Kirkoswald Old Church dates back to 1244 when the monks of Crossraguel Abbey built a stone church to replace the shrine commemorating the great battle fought by St Oswald in 634 AD against the Welsh king, Cadwallon at Heavenfield, near Hexham. The word “kirk” means “church”. It is also possible that Robert the Bruce was baptised here.
Nowadays, the Kirkyard is more famous for being the burial ground for people connected to Robert Burns, particularly the people he turned into characters in his famous poem Tam O’Shanter. The mother of Robert Burns came from Kirkoswald and he spent time there at the age of sixteen when he was finishing his education.
Burns's maternal grandparents
Douglas Graham aka Tam O'Shanter
John Davidson aka Souter Johnnie
Jean Kennedy aka Kirkton Jean
Burns Schoolmaster
Spooky Picture Stane
The stone in the picture above is referred to simply as the Picture Stane (stone) and it isn’t the first one l’ve seen like that in an old kirkyard.
The Old Church fell out of use when the new Parish church, designed by Robert Adam, was opened in 1777 after being commissioned by the Kennedys of Culzean who built a family tomb there but it was never used. The church also has the distinction of being the only church in Scotland to have a US President worship there. Dwight D Eisenhower was resident at Culzean Castle during the Second World War and to this day the pew he used is known as the Eisenhower Pew. The church bell is Dutch and dates back to 1677 and was removed from the Old Church.
The Parish Church is still in use today after being refurbished in 1997 to repair fire and rot damage.
