Establishment of Christianity in Scotland

Before discussing the churches in Lochwinnoch some scene setting is might be useful. Christianity was probably first introduced by the Romans. After the Romans left St Ninian is among the first to be referenced as continuing to “spread the word” in Scotland. It is said he studied in Rome and was tasked by Pope Siricuis to convert the Picts. He established his mission at Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway where he is buried. There is a great deal of confusion over the date of his work ranging from 390AD to 560AD. There also seems to be confusion over who he actually was.

In the time after the Romans old ways returned and paganism was on the rise. The tide began to be turned after the victory by the Christian princes in 573AD at the battle of Arderydd.

St Columba is a little better known than St Ninian. Born 7th Dec 521AD and died 9th Jun 597AD. He was an Irish abbot who founded the abbey on Iona. Around 563AD he and twelve companions crossed to Dunaverty in Argyll before settling in Iona. He is remembered today as a Catholic saint and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.

Around the same time St Mirin who was an Irish monk travelled to Scotland and setup a religious community which grew to become Paisley Abbey. He was born around 565AD and educated at the monastery of Bangor Abbey in County Down eventually becoming prior. Around 580AD he was appointed to the west of Scotland. It is thought his first Church was in the area of Seedhill, Paisley. A blond sandstone pedestal was erected in 2003 opposite St Mirin’s Cathedral for the town’s patron saint and in 2007 a bronze statue of the saint was added.

St Winnoc is said to have built the church around which the Kirktown of Lochwinnoch was established. There appears to be little evidence for this. It seems he spent most of his life around Wormhout, Belgium where he established a monastery. He died on 6th November 716 or 717AD. With today’s spellings of Lochwinnoch it is tempting to link the saint to the village. Early spellings do not suggest such an association by virtue of spelling eg in 1158 it was Lochinvvche, 1504 it was Lochvinzok, 1560 it was Lochquhinyeoch and in 1710 Lochwhinyeoch.

Paisley Abbey

When Empress Maud fought against King Stephen of England who had usurped the throne from her son her uncle King David I of Scotland came to her aid (See Kings and Queens of UK in the History section). When he returned to Scotland he brought with him Walter Fitz Alan, a Breton knight. Whatever services he rendered to David they were highly regarded because he was made Steward of Scotland. To go with this high status he was given the lands of Renfrew, Paisley, Pollock, Talahec, Cathcart, the Drep and the Mutrene, Eaglesham, Lochwinnoch and Inverkip – pretty much all of Renfrewshire.

What we know as Renfrewshire did not exist at this time, the land was administered as part of Lanarkshire. At this time Renfrewshire was much more forested than it is today. When Walter received his Charter of these lands, he set about parcelling out tracks of land to his friends and companions under the feudal system. Alexander I had begun the introduction of feudalism but David embraced it even more having spent much of his youth at the English court where it had been introduced by the Normans. Through this system the parcels of land were gradually reclaimed and cultivated.

A Norman knight at that time thought his estate was lacking if he failed to plant a colony of monks in some corner of it. Monks were zealous for their order but also the welfare of their lands and tenants, if for no other reason than their own prosperity depended on these relationships. They encouraged agriculture and led the way in all sorts of trade.

Walter was encouraged to establish a Cistercian colony. However he hailed from Wenlock in Shropshire where the monks were of the Order of Clugny. In 1163 he entered into an agreement with the Prior of Wenlock whereby he would receive thirteen monks for the purpose of starting a new monastery. It was not until 1168 that the monks actually arrived. Initially they stayed in Renfrew near the Stewards castle as the site in Paisley was not ready for them. A monk called Osbert was appointed Prior and worship was practiced from a pre-existing church. Sometime around 1172 they finally made it to Paisley. Walter’s endowment’s were substantial and included the Parish church of Paisley with its pertinents which included a dependant chapel at Lochwinnoch, other churches, mills, land, fishing rights and a share of his income from rents he derived from his lands. In 1176, feeling his work complete,  Walter retired becoming a monk at Melrose Abbey where he died the following year.

The linkage back to the mother Abbey of Clugny and La Charte-sur-Loire where the Wenlock monks originally came from became difficult to manage. An appeal to Pope Honorius III in 1219 resulted in the monks being given permission to elect an Abbot. However the Abbot of Clugny refused his permission and it took a further 26 years before full legal authority was obtained to elect their own Abbot. The monks were good landlords and the Cluniacs were reputed to be the best agriculturists in Europe. It was due to their fostering care that Paisley grew and eventually outstripped Renfrew.

Many benefactors continued to bestow gifts upon the monks of Paisley but the greatest continued to be the Stewards. Of relevance to Lochwinnoch, Alan (1140-1204), the second Steward gave the monastery land at Moniabroc near the Clochoderick stone and rights to fishing in Lochwinnoch. His son, Walter II (1167-1246), gave them the land between the Maich and the Calder. His son, Alexander (1214-1283), took from the monks a piece of land on the east side of the Espedair burn in south Paisley to extend a deer park he was creating. In return he gave the monks land near their church at Inverkip and also six acres around their dependant chapel at Lochwinnoch.

The Parish of Lochwinnoch

At what time Lochwinnoch became a separate parish and its chapel a parish church is not known; but in 1504 the lands of Moniabrok were described as situated in the parish of Lochwynok.

In the 1504 foundation Charter of the Collegiate Church the third chaplin was allocated “the fruits and emoluments of the parish clerkship of Lochvinyock” and has to use some of these funds to pay for “some fitting parish clerk in the said Kirk of Lochvinyock.” Lord Semple provides the second chaplin with “the tiend Sheaves of the village of Chapeltoun”. This clearly means at this date there is a chapel in Lochwinnoch and another in Chapeltoun which is located adjacent to the Warlock Gates.

Sometimes I have read there was only one chapel, at Chapelton, which moved to the site of Auld Simon. Listing various facts together it is clear there was one at Chapelton and one on the Johnshill. Firstly, in 1158 Malcolm confirms various lands which include Lochinacvhe to Walter the High Steward. Secondly, in 1202 the Bishop of Glasgow confirms the gift of the Chapel of Lochwinnoch in 1163 to Paisley Abbey when Walter the High Steward established the Abbey. Thirdly, in 1246 Alexander, the fourth High Steward, granted Paisley Abbey six acres of land “adjacent to their chapel in Lochwinnoch”. Fourthly, as part of the foundation charter Lord Semple reassigned to the Collegiate Church his lands formerly annexed to his chapel in the parish of Lochvinyoch. This cannot be the six acres of land “adjacent to the chapel in Lochwinnoch” as they are not his land to reassign having been given to the Abbey by the Steward. Taken together these individual acts reinforce the conclusion that in 1504 there is a chapel at Chapeltoun and one in Lochwinnoch.

Crawford and Watson 1710 state “East of Barr stands the village and church of Lochwinnoch, a Chaplainry in Old Times dependant on the Abbey of Paisley.” The earliest mention of Lochwinnoch itself is in the Charter of confirmation by Malcolm IV in 1158 for lands given to Walter the High Steward by his father King David I. Walter was made High Steward around 1150 which would be when he was given much of his lands which included Lochwinnoch meaning the village existed prior to 1150. I have found nothing to suggest when Chapeltoun came into being.

The parish of Lochwinnoch is the second largest parish in the county. and its boundary is shown in the map below. Going clockwise round the parish, at 12 o’clock it is bounded by the parish of Kilmalcolm, followed by Kilbarchan, Paisley, Neilston, Beith, Kilbirnie and lastly Largs. From east to west the parish is about twelve miles long, and from north to south about six miles broad. It has an area of nearly 19,878 acres, of which 371 are water. In 1691 there was an attempt to split off the part on the south side of the Loch and join with parts of Paisley and Neilston together with parts of Dunlop and Beith to form a new parish. This never came to pass.