Mauchline Auld Church
Image Terry Harrison
Image Burns House Museum
Above we can see an image of the church in Mauchline which would have been familiar to Burns. Unfortunately because of the technology available at the time, all that remains are a few artist's impressions of Mauchline Auld Kirk. The right hand image was taken from a piece of Mauchline Ware. According to the inscription on the current parish church, the old church was built in the 12th century, and after having been in use for about 650 years, was taken down in 1827.

Image Burns House Museum
A piece of Mauchline ware which can be seen on display in the Burns House Museum made from a piece of the Kirk End Tree, which according to the above inscription was blown down in a storm on 27th Feb 1860. Helen Steven's (1897) book and John Taylor Gibb's (1911) book report the date as being the same as the above Mauchlineware, although WF Blair's 1922 An Octogenarian's Reminiscences, the date was perhaps inaccurately reported as 1861.

I quote from Helen Steven's book, Mauchline it's History and Associations.
At one time an immense ash stood in the centre of the churchyard. It was quite a feature of the town, and it is a matter of wonder that Burns had nothing to say about it in his Holy Fair. It must have been the growth of many centuries. It was blown down by a terrific gale on the 27th of February, 1860. Six feet from the ground it measured fifteen feet in girth. After its fall it was cut up and yielded 200 cubic feet of timber. It was photographed as it lay and there are still a few copies of the photo to be seen in the town or district.

Till now a photo of the tree, which would have been in the very early days of photography, has not surfaced.

Ministers of The Parish Church

1562 - 1566 Rev Robert Hamilton
1567 - 1617 Rev Peter Primrose
1621 - 1634 Rev John Rose
1635 - 1644 Rev George Young
1646 - 1655 Rev Thomas Wyllie
1656 - 1694 Rev James Vietch
1695 - 1739 Rev William Maitland
1742 - 1791 Rev William Auld
1792 - 1803 Rev Archie Reid
1804 - 1844 Rev John Todd (1843 disruprion)
1844 - 1874 Rev James Fairlie
1874 - 1890 Rev Andrew Edgar
1890 - 1930 Rev Dr Joseph Mitchell
1931 - 1947 Rev Dr David Easson
1948 - 1975 Rev James Glennie
1976 - 1990 Rev Dr Charles S Morrice
1991 - present Rev Alan B Telfer
An interesting story from Helen Steven's book published in 1897, suggests that remains of the old clock from this historical building were still around.
...For all these purposes the stool under the window of the vestry of the modern parish church of Mauchline has been used. The publicity of former rebukes and tokens of penitence are long ago done away with, and well that it should be so. They were not conducive to a softened state of mind in the sinner nor yet in the interests of public morality. In a chest in the vestry are an old clock-face, and minute and hour hands. It is said they belong to the clock of the old church..

Again from the same book
Its "knock," as old session records call its clock, had a wooden face and hands, which were now and again a source of expense for repairing, but were rather unreliable in the matter of telling the time. The bell hung in a little belfrey on the steep roof, and was rung by means of a rope, fastened most probably to the tongue of the bell. A ladder was fixed against the wall from the top of one of the many stairs to the belfrey.
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