St Kentigern's Church is a scheduled monument in

Lanark, South Lanarkshire Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, th ...

. Its churchyard and burial aisles are a category B listed building. It was previously the parish church of the town. It is believed that the church was founded by

St Kentigern Kentigern ( cy, Cyndeyrn Garthwys; la, Kentigernus), known as Mungo, was a missionary in the Brittonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century, and the founder and patron saint of the city of Glasgow. Name In Wales and England, this s ...

himself shortly before his death in 603 AD. There is documentary evidence of its existence, however, dating back to 1150 AD when

King David I David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Scottish Gaelic language, Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was David, Prince of the Cumbrians, Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later Ki ...

granted it to the

monastery of Dryburgh Dryburgh Abbey, near Dryburgh on the banks of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders, was nominally founded on 10 November (Martinmas) 1150 in an agreement between Hugh de Morville, Constable of Scotland, and the Premonstratensian canons regul ...

. Pope

Gregory VIII Pope Gregory VIII ( la, Gregorius VIII; c. 1100/1105 – 17 December 1187), born Alberto di Morra, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States for two months in 1187. Becoming Pope after a long diplomatic career as Aposto ...

took the church into his own protection in 1228. The church, which was once attended by

William Wallace Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army a ...

, is now in a state of disrepair, despite having had repair work completed recently.

References

Lanark Churches in South Lanarkshire Church ruins in Scotland Scheduled Ancient Monuments in South Lanarkshire {{Scotland-church-stub