Penicuik Kirk, Scotland

Side of Penicuik South Kirk in Scotland.I took this a few years ago on a visit to relations. We went into Edinburgh and had a good walk around, took a few photos there. This shot was taken in Penicuik which is near to Edinburgh, its a gorgeous building. More shots to follow of the church.

The original church is dated as 1843 and was much smaller. When by 1862 the congregation had outgrown the church, this newer church was designed by F T Pilkington. It is an extraordinarily striking structure, although if Pilkington's original ideas had been carried through, it would have been even more so. It was erected at a cost of £2,050, and was capable of seating some 700 worshippers. Characteristically, the maverick architect used dramatic contrasts of scale - the weighty entrance is supported on tiny shafts, and there was to have been a tall, dominant spire on the exisisting squat tower. Inside the complex form of the varnished wooden ceiling dominates the space. The plan is a square set diagonally to the main axis with its corners removed, apart from the east corner which extends into a galleried area. Shafts beside the pulpit (not original) are decorated with small polished bosses. At that time the bridge across the river had yet to be built - access on a Sunday morning was by ford (if you came by carriage) or across the stepping stones if you came on foot - times change!