Description

Rebuilt 1786 on site of earlier structure, with later additions and alterations; vestry added 1934. Rectangular-plan, plain gothic church with gabled belfry to W; raised, crenellated parapet to E; gabled vestry projecting to SW; burial enclosure adjoined to S. Tooled sandstone rubble (squared in part); predominantly droved rubble dressings. Stepped, gabletted buttresses dividing bays in part to N and S. Quoins; long and short surrounds to pointed-arched, chamfered openings. Stone tracery.

S (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: 6-bay. Principal block with buttresses at centre and off-set to right. Pointed-arched entrance to outer right with nookshafts flanking boarded timber door; blocked, quatrefoil opening aligned above. 4, Y-traceried windows set in pairs between buttresses in bays to left. Projecting vestry to outer left with single window centred in gable end. Rectangular-plan burial enclosure adjoined to front with low, coped walls; decorative iron railings with fleur-de-lys finials and barley-twist uprights; iron pedestrian entry gate.

E (SIDE) ELEVATION: crenellated gable end with Y-traceried window at centre; flanking quatrefoil openings. Vestry recessed to outer left with single window off-set to left of centre. Flat-roofed projection recessed to outer right.

N (REAR) ELEVATION: 3-bay. Y-traceried windows in all bays; buttresses flanking centre. Flat-roofed projection off-set to left centre.

W (SIDE) ELEVATION: gable end with Y-traceried window at centre (trefoil motif in infilled upper); plain hoodmould; inscribed, rectangular panel at ground to right. Gabled belfry surmounting gablehead with bell inscribed 'For Fuldin Kirk 1704'; bell rope in place. Later vestry adjoined to right with boarded timber door off-set to left of centre; trefoil motif above; pointed-arched, columnar surround.

Predominantly diamond-pane leaded glazing; stained border glazing to W window. Grey slate roof; sawtooth-coped sandstone skews to W; scroll-bracketed skewputts.

INTERIOR: Tudor gothic decorative scheme in place. Boarded timber dado panelling throughout; plain plaster walls to S and W; rubble walls to N and E. Tudor-arched ceiling with architraved ribs; decorative springers; circular vents. Raised chancel to W with timber panelled screen at centre; timber communion table, chairs and font; earlier sandstone font; stair accessing polygonal timber pulpit. Timber pews. Full-width, 5-bay former laird's loft to E comprising Tudor-arched, arcaded screen with decorative circular spandrel motifs and full-width foliate frieze framing 3-bay central opening; linenfold mouldings in balcony fronts; infilled outer bays with basket-arched doors at ground (entrance/porch to right). Vestry with boarded timber dado panelling; plain plaster walls; 2-leaf timber panelled door accessing nave.

GRAVEYARD: near rectangular-plan graveyard with various 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th century gravestones including table-top monuments, recumbent stones, classically-detailed stones, earlier examples with memento mori; family burial enclosure to S.

BOUNDARY WALLS, GATEPIERS AND GATES: coped rubble walls enclosing site (mutual with tithe barn in part). Corniced, square-plan, sandstone gatepiers flanking entrance to W; surmounting lamps; 2-leaf iron gate.

MOUNTING STONE: stone treads to substantial mounting stone adjoining outer elevation W wall, to S of entrance.

Statement of Interest

Ecclesiastical building in use as such. Set to the S of Foulden Tithe Barn - see separate list entry. A well-detailed church, said to have been built on the foundations of its mediaeval predecessor. The 1856-58 OS Name Book notes how the N and S walls are supported by buttresses '...recently added to prevent them from falling.' In 1896, Robson recorded 3 buttresses on each wall - these have since been reduced to 2. The railed burial enclosure adjoining the S wall was that of the Wilkie family, owners of Foulden House (now demolished), principal landowners in the parish and therefore, principal heritors. The most significant gravestone in the yard is that commemorating George Ramsay, dated 1592 (a recumbent stone to the S of the E end of the church). The nearby former manse is listed separately - see 'Church House'. The sandstone font inside the church was found at the nearby 'Nunlands' in 1871 - see separate list entry.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17853762

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas