Loudoun Kirk
B+W conversion as suggested by Guitardode.
Loudoun Kirk, dedicated to St Michael, was established at the end of the twelfth century. The lands on which it was built, and which became Loudoun parish, had been given by Richard de Morville, King William the Lion's High Steward, to James, son of Lambinus, before 1189. James, the member of a Flemish family who had settled earlier in Lanarkshire, built the first motte and bailey castle overlooking the Hag Burn as the centre of his authority. At or soon after its foundation, the revenues of Loudoun Kirk, were allocated to support the monks of the newly-founded Kilwinning Abbey, and in return they were obliged to provide a priest (curate) to attend to the spiritual needs of the parishioners. In January 1491, James IV created for George Campbell of Loudoun the free burgh or barony of Newmilns. The castle was built there-and gradually, as more and more people moved to the new burgh, it became the main centre of population in the parish. During the bitter Campbell/Kennedy feuds of 1527/8, Loudoun Kirk was badly damaged, but rebuilt. Soon afterwards, however, in 1530, in recognition of the shift in population, a chapel was built at Newmilns. Loudoun Kirk remained the parish church until at least the 17th century, when the chapel in Newmilns was upgraded to parochial status. Thereafter Loudoun Kirk and its kirkyard continued in use for occasional church services, but more particularly as the last resting-place of generations of the parishioners of Loudoun.
Loudoun Kirk
B+W conversion as suggested by Guitardode.
Loudoun Kirk, dedicated to St Michael, was established at the end of the twelfth century. The lands on which it was built, and which became Loudoun parish, had been given by Richard de Morville, King William the Lion's High Steward, to James, son of Lambinus, before 1189. James, the member of a Flemish family who had settled earlier in Lanarkshire, built the first motte and bailey castle overlooking the Hag Burn as the centre of his authority. At or soon after its foundation, the revenues of Loudoun Kirk, were allocated to support the monks of the newly-founded Kilwinning Abbey, and in return they were obliged to provide a priest (curate) to attend to the spiritual needs of the parishioners. In January 1491, James IV created for George Campbell of Loudoun the free burgh or barony of Newmilns. The castle was built there-and gradually, as more and more people moved to the new burgh, it became the main centre of population in the parish. During the bitter Campbell/Kennedy feuds of 1527/8, Loudoun Kirk was badly damaged, but rebuilt. Soon afterwards, however, in 1530, in recognition of the shift in population, a chapel was built at Newmilns. Loudoun Kirk remained the parish church until at least the 17th century, when the chapel in Newmilns was upgraded to parochial status. Thereafter Loudoun Kirk and its kirkyard continued in use for occasional church services, but more particularly as the last resting-place of generations of the parishioners of Loudoun.