Medieval fragments, a post-Reformation church shell and the Clerk family mausoleum occupy one compact protected monument.
Quick facts
- Date
- Medieval origins; principal standing fabric 17th–early 18th century; mausoleum dated 1684
- Architect / designer
- Parish builders and Clerk family patrons; architects unrecorded
- Type
- Roofless parish church and family mausoleum
- Designation
- Scheduled monument (SM2145)
- OS grid reference
- NT 23723 59987
Architecture, archaeology and continuing use
The roofless rectangular church retains altered rubble walls and fragments of earlier carved stone. Beside it, the Clerk mausoleum is a more formal seventeenth-century structure, giving the site both communal and family commemorative character.
Its story
A medieval parish church was repeatedly altered before the surviving post-Reformation phase. Worship moved to the adjacent Georgian St Mungo’s Church, leaving the old fabric and the Clerk burial place as an archaeological and memorial group.
Why it is included
The scheduled monument preserves Penicuik’s longest visible sequence of Christian architecture and must be understood separately from the surrounding listed churchyard and the later parish church.
What to notice
- Romanesque carved fragments incorporated into later masonry.
- The contrast between the church shell and the more formal mausoleum.
- Openings and wall scars that reveal successive alterations.
Reading the surroundings
Approach carefully through the churchyard where permitted. Respect graves, worship and barriers; do not climb the ruin, touch loose stone or enter closed structures.
Timeline
- 12th century Carved Romanesque fragments indicate an early stone church on the site.
- 1684 A dated phase established the Clerk family mausoleum beside the church.
- 1771 The neighbouring new parish church replaced the older building for worship.
- 1961 The combined ruin and mausoleum entered the schedule of nationally important monuments.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The scheduled-monument record is brief, and the precise sequence of medieval and later walling remains incompletely resolved.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: St Kentigern’s Church Ruin and Clerk Mausoleum, SM2145 — Designation status, mapped location, date, fabric and architectural or archaeological interest.
- Trove: St Kentigern’s Church — National archaeological record, mapped site identity, bibliography and associated archive material.
Location
OS grid reference NT 23723 59987 · Location confidence: High: the national designation supplies an official mapped National Grid Reference; the independent source confirms the Place relationship, history or current identity. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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