Falkirk Old & St. Modan's Parish Church also known as "Falkirk Trinity Church" is a congregation of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

, central Scotland. The

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

Old Parish Church is located in the centre of Falkirk, and may have been founded as early as the 7th century. The church was largely rebuilt in the 19th century, though the 18th-century steeple was retained. The church building is protected as a category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

Some time after the sixth century the ''speckled church'' or ''Faw Kirk'' was founded, it is from this church that the town of Falkirk takes its name.

Malcolm Canmore Malcolm III ( mga, Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, label=Medieval Gaelic; gd, Maol Chaluim mac Dhonnchaidh; died 13 November 1093) was King of Scotland from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" ("ceann mòr", Gaelic, literally "big head" ...

, King of Scotland, is also said to have established a church here in 1057. In 1166 the church was given to

Holyrood Abbey Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Ref ...

. The earliest parts of the present building date to around 1450, and indicate that the medieval church was on a

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

plan, with a tower at the centre. The tower was rebuilt between 1738 and 1741 to designs by the architect William Adam. Proposals for renovation or extension of the church were put forward from the 1790s, and lengthy disagreements ensued. In 1810 the matter came before the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...

, which ruled that the tower should be retained, but the remaining medieval building should be demolished and replaced. The proposals of

James Gillespie Graham James Gillespie Graham (11 June 1776 – 11 March 1855) was a Scottish architect, prominent in the early 19th century. Life Graham was born in Dunblane on 11 June 1776. He was the son of Malcolm Gillespie, a solicitor. He was christened as J ...

were adopted, and the contract was awarded to William Black, wright and Henry Taylor, mason. By autumn 1811 the works were completed, at a cost of around £3,500. A session house was added on the south side in 1893, designed by Wardrop & Anderson. The Old Parish Church merged in 1986 with St Modan's Parish Church to form the present congregation. A number of medieval carved stones are preserved inside the church, including effigies of nobles, which formerly crowned tombs which presumably stood within the medieval church building, and a 12th-century cross-head.

Burials

Notable tombs in the churchyard include: * Sir John de Graeme, who was killed at the

Battle of Falkirk The Battle of Falkirk (''Blàr na h-Eaglaise Brice'' in Gaelic), on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence. Led by King Edward I of England, the English army defeated the Scots, led by William Wal ...

on 22 July 1298. His gravestone has been replaced twice over the centuries. The present slab is said to be a copy of the original, and bears the inscription: * Sir John Stewart of Bonkyll, also killed at the Battle of Falkirk is buried here. Stewart was the direct male ancestor of

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

and therefore of the present

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...

.Hardy, Rev J., ''The session book of Bunkle and Preston, 1665-1690'' p.xxii
/ref> *Patrick Murehead of Rashyhill (d.1723) *

Sir Robert Munro, 6th Baronet Sir Robert Munro of Foulis, 6th Baronet (24 August 1684 – 17 January 1746) was a soldier-politician whose life followed an 18th-century pattern. He fought in support of the Revolution Settlement and the House of Hanover, and their opposition t ...

(d.1746)

References

{{commons category Church of Scotland churches in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Falkirk (council area) Listed churches in Scotland James Gillespie Graham buildings Buildings and structures in Falkirk Protestant churches converted from Roman Catholicism