Dalswinton Barony Church

How can you not take a picture of this wee church situated in deepest Dumfriesshire, Scotland.

Built in 1881 some 0.6km south-east of Dalswinton hamlet, the church is one of the few remaining examples of ‘tin’ churches that were popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The owner of the Dalswinton Estate at the time, Mrs McAlpine-Leny, was unhappy with the larger Kirkton Parish Kirk and so bought her own for Dalswinton. At the first service, 300 people attended!

These churches were made in kit form in Edinburgh and Glasgow and exported overseas as well as being used frequently in Scotland. Corrugated iron buildings were frequently used at this time in new and remote communities especially, due to the material’s quick and inexpensive qualities. The six-bay church has Gothic windows and a bellcote with a steep spire at the east gable. There is a small porch at the north-east corner. The interior of the church is timber-lined, and features original pitch-pine pews, pulpit and panelling, and has an open roof. A chancel was formed between a vestry and laird’s pew at the west end. Stained glass windows were added in 1950 and 1975. The earlier window is a one-light window of David, while the 1970s one is a semi-abstract window, with scenes of King David.

It is still occasionally used for non-denomination services and marriages.