The Church is steeped in history and retains many original features including historical stained glass windows, one of which is the “Garden of Gethsemane” believed to be Stephen Adams finest work, exposed roof timbers, ornate door furniture, original timber flooring, pulpit and gallery which forms a bridge between two mezzanine levels
The church was sympathetically converted by the current owners in 1996 winning the Daily Telegraph Homebuilding and Renovating Award for “Best Conversion Project” in 1998 and featuring in their magazine in the same year.
There is documentary evidence that St Ninian visited the site of the Old Church when bringing Christianity in AD 397 and AD 432 and between 1153 and 1159 the church belonged to the monks of Kelso. The reformation in 1560 saw the removal of the monks and the foundation of Presbyterianism. Since 1567 the names of all the ministers serving the church of Wiston have been chronicled. However, the greater part of these records, pre-date the existing building which was built in 1887.
It was customary for wealthy parishioners to commission and bequeath architectural and decorative artefacts to the church; a benevolence which would reinforce their perceived status within the parish, and the New Church, as it was in 1887, was no exception. The beautiful American Organ (still in situ), and the plethora of stained glass windows designed by Scotland’s foremost stained glass designers, were all gifted in memory of loved ones whose remains mostly lie in the adjacent graveyard.
The church, ancient and modern has been steeped in history, has seen fantastic changes, religious wars, amalgamation, reformation and latterly conversion to a family home. The bell bears the mark ‘Cotswold 1703’. It is said that the original bell was stealthily removed in the olden times and is now in the Parish Church of Wamphray, Dumfriesshire.
In the churchyard is an old gravestone bearing the letters ‘R. J’ - Richard Juglis who was minister of Wiston and was representative of the Lanark Presbytery at the celebrated meeting of the General Assembly held in Glasgow in 1648 which deposed a large number of bishops. The architects were Messrs. Hardy and Wright of Edinburgh. The church is designed in early decorated gothic with cusped, moulded and mullioned windows, with a simple chaste belfry surmounting the west gable and visible among the belt of trees. The stone is white freestone from the nearby Motherwell Quarries. It is neatly pointed in Arden lime.
The interior has an open timbered roof, stained and varnished, carried on trusses, resting on stone corbels. The spaces between the rafters being plastered and tinted to resemble the terra-cotta colour of the Tinto rock
THE STAINED GLASS WINDOWS
The ‘Abraham and Moses’ window (Messrs Ballantyne) was erected in memory of William Core who was School Master for 59 years and an elder of the church for 30. His friends commissioned the window as a token of the respect and esteem in which he was held.
The ‘John the Baptist and St. Paul’ window (Messrs Ballantyne) was gifted by Mrs Robert Macqueen of Braxfield in memory of her late husband.
The ‘Garden of Gethsemane’ (Stephen Adam) was gifted by Mr John Reid – this is thought to be Stephen Adam’s finest work.
The ‘Faith Hope & Charity window (Messrs Ballantyne) was gifted by Robert Gillespie, of Spring Hill, Douglas in memory of his wife, Louisa Eliza.
The ‘Good Shepherd’ was gifted by Mr James Jamieson in memory of his wife, Lizzie and other members of his family who lie in the churchyard
One of the Lancets at the west end was gifted by Miss Reid in memory of her parents, brothers and sisters, the other – depicting ‘the beloved disciple’ (Messrs Meikle and sons)is a gift of Mr George Schrader, Glasgow.
The triple light east window ‘The Sower and the Reaper’ (Messrs Ballantyne) is a gift from Sir John Gillespie and other branches of the family as a memorial to those who sleep in the churchyard
On the west gable is a wheel window in stained glass.
The cache itself is located on the left hand side of the Church Lane sign. The church is up the lane on the right. Please be stealthy as it can be busy.
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