Bathgate Auld Parish Kirk lies on the South side of Edinburgh Road (A89) on the Eastern side of the town, approaching from the direction of Dechmont. Click here for a location map provided by StreetMap.
This kirk is currently in a roofless, fairly ruinous condition, although its outer walls are reasonably intact, as is its graveyard. The layout is clearly on a simple rectangular plan, indicating a pre-Reformation design.
Auld Parish Kirk, North Wall, Looking West
Auld Parish Kirk, North Wall, Looking East
The kirk has a long although fairly obscure history, but was granted to Holyrood Abbey by Malcolm IV in the C12th. Later, a connection with the C13th Ratho Kirk may be possible, given the existence of the Fief of Ratho and Bathgate during the time of the de Bohun earls and Alexander III.
Auld Parish Kirk, South Wall
These photographs show the simple rectangular structure with few surviving internal features, surrounded by a primarily Victorian graveyard.
Inside Auld Parish Kirk, Looking West
However, along the Northern wall, inside the kirk, a mediaeval tombstone representing a priest still exists in good condition, which may date back to the C13th.
Inside Auld Parish Kirk, ?C13th Tombstone
more to follow...