55 Churches to Explore in Scotland

Inchcolm Abbey is a medieval abbey located on the island of Inchcolm in the Firth of Forth in Scotland. The Abbey, which is located at the centre of the island, was founded in the 12th century during the episcopate of Gregoir, Bishop of Dunkeld. Later tradition placed it even earlier, in the reign of King Alexander I of Scotland , who probably had some involvement in the island; he was apparently washed ashore there after a shipwreck in 1123, and took shelter in a hermit's hovel.

Inchmahome Priory is a beautifully situated monastery, founded by a small community of Augustinian canons led by Walter Comyn, the Earl of Menteith. It is situated on Inchmahome, the largest of three islands in the centre of the Lake of Menteith, close to Aberfoyle, Scotland. The Comyn family were one of the most powerful in Scotland at the time, and had an imposing country house on Inch Talla, one of the other islands on the Lake of Menteith. There is some evidence that there had been a church

The cathedral, constructed in 1869 is the northernmost cathedral in mainland Britain and was the first new Protestant cathedral to be completed in Great Britain since the Reformation. The cathedral is built of red Tarradale stone, with the nave columns of Peterhead granite.

Iona Abbey is an abbey located on the island of Iona, just off the Isle of Mull on the West Coast of Scotland. is the spiritual home of the Iona Community, an ecumenical Christian religious order, whose headquarters are in Glasgow. The Abbey remains a popular site of Christian pilgrimage today. The abbey remained an important place of worship and pilgrimage until the Reformation in 1560, after which monastic life came to an end and it largely fell into disuse.

The Italian Chapel is one of Orkney's more unusual attractions but is certainly one of its most visited. It was built during World War II by Italian prisoners of war, who were housed on the previously uninhabited island while they constructed the Churchill Barriers to the east of Scapa Flow. The chapel was not completed until after the end of the war, and was restored in the 1960s and again in the 1990s. It is a popular tourist attraction, and a category A listed building.

Kilwinning Abbey is a Benedictine monastery founded sometime around 1162. A rich, flourishing monastery for 400 years, it once covered several acres. As an incredibly wealthy establishment, the Abbey and its contents proved dangerously attractive to the aristocracy and it is recorded that the Earls of Glencairn and Angus joined forces as early as 1512, entered the abbey precincts, and tried to physically force Abbot William Bunche to resign in favour of the preceptor of Glasgow, John Forman.

Kirkoswald Parish Church is located in the small village of Kirkoswald, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is a parish church in the Church of Scotland. The church is unusual in that its design was, at the very least, strongly influenced by Robert Adam, one of Scotland's outstanding architects. He was working at the time on his masterpiece, Culzean Castle, and there are many Adam features about the church. It was built in 1777 and is essentially unchanged since.

Dedicated to the patron saint of Scotland, Saint Andrew, Metropolitan Cathedral of St Andrew is the seat of the Archbishop of Glasgow. The cathedral was designed in 1814 in the Neo Gothic style by the 19th century prominent architect James Gillespie Graham.

Carfin Lourdes Grotto, a Roman Catholic shrine in Scotland dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, was created in the early twentieth century. The "Carfin Grotto", as the shrine is locally referred to, was the brainchild of Father, later Canon Thomas N. Taylor, parish priest of St. Francis Xavier's Parish in the small, mining village of Carfin, which lies two miles east of Motherwell, in the West of Scotland.

The Laigh Kirk is a church in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland. This church is historically old, but modern and vigorous in work and witness. Body of the church by Robert Johnstone 1802. Enlarged 1831 with later 19th-century session room. Major refurbishment 1996 by W I Munro Architects, winning 1997 Civic Trust Award for part of town-centre regeneration. Interesting monuments and stained glass. Covenanters’ graves in adjacent kirkyard. Close to bus and rail stations.

The Heritage Centre is housed in the former Ardrossan Parish Church which was built in 1773 on the site of an earlier church of 1744. North Ayrshire Museum was established in 1957 by Owen Kelly, a local businessman, to preserve items of local interest. It was run as a private concern until 1975 when Cunninghame District Council shouldered the responsibility of looking after the building and collection. In 2010 the Museum merged with Local and Family History Library to become the North Ayrshire H

The Cathedral Church of Our Lady of Good Aid, popularly known as Motherwell Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the seat of the Bishop of Motherwell, and mother church of the Diocese of Motherwell.The cathedral was designed in the Gothic revival style by the celebrated architects Pugin and Pugin and resembles many Catholic churches designed by them in Scotland, England and Ireland.

Paisley Abbey is a parish church of the Church of Scotland on the east bank of the White Cart Water in the centre of the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, about 12 miles west of Glasgow, in Scotland. Its origins date from the 12th century, based on a former Cluniac monastery. Following the Reformation in the 16th century, it became a Church of Scotland parish kirk.

Pluscarden Abbey was founded in 1230 for Valliscaulian monks by King Alexander II. It is the only mediaeval monastery still in use for its original purpose in Britain. In 1948, the priory became a house of the Subiaco Cassinese Congregation of Benedictines, and restoration began at the hands of monks from Prinknash Abbey in Gloucestershire. In 1966, the priory received its independence from the mother-house; it was elevated to abbatial status in 1974.

A majestic monastic house lies at the heart of the old Pictish kingdom. It has been identified as Egglespethir, where King Nechtan had a church built in about 710 AD. The remains comprise an early tower, a 13th century church and the ruins of a 12th or 13th century Augustinian priory.In 1243 Restenneth was dedicated to St Peter by David de Bernham, Bishop of St Andrews.

A majestic and beautiful 15th-century chapel located in the village of Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland. This stunning chapel is located outside of Edinburgh and has flummoxed historians, movie-makers, and visitors for centuries. Intricately carved stone-work is laced with strange symbolism, ancient cults appear behind every story, and alien activity frequently gets reported by UFO hunters.

Sancta Maria Abbey, Nunraw is a working Trappist monastery. It was the first Cistercian house to be founded in Scotland since the Scottish Reformation. Founded in 1946 by monks from Mount St. Joseph Abbey, Roscrea, Ireland, and consecrated as an Abbey in 1948, it nestles at the foot of the Lammermuir Hills on the southern edge of East Lothian. The estate of the abbey is technically called White Castle after an early hill-fort on the land.

Seton Collegiate Church is one of the finest surviving medieval collegiate churches in Scotland. The term "Collegiate Church" covered a variety of sins, often literally. Collegiate Churches were generally endowed by the the local laird, who paid for the maintenance of community of priests. The primary role of the college was to pray for the souls of their benefactor, his wife, and his family. The church is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland, and a 4-Star Historic Tourist Attraction

St Andrew Blackadder is one of two Church of Scotland congregations in North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland. It was one of the iconic location and also one of the main pilgrimage centres in this area.

The Cathedral of St Andrew is a ruined cathedral in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It was built in 1158 and became the centre of the Medieval Catholic Church in Scotland as the seat of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and the Bishops and Archbishops of St Andrews. It fell into disuse and ruin after Catholic mass was outlawed during the 16th-century Scottish Reformation. It is currently a monument in the custody of Historic Environment Scotland. The ruins indicate that the building was approximately 11