Avendale Old Parish Church was built on its present site in 1772. Before this, the people of Strathaven attended St Mary’s Kirk which was situated in the graveyard facing Strathaven Castle, probably about where the telephone exchange is now. St Mary’s Kirk in time became too small for the growing population of the town. The landowners and property owners of the parish – decided to build a new church in Kirk Street or Arran Street as it had been known.
The square exterior of the church, which is now a listed building, has survived the years with very little change, but the interior has undergone substantial modification. The centre section of the gallery to the south of the church was reserved for the Duke of Hamilton and his family and tenants. Even today this area is known as the Duke’s Loft and the window bears the family coat of arms. It has to be said, however, that at this period the Hamilton family, particularly the. Duchess Ann, was very generous to Avendale Church.
In 1929, the year when the churches, which had separated from the Church of Scotland in the Disruption of 1843 became reunited with the established church, parishes were reallocated. At the same time the Presbytery of Hamilton decided that Avendale should henceforth be known as Avendale Old Parish Church, thus it might seem, acknowledging its place in the history of the town and environs.
This is a multi cache, the cache is not at the posted co-ords. I always feel that a Church Micro should celebrate the area that the parish represents, so the cache is a 15 minute drive away.
The cache is at :
N 55 36.A0B W 004 08.C00
How many circles cn you see on the front of the Kirk? = A.
Number of letters in the surname of the soldier who served with the Australians.= B.
The Kirk has how many towers? = C.
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For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read the Place your own Church Micro page before you contact him at churchmicro.co.uk
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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