Longformacus Parish Church, Longformacus, Scottish Borders

Description

Rebuilt 1730 on foundations of previous church; repaired circa 1830; renovated by George Fortune, Duns, 1892-93; west aisle added 1894. Rectangular-plan, plain gothic church with bellcote to W and bowed apse to E; projecting gabled aisle centred in N elevation; lean-to vestry in re entrant angle to left; lean-to porch in re-entrant angle to right; slightly lower projecting gabled aisle centred in W elevation. Harl-pointed rubble sandstone; cream sandstone ashlar dressings (droved in part); some rendered pointing. Long and short surrounds to predominantly pointed arched, chamfered openings (round-arched to apse); chamfered cills.

W (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: 2-bay. Steps to pointed-arched, boarded timber door in bay to outer left. Buttressed aisle advanced to outer right with Y-traceried window at centre; vesica-shaped opening aligned above; surmounting cruciform finial. Ogee-roofed sandstone birdcage bellcote surmounting nave gable; bell in place (inscribed ?JB 1892? J Barwell, Birmingham).

N (SIDE) ELEVATION: gabled bay at centre with Y-traceried window centred beneath apex. 2-bay vestry to left with bipartite window in bay to right (columnar mullion with stylised capital); single window in bay to left; pointed-arched boarded timber door in return to left. Round-arched window in bowed apse recessed to outer left. 3-bay porch off-set to right of centre with pointed-arched boarded timber door off-set to left; finialled gable above dated 189(2?); single window in bay to left; bipartite window in bay to right (columnar mullion with stylised capital). Y-traceried window in W aisle recessed to outer right.

S (SIDE) ELEVATION: 4-bay nave with plain, pointed-arched window in bay to outer right; Y-traceried windows in remaining bays to left; engaged sundial aligned beneath skewputt to outer left (metal gnomons in place); iron jougs below. Y-traceried window in W aisle slightly recessed to outer left. Round-arched window in bowed apse recessed to outer right.

E (REAR) ELEVATION: regularly spaced windows in bowed apse centred in E gable; surmounting cross finial.

Predominantly plain leaded glazing with coloured margins; some decorative stained glass to nave and W aisle (Landale memorial window depicting Poverty, Chastity and Obedience, post 1943); small rooflights. Graded grey slate roofs; stepped stone skews; gabletted skewputts. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: long, narrow interior. Probably dark stained Siberian deal throughout (possibly dark stained oak in part) - similar to that at Cranshaws Church. Tiled vestibule floor; stained and boarded timber dado panelling; boarded timber ceiling. Nave comprising tiled floor (timber boards beneath pews); boarded timber dado panelling; whitewashed walls; open timber keel-shape, hammerbeam roof with carved foliate springers (figurative heads in W aisle); timber pews. Engaged columns framing openings with painted shafts and plain sandstone capitals. Raised W aisle with timber pews; boarded timber dado panelling; foliate iron screen to front; decorative stained glass. N aisle with blind arcaded timber screen to front; single chair centred beneath window; boarded timber door to left. E end with carved timber pulpit; carved timber font; stone set on S wall with Sinclair family coat-of-arms and ?IS? engraved above (John/James Sinclair); boarded timber door accessing vestry to N. Large pointed arch framing raised apse to E with blind arcading to timber choir stalls; timber communion table; boarded timber ceiling; stained glass window at centre. Various engraved tablets throughout; decorative light fittings.

LAMPSTAND: single iron lampstand near W door (oil lamp missing).

GRAVEYARD: near square-plan graveyard to S with gravestones arranged in irregular rows. Variety of types from the 18th and 19th centuries (some with figurative panels); various table top monuments. Near square-plan enclosed burial ground set in SE corner dedicated to Brown family: stepped wall to W with round-arched, columnar framed tablets set in E face (nailhead and zig-zag mouldings); blind, intersecting arcading above engaged columns with cushion capitals to W face; regularly spaced cruciform stones within; barley twist iron railings on low sandstone wall enclosing site; fleur de-lys finials; regularly spaced panelled, square-plan piers with engaged angle columns (cushion capitals); shallow pyramidal caps (missing in part); pedestrian entry gate missing.

BOUNDARY WALLS: rubble-coped rubble walls enclosing site; timber gates.

Statement of Interest

Ecclesiastical building in use as such. Rebuilt on the foundations of a previous church, it is thought that this 18th century structure may incorporate parts of the earlier edifice. In 1892, Andrew Smith of Whitchester, commissioned George Fortune, a Duns architect, to carry out extensive renovations. These included the creation of both the W and N aisles, and the addition of a bowed apse. Prior to its improvement, the church was a simple structure "...modelled after the plain fashion", with a galleried interior that when combined with its low flat ceiling, imparted "...a depressing and dingy appearance..." (BNC Transactions). Consequently, Fortune removed the galleries, opened the roof and re-seated the whole area so as to face the new apse to the E (the pulpit originally having been centred in the S wall). Once complete, Ferguson thought the church was "...a model of what a small country parish church should be" (BNC Transactions, Vol 16). With every effort being made "...to preserve the historical features of the older building" during its renovation (BNC Transactions, Vol 20) and with the majority of 18th and 19th century detailing intact, Longformacus Church is one of the most significant buildings in the parish. See separate list entry for the nearby Cranshaws Church, also rebuilt by Fortune following a commission from Andrew Smith.

External Links

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