Govan Old Parish Church

Govan Old Parish Church
The Parish Church of St Constantine of Strathclyde
Map
55°51′53″N 4°18′46″W / 55.8646°N 4.3129°W / 55.8646; -4.3129
LocationGlasgow
CountryScotland
DenominationChurch of Scotland
Websitehttps://thegovanstones.org.uk/
History
StatusClosed
Foundedc.5th to 6th Century
DedicationConstantine
Dedicated19 May 1888
Architecture
Functional statusMuseum & Historic Church
Architect(s)Robert Rowand Anderson
Years built1884-1888
Groundbreaking6 December 1884
ClosedOctober 2007
Administration
PresbyteryPresbytery of Glasgow
ParishGovan & Linthouse
Listed Building – Category A
Designated6 July 1966
Reference no.LB33353

Govan Old Parish Church is a former parish church serving Govan in Glasgow from the 5th or 6th century AD until 2007. In that year, the Church of Scotland united the two Govan congregations with Linthouse and established the parish church at Govan Cross, making Govan Old redundant.[1] A decade later, Govan Old Walkway was opened, connecting both with a new riverside path.[2]

Govan Old is no longer used for regular Sunday services, but the building remains a place of worship with a daily morning service and is open to visitors in the afternoons. The church, dedicated to a Saint Constantine, occupies a Scottish Gothic Revival building of national significance (A-Listed by Historic Environment Scotland) within a churchyard designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument (Historic Environment Scotland).

The church houses an internationally-significant collection of early medieval sculpture, known as the Govan Stones. All the carved stones come from the churchyard and include the Govan Sarcophagus, four upstanding crosses with figurative and interlace decoration, five Anglo-Scandinavian hogbacks, and a wide range of recumbent burial monuments, all seemingly dating to the 9th – 11th centuries AD.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference interpretative was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ McKay, Gabriel (8 July 2017). "Sir Alex Ferguson opens new Govan walkway". Glasgow Live. Retrieved 8 September 2024.