Lundie Kirk was the parish church of Lundie, Angus, in Scotland from the 12th century until 2017. The church was constructed in Romanesque style in the 12th century and was owned by the Priory of St Andrews for whom it may have served as a rest stop for travelling monks. The church came into the ownership of the Duncan family in 1660. A mausoleum at the east end of the structure was added in 1789 to house the body of Sir William Duncan, 1st Baronet and Admiral Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan was buried in the graveyard. The church was partly rebuilt in 1846 and a significant renovation was carried out in 1892, converting the mausoleum to a vestry and adding a porch. The church is a Category A listed building.
The Church of Scotland ceased holding regular worship in June 2017 and, after an unsuccessful search for a community use, the church was sold in 2019. The church was sold again by auction in November 2021, achieving a price of £40,000. The new owner intended to convert the structure into a family home. The structure suffered a serious fire on 18 November 2022, leaving it a roofless shell.
Description
The main part of the church, the oldest surviving portion, was built in the Romanesque style on a small rise in the village. It is constructed of coarse square stones, except for the west gable which is of rubble stone. Its roof was slate.
The south is the principal elevation and consists of six bays; the porch and entrance being in the second bay from the left. The windows are pointed arches with moulding above. The west elevation is completely plain apart from a central buttress. In front of the north elevation are steps leading to a basement, protected by iron railings and a gate. In the centre of the elevation a chimneybreast protrudes from the wall and pierces the roof, terminating in a square, corniced chimney stack. The north elevation has a single narrow pointed window, known as the leper window, to the left of the chimney and, below this, a blocked-up coal hole.
The east elevation is dominated by the vestry, originally built as a mausoleum for the Duncan family, and adjoining the east of the main church structure. Square in plan it has a single door on the south elevation. This has wide-corniced jambs and is surmounted by a corniced lintel and a fanlight with intrados surround. In the other two external walls blank round-headed panels are set centrally to each elevation. The vestry has a stone domed roof with a tholobate. At the east end of the main church structure a bellcote sits on the roof, containing a single bell. It is birdcage in style and surmounted by a ball finial and weathervane.
The interior of the church was boarded in pitch pine on the walls and ceiling, described as unusually extensive. There were wooden pews and a timber-panelled pulpit, hexagonal in plan and sat on a plinth. A stone columnar font was used. The church held a wrought-iron memorial to John Robert Lester, who served as minister from 1953 to 1977, and stained-glass memorial window to the Hunter family of nearby Easter Keith. A sculpture opposite the leper window depicted the tree of life. The north wall held a war memorial dating to 1897 and a brass panel commemorating the 1892 renovation of the church. The door leading to the vestry at the east end was flanked with panels showing extracts from the psalms and the Lord's Prayer.
The churchyard is surrounded by a rubble-built wall of around in height. The grounds contain burials from the 18th to 20th centuries. A burial plot, enclosed by a low wall and wrought-iron railings, was used by the Duncan family.
Ecclesiastical history
The church was constructed by the Durward family, who owned the village, in the 12th century. Its earliest mention in the written record dates to the reign of William the Lion ( 1165–1214). The church was originally owned by the Priory of St Andrews and may have served as a resting place for monks on the road between the priory and Coupar Angus. The church has been dedicated to Saint Lawrence since the 12th century.