approximation. The earliest gravestones that appear to be in situ date to the 1630s and lie to the south of the church just delineated; as we might expect. These markers are small with rounded tops (for example nos. 98, 100 and 150) and have crude depictions of skulls and bones in low relief. Presumably another formerly stood beside the entrance and is referred to as the ‗Deil‘s Stane;‘ ―so called from its having borne those foul images of mortality, the skull and cross-bones‖ (Nimmo 1880). Some of the plain recumbent stones may be earlier, but the earliest dated one is from 1680 (no. 181). Many of these flat stones lie under the present W/E path, which may be significant. The entrance to the graveyard was from the village to the east and seems to have been more or less on the site of the current entrance, directly in line with the east door of the old church. The western boundary is marked by the large wall tomb dated 1717 (no. 239), which also bears a skull and cross bones. Illus: Wall tomb number 239 marking the western perimeter of the early churchyard. 2 In the mid 18th century, around 1750, the sides of this irregular enclosure were straightened out, allowing more ground to be incorporated, particularly to the north. Plots on the periphery were allocated to the landed families of the parish – Glenbervie (nos. 140-145); Carronvale (nos. 689-691). To the north was the old manse of 1635 and to the east was the parish school and the houses of the village. The main road southwards probably ran through these houses and on to the Low Town and the crossing of the River Carron. Illus: The Carronvale monument of the 1824 with Doric pilasters and swan- neck pediment over the central compartment. Behind it, on the right, is the old manse. The 1760s and 1770s saw a massive increase in the number of people living in the parish and demand for lairs rose. Sometime in the early 1780s it appears that the kirkyard was doubled in size by a large extension to the west. The lines of the north and south sides of the extension were projected from those of the older churchyard, meaning that the east side was 42m long, but the west side only 30m. From east to west it was 64m long, with the westernmost 15m primarily used for Carron Company employees. In 1790 the north-west corner was reserved for the Company‘s management and marked by march stones. In December 1782 James Bruce of Kinnaird acquired the land to the south of the churchyard along its eastern half for use as a family plot. He enclosed this by a substantial wall. On the north this acted as a retaining wall capped by triangular copestones. The Glenbervie enclosure must have already been in place and so the entrance from the churchyard lay immediately to its east. This was flanked by stout short stone piers and contained a flight of steps. A cast iron obelisk in memory of his wife was placed on a stone plinth opposite this entrance. Monument, stairs and the pulpit of the church (the burial place of James Bruce‘s great grandfather) were all in line. The gate pier on the east took a graceful Dutch curve down to the top of the retaining wall and this method of reducing the height of the wall was also used in the south. The west and east walls of the enclosure were about 6ft tall. These returned around the south side, but after about 10m curved down to a low wall topped with cast and wrought iron railings. This let light flood into the enclosure. It also provided views – outwards across the Carron Valley, and inwards to the brilliantly painted obelisk so that it could be seen by approaching travellers from the south. The obelisk was a marvel of technology (Bailey 2013). In 1790 a manse was built to replace that of 1635. The new building was placed to the south of the Bruce of Kinnaird Enclosure, towards the east end, obscuring the view so carefully created. Gardens and orchards for the minister were laid out to the west of the manse. These included a walled garden, open to the south, terraced into the hill. A large addition was made to the manse in 1828. Illus: The present church with the Dundas enclosure in front of it, and that of Robert Bruce in the foreground. 3 David Hamilton, architect, was asked to advice the congregation at Larbert on ways of improving the church building. In 1818 he suggested that a new church should be built rather than rebuilding or enlarging the old one which was surrounded by burials. The Heritors agreed. The following year the field next to the kirkyard was purchased for £105 and the contract for a new church awarded to Muir and Wright, builders, for £3,300 and the stone from the old church. The new design was by Hamilton and has been described as common Tudor or perpendicular Gothic style. It opened in 1821, having cost £4,432. Gillespie, in the third edition of Nimmo‘s History of Stirlingshire, describes the atmosphere that pervaded society at this time with regard to the so-called Resurrectionists. ―The intense and wide- spread excitement which prevailed in the earlier part of the present century from the cruel trade of body-snatching, must be fresh in the memory of many still alive. In grave spoliation for purposes of dissection, only one "subject" was known to have been taken from the Larbert burial ground. It was that of a girl named Moir, whose corpse was lifted shortly after interment. But the young "Athenians" were not allowed to carry her far. On their route to Edinburgh, they had, for the night, to conceal the body in a dung-heap at Polmont; and the proprietor‘s carts proceeded in the morning for a portion of the manure, the diabolical theft was opportunely detected.