Charity Number SC009095

Made with Xara

Symington Kirk

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Like many of the churches in the Clydesdale area, Symington was established in the early 12th century.King                                                                        David I as part of his control structure had given large areas of land to his Norman knight supporters who                                                                        were encouraged to establish fortified settlements which became known as ‘touns’.                                                                        A toun was an agricultural community whose inhabitants were given military protection in return for a share of                                                                        the food that they produced.  The touns were often named after their protectors. One of the key Norman                                                                        nobles who settled in this area was  Simon de Lockard (or Loccard) – thus ‘Simon’s toun’. His name was also                                                                        given to  Symington, in Ayrshire where he also owned land.                                                                        King David had founded an abbey at Kelso around 1128 and the Tironesian monks based there gradually                                                                        extended the Christian faith through south Scotland.  A priory was established at Lesmahagow in 1144 and it                                                                        is thought that monks from there established the original churches in this area.There is of course no record or                                                                        evidence of the original church but the present church is believed to occupy its position.  It is on a slightly                                                                        raised hillock above the surrounding lower, and potentially boggier, land.                                                                         The present building has been extensively altered over the last 300 years.  The only discernible date on the                                                                        building is 1734 on the belfry.  The building is T shaped with the pulpit in the centre of the cross of the ‘T’.                                                                        During renovations some years ago, the roughcast was temporarily removed and revealed the original door                                                                        at a point in the wall now occupied by the pulpit. The rear porch, vestry and front vestibule are clearly later                                                                        additions.  Interestingly, the bell is older than the belfry. Inside the church there is a very fine timber beamed                                                                        roof.                                                                        The modern village extends far beyond the bounds of the original Symington which like many Scottish villages                                                                        ran from ‘Townhead’ to ‘Townfoot’. The church is situated at the end of a lane called Kirk Bauk near the head                                                                        of the original village.  A ‘bauk’ was an untilled strip of land along the end of a field which allowed comfortable                                                                        walking.  Older maps indicate a historic site alongside Kirk Bauk called ‘The Place’, allegedly the site of Simon                                                                        de Lockard’s castle but there is no visible evidence of this. Castlehill to the south east of the present village                                                                        has on it, remnants of a hill fort with ring shaped fortifications.  This is a more likely site for a defensive                                                                        settlement as it sits in a gap between the lower slopes of Tinto and the River Clyde.  As it sits above the lower                                                                        river flood plain, it commands a view along the Clyde valley - a valuable tactical advantage. This pre-dates the                                                                        church of course, but may mark the site of an original settlement.The old church in Symington was dedicated                                                                        to St. Ninian but in 1946, the parish church was united with the nearby St. John’s United Free Church. In                                                                        recognition of the great sensitivity surrounding the union and with a desire to be seen to be even handed, the                                                                        new congregation was  designated ‘Symington Church’.The church is surrounded by a graveyard and the oldest                                                                        decipherable stone is dated 1629.  The graveyard also contains a watch house erected in the late 19th century                                                                        as a protection against ‘resurrectionists’ - grave robbers who moved in after funerals to remove bodies which                                                                        could be sold for medical research in Edinburgh or Glasgow.                                                                        Symington is one of the very few churches in Scotland which still rings a ‘dressing bell’ each Sunday morning                                                                        about an hour before the service begins.  This was originally meant to alert the farmers and agricultural                                                                        workers to the impending church service.  The need has perhaps passed, but the tradition continues.