Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Description

Circa 1450; restored Seymour and Kinross, 1889; restoration 1999-2000. 15th century Gothic. Nave (originally choir), tower and Baptistery (originally S transept) remain of the original church; W nave demolished circa 1875; W porch addition 1937. Squared and coursed rubble.

S ELEVATION: low round-arched doorway in centre of nave wall; 2 pointed-arched windows in end bays; Y-tracery; cusped single light; scratched mass-dial at SE corner. Projecting Baptistery at left; crowstepped gable; central rectangular window; reticulated tracery; single cusped window to left return; single pointed-ached window to right return; Y-tracery. Blind tower behind; stair projection at NW angle; belfry to E face.

E ELEVATION: crowstepped gable; large pointed 3-light lancet window; hoodmould. Empty round-headed statue niche; 7 surrounding amorial shields; projecting canopy above; flanking single light cusped windows; corbelled base for belfry.

N ELEVATION: single light cusped window at left of nave wall; single storey rubble outshot in centre. Tower at right: 4-stages; central round-headed arched door; windows to left; slits to right; rubble outcrop at 2nd stage (would have interlocked with original nave wall).

W ELEVATION: adjoining new single storey porch at base of tower; square and snecked rubble; ashlar quoin dressings; 2 single light pointed-arched windows; pointed-arched doorway to S face; single pointed-arched window to N face. Round-head of arch seen over porch formed entrance from original nave through to tower and choir; statue base above; profile of nave roof still evident; 2 slim lights to the upper levels; turnpike tower at NW corner.

Stone-slab roof on rubble bed over Nave; slate easing course; Carmyle sandstone roofs over tower, Baptistery and N outshot (Caithness slate used for repairs).

INTERIOR: Pointed barrel vault to Nave; sedilla; piscina; aumbry; memorials to Dundas family; window in W wall; new floor and lights. Tower has round barrel vault; round arches on 3 sides; Rosebery Coat of Arms over Baptistery arch; door in NW corner to turn-pike stair; octagonal font by Sir Robert Lorimer. New glass doors dedicated to Ian Smith in Baptistery; various tombstones. All stained glass windows in the church are dedicated to members of the Dundas family.

BOUNDARY WALLS: coped rubble walls.

Statement of Special Interest

The Queensferry Carmelite Friary was founded in 1330 but the church would appear to date from the 1450s. In the earliest extant charter to the Friary, dated 1457, James Dundas of Dundas granted "to God and the Virgine Mary, and brethren of the Order of the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel," a piece of land "lying in the toun of the Ferry ... for the church of St Mary the Virgin and for the construction of certain buildings to be erected there in the form of a monastery". The church and its lands were returned to the Dundas family following the Reformation and a Royal Charter of 1584 affirmed the new ownership. It was decided that the Church should be the town's Parish Church until an alternative was built and in 1635 the congregation moved to the new Parish Church. St Mary's fell into disrepair in the subsequent centuries and was restored by Seymour and Kinross in 1889. On 12 July 1890 the church was reopened by Dean Montgomery of Edinburgh as a Scottish Episcopal Church. The church is now the only medieval Carmelite church still in use in the British Isles. The church has undergone a recent restoration programme in 1999 -2000 that included repairs to the external material as well as extensive restoration to the church's interior. The architect in charge of the project was Douglas Flett. The work included: new leadwork flashings to stone slab roof wallheads; stripping and re-slating of Baptistery roof; repairs to slated tower roof; replacement of roof to outhouse; overhaul rainwater system; installation of 'French' drains; repairs to stained glass windows; and repointing of boundary walls. Unfortunately nothing remains of the monastic buildings and an archaeological excavation carried out in the 1970s revealed no medieval remains. Although the church has passed out of the Dundas family's possession the family's connection with the church is still strong. Three of the church's trustees are Dundas's and the family paid for the new chairs, which are upholstered with the Dundas tartan.

References

Bibliography

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.