Old West Kirk

Old West Kirk
Old West Kirk at the Esplanade, Greenock
55°57′22″N 4°46′02″W / 55.956013°N 4.767263°W / 55.956013; -4.767263
Country	Scotland
Denomination	Church of Scotland
Churchmanship	Presbyterian
Website	Lyle Kirk Greenock Website
History
Founded	1591
Architecture
Heritage designation	Category B
Designated	1971
Administration
Presbytery	Greenock and Paisley

The Old West Kirk of the Church of Scotland, authorised by an 1589 Royal Charter and first opened in 1591, is noted as the first Presbyterian church built in Scotland following the Scottish Reformation, and the first approved by the Parliament of Scotland. At an early stage, east and west aisles were added as transepts, giving the church its cruciform plan.

Over time, the town of Greenock grew around the church, which was enlarged and had galleries added to accommodate the congregation. From 1761 other churches were built to serve the growing population, and in 1841 the Old West Kirk was closed when the congregation moved to a new West Kirk. The old kirk gradually became derelict, then it was heavily restored and reopened on Christmas Day 1864. The architect James Salmon supervised the works and added a tower, and the church subsequently incorporated a major collection of Pre-Raphaelite stained glass windows.

Shipyards developed between the churchyard and the Clyde, and in 1917 Harland and Wolff began negotiations to enlarge their yard over the churchyard. They provided a site further along the coast, and built the Pirrie Hall on the new site as a church hall which was used as temporary accommodation for the congregation from February 1925, while the kirk was rebuilt. In January 1928 the Old West Kirk opened in its new location on the Esplanade of Greenock. In 2011 it was amalgamated with two other churches into the Lyle Kirk, Greenock. It is opened to the public on days when cruise ships call at Greenock, when Inverclyde Tourist Group provide guided visits with a talk on the history of the kirk.

The feudal barony of Greenock lay along the southern shore of the River Clyde estuary, where it opens out into the Firth of Clyde, between the Devol Burn at its eastern boundary to the Barony of Finlaystone in the parish of Kilmacolm, and the West Burn at the boundary to Finnart. Around 1400 Malcolm Galbraith died with no sons, and Greenock was divided between his daughters to become two baronies: the eldest married Crawfurd of Kilbirnie and inherited Easter Greenock Castle, while Wester Greenock went to the younger daughter who married Schaw of Sauchie. Around 1540 the adjoining area of Finnart passed to the Schaw family, extending their holdings westward to the boundary of Gourock, and in 1542 John Schaw founded Wester Greenock castle.