Longridge Kirk

Image: © Anne Burgess Taken: 9 Jan 2012

The kirk in Longridge never belonged to the Church of Scotland. It was built in 1777 as a secession kirk by the Burgher group of seceders. The Burghers themselves split into Auld Lichts and New Lichts, and it was the Auld Lichts who took possession. Later it became part of the United Presbyterian Church. The first minister was the Reverend John Brown of Whitburn (1754-1832), a noted preacher, and the son and father of two more noted ministers, John Brown of Haddington (1727-1782) and John Brown, Professor of Exegetical Theology at the United Secession College in Edinburgh (1784-1858) respectively. The present building was designed by Glasgow architect Robert Black (1800-1869) and dates from 1840. It looks oddly truncated because of the loss of its spire, which was taken down because it had become unsafe. It has been converted into, and is surrounded by, modern housing.

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