Bonkyl Church (also spelled Buncle or Bunkle) (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

: ''Bun na Cille ='' 'the hill foot of the church') is a

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning 'church'. The term ''the Kirk'' is often used informally to refer specifically to the Church of Scotland, the Scottish national church that developed from the 16th-century Reformation ...

situated at northeast of

Duns Duns may refer to: * Duns, Scottish Borders, a town in Berwickshire, Scotland ** Duns railway station ** Duns F.C., a football club ** Duns RFC, a rugby football club ** Battle of Duns, an engagement fought in 1372 * Duns Scotus ( 1265/66– ...

in the old county of

Berwickshire Berwickshire (; ) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, its original county town, which was part of Scotland at the ...

. The nearest hamlet is Preston just over to the south-west.

History

There has been a religious establishment at Bonkyl since the early 12th century, and it was part of the

vicarage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or Minister (Christianity), ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of n ...

Dunkeld Dunkeld (, , from , "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to the geological Highland Boundar ...

before 1275. The early proprietor of the church was Sir Alexander de Bonkyl, but the church passed into the care of his daughter Margaret in 1304. After the death of Margaret, the Bonkyl estate and church passed down to her son, Sir Alexander Stewart of Bonkyl. During the

Second War of Scottish Independence The Second War of Scottish Independence broke out in 1332, when Edward Balliol led an Kingdom of England, English-backed invasion of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland. Balliol, the son of former Scottish king John Balliol, was attempting to make g ...

the location was contested by

Thomas Ughtred Thomas Ughtred, 1st Baron Ughtred (also Oughtred; Outred), Order of the Garter, KG (1292 – before 28 May 1365) was an English soldier and politician. The eldest son and heir of Robert Ughtred, lord of the manor of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, ...

, a future

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. The care and maintenance of the church then passed to the

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

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, descendants of the Stewarts, before finally passing to the

Earl of Home Earl of Home ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1605 for Alexander Home of that Ilk, 6th Lord Home. The Earl of Home holds, among others, the subsidiary titles of Lord Home (created 1473) and Lord Dunglass (1605) in t ...

in 1877. The church was a separate parish until 1621 when it was co-joined with the nearby parish of Preston. In 1958, the churches were joined by

Reston Reston may refer to: Places *Reston, Florida, an unincorporated community in Florida, United States *Reston, Lincolnshire, a parish in England *Reston, Manitoba, a small community in southwestern Manitoba, Canada *Reston Scar, a fell in Cumbria, En ...

, then

Chirnside Chirnside is a hillside village in Berwickshire, Scotland, west of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and east of Duns, Scottish Borders, Duns. Church The parish church at Chirnside dates from the 12th century. It was substantially rebuilt in 1878 and ...

in 1973. The present church is a

Category B listed This is a list of Category A listed buildings in Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern ...

building. The ancient church at Bonkyl fell into ruin and was demolished in 1820 when the present church was built. All that is left of the old church is a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

, a vaulted arch which was later used as a burial vault of the Homes of Billie. It is thought to be the oldest of its kind in Scotland, having been built in the early 12th century and is a designated

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

Ministers in the early years of the reformed church

* 1582 - 1598 William Sinclair * 1599 - 1607 George Redpath * 1607 - 1612 Matthew Carrail * 1612 - 1621 John Gaittis

Gallery

Image:Bonkyl Kirkyard.jpg Image:Bonkyl Kirk06.jpg Image:Bonkyl Kirk04.jpg

References

* Statistical Accounts for Scotland * Gazetteer for Scotland, Francis Groome

External links

RCAHMS: BonkylRCAHMS: Bonkyl Walled Garden

More images at Geograph

1862 Ordnance Survey map of Bunkle Castle and Kirk - National Library of Scotland
{{coord, 55, 49, 44, N, 2, 18, 26, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Churches in Berwickshire Category B listed buildings in the Scottish Borders Listed churches in Scotland Churches in the Scottish Borders Scheduled monuments in the Scottish Borders

History

Ministers in the early years of the reformed church

Gallery

See also

References

External links