Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

OLD NEWTON KIRK TOWERLB14182

Status: Removed

Documents

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Summary

Category
B
Date Added
22/01/1971
Date Removed:
06/09/2016
Local Authority
Midlothian
Planning Authority
Midlothian
Parish
Newton
NGR
NT 33420 69034
Coordinates
333420, 669034

Removal Reason

Dual designation

Description

Early 17th century. Ruined square 4-stage church tower. Rubble and sandstone; ashlar dressings and long and short quoins; renewed above string course

S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: round-arched entrance doorway off centre left leading to lower apartment of tower, ashlar voussoirs; central window to next 2 stages; string-course; blind wall above with crenellated parapet surmounting.

E ELEVATION: blind elevation with damage to ground floor right; central window at 1st stage; string course above 2nd stage; crenelated parapet surmounting.

N (REAR) ELEVATION: former doorway to church, now blind; partial rubble wall adjoining to right; marks from adjoining church roof above; hole flanking below string course; blind wall with crenelated parapet surmounting.

W ELEVATION: small window to ground floor; blind elevation above; string course, parapet and crenellations surmounting.

INTERIOR: plain stone walls, church interior lost during demolition; hollow, quirk and edge-roll moulding detail on jambs and lintels of N wall doorway.

Statement of Special Interest

This is all that remains of the old parish church dedicated to St Mary. The new parish was formed from the old Parishes of Newton and Woolmet. The church used to house three "isles", or aisles, around the main body, dedicated to Newton, Sheriffhall and Edmonstoun, local estates. The church was the venue for the illegal marriage of Lord Linton and Lady Seton (circa 1630) and later the union of Lady Margaret Leslie of Sheriffhall and the Earl of Weymss on 13th January 1653. There used to be a small manse but this is now gone, although a few tombstones still remain in what was once the kirkyard. Pre-1700, the colliers who worked the nearby mines were buried in unconsecrated ground and not able to attend the church, but a petition in 1725 allowed them to worship in a purpose built loft from 1732 onwards. The church was deemed as geographically unsuitable for "parish" worship and a more central site was chosen. It closed in 1742, when the new church opened. Since then, the main part of the church has been lost, but the tower was preserved as an eyecatcher for the landscape and pleasure grounds of Dalkeith Palace.

References

Bibliography

J Adair, A MAP OF MIDLOTHIAN (1736); New Statistical Account of Scotland VOL I p485, 560-570; Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, INVENTORY OF MIDLOTHIAN (1927) pp148-149; George Montgomery, A HISTORY OF NEWTON PARISH (1984) p22, pp60-64; J Thomas, MIDLOTHIAN (1995) p12 & p126.

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.

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Printed: 29/03/2024 11:59