High Blantyre Church 1793

This old engraving plate was loaned to the Blantyre Project recently by Michael Dorran. With his permission it has been copied and put into this Archive. Pictured is the old High Blantyre Church, that is the predecessor of the current High Blantyre Parish Church. The date is 1793 when the Church was built and it was sited in the old Kirkton Graveyard.

This was also the Church that David Livingstone was baptized in. The Church fell into disrepair very quickly, especially in a few harsh Winters in the 1820’s. By 1860 it was in a deplorable condition and unsatisfactory for anybody coming to worship.

By 1863, the new Parish Church has been built, the one that currently exists. The old church was demolished and a cairn now stands in the Kirk Graveyard made from stones from it’s steeple.