UPHALL CHURCH, AND ST. NICHOLAS’ CHURCH, Strathbroc, Linlithgowshire.
The Church of Uphall is a Norman structure throughout, and consists of nave, chancel, and a western tower. It has been subjected to various
Fig. 302.—Uphall Church. Plan.
alterations and extensions, but the original plan is still perfectly clear, and is shown by Fig. 302, which ignores the changes, except the addition of the south aisle or wing. The building has no side aisles.
The nave measures about 35 feet long by 15 feet wide, and the
Fig. 303.—Uphall Church. Doorway.
chancel 30 feet 6 inches long by 13 feet wide. The doorway ([Fig. 303]) is in the usual place at the west end of the south front. It is of Norman design, having a nook shaft at each side, with cushion cap and plain square abacus. The arch is round, and has two orders, the inner order being square edged, and the outer composed of mouldings, and having a moulded label. It is probable there was some piece of carving beneath the arch, or else the square lintel is an alteration. A stoup adjoining in the south wall has a pointed opening, and probably dates from the fifteenth century. There is another doorway opposite in the north wall, which is perfectly plain, and, so far as it can be seen, it appears to be original; but, as the lower parts of the walls are covered with wood boarding, other requisites which may exist, such as ambries and piscina, are concealed. None of the windows are original, so far, at least, as they are seen on the exterior, and the whole masonry on the inside is covered. The east window in the south wall ([Fig. 304]) has a horizontal arched lintel, with radiating joints, and probably dates from late in the fifteenth century. It is impossible to say whether there were windows in the east wall or not, and, as regards the north wall, it has nearly all been taken down between the west door and the chancel arch, in order to admit a modern addition. The chancel arch itself has been taken away, and the
Fig. 304.—Uphall Church. Window in South Wall.
wall above removed, and the place occupied by it has been filled up with lath and plaster, and slated on the outside.
The western tower ([Fig. 305]) has been appropriated as the burial-place of the Buchan family; so that it now forms no part of the church. It is entered by a fanciful Norman door in the west end. The windows in the tower are all modern, and so, we need hardly say, is the belfry. The upper part of the tower has been rebuilt at a late period, probably during the fifteenth century alteration.
The south aisle probably dates from the seventeenth century, and was built by the Shairp family, whose mansion house of Houston is in the neighbourhood. It is now partly used as their burial aisle, and is a quaint structure, forming an agreeable contrast to the modern additions.
The parish of Uphall was formerly called Strathbroc, and at this place, near the modern mansion of Kirkhill, and about one mile east from Uphall, stood the old parish church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, which was abandoned in the sixteenth century, when the Church of Uphall became the parish church. What kind of building it was before this does not appear to be known. The Rev. Mr. Primrose, who has devoted much attention to the antiquities of the locality, suggests that it was the chapel of some order of monks.
Fig. 305.—Uphall Church. Western Tower and South Wing.
Of the Church of Strathbroc only two relics now remain. The one is the font ([Fig. 306]), of which the basin only is old. It was rescued from the adjoining farm steading, where it served a useful, if not dignified, purpose, and placed on its present base, and now stands in the Roman Catholic Church of Broxburn. It is octagonal in shape, and contains ([Fig. 307]) the letters M· and IHS·, repeated twice. Two of the faces bear the inscriptions
| STA |
| ECCLESIA· |
and NICOLAS·, and two faces are vacant.
The other relic of St. Nicholas is the bell which now rings in the parish church of Uphall. It contains the inscription “Campanum Sancti Nicholai de Strathbroke, 1441.”[181] Mr. Primrose states that the bell was recast in 1503, and contains the Seton arms—Kirkhill at this period belonging to that family.
Fig. 306.—Strathbroc Church. Font.
Fig. 307.