Culross and Torryburn Parish Church
Culross, Fife
Saline church was built in 1810 to designs by William Stark, an eminent architect of the day. The building has therefore been a prominent architectural feature at the centre of the West Fife village of Saline for 200 years. It is to a simple rectangular plan with galleries on three sides. There is an unusual feature comprising two short towers flanking the main entrance in the west gable, one with the bell and the other intended for a clock (never installed). The session House was built in 1819.
In 1970 the church was extended by constructing a hall connecting into the south east corner, thereby providing kitchen and accessible toilets besides a hall and meeting room, but avoiding visual obtrusion on the interior and principal exterior aspects of the sanctuary. Located next to the school, at the heart of the community, the building is now the only place of public worship in the parish and is extensively used for community purposes.
The stained glass by John Blyth in the east gable window depicts Christ with the symbols of Baptism and the Eucharist.
The local community heritage society currently uses the session house at the north east corner of the churchyard as a mini museum with a different theme each year. Some information from the 2011 theme relating to the church in Saline, including earlier church buildings, is now available in the church.
The Saline war memorial stands in a prominent position near the main entrance of the church at the western end of the churchyard, from where there are stunning views westwards towards Stirling and the Wallace Monument with Ben Lomond and the Arrochar Alps beyond, and the Ochil Hills to the north.
